Bloomberg:
- Japanese Flee Disaster Zone as Quakes, Fires Hamper Rescue. Hundreds of cars streamed south of Japanese areas devastated by last week’s earthquake and tsunami as technicians battled to contain fires and radiation leaks at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power station. In the city of Sendai, near the epicenter of the March 11 temblor that was Japan’s strongest on record, vehicles were wrapped four-high in places around the airport’s perimeter fence. The top floor of a two-story house dragged from its foundations as the 7-meter (23-foot) wave retreated could be seen in wreckage that was studded with uprooted trees. In Fukushima city, capital of the prefecture where Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers are struggling to prevent a nuclear meltdown, about 200 people lined up at the Co-op supermarket to buy provisions. The line at a local gasoline station stretched for more than a kilometer (0.6 miles), there was no running water and portable toilets were overflowing. “People still think this is a dream, and that they’re going to pinch themselves and it won’t have happened,” said Keiji Kakogawa, 34, a social worker who arrived in the area from Kyoto, central Japan, two days ago to search for a female friend living in a nearby town that bore the tsunami’s brunt. “A few days ago they were asleep in their homes. Now everything has changed.”
- Arab Uprisings Lose Momentum as 'Status Quo' Fights Back. Bombs and tear gas are threatening to smother the “Arab Spring” that toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia and promised to spread democracy in the Middle East. In Bahrain, security forces today used tear gas to drive protesters from their main rallying point in the capital Manama, two days after Saudi Arabia sent troops to bolster the ruling family. “When the guns are all on one side and being used, that side has a distinct advantage,” said Cliff Kupchan, a senior analyst at Eurasia Group, a New York political-risk consulting firm. “What we’re seeing now is the first really hard pushback from status quo forces since this year’s unrest in the Middle East began.”
- Euro Weakens as Moody's Cuts Portugal's Credit Rating; Yen Recoups Losses. The euro halted three days of gains versus the dollar after Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Portugal’s credit rating, reviving concern about Europe’s ability to solve its debt crisis. The 17-nation common currency depreciated versus all but two its major counterparts after Portugal was cut two steps by Moody’s yesterday to A3, four steps from so-called junk status.
- U.S. Housing Starts Fell in February to Lowest Since April 2009. Housing starts in the U.S. declined more than forecast in February to the slowest pace since April 2009 and building permits slumped to a record low, signs the housing market recovery is limping along as the rest of the economy improves. Beginning home construction fell 22.5 percent to a 479,000 annual rate, with declines in all regions, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The decrease from January was the biggest since March 1984. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 566,000 rate. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, fell 8.2 percent to a 517,000 pace.
- U.S. Producer Prices Rise More Than Forecast, Led by Food, Oil. Wholesale costs in the U.S. rose more than forecast in February, led by food prices at a more than three-decade high and a surge in energy. The producer-price index climbed 1.6 percent from the prior month, the most since June 2009, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median projection in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 0.7 percent gain. Compared with a year earlier, companies paid 5.6 percent more for goods last month after a 3.6 percent rise in January. The cost of food increased 3.9 percent, the most since November 1974, while energy prices rose 3.3 percent led by a 15 percent jump in home heating oil. Expenses for intermediate goods rose 2.0 percent from the prior month, the biggest gain since July 2008. Prices of crude goods increased 3.4 percent.
- Fed's Parkinson Says 30% of Banks' Ratings Unsatisfactory. Patrick Parkinson, the Federal Reserve’s chief bank regulator, said nearly one out of three U.S. banks has supervisory ratings deemed unsatisfactory. “Around 30 percent of all banks have less than satisfactory supervisory ratings,” Parkinson said today at the American Bankers Association annual government relations summit in Washington.
- GE(GE) $1 Billion Nuclear Unit at Risk as Nations Mull Atomic Future. General Electric Co. (GE)’s goal of broadening its $1 billion nuclear service-and-parts business with sales of new reactors risks stalling as world leaders reconsider the future of atomic energy. Governments from Germany to India are reassessing the technology after Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled a power plant and raised the threat of a meltdown. China today halted nuclear project approvals and plans safety inspections of new facilities. Political doubts after the Japan disaster may signal dwindling appetite for new plants, and the reactors that Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt has said he wants to pursue. Three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant use a GE design, including the damaged No. 1 unit that began operating in 1971.
- Atomic Energy Agency to Call an Emergency Meeting on Japan Nuclear Crisis. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano will call an emergency meeting of the United Nations atomic agency on the Japan nuclear crisis, the agency said today in Vienna. The meeting will take place following a visit by Amano to Japan. Amano will fly to Japan tomorrow.
- Obama Picks Kansas Over Ohio State to Win NCAA Basketball Tournament Final.
- Yen Reaches an Almost 16-Year High Versus Dollar on Japan's Nuclear Crisis. The yen approached a 16-year high versus the dollar as Japan’s nuclear crisis intensified, increasing speculation Japanese companies and investors will repatriate funds to help pay for earthquake and tsunami damages. The yen strengthened for a fourth straight day after Tokyo Electric Power Co. said a reactor containment vessel may have been breached at the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant, increasing the risk of radioactive leaks.
Wall Street Journal:
- Radiation Thwarts Helicopter Plan. Efforts to extinguish smoldering spent fuel were thwarted Wednesday, after high radiation levels above forced the cancellation of a plan to dump water from a helicopter on the power plant at the center of Japan's escalating nuclear crisis. And suggesting the spreading of problems at the reactor, officials said the waste fuel kept at a storage pool at one of the reactors appeared to be heating up. As the troubles in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex continue to haunt officials and hinder rescue efforts in the area, Japan's emperor Wednesday addressed the nation on television to make his first public comments about the disaster, saying he was "deeply concerned" about the situation at the nuclear facility.
