Sterling hit a one-year low against the dollar and tumbled against the euro after incomplete results of a UK general election suggested no party had emerged as a clear winner, raising the risk of a political stalemate that could hamper efforts to reduce the country’s huge public debt.

U.S. stocks fell as much as 9 percent in the last two hours of trading on Thursday before recovering slightly and the Dow suffered its biggest ever intraday point drop as a suspected trading glitch and euro debt fears threw markets into disarray.

Concerns Greece’s debt woes would spread into other parts of Europe are fanning risk aversion, with a lack of new anti-crisis measures from the European Central Bank on Thursday triggering a new wave of flight to safety. World stocks have erased all of this year’s gains to stand down 4 percent on the year.

“It is clear that the euro zone is in a very difficult situation and there is no quick fix,” said Tammo Greetfeld, equity strategist at UniCredit.

“It looks like foreign investors, particularly U.S. investors, yesterday for the first time significantly acknowledged that there are some risks emanating from the euro zone that could be severe.”

The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS fell 1.3 percent, having hit its lowest level since February. The index is on track to post its biggest weekly loss since November 2008.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 fell 2.7 percent, also hitting levels not seen since early February.

Fund tracker EPFR Global said Europe equity funds saw more than $2 billion in net outflows in the week to May 5, the most in a year.

The pound fell as low as $1.4596, its weakest since late April 2009, as vote tallies so far showed the opposition Conservatives were on course to become the largest party in parliament but lacked a clear majority.

Many believe political uncertainty could derail any quick plans to put UK public finances in order and could prompt credit agencies to downgrade Britain from its AAA status.

U.S. crude oil briefly fell below $77 a barrel, losing $10 in the past week as concerns grew that the growing debt crisis would hit global economic growth.

Bund futures rose 22 ticks while Japanese government futures hit a 2-month high of 140.10.

The euro’s rise weighed broadly on the dollar, helping send the Australian dollar to its highest in five months and the New Zealand dollar to its strongest since late January, while the dollar index plunged through its 30- and 55-day moving averages.

Euro zone finance ministers approved a 30 billion euro ($40.5 billion) aid package of loans for Greece if needed, with 10 billion euros also expected from the International Monetary Fund, a move likely to calm markets in the short term.

The euro jumped as far as $1.3678 on trading platform EBS, up from $1.3488 in New York on Friday, before coming back to test support at its 55-day moving average at $1.3630. The euro, which hit a 10-month low at $1.3267 in March, is now seen as having potential to test a mid-March high near $1.3820 this week.

The agreement was likely to help Greece raise funds more easily but the problem was unlikely to disappear, said Robert Rennie, chief currency strategist at Westpac, Sydney.

“The way the market is short euro, this could give a leg up to around the next technical resistance at $1.3820. But can it sustain a move higher than that? I am not sure. We may see some selling emerge around there.”

Skepticism about how Greece would resolve its debt problems has seen short positions stack up against the euro this year.

Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shows currency speculators were still heavily short the euro in the week ended April 6, although they reduced their net short position to 67,223 contracts from a record 85,326 contracts the week before.

Andrew Robinson, FX market strategist at Saxo Bank in Singapore, said the euro may get squeezed higher again in European trade.

“Consolidation might take us just below $1.3600 but I see more upside for the rest of the week,” he said.

The single currency rose above 127.00 yen to test its 100-day moving average at 127.14 yen, although it was still below a peak seen early in the month at 127.95.

KNOCK-ON

Its gain underpinned broad risk appetite and pushed up commodity-linked currencies such as the Aussie and the kiwi.

The Aussie rose to its highest since mid-November at $0.9382, before coming back to $0.9340, still up 0.1 percent on the day, with its November peak of $0.9407 now in market sights.

The kiwi rose to $0.7195, its highest level since late January, before relinquishing some ground to $0.7165.

The dollar index .DXY fell 1 percent to 80.33, breaking down through an upward trendline in place since early December and plunging through its 55-day moving average at 80.42.

