Bloomberg:
- Russian Hackers Targeted White House Data. Russian hackers were behind an intrusion in recent months into a non-classified White House computer network, CNN reported. Deputy White House National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said on CNN that no classified information had been compromised, while declining to link any attacks to Russia. “We do not believe our classified systems were compromised,” Rhodes said Tuesday. He said the White House is “constantly updating” its unclassified system and that personnel are told to act as if information on that network could be compromised by hackers. U.S. intelligence officials say the pace and sophistication of Russian-sponsored attacks have increased as tension over Ukraine has grown and the U.S. has imposed economic sanctions on Russia.
- North Korea Can Miniaturize a Nuclear Weapon, U.S. Says. North Korea has deployed its new road-mobile KN-08 intercontinental ballistic missile and is capable of mounting a miniaturized nuclear warhead on it, the U.S.’s top homeland security commander said. “Our assessment is that they have the ability to put a nuclear weapon on a KN-08 and shoot it at the homeland,” Admiral William Gortney, the head of the U.S. Northern Command, told reporters Tuesday at the Pentagon. “We have not seen them do that” and “we haven’t seen them test the KN-08.”
- U.S. Dot-Com Bubble Was Nothing Compared to Today’s China Prices. The world-beating surge in Chinese technology stocks is making the heady days of the dot-com bubble look almost tame by comparison. The industry is leading gains in China’s $6.9 trillion stock market, sending valuations to an average 220 times reported profits, the most expensive level among global peers. When the Nasdaq Composite Index peaked in March 2000, technology companies in the U.S. had a mean price-to-earnings ratio of 156. “Chinese technology stocks do resemble the dot-com bubble,” Vincent Chan, the Hong Kong-based head of China research at Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland’s second-biggest bank, said in an interview on April 2. “Given stocks fell 50 to 70 percent when that bubble burst in 2000, these small-cap Chinese shares may face big corrections when this one deflates.”
- Is China In the Middle of a Tech Bubble? (video)
- Chinese Developers Trim Sales Forecasts Amid Housing Doldrums. Chinese developers target lower growth for new-home sales this year, as prospects for the real estate market remain in doubt even after the government eased monetary policy and lifted curbs on housing purchases. Property companies are targeting median growth of 12.6 percent for contract sales this year, less than 2014’s 16 percent annual gain, a Bloomberg survey of 28 listed developers showed. The median of sales were 42.2 billion yuan last year ($6.8b), short of the median target of 44 billion yuan.
- Asian Stocks Rise for Fifth Day as Material Shares Lead Advance. Asian stocks rose for a fifth day as material and health-care companies advanced and investors await a Bank of Japan policy decision and the release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.1 percent to 149.21 as of 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo.
- Israel, U.S. Lawmakers Press Case Against Iran Nuclear Deal. Moves signal fresh domestic and international pressure on negotiations leading up to a summer deadline. Israeli officials and congressional Republicans on Monday set high bars with exacting conditions for a nuclear accord with Iran, signaling fresh domestic and international pressure on negotiations leading up to a summer deadline. Leading Arab governments, including Saudi Arabia, cautiously accepted the landmark diplomacy with Iran, in their most detailed reactions yet. But Saudi officials said they needed more assurances that Iran’s...
- South Carolina Police Officer Charged With Murder in Shooting of Motorist. White officer arrested after officials saw video of black man’s shooting.
- New Hedge Fund Strategy: Dispute the Patent, Short the Stock. Hayman Capital seeks to invalidate patents while betting on a drop in target’s shares. A well-known hedge-fund manager is taking a novel approach to making money: filing and publicizing patent challenges against pharmaceutical companies while also betting against their shares.
- The Iran Deal and Its Consequences. by Henry Kissinger and George P. Shultz. Mixing shrewd diplomacy with defiance of U.N. resolutions, Iran has turned the negotiation on its head.
