Reuters – European shares climbed on Friday while most Asian shares fell as investors sought to balance economic worries with a new era of lower interest rates ahead of key U.S. jobs data.

Oil dropped briefly below $60 a barrel before bouncing back to nearly $62 and the dollar was generally weaker.

The latest U.S. non-farm payrolls report is widely expected to show the world’s largest economy continuing to bleed jobs. The median forecast of economists polled by Reuters last week is for payrolls losses of 200,000 in October.

Investors have found few consistent havens except for the yen and some government bonds, with the financial crisis expected to see the world’s developed economies headed for the first full-year contraction since World War Two.

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Bloomberg – The Australian and New Zealand dollars rose as Australian stocks advanced on anticipation interest-rate cuts worldwide will bolster global economic growth.

The currencies advanced against the yen as Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained for the fourth day, its longest winning streak since Aug. 12. Economists forecast the Reserve Bank of Australia will reduce its benchmark rate to 5.5 percent tomorrow after house prices fell in the third quarter and manufacturing contracted at a record pace in October.

“The Aussie dollar has been following equity markets quite closely on global risk sentiment,” said Jim Vrondas, manager of corporate business at online foreign-exchange dealer OzForex Ltd. in Sydney. “If other Asian equity markets rally we might see a bit of late Asian, early European buying of the Aussie.”

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CNBC – As losses mount, hedge funds no longer have the ability to drive speculation in the markets, Hugh Hendry, chief investment officer and partner at Eclectica hedge fund told "Squawk Box Europe" on Tuesday.

"There is no role for speculation or speculators today. This is kaput," Hendry said. "If we were Second World War generals, we’ve exposed our flanks. We’ve been wiped out. This is about fundamentals … this is about losing money."

As the crisis unfolds, the policymakers’ focus should shift from the threat of inflation to that of the world economic downturn, which could be more severe than economists anticipate, he said.

China, which many believe will balance out slowdowns elsewhere, will struggle if difficulties in the U.S. continue, while the current spike in producer prices is just a hangover from rising oil prices earlier this year, Hendry said.

"I fear that the central bankers of the world are fighting yesterday’s battle," he said.

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