The CFTC data shows currency speculators trimmed their long bets on the U.S. dollar in the week to April 6.

The yen, which as a low-yielding currency tends to suffer when appetite for riskier or higher growth currencies picks up, stood at 87.06 yen per Aussie, near a recent 18-month low. It was unchanged on the dollar at 93.18 yen, holding above a seven-month low near 95 yen set early this month.

One trader said there was sporadic dollar buying by Japanese importers but investors were hesitant to buy dollars for yen because they are wary of the possibility of China revaluing the yuan. There was talk of dollar loss-cutting sell orders at 92.80-70 yen and then down at 92.50.

Asian currencies, including the yen, are seen as likely to gain from any move by China to revalue its currency.

Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Washington this week for a nuclear security summit and is expected to hold a one-on-one meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday.

The currency market is watching closely for signs of how soon China might relax its grip on the yuan. The country recorded its first monthly trade deficit in six years in March, although economists doubt that will stand in the way of a resumption in the yuan’s rise before long.

China on Tuesday rejected U.S. calls to ease currency controls and said criticism would not help efforts to end the global crisis.

A Commerce Ministry spokesman repeated Chinese complaints that Washington was acting unreasonably by expecting other countries to raise their value of their currencies in order to boost U.S. exports. The United States and other trading partners complain Beijing keeps the yuan undervalued and are pressing for it to rise.

“Politicizing the exchange rate issue is not helpful to coordination among all parties in the course of fighting the global financial crisis,” spokesman Yao Jian, said at a news briefing.

A group of 130 U.S. lawmakers wrote to President Barack Obama, on Monday demanding that he take action, adding to pressure ahead of an April report in which the U.S. Treasury has the option of declaring Beijing a currency manipulator. That would set the stage for a complaint to the World Trade Organization and possible sanctions.

On Sunday, Premier Wen Jiabao, denied the yuan was undervalued and said foreign pressure was unhelpful. He said Beijing plans to reform its exchange rate system but the currency will be kept at a “stable and balanced” level.

Mr. Yao rejected suggestions the yuan’s exchange rate was to blame for the Chinese trade surplus or the U.S. trade deficit with China. Critics say the yuan is undervalued by up to 40 percent, giving China’s exporters an unfair price advantage.

“It is groundless to talk about this based on China’s trade surplus or the U.S. deficit or the fact that the U.S. economy has not recovered yet,” Mr. Yao said. He noted China runs trade deficits with Japan and South Korea but is not pressing them to narrow the gap by making their currencies more expensive.

“We hope the United States will overcome the financial crisis and become an advocate of free trade, not an obstructionist,” Yao said. “We hope it will think of its own interest, and it shouldn’t ask others to appreciate (their currencies) to expand its own exports.”

Beijing has held the yuan steady against the dollar for 18 months to help its exporters compete amid weak global demand. Analysts expect the government to allow the yuan to rise gradually in the second half of the year, but they say Chinese leaders might wait in order to avoid looking like they gave in to U.S. pressure.

The pressure on Toyota Motor Corp. intensified Monday as the company disclosed subpoenas from a federal grand jury and the Securities and Exchange Commission related to sudden acceleration in its cars, while the leaders of a congressional panel accused Toyota of misleading the public about safety problems.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, in an 11-page letter, previewed issues its members likely will raise at a hearing Tuesday. The letter criticized Toyota for resisting the possibility that electronic defects could be responsible for the reports of unintended acceleration.

The committee also sent a separate letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood raising concerns that federal safety regulators “lack the expertise needed to evaluate defects in vehicle electronic controls.”

The letters were signed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D., Mich.), chairman of the panel’s oversight subcommittee.

The Energy and Commerce hearing and a separate session Wednesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, scheduled to include testimony by Toyota President Akio Toyoda, will be fraught with political tension.

