- France’s Bonds Decline With Spain’s After S&P Ratings Downgrade. France’s government bonds declined after Standard & Poor’s lowered the country’s sovereign-credit rating by one level. Spanish bonds dropped following a rally yesterday when the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate to counter a risk of deflation. S&P downgraded France to AA from AA+ with a stable outlook saying the government’s reform of tax, labor markets, products and services won’t raise medium-term growth prospects.
- European Stocks Climb for Fifth Week as ECB Cuts Rates. Stocks in Europe posted a fifth week of gains, the longest winning streak this year, as the European Central Bank unexpectedly lowered its key interest rate and U.S. economic growth and jobs data beat forecasts. Commerzbank AG posted the largest advance in three months after reporting third-quarter profit that surpassed analysts’ estimates. ArcelorMittal surged the most in almost two years as earnings increased at the world’s biggest steelmaker. Ryanair Holdings Plc slid 5.6 percent after the budget airline forecast its first annual income decline in five years. Finmeccanica SpA dropped 4.8 percent after cutting its full-year outlook. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.4 percent to 322.72 this week.
- China Stocks Fall for Weekly Loss Before Plenum, Inflation Data. China’s stocks fell, capping a weekly loss for the benchmark index, before the start of a Communist Party meeting tomorrow. Technology and agriculture shares slid. Sanan Optoelectronics Co. dropped 3.3 percent, paring this year’s gain to 43 percent. China Cosco Holdings Co. slumped the most in two months after the largest shipping company said an executive director is under investigation. Zhongken Agricultural Resource Development Co. lost the most in two weeks, paring this week’s gain to 17 percent. The government is scheduled to release data on consumer prices and industrial output tomorrow. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.1 percent to 2,106.13 at the close, adding to a 2 percent loss this week.
- Fed’s Lockhart Says Fed Can’t Rule Out QE Tapering Next Month. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said the central bank will consider reducing its bond-buying program at next month’s policy meeting. “I would not take off the table at least consideration at that time,” Lockhart told reporters in Oxford, Mississippi, in response to a question on tapering in December. “The question of changing the mix of accommodative tools ought to be on the table at every meeting for the foreseeable future.”
- Gold Falls to 3-Week Low. Gold futures for December delivery declined 1.8 percent to settle at $1,284.60 an ounce at 2:01 p.m. on the Comex in New York, extending the week’s drop to 2.2 percent. Earlier, prices touched $1,280.50, the lowest for a most-active contract since Oct. 17.
- Stock Options Among Tax Breaks Democrats Target in Budget Talks. Executive stock options, corporate jets and the tax break enjoyed by hedge-fund managers are among the targets for Democratic lawmakers seeking to negotiate a budget deal by next month. The Democrats’ list of options, obtained by Bloomberg News, sets the stage for a renewed clash with Republicans, who reject proposals to raise revenue as part of an agreement. Democrats say taxes must be on the table as lawmakers seek an annual budget that would replace some of the $1 trillion in automatic spending cuts now in effect.
- Treasuries Drop Most in 4 Months. “The discussion and the decision of taper is back on the table,” said Dan Heckman, a fixed-income strategist in Kansas City, Missouri, at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $112 billion. “They could announce it in December and start in January, that’s a real possibility. This is forcing yields on the long end higher.” The benchmark U.S. 10-year yield rose 14 basis points, or 0.14 percentage point, to 2.74 percent at 12:42 p.m. New York time, Bloomberg Bond Trader data showed.
- Former NBC News Host Dylan Ratigan Has His Insurance Canceled for Much More Expensive Plan. “Thnx Mr. President.” That’s all former MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan had to say to President Barack Obama on Thursday when he announced that the health insurance plan he purchased on the individual market after leaving the news network was being cancelled. The new plan he was eligible would cost him 3.5 times more than his previous plan. “I bought a catastrophic health policy for $170/mo when I left MSNBC,” Ratigan confessed. “Obamacare cancelled the policy. New rate $600/mo. Thnx Mr. President!”
CNBC:
- US consumers tapped out as holidays approach. American shoppers have a way of rallying when the holidays roll around. But years after the Great Recession, consumers' budgets remain badly squeezed by flat wages, higher payroll taxes and a weak job market.
- Surprise! Shutdown may have pushed jobs numbers higher. Friday morning's shockingly high payroll numbers might have been boosted by the government shutdown in October.
- BofAML Warns "Treasury Bears Beware". (graph)
- Hedge Funds Just Had Their Best Year Since 2009. The monthly index, which proxies for hedge fund returns across sectors, gained 1.5% last month, which pushed up its year-to-date performance by 7.2%.
- Poll: 78% Of Uninsured Not Interested In ObamaCare. A new Gallup poll brings more terrible news for President Obama and his signature health plan. Only 22% of uninsured Americans intend to buy insurance through the ObamaCare exchanges. One of the major selling points for using ObamaCare to disrupt our health care system (that polls showed up to 80% of Americans were satisfied with), was to insure the uninsured. But according to this poll, only a very small minority of that small minority is even interested in being insured.
- The Insiders: Six reasons Obamacare will only get worse for Democrats. 1) There will be more canceled health insurance plans. 2) If you like your doctor, you can’t keep your doctor. 3) Sticker shock. 4) Obamacare ads. 5) Navigators. 6) Security breaches.
- Israel warns of 'very bad' Iran nuclear deal. Secretary of State Kerry's decision to fly to Geneva comes after signs that global powers and Iran were close to a deal. Speaking before a meeting with Kerry in Jerusalem on Friday, Netanyahu said it appears that the Iranians "got everything and paid nothing." "They wanted relief of sanctions after years of grueling sanctions, they got that. They paid nothing because they are not reducing in any way their nuclear enrichment capability. So Iran got the deal of the century and the international community got a bad deal," Netanyahu said.
- Hollande approval rating slumps as France downgraded. Approval ratings at record low as debt grade cut from AA+ to AA due to weak economic growth, high unemployment and government spending constraints.
- Five charts that show the state of the French economy. France's credit rating has been downgraded by Standard & Poor's. We look at the state of the country's economy.
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