Bloomberg:
- China’s Structural Shift in Economy Poses Risks, Jain Says. Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) co-Chief Executive Officer Anshu Jain said Chinese policy makers’ efforts to bolster domestic consumption and reduce dependence on the government’s infrastructure spending poses some risks. “It’s the right strategy for them in the long run,” Jain said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin today in Singapore. Still, “if there is something to watch closely in China, it would be the implications of that shift from infrastructure spending.”
- China to Avoid ‘Wide Fluctuations’ in Economy, Li Says. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the nation will seek to keep economic growth, employment and inflation within limits, avoiding “wide fluctuations,” without elaborating on what the government deems acceptable. China should also develop a “scientific macroeconomic policy framework” to offer markets “stable predictability,” Li told a forum of advisers and executives yesterday, according to a summary of the event published on the government’s website. Li’s comments, the first made public since the National Bureau of Statistics reported that economic growth slowed for a second quarter, signal he won’t let expansion slow too much, without indicating any immediate plans for stimulus.
- Singapore Exports Fall 8.8% in Longest Slump Since Global Crisis. Singapore’s exports in June extended the longest run of declines since the global financial crisis, suggesting the island’s economic growth last quarter may be lower than the government initially estimated. Non-oil domestic exports slid 8.8 percent from a year earlier, falling for a fifth month, the trade promotion agency said in a statement today. The median of 17 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 5.8 percent drop. The decline in electronics demand is unlikely to turn around,” Irvin Seah, a Singapore-based economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd., said before the report. “External headwinds remain strong. Data from the U.S. have been mixed and Europe is still stuck in recession.”
- Asian Stocks Outside Japan Rise Led by Material Producers. Asian stocks outside Japan increased, with a regional benchmark index gaining for a third day, as material producers advanced ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s address to the U.S. Congress today. The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index rose 0.2 percent to 443.25 as of 11:23 a.m. in Hong Kong.
- Bank of Portugal Lowers 2014 Growth Forecast on Budget Cuts. Portugal’s economy will grow less than previously forecast in 2014 when the government plans to implement new spending cuts, the country’s central bank said. Gross domestic product will expand 0.3 percent in 2014 after declining 2 percent in 2013, the Lisbon-based Bank of Portugal said today in its summer economic bulletin. In March, the central bank forecast a contraction of 2.3 percent for 2013 and growth of 1.1 percent in 2014. “In a context of high uncertainty, the risks associated with the projection for economic activity are balanced for 2013 and on the downside for 2014,” the central bank said in a statement.
- Greek Coalition Government Faces Parliament Test Over Job Cuts. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras faces the first test of his revamped coalition government today as he seeks parliamentary approval of austerity measures to unlock bailout funds. Greek unions, which held the third general strike of the year yesterday, have called for a rally outside the parliament building this evening as a two-day debate on the bill approaches its climax. A roll-call vote will come around midnight, hours before the scheduled visit of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.
- Egypt’s Brotherhood Plans Mass Protests After Rejecting Cabinet. Islamist supporters of Egypt’s deposed President Mohamed Mursi announced fresh protests in Cairo after rejecting the new interim government. Rebuffing a government offer of reconciliation talks, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party that backed Mursi regards the Cabinet sworn in yesterday as “illegitimate” and formed “over the blood of martyrs,” spokesman Hamza Zawba said by phone. An Islamist coalition called for mass protests today under the slogan “Insistence.”
- Intel(INTC) to IBM(IBM) Feel Putin Pinch as Medvedev Loses Hold on Tech Hub. When Russian agents stormed the downtown offices of the Skolkovo technology hub being built near Moscow on April 18, a startled Intel Corp (INTC). executive got caught up in the raid.
