Bloomberg:
- Ukraine Seeks Bigger IMF Package as Bonds Slump to Record. Ukraine said it needs an expansion of a bailout program that’s keeping its economy afloat as bonds fell to a record and government forces continued to come under attack from pro-Russian separatists in the east. Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius said yesterday it’s too early to say how much more aid Ukraine requires. The country may need to almost double its $17 billion emergency loan “within weeks” to avoid bankruptcy, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified officials. Representatives from the International Monetary Fund arrived in Kiev this week to discuss further payments under the existing program and a possible expansion. Concerns are growing that the government in Kiev will be unable to repay its debts as the months-long fighting in two breakaway regions takes its toll on Ukraine’s economy.
- Putin’s Friends Reap Billions in Deals as Economy Teeters. The new prize from the Kremlin arrived in eastern Siberia. On the plains near the city of Yakutsk, trumpets sounded as President Vladimir Putin signed his name in white ink on a stretch of black pipeline, the symbolic starting point of a $400 billion natural gas link to the Far East. It was little more than show.
- Russians Fall Behind on Dollar Loans After Ruble Plunge. Anatoly Ivanov, a 39-year-old software engineer who lives in a 53 square-meter (570 square-foot) St. Petersburg apartment with his wife and child, said he feels boxed in. The ruble’s collapse this year has caused a headache for Anatoly, who bought his Soviet-era home with a dollar mortgage in 2008 from Absolut Bank OAO. At the time, a dollar was 23 rubles and the interest rate on the mortgage was 4 percentage points lower than on loans in rubles. Yesterday, the rate was about 55 to the dollar, and Ivanov is considering paying a penalty to switch the mortgage into rubles. “Our $800 monthly payment has jumped to 38,000 rubles from 26,000 rubles since the start of the year,” Ivanov, who is paid in rubles, said by phone. “If my wife didn’t work, it would be difficult to make the increase in repayments.”
- Bank of Korea Holds Rate Even as Weak Yen Threatens Recovery. The Bank of Korea kept its benchmark rate unchanged for a second month, opting to gauge the impact of recent cuts on an economy that faces headwinds from a weak Japanese yen. The central bank held the seven-day repurchase rate at a four-year low of 2 percent, it said in Seoul today, after cuts in August and October. The decision was forecast by 17 of 20 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News, while the rest predicted a reduction to a record low of 1.75 percent.
- Asia Stocks, Ringgit Drop After S&P 500 Falls; Bonds Gain. Asian stocks dropped and Malaysia’s ringgit weakened after oil’s collapse to a five-year low triggered the biggest loss for U.S. stocks since October. Sovereign bonds followed Treasuries higher as Asian credit risk climbed to a three-week high. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 percent by 11:01 a.m. in Tokyo, heading for a seven-week low as benchmark gauges in Tokyo and Hong Kong fell more than 0.7 percent.
- Oil-Driven Junk-Bond Selloff Spreads as Risk Gauge Climbs. The rout in junk bonds driven by tumbling oil prices is getting worse as one of the high-yield market’s largest sector weighs on other industries. The risk premium on the Markit CDX North American High Yield Index, a credit-default swaps index tied to the debt of 100 speculative-grade companies, jumped by the most in two months. BlackRock Inc.’s $13.8 billion exchange-traded fund that buys high-yield debt slid to the lowest level in more than two years. The Markit high-yield gauge rose as much as 20.2 basis points to 375.9 basis points, the biggest surge since Oct. 9. The index typically rises as investor confidence deteriorates and falls as it improves. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. BlackRock’s iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF, the largest fund of its kind, dropped 1.2 percent to $88.77, the lowest level since June 2012. The extra yield investors demand to own energy-company bonds instead of Treasuries has jumped to 942 basis points, up from less than 450 basis points in September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
- Oil Plunge Rips Through Markets as Investors Seek Bottom. Oil’s collapse is rippling through financial markets, broadening a selloff in stocks beyond energy companies and leaving investors with few havens as assets from metals to corporate debt sink. Brent crude fell below $65 for the first time since 2009 as OPEC cut its forecast for 2015 demand, raising concern over the strength of the global economy and leaving investors contemplating when oil’s plunge will reach a bottom.