- Latest Japan Headlines at a Glance.
- IAEA: Japan Crisis "Very Serious," But Not Out of Control. Late Tuesday and again on Wednesday, Guenther Oettinger, the EU Energy Chief, called the Japanese nuclear crisis “out of control.” Unsurprisingly, when these headlines hit this morning in the U.S., the stock market got slammed, Treasurys rallied so sharply the NY Fed had to delay a purchase program and everyone’s eyes got really, really wide. Quite a lot of work for a guy opining from another continent. About one hour later (around 12:30) ET, the International Atomic Energy Agency came out with its own comments. They called the situation “very serious” and said its director general would fly to Japan Thursday to personally assess the situation. About the Japanese nuclear crisis, the IAEA had a different take: We will not say it is “Out of Control.”
- ATM Fees Heading Higher. Some of the nation's biggest banks are imposing a variety of new fees on people who withdraw money from automated-teller machines. The move is the latest example of the burgeoning new fees that banks are imposing on customers accustomed to years of free services. Banks are scrambling to replace billions of dollars in revenue expected to be lost from new federal regulations on overdraft charges and debit cards.
- JPMorgan(JPM) Cuts Currency Exposure In Emerging-Market Model Portfolio. Emerging-market strategists at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) adjusted the company's widely tracked model portfolio Wednesday, cutting its exposure to emerging-market currencies by 10%.
- US Loan Markets Show Early Signs of Jitters. A raft of companies, including privately held Toys R Us, have scotched plans to refinance bank loans this week as borrowing costs have risen in the market, in an early sign that capital markets may be weakening.
- It's Not Your Imagination: The Number of Disasters Just Keeps Rising. (graph)
- Nuke Crisis Escalates: Fuel Rods in Reactors 4,5,6 Exposed; Four Reactors Have Core Damage.
- This is The Video That Could Re-Shape Mideast History.
- Al Qaeda Targets Libya. Exiled Libyans with connections to Al Qaeda are racing to find ways to send people home, in hope of steering the anti-Gaddafi revolt in a radical Islamist direction, according to several senior Afghan Taliban sources in contact with Al-Qaeda.
- 22% Says U.S. Heading in Right Direction, Lowest of Obama's Presidency. Just 22% of Likely U.S. Voters say the country is heading in the right direction, the lowest level of confidence found since before President Obama’s inauguration in January 2009. According to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, March 13, 72% of voters now say the country is heading down the wrong track, also at its highest level since before the inauguration.
Reuters:
- Banks Must Prepare for Restructuring - EU Draft Conclusions. European Union banks must disclose sovereign debt holdings on both their trading and banking books as part of stress tests, EU leaders will say at a summit on March 24-25, according to draft conclusions. "Banks' disclosure will be enhanced, including on sovereign debt holdings on the trading and banking book," read the draft conclusions, obtained by Reuters. "Member states will prepare, ahead of the publication of the results, specific and ambitious strategies for the restructuring of vulnerable institutions, including private sector solutions (direct financing to the market or asset sales) but also solid framework for the provision of government support in case of need," the document reads.
- S&P, Nasdaq Now Negative for '11 on Japan Worry. S&P 500, Nasdaq turn negative for '11 on Japan fears, Yen hits 16-year high against dollar, U.S. Treasury bonds rally as investors flee risky asset.
- Stock Flows Negative for Second Week, Munis Lose - ICI.
- European Central Bank council member Christian Noyer said the bank will take the disaster in Japan into consideration when it discusses raising interest rates in April, citing an interview.
- Spain is preparing a Contingency plan for savings banks in case they can't attract enough private investment to meet core capital requirements, citing people in financial markets.
- Shell Sees Value in Oil Sands. In a world where political and regulatory risk have become as big a part of the oil business as finding new supplies, Royal Dutch Shell PLC is expanding its Alberta oil sands mining presence as part of US$100-billion in investment plans over the next four years.
- Radiation levels near the Japanese town of Namie, 21 kilometers from Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, rose to as high as 6,600 times normal levels. Radiation levels climbed to as high as 330 microsieverts per hour at one point between yesterday and today, citing Japan's science ministry.
- Shanghai's Exports Drop 4.2% in February From Year Earlier. Shanghai's exports fell 4.2 percent from a year earlier in February, the first drop in 15 months, after trade activities were distracted by seasonal changes, higher production costs, weaker overseas demand and a stronger yuan. By contrast, exports jumped 24.4 percent in January. The decline in February's overall trade growth was partly expected as many shipments have been front-loaded into January due to the holiday. "But the scale of such a fall is still unexpected," Li said. "It could be a result of more expensive labor costs and a stronger yuan which imposed a burden on exporters." According to the bureau, Shanghai's exports to the European Union, grappling with a debt crisis among some of its members, shed 25.4 percent annually to US$2.1 billion last month, while shipments to the United States were flat. Shanghai's exports to Japan rose 7.9 percent to US$1.3 billion. It is uncertain how major the influence of Japan's devastating earthquake will be on Shanghai's overall trade in the future, analysts said. Fixed-asset investment in Shanghai fell an annual 4.3 percent in the first two months to 57 billion yuan as fewer funds went into infrastructure construction following the expiry of stimulus policies.
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