- Barclays, Traders Fined $487.9 Million by U.S. Regulator. Barclays Plc (BARC) and four of its former traders must pay a combined $487.9 million in fines and penalties, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in a final order stemming from its investigation of alleged manipulation of energy markets. The agency directed the company and the traders to pay to the U.S. Treasury within 30 days $453 million in civil penalties, according to an 86-page order issued today. The London-based bank must also give up $34.9 million in profits, to be distributed to programs that help low-income homeowners pay energy bills in California, Arizona, Oregon and Washington, it said.
- Wild Cards for the Fed's Exit Strategy. Inflation, Jobs and Fiscal Policy Among the Question Marks. The Federal Reserve's plans to wind down its big bond-buying program depend on solving four economic puzzles involving the job market, the inflation rate and fiscal policy. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gets another chance to clarify the central bank's thinking when he testifies before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday, after weeks of market volatility generated largely by confusion and uncertainty about the Fed's plans.
- North Korean Ship Yields Worrisome Cargo. Panama Finds What U.S. Suspects Are Missile-System Components Originating in Cuba; Havana Calls the Gear 'Obsolete'. Panamanian authorities detained a North Korean-flagged ship and its crew as they headed for North Korea from Cuba carrying what U.S. officials suspect are components of a surface-to-air missile system. U.S. officials said the intercepted cargo is of potential worry if it indicates a growing bilateral arms trade between North Korea and Cuba.
- As Consumer-Discretionary Stocks Surge, Bears Lurk. Some Investors Tread Lightly Amid High Valuations. Companies whose fortunes are tied to consumer spending have been big winners in the stock market thanks to greater confidence about the U.S. economy. Now, some investors are wondering if the rally has gotten ahead of itself. Consumer-discretionary stocks—which include travel companies, auto makers, restaurants and retailers—are trading at some of their highest valuations in nearly four years.
- Republicans Get Filibusted. Democrats end the 60-vote Senate rule for presidential nominees. Senate Majority Leader Rich Trumka, er, Harry Reid held a gun to the head of Republicans on the filibuster, Republicans blinked, and President Obama and the AFL-CIO will now get their nominees confirmed for the cabinet and especially a legal quorum for the National Labor Relations Board. Cut through all the procedural blather and that's the essence of the Senate's "deal" Tuesday over the 60-vote filibuster rule. While Democrats didn't formally pull the trigger of the "nuclear option" to allow a mere majority vote to confirm nominees, they have now established a de facto majority-vote rule. Any time Democrats want to do so, they can threaten to pull the majority trigger.
- US, Israel comments could haunt UN nominee Samantha Power at hearing. President Obama's pick to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is facing under-the-radar opposition that could flare during Wednesday's confirmation hearing. While hawkish senators like Republican John McCain have come out in support of Samantha Power, more than four-dozen former military leaders, national security officials and conservative political groups are now asking senators to reject Power’s nomination.
- Gas Prices Surge Toward $5 in California. Most of the focus on the rise in gas prices, caused by the surge in oil prices, has been the effect of the march toward $4 a gallon. The focus is misplaced, at least to the extent that in several regions, most notably California, a gallon of premium may hit $5 before Labor Day.
- Japan’s ‘kamikaze’ economics risk Asia debt crisis. Commentary: Abe’s nationalistic reforms will have a global impact. “Abenomics,” the efforts of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to revive Japan’s moribund economy, has important implications outside of Japan.
- Card-transaction fees to be capped under EU proposal. Lucrative fees to process card transactions are to be capped under a proposal by the European Union's executive arm aiming to draw a line under a decade-long battle with payment groups such as Visa Europe and MasterCard.
- When (And Why) Did QEternity Begin? (graph)
- About That "Incomes Are Rising" Claim... (graphs)
- Mark Zuckerberg Runs A Giant Spy Machine In Palo Alto, California. Mark Zuckerberg runs a giant spy machine in Palo Alto, California. He wasn’t the first to build one, but his was the best, and every day hundreds of thousands of people upload the most intimate details of their lives to the Internet. The real coup wasn’t hoodwinking the public into revealing their thoughts, closest associates, and exact geographic coordinates at any given time. Rather, it was getting the public to volunteer that information. Then he turned off the privacy settings.