- Roubini Global Predicts Sub-$60 Iron Ore Amid Massive Surplus. Iron ore may drop to less than $60 a metric ton next year as the largest mining companies press on with raising supply, deepening a glut just as demand growth in China falters, according to Roubini Global Economics LLC. The commodity will average $65 a ton in 2015, with weaker prices in the first half before a recovery as some higher-cost capacity is closed, Director of Commodities Helen Henton said in an interview. While producers won’t fare well in an environment of falling prices, it does make sense for low-cost suppliers to keep expanding in the expectation that less-competitive mines will be shuttered, she said.
- Hong Kong Police Begin Clearing Main Protest Site in Admiralty. Demonstrators Give Little Resistance to Authorities. Authorities met little resistance as they began clearing the main Hong Kong protest site Thursday, effectively ending an occupation that has stretched out over more than 10 weeks. Crowds thinned at the site before the action began around 10:30 a.m., and those who stayed said they would likely allow themselves to be arrested peacefully. The situation was in contrast to violent confrontations that occurred two weeks ago when police cleared another protest site and more recently, when protesters tried to expand the main site only to be beaten back by police.
- Brazil Indicts Executives in Petrobras(PBR) Case. Charges Stem From Allegations That Several Companies Formed a Cartel to Drive Up the Value of Contracts With Petrobras.
- Senate Democrats and 9/11 Amnesia. The Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA interrogations fails to acknowledge the Pearl Harbor-esque emergency following the terror attack.
- Fox News Poll: 81 percent expect ISIS attack on US, majority says keep Gitmo open. A majority of American voters want any ISIS terrorist captured by the United States sent to Guantanamo Bay rather than a federal prison. That’s a key finding of the latest Fox News poll, as President Obama wants to close Gitmo amid widespread fears ISIS will try to strike the homeland soon. A large 81-percent majority expects the Islamic extremist group ISIS to attempt a U.S. attack in the near future, including 48 percent who think it is “very” likely, according to the poll released Wednesday.
- Restoration Hardware(RH) profit more than doubles. Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc.'s profit more than doubled as sales growth accelerated in the third quarter, topping Wall Street's view. The Corte Madera, Calif., retailer of luxury home goods raised its financial projections for the year that ends Jan. 31, saying it expects to record its fifth consecutive year of net revenue growth above 20%. Shares rose 5% to $90.83 in recent after-hours trading.
- Massive security flaw in Alibaba(BABA) marketplace. A major security flaw in an Alibaba marketplace exposed millions to hackers, according to an Israeli research firm.
Business Insider:
Reuters:
- Japan bears bet on Abe victory followed by yen disaster. An election sweep for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this weekend looks like a safe bet, but some are betting that the consequences for Japan could be calamitous - a collapse in the yen and uncontrolled inflation.The continuation of 'Abenomics', a programme of money printing and debt-funded spending to lift Japan from two decades of deflation and stagnation, is, they say, not j ust failing, but heading for disaster. "The endgame of this could be an inflationary depression," said Arne Espe, vice president of mutual fund portfolios at USAA in San Antonio, Texas.
- U.S. OK's more commercial drone use as Congress probes risks. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday granted four more companies exemptions to use drones commercially, further opening the airspace to unmanned aircraft even as lawmakers raised questions about the risks.
- Greek candidate willing to call European leaders’ bluff. Alexis Tsipras told Greek voters as recently as last week that his government would cease to enforce the bail-out demands.
- None of note
- Asian equity indices are -1.25% to -.25% on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 106.0 +1.25 basis points.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 67.75 +2.25 basis points.
- S&P 500 futures +.18%.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.13%.
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
- (CIEN)/.13
- (ADBE)/.30
8:30 pm EST
- Retail Sales ADvance MoM for November are estimated to rise +.4% versus a +.3% gain in October.
- Retail Sales Ex Autos for November are estimated to rise +.1% versus a +.3% gain in October.
- Retail Sales Ex Autos and Gas for November are estimated to rise +.5% versus a +.6% gain in October.
- The Import Price Index for November is estimated to fall -1.8% versus a -1.3% gain in October.
- Initial Jobless Claims are estimated at 297K versus 297K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 2344K versus 2362K prior.
- Business Inventories for October are estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.3% gain in September.
- 3Q Household Change in Net Worth.
- None of note
- The $13B 30Y bond auction, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report, Bloomberg Dec. US Economic Survey, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, (UTX) anslyst meeting, (DAL) investor day, (KBR) investor day, (LOW) investor conference, (DHR) analyst meeting, (MET) business update, (YUM) investor conference, (AET) investor confernce, (ATHN) investor meeting and the (FB) Q&A event could also impact trading today.
No comments:
Post a Comment