The U.S. government is a major shareholder in two Toyota rivals, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC, while the committee’s Mr. Stupak represents a district in northern Michigan and the senior Democrat on the panel, John Dingell, represents an area of suburban Detroit. An internal Toyota document dated last July and obtained by congressional investigators listed “massive government support for Detroit auto makers” among the Japanese company’s challenges.

A Toyota spokeswoman said the document “provided an outline of the constantly changing government, industry and regulatory environments” in which Toyota operates.

Mr. Stupak has said his concern about Toyota has to do with safety, not Detroit auto makers.

Toyota said it is preparing responses to the subpoenas. A spokeswoman said: “We received and are reviewing the [congressional] letter. We will of course cooperate with the committee’s inquiry.”

Mr. Toyoda arrived in the capital over the weekend to prepare to testify Wednesday.

Toyota is scrambling to stop a downward spiral in its sales and reputation. In a report released Tuesday in Japan, the Japanese government downgraded its assessment of exports for February, partly because of concerns stemming from recalls. It didn’t mention Toyota by name, but the downgrade—to “increasing moderately” from “increasing” in its assessment a month ago—was partly due to “Japanese cars’ recall issues,” said Keisuke Tsumura, a parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet Office.

Toyota has recalled more than eight million vehicles globally to fix problems with gas pedals, brakes and other systems. Safety consultants, lawmakers and regulators raised concerns over whether the electronic throttles have defects Toyota hasn’t diagnosed. Federal regulators have received more than 2,000 complaints of sudden acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

Toyota has said it knows of no problems with its electronics. “The speculation is that electronic throttle-control systems are mysteriously accelerating vehicles out of the driver’s control,” Toyota spokesman John Hanson said on a conference call Monday. “Yet no actual evidence of this has been produced by various advocates and experts.”

Toyota’s disclosure of a grand-jury probe raises the threat of criminal liability, although the company as yet faces no charges.

A person familiar with the matter said the securities-fraud unit of the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan is handling the investigation but declined to say anything further. The securities-fraud unit brings cases involving violations by public companies, including improper disclosures or misleading statements made to investors, among other things.

Toyota said the subpoena was issued Feb. 8 by a federal grand jury in New York. The company said that on Feb. 19 it received a voluntary request and a subpoena from the Los Angeles office of the SEC seeking documents related to sudden acceleration and the company’s disclosure policies and practices.

Federal regulators also will come in for tough questions this week. In the letter to Mr. LaHood, Messrs. Waxman and Stupak said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s response to complaints of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles “appears to have been seriously deficient.”

A Transportation Department spokeswoman said the safety agency has “numerous” engineers on staff with experience in electrical engineering and electric throttle control issues, and consults outside experts.

“NHTSA is once again undertaking a comprehensive review of sudden acceleration, including the possible influence of electromagnetic interference, software anomalies or other electronic issues,” said Olivia Alair, a spokeswoman for the department.

In its letter to the head of Toyota’s U.S. sales arm, Jim Lentz, the Energy and Commerce Committee said documents “show that Toyota consistently dismissed the possibility that electronic failures could be responsible for incidents of sudden acceleration.” Mr. Lentz will testify at Tuesday’s hearing.

The committee said safety regulators informed Toyota in June 2004 that Toyota Camrys with electronic throttle controls generated 400% more complaints relating to vehicle speed than those with manual controls at a time when there were far fewer Camry’s with electronic throttles on the road.

In public statements after a January recall of 2.3 million vehicles for sticky accelerators, Mr. Lentz said Toyota was “very confident” that a proposed repair “is going to stop what’s going on,” according to the letter.

Subsequently, Toyota told the House committee the sticky gas-pedal problem wasn’t associated with sudden high-speed acceleration, the letter said. According to data provided by Toyota, the committee noted that 70% of the complaints the company received about sudden acceleration involved vehicles not subject to the company’s two major recalls aimed at addressing the issue.