- Cordray Confirmed as Head of Financial Watchdog, After Long Wait. The Senate’s confirmation of Richard Cordray on Tuesday as the first permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cements a new era of intensive oversight of companies that lend money to consumers.
- Fitch Downgrades Pennsylvania's GO Bonds to 'AA' from 'AA+'; Outlook Remains Negative. Fitch Ratings has downgraded the rating on $10.9 billion in
outstanding commonwealth of Pennsylvania general obligation (GO) bonds
to 'AA' from 'AA+'. In addition, Fitch downgrades the ratings on
bonds supported by commonwealth appropriations that are listed at the
end of this release. The ratings on the appropriation-backed securities
are linked to the commonwealth's GO rating. The Rating Outlook is Negative.
- Analysis: Top fund managers were blindsided by U.S. bond market carnage. The plunge in the U.S. Treasuries market in the past couple of months may well have been one of the most well-telegraphed reversals in financial market history. Top money managers and investment strategists had warned the U.S. Federal Reserve was likely to soon begin paring back its bond-buying stimulus if U.S. economic data remained robust.
- US Senate to hear on bank ownership of commodities storage. A U.S. Senate committee will hold a hearing next week on whether banks should control physical storage for commodities, signalling lawmakers may be toughening their stance on the controversial but lucrative business for giant Wall Street firms.
- BOJ June minutes: some members sought steps to calm bond markets. Some Bank of Japan board members sought to supply longer-dated fixed-rate funds in market operations to curb excessive interest rate volatility but the proposal was dropped on opposition by policymakers who feared it could be misinterpreted by markets, minutes of the June rate review meeting showed on Wednesday.
- Passengers eye legal action against Boeing, Asiana over crash. Asiana Airlines Inc and Boeing Co are facing potential legal action by passengers who were on board a flight that crashed in San Francisco on July 6, killing three and injuring more than 180, according to U.S. court filings.
- Initial takeover bids for Onyx seen as soon as this week-sources. Initial takeover bids for Onyx seen as soon as this week-sources.
- Rio Tinto(RIO) keeps big iron ore plans on track, despite China cooling. Rio Tinto is pushing ahead with plans to boost iron ore output over the next 18 months, as it counts on demand from Chinese steel mills holding up, but the miner is assessing if it can meet the target using existing mines to control costs. The plans show global miners such as Rio Tinto and rival BHP Billiton, while focused on costs, feel the risks to the iron ore operations from a slowing Chinese economy are manageable and that their low operating costs will keep the business profitable even in a downturn. Rio Tinto said on Tuesday infrastructure work was "currently underway" to expand its iron ore production capability to 360 million tonnes a year by the end of 2014, estimated by analysts to carry a $5 billion price tag.
- CSX(CSX) posts bigger quarterly profit as intermodal stays strong. CSX Corp posted a bigger quarterly profit as the company continues to see benefits from its intermodal business, offsetting a fall-off in coal volumes.
Financial Times:
Telegraph:- Return of the blueblood macro hedge funds. It used to be said that you could get on in the world of macro trading – betting on the ups and downs of the global economy – by following two simple rules: the trend is your friend and don’t fight the Fed. For much of the past few years though, with markets veering between panic and central bank-backed calm, it has seemed at times like those two maxims have been tugging in opposite directions.
- Ford(F) lashes out at Japan’s entry into TPP trade talks. The big three Detroit-based automakers and other US manufacturers who feel they are being damaged by what they see as Japan’s deliberate weakening of the yen could emerge as a hotbed of political opposition to the TPP and push their view in Congress.
- Ban on selling new Mercedes in EU moves closer. Some new vehicles produced by German carmaker Daimler cannot be sold or registered in the European Union because they contain a banned coolant, the European Commission has said.
- OECD fears jobless threat to social fabric as Europe left behind. The unemployment gap between the US and eurozone states will reach the highest levels in modern history next year, according to a report by the OECD.