- States flouting post-9/11 ID law, giving cards to illegal immigrants that mirror licenses. (video) After the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed the REAL ID Act to prevent foreign nationals from fraudulently obtaining a U.S. driver's license -- by requiring that any ID issued based on unverifiable foreign documents look different in "design or color" from an official driver's license. That way, TSA and other law enforcement would know the ID holder might not be who they say they are.
- Stocks are in a 'stealth correction': Acampora. (video)
- No compelling bargains in markets: Howard Marks. (video)
- Market Breaks After Fed-Driven Buying Frenzy Turns Into Selling Scramble. (graph)
- Crude Tumbles After API Reports Largest Inventory Build In 30 Years. (graph)
- The Greek Counter-Ultimatum To Europe: "We Cannot Keep ISIS Out If You Keep Bullying Us".
- Revolving Debt Crashes Most In Four Years, As Student, Car Loans Go Exponential; Bank Lending Freezes. (graph)
- Russian Government Hacked White House Computer System, CNN Reports.
- Scathing Assessment: "The UK Economy Is A Ticking Time Bomb".
- America: Bankrupt And On Borrowed Time.
- The Government's "Revolving"-est Doors.
- After Viacom's "Shocker", These Companies Are Most At Risk Of Early Terminating Their Stock Buyback Programs.
- China "Can't Believe Its Luck" On Investment Bank.
- Why The Oil Price Collapse Is The Fed's Fault. (graph)
- REPORT: Royal Dutch Shell is in talks to buy the $46 billion British gas company BG Group.
- Germany: The Greek demand for $306 billion in WWII reparations is 'dumb'.
- One of Obama's Harvard professors likened the president's climate change policies to 'burning the Constitution'.
- Oil prices fall as Saudi Arabia reports record output.
- Gundlach: 'Fed wants to get off zero,' may hike rates in June. DoubleLine Capital Chief Executive Jeffrey Gundlach said on Tuesday that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates in June if economic data stabilizes. "The Fed wants to get off zero," Gundlach said on an investor and media webcast. The weak March payrolls report may not be enough to deter an interest-rate increase in mid-June, Gundlach said. "If the economy rolls over again," the Fed will have bullets to cushion any kind of economic weakness, Gundlach said.
- Investors pull $4 bln from hedge funds amid lackluster returns. Wealthy investors protested the hedge fund industry's recent lackluster returns and high fees by pulling a net $4 billion out of the $2.5 trillion industry during the first two months of 2015, data released on Tuesday show. The number contrasts with the heady days of 2014 when investors added $31.6 billion of new money in January and February, research firms BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research said.
- China May Unveil Subsidy to Iron Ore
Producers Mid-April. Amount of domestic subsidy may be based on iron ore
quality or adopt fixed rate of 6 yuan/ton, citing industry participants.
- Chinese Economy Faces Increasing Downward Pressure. China has plenty of room to support growth with policy reserves, citing an unidentified NDRC official. 1Q economic indicators are unlikely to surprise on the upside, the report cites a state researcher as saying.
Citi:
- Rated (XRX) Buy.
- Asian equity indices are -.50% to +.50% on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 107.0 -3.0 basis points.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 57.75 -.5 basis point.
- S&P 500 futures -.09%.
- NASDAQ 100 futures -.07%.
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
- (FDO)/.73
- (GPN)/1.11
- (RAD)/.08
- (AA)/.25
- (BBBY)/1.80
- (PIR)/.36
- (RECN)/.12
- (WDFC)/.72
- (APOG)/.43
10:30 am EST
- Bloomberg
consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory build of
+3,280,000 barrels versus a +4,766,000 barre increase the prior week.
Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -1,520,000 barrels versus a
-4,258,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are
expected to rise by +330,000 barrels versus a +1,325,000 barrel gain the
prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.54%
versus a +.4% gain prior.
- Fed Minutes from March 17-18 FOMC Meeting.
- (SBUX) 2-for-1
- The Fed's Powell speaking, Eurozone retail sales report, German Factory Orders report, $21B 10Y T-Note auction, weekly MBA mortgage applications report, (UAL) operational data and the (COP) analyst meeting could also impact trading today.
1 comment:
very good information for international stock market investors...
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