The letter to Toyota’s Mr. Lentz also criticizes a report by engineering firm Exponent Inc. that Toyota’s lawyers commissioned, which found the auto maker had no problems with its electronics.

The letter said the report, which Toyota sent to lawmakers, had “major flaws.” Exponent, of Menlo Park, Calif., has worked for Toyota for years, providing defense witnesses for the car maker in several cases.

The letter said two automotive engineers who reviewed the Exponent study upon the congressional committee’s request found its small sample size—just six Toyota and Lexus vehicles—undermined its findings. “Exponent should have been testing thousands of cars instead of six,” Michael Pecht, a University of Maryland engineering professor, told the committee.

The engineers also faulted the study for failing to appropriately analyze the causes of sudden acceleration and said it didn’t follow scientific method, according to the letter.

Exponent’s vice president for client services, Angela Meyer, said the engineers’ comments didn’t “relate to any flaws in the work that we have done, but rather suggest examples of additional work that could be performed.” She said additional work was ongoing.

Coke remains the most powerful “syrup turned secret formula” in the world.  Remarkably, a small beverage company from the 1800s turned into and sustained itself as a global icon.   Interbrand, which just released its annual list of top 100 brands, declares Coke the #1 brand for 10 years running.  Its brand value of $68 billion is the majority of its $128 billion enterprise value.  The big gainer on this year’s list is Google, which rose 25% to $32 billion, despite the economic downturn.

Interbrand’s list was in turmoil, with many financial firms dropping significantly.  AIG finally dropped off the list,  Citigroup dropped 49%, and American Express dropped 32%.   Autos also struggled with Harley Davidson falling 43%, Lexus down 12%, and Ford down 11%.  As a sign of the times, the new entrants features soup maker Campbell’s and Burger King.

We have scanned Interbrand’s report for some of the top trends that we’ve reported through our blog at Sparxoo.  Many key cultural and business trends are surfacing among the top 100 brands.

Home-Turf King
As we’ve noted, the Internet promotes control, freedom and independence to find anything or connect with anyone, anywhere, at any time.  Interbrand’s Andy Bateman says, “What most brands are still grappling with is the fact that individuals want to have more than control of the conversation. They want to influence what they buy; they want to have control of some aspect of production.”  This trend is embodied by some of the big risers such as Google (+25%) and Amazon (+22%).  However, it’s interesting to note that the leaders, Coke and IBM, are having mixed results with social media.  Coke has a meager 3,500 Twitter followers which is less than IBM’s 5,300.  They are both doing a bit better on Facebook as there are 150,000 members of the Coke / Pepsi Wars that are following the Coke side, and IBM has a group of 17,000 members.

Sensory Mashup
In our Sensory Mashup trend we’ve spoken about the multi-experiential trend:  to re-energize product appeal, many companies are looking toward unconventional ways to speak to our senses-often adding additional, more alternative ways to grab our attention. Interbrand’s Andy Payne says, “The most successful brands are like good actors. These creative brands instantly convey meaning and begin to tell a story. Disney is every child’s friend because it offers the power of magic.”  Indeed, Disney continues to step forward, with its recent acquisition of Marvel.

Back to Basics
The big theme of the last year has been about getting back to basics.  Practicality is key to those modifying their daily lifestyle and simple pleasures are cherished now more than ever.  According to Deloitte, the average office worker checks his or her email over 50 times per day and sends more than 160 messages.  Interbrand’s Leslie Butterfield says, “Not enough brands are paying attention to tangible human interactions or to what true brand experiences entail.  The increased desire among consumers for authentic experiences is a reality. More and more consumers will react against the blizzard of digital distractions that pervade our lives and leave us feeling a little frustrated and empty. They are going to want to fill that void with real experiences.”

There has been a seismic shift in the business landscape.  It is worth noting that in the midst of this shift, many of the top brands remained strong.  Interbrand’s CEO Jez Frampton says it well, “In times of rampant change, brands remain a powerful source of continuity and trust. While this year has been a difficult one for brands and entire categories, the fundamental purpose of brands is to create loyalty and preference over the long-term. Brands provide a degree of security in times of economic instability; and in times of prosperity, brands off er opportunity.”