- Greece Faces Up to EU10b Funding Gap. Greece faces funding gap of as much as EU10b, citing European Commission officials. Euro area countries will have to decide whether to increase financing for Greece after summer break. Plan for how to fill funding gap won't be detailed before German elections in September.
- Apple(AAPL) May Delay iPhone 5s Introduction to End 2013. The
introduction of iPhone 5s may be delayed from original schedule of
September or October after Apple changes design to bigger 4.3-inch
retina display, citing people in the semiconductor industry. New version
of cheaper iPhone is expected by end of 3Q as chips used in this model
have started shipment in June. TSMC may deliver chips mad for iPhone 5s
in August.
- GSK Case Shows China Foreign Cos. Need Scrutiny. GSK's bribery incident in China shows the complications of fighting commercial corruption, citing a commentary by Zhong Sheng. Zhong Sheng is a homonym in Chinese for "voice of China". China should boost supervision of foreign companies, the commentary said.
- China Police Detain 4 for Spreading Debt Rumors. Police in the northern Chinese county of Shenmu in Shaanxi province detained 4 people on spreading rumors of deteriorating local economy and local "triangular" debt problem, according to a report posted on the government's website. Online rumors saying fiscal deficit will force the county to halt free medical and education policies are false, the report said.
- Ex-NPC Official Suggests China Cut GDP Target. He Keng, former deputy director of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, suggests China cut its economic growth target to the "lower limit" of 7%. The target cut could send a message to local governments asking them to make efforts to improve quality and efficiency of economy, He said. China's economy won't have big problems as long as there's no financial crisis, citing He.
- None of note
- Asian equity indices are -.50% to +.50%. on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 137.50 -3.5 basis points.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 106.25 -1.5 basis points.
- FTSE-100 futures -.03%.
- S&P 500 futures +.04%.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.12%.
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
- (GWW)/2.96
- (MTB)/2.11
- (USB)/.76
- (NTRS)/.82
- (PNC)/1.63
- (ABT)/.44
- (MAT)/.32
- (BK)/.57
- (BAC)/.26
- (STJ)/.94
- (INTC)/.39
- (SNDK)/.93
- (XLNX)/.47
- (KMP)/.60
- (IBM)/3.77
- (AXP)/1.22
- (EBAY)/.63
- (STLD)/.14
- (WYNN)/1.58
8:30 am EST
- Housing Starts for June are estimated to rise to 960K versus 914K in May.
- Building Permits for June are estimated to rise to 1000K versus 974K in May.
- Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory decline of -2,000,000 barrels versus a -9,874,000 barrel decline the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -1,500,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate supplies are estimated to rise by +1,500,000 barrels the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to fall by -.4% versus a +.2% gain the prior week.
- Fed's Beige Book.
- None of note
- The Fed's Bernanke speaking, Fed's Raskin speaking, German 10Y auction, BoC rate decision and the weekly MBA mortgage applications report could also impact trading today.
1 comment:
Through anticipation of one last grand finale burst of Inflationism in front of Summer Earnings Season, the twenty most inflationary ETFs rose strongly to new rally highs; these being, BPOP, KRE, IBB, FDN, CARZ, PBS, IGV, RZG, RZV, PSCI, RXI, PBD, IYC, PPA, RWW, IAI, SPHB ,SMH, XRT, and PJP, seen in this Finviz Screener ... http://tinyurl.com/m4rrz95 ... most all of these turned lower on Tuesday July 16, 2013.
An inquiring mind asks, did an Elliott Wave 3 Down commence in the S&P 500, $SPX, SPY on Tuesday July 16, 2013? Did Risk-On, ONN, turn to Risk Off, OFF, with Volatility, TVIX, VIXY, VIXM, and XVZ, rising, as seen in their ongoing Yahoo Finance Chart ...
http://tinyurl.com/l6dmzck ...?
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