Bloomberg:
- Moody’s Discussed Stripping New Zealand of Its Last AAA Rating. Moody’s Investors Service considered stripping New Zealand of its sole remaining top credit rating amid concern the nation’s current-account deficit is exacerbating its vulnerability to external shocks. New Zealand’s reliance on overseas investors means it can face difficulties when crises such as the Christchurch earthquakes and Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd.’s contaminated milk scare occur, Steven Hess, Senior Vice President at Moody’s in New York, said in an interview in Wellington today. Moody’s confirmed its stable Aaa rating for the nation on Sept. 2.
- Japan Regulator Widens Probe Into Crime Loans by Big Banks. Japan’s financial regulator plans to inspect the nation’s three largest lenders, widening a probe into credit given to gangsters to include Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316) The inspections are to determine whether their banking units are complying with rules including those meant to curb transactions with criminal organizations, Hiroki Kato, an official at the Financial Services Agency, said by telephone yesterday. The reviews will start Nov. 5, another FSA official said, declining to be identified because of the agency’s policy.
- Japan Industrial Output Rises Less Than Forecast in September. Japan’s industrial output rose less than forecast in September, underlining the challenge for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he tries to stoke a sustained expansion in the world’s third-biggest economy. Production increased 1.5 percent from the previous month, the trade ministry said in Tokyo today, below the median estimate for a gain of 1.8 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of 30 economists.
- Japan Tobacco to Cut Workers and Shut Four Plants, NHK Reports. Japan Tobacco Inc. (2914)’s parent company plans to cut 1,600 workers, or about 20 percent of its workforce, and close four of its nine plants in the country, NHK reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Japan Tobacco, seller of the Mevius brand, faces a decline in demand in its home market amid a shrinking population.
- Asian Stocks Climb While Silver Slips as Oil Extends Drop. Asian stocks rose, with the benchmark index heading for a monthly gain, and bond risk fell before the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting. Emerging currencies weakened and oil dropped. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.6 percent at 1 p.m. in Tokyo.
- Rebar Advances as Concern China Will Tighten Policy Dissipates. Steel reinforcement-bar futures in Shanghai climbed as concern that China’s central bank would start tightening monetary policy abated. Rebar for delivery in May, the most-active contract by volume on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, rose as much as 0.4 percent to 3,622 yuan ($595) a metric ton and was at 3,614 yuan at 10:41 a.m. local time.
- Rubber Climbs for Third Day on Weaker Yen Before Fed Decision. Rubber advanced for a third day as Japan’s currency weakened against the dollar, raising the appeal of yen-denominated futures, amid expectations the Federal Reserve will maintain economic stimulus. The contract for delivery in April, the most active by volume on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, advanced as much as 1.4 percent to 264.8 yen a kilogram ($2,697 a metric ton) and traded at 263.8 yen at 10:20 a.m. The yen weakened to 98.27 per dollar today before trading little changed. It dropped the previous three sessions.
- Italian Bank Foundations Under Siege as Visco Seeks Overhaul. Italy’s banking foundations, the biggest shareholders in the country’s financial industry, are under siege as their leaders gather in Rome today. Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco wants them to loosen their grip on management. The International Monetary Fund has urged an overhaul of an ownership structure vulnerable to cronyism. In the last 12 months, their appointees at the banks were ousted in Genoa and probed by prosecutors in Siena.
- Nasdaq Says Human Error Caused Hourlong Halt in Data Feed. A data feed interruption that prevented prices for Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.’s benchmark U.S. stock indexes from being disseminated for almost an hour was caused by human error, the company said.
- Canceled Policies Heat Up Health Fight. Concerns Extend Beyond Troubled Insurance Website. Problems surrounding the launch of the federal health-care law broadened, as concerns that thousands of Americans are getting insurance-cancellation notices bubbled over at a hearing on Capitol Hill.
- IMF Asia Head: Don't See Need for Further BOJ Easing. The International Monetary Fund doesn't think the Bank of Japan needs to expand its already ultra-loose monetary policy, the multilateral lender's Asia head said Wednesday, calling instead for concrete action on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's much-touted growth strategy. "We currently don't see a need for further monetary easing," said Anoop Singh, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, in a media roundtable. "Rather, the priority now is to advance growth reforms. For Abenomics to work, Japan's long-term economic problems need to be tackled."
- Troubles for J.P. Morgan(JPM) in Its Effort to Settle. Talks Snag Over Key Points in Potential Deal.
- Truckers Tap Into Gas Boom. Operators of U.S. Truck Fleets Are Accelerating a Shift to Natural Gas Fueled Vehicles.
- The ObamaCare Awakening. Americans are losing their coverage by political design. For all of the Affordable Care Act's technical problems, at least one part is working on schedule. The law is systematically dismantling the individual insurance market, as its architects intended from the start. The millions of Americans who are receiving termination notices because their current coverage does not conform to Health and Human Services Department rules may not realize this is by design. Maybe they trusted President Obama's repeated falsehood that people who liked their health plans could keep them. But Americans should understand that this month's mass cancellation wave has been the President's political goal since 2008. Liberals believe they must destroy the market in order to save it.
