US existing home sales will receive wide attention in today’s news cycle for economic releases. Meantime, keep an eye on two currencies that have strengthened sharply against the US dollar this year: the Japanese yen (USDJPY) and Brazil’s real (USDBRL). US: Existing Home Sales (1400 GMT) Yesterday’s report on new home sales delivered another round of encouraging news. Transactions in July beat expectations by a wide margin, rising to 654,000 units (seasonally adjusted annual rate), which is close to a nine-year high. The upbeat release bodes well for today’s July numbers for existing home sales, which reflects a much ... (full story)