In our exploration of the luxury industry, we have scoured the web for the most interesting, innovative products leading the latest trends. Resetting the gold standard, the importance of the human touch and our environmental footprint are key concepts we synthesized from industry experts and product bright spots in the affluent market. Further, we introduce our two industry critics, Creo the creative and Ana the analyst to argue different perspectives on the luxury industry.

Luxury Trend: Scarcity – Human touch, custom products and limited quantity are the key concepts of the Scarcity Trend. Limited supply has been a guiding principle for economic growth since the dawn of trade. Today, with the ability to mass-produce products and maximize services, consumers are increasingly interfacing with and using products from machines. In this world of overcapacity, scarcity is increasing in value. We explore the world of double hull yachts and high-end custom made books to illustrate the importance of the human touch in a world of machines.

Luxury Trend: Accessible Gold Standard – This trend is all about the importance of outstanding service and value. These two concepts govern those brands who aspire to be outstanding while still accessible. We explore how Saks Fifth Avenue delivers outstanding service and Jimmy Choo introduces himself into a new market.

Luxury Trend: Positive Impact – The Positive Impact Trend is about combining the green found in nature and in affluent wallets to create outstanding, sustainable products. Many luxury brands are looking towards positive impact to overshadow many of the negative attitudes towards excessive spending. From hoteliers to iconic auto brands like BMW and Lexus to high-end eyewear, we will explore the many ways in which the luxury industry is adding a splash of green to their colors.

Luxury Trend: Tradition 2.0 – As one of the most pervasive trends in luxury, Tradition 2.0 is about revamping and re-imagining luxury. Instead of starting from the drawing board, purveyors of luxury have found success in creating new products, inspired by the old, with a new twist. Whether it’s sweetening the deal with perks or re-stylizing traditional luxury, brands catering to the affluent lifestyle are spinning convention to develop products and services that are grounded in familiarity while updated with a modern edge. We discover the world of glamping and find enticing ways to spice up high-end real estate deals.

Quality is in the Details – Using marketing guru, Seth Godin’s post about details, we discuss the relationship between details and quality. As product quality increases the more story there is to tell. Godin exemplifies this concept through two eggs: a $0.14 egg, born by a prison chicken, versus an egg, born by a freerange chicken, at a price of $0.39. After all is done, Godin estimates it’s about a $0.31 difference. The quality of the freerange egg is worth writing about.

Luxury Debate: Collections VS Hero Items – Burberry’s recent sales increase, the demand for Hermes crocodile bags and Kobe Bryant’s $285,000 watch are several discussion points for Creo the creative and Ana the analyst—Sparxoo’s dynamic duo. They explore two distinct, but opposite trends in luxury: the collections trend, which is about stylistic consistency for a harmonious lifestyle and the hero item trend which is about the highly prized gems that eliminate unnecessary and sometimes unwanted items found in collections.

Luxury Debate: Generational Gap in Luxury — The gap between Generation Y and Boomers has created a debate between emphasis on social mission and heritage. While Gen Y emerge as the socially conscious, impact-oriented up-and-comers, their parents and grand parents focus on quality and brand and product stories. Though Gen Y believe in paying for quality, social impact also plays an important role in their purchasing decisions. We bring in Creo the creative and Ana the analyst to mull over whether social mission or heritage is the most promising.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai is set to open the world’s tallest building amid tight security on Monday, celebrating the tower as a bold feat on the world stage despite the city state’s shaky financial footing.

But the final height of the Burj Dubai — Arabic for Dubai Tower — remained a closely guarded secret on the eve of its opening. At more than 2,625 feet, it long ago vanquished its nearest rival, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan.

The Burj’s record-seeking developers didn’t stop there.