- A Negative View From The 'Skew'. The latest record run for U.S. stocks is sending up caution flags in two corners of the options market that rack investor sentiment. The latest record run for U.S. stocks is sending up caution flags in two corners of the options market that track investor sentiment. Hefty demand for options that would benefit from a further rise in stock prices recently sent a measure called "skew" to its fifth-lowest reading of 2013. A lower skew ratio shows relatively high prices for calls, options that convey the right to buy shares at a certain price. Some investors say the reading, which reflects the ratio of bearish option prices to bullish ones, points to excessive optimism in the market. The move put the gauge on the brink of crossing a level that twice this year has preceded stock-market declines of at least 4%, options watchers said. At the same time, the markets' fear gauge rose Tuesday even as the S&P 500-stock index rallied to its third consecutive record close, rising 9.84 to 1771.95. The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index typically falls when stocks rise and vice versa. The divergence is unusual and shows that new highs aren't being met with the typical investor calm, investors said. While the options readings alone are hardly enough to provoke worry among stock-market strategists, skeptical investors are picking up on numerous signs of what they term froth in the stock market.
- Exec at HealthCare.gov contractor went to school with first lady, donated to Obama campaign. As the problems pile up for HealthCare.gov, attention is now turning to the relationship between the Canadian company largely responsible for the website and the Obama administration. Top officials at CGI Federal, a lead contractor tasked with developing the site, have a three-decade link to the Obamas. Toni Townes-Whitley, a senior vice president at CGI Federal, is also a Princeton University classmate of first lady Michelle Obama -- and a political donor.
CNBC:
- Reid: No budget deal without new revenues. President Barack Obama's top ally on Capitol Hill says he won't support any attempt this year to ease across-the-board spending cuts hitting the Pentagon and domestic agencies if it fails to include new revenues.
- Aetna(AET) CEO: Why insurance will be costing more. (video) The fact that many current health-care plans do not offer all the benefits required under Obamacare means that many premiums are likely to jump dramatically, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini told CNBC.
- The Steve Cohen Era Is Over: S.A.C. To Plead Guilty To Securities Fraud, Stop Managing Outside Money.
Business Insider:
Pittsburgh Business Times:
- U.S. Steel(X) to close Hamilton iron and steel operations. United States Steel Corp. will permanently discontinue its iron and steel making at Hamilton Works in Ontario, Canada, on Dec. 31, CEO Mario Longhi said Tuesday in a conference call. "Decisions like this are always difficult, but they are necessary to improve the cost structure of our Canadian operations," he said.
Telegraph:
China Daily:
- China Needs More Local AMCs to Handle Growing Bad Assets. China needs more asset management companies at the provincial level to help handle their growing non-performing assets, citing Zhao Quanhou, a researcher at the Fiscal Science Research Center affiliated with the finance ministry.
- Shanghai Party Chief Han Says City Should Slow GDP.
- China 4Q Liquidity May Be 'Tight, Balanced'. Liquidity may remain "tight, balanced" in 4Q and the nation may mainly adopt short-term adjustments in its monetary policy, according to a front page commentary.
- China Wenzhou Home Prices May Continue Fall. Home prices in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou may continue to fall, citing local real estate agents. Housing prices in the city are now more than 50% lower than they were in 2012, the agents said. Continued increasing pressure from inventories and a deleveraging of small and medium-sized developers have pushed down prices, which have dropped for 25 straight months, the report said.
- CDB Researcher Says Local Debt Growing Fast. Problems shown in China's economy in the first 9 months of 2013 include a "relatively fast" increase in local government debt, and that the economic recovery was driven mainly by government-led investment and state-owned enterprises, according to a commentary published by Guo Lian from the research institute at China Development Bank.
- China May Expand Property Tax Reform at Plenum. China includes expansion of property tax trial in draft of a statement to be submitted to the third plenum of the Communist Party's 18th Central Committee, which will be held Nov. 9-12, citing a person familiar with the matter.
BTIG:
- Raised (FB) to Buy, target $68.
- Asian equity indices are unch. to +.75% on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 133.0 unch.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 99.25 -1.0 basis point.
- FTSE-100 futures +.23%.
- S&P 500 futures +.01%.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.17%.
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
- (PX)/1.51
- (BWA)/1.34
- (GLW)/.32
- (H)/.21
- (EXC)/.66
- (DBD)/.42
- (STE)/.54
- (SPW)/1.25
- (CMCSA)/.61
- (AMT)/.91
- (ADP)/.66
- (GM)/.94
- (HES)/1.44
- (SEE)/.33
- (PSX)/.93
- (EXPE)/1.36
- (ALL)/1.44
- (CSC)/.83
- (MAR)/.45
- (V)/1.85
- (FB)/.18
- (OI)/.77
- (SBUX)/.60
- (CYH)/.68
- (MET)/1.36
- (MCHP)/.60
- (WMB)/.14
- (IPI)/.07
- (CAR)/1.51
- (BYI)/.90
- (EQR)/.73
- (JNY)/.42
8:15am EST
- The ADP Employment Change for October is estimated to fall to 150K versus 166K in September.
- The Consumer Price Index for September is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.1% gain in August.
- The CPI Ex Food and Energy for September is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.1% gain in August.
- Bloomberg
consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory build of
+1,995,000 barrels versus a +5,246,000 barrel gain the prior week.
Gasoline supplies are estimated to rise by +23,000 barrels versus a
-1,805,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate supplies are
estimated to fall by -545,000 barrels versus a +1,537,000 barrel gain
the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.27% versus a -.3% decline the prior week.
- The FOMC is expected to leave the benchmark fed funds rate at .25%.
- The Fed Pace of MBS Purchases for October is estimated at $40B versus $40B prior.
- The Fed pace of Treasury purchases for October is estimated at $45B versus $45B prior.
- (NEOG) 3-for-2
- The German Unemployment rate, Spain GDP, German CPI, Eurozone Industrial Confidence, 7-Year T-Note auction, weekly MBA mortgage applications report, (JBL) analyst meeting and the (TGT) Financial Community Meeting could also impact trading today.
No comments:
Post a Comment