Saturday, June 18, 2016

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:  
  • S&P 500 Posts Worst Week Since April as Global Stress Burns Anew. Prices fell and volume surged in a week of heightened anxiety for U.S. investors, whose dreams of reaching a record high anytime soon all but faded away. A streak of six weeks without a 1 percent drop was broken as the S&P 500 Index dropped 1.2 percent to 2,071.22, the worst retreat since April. Shares slid on four of the five days, including a 30-minute plunge on Wednesday that followed testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that fanned apprehension about prospects for economic growth. Pain was worse below the surface, with the S&P 500 Banks Index dropping 3 percent for its third straight decrease. The Nasdaq Biotech Index fell 4.1 percent, extending its losing streak to nine days, the longest in two decades. The gauge has lost more than 10 percent during the skid. Anxiety flared globally as concerns ranging from Japanese stimulus to Britain’s referendum on secession from the European Union pushed the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index up 14 percent after a 26 percent increase a week earlier. Volume on American exchanges averaged 7.5 billion shares, the most since March. Ten-year Treasury yields fell a third straight week by a cumulative 24 basis points, the biggest three-week plunge since February.
  • China May Home Prices Rise in Fewer Cities Amid Slower Sales. China’s home prices rose in fewer cities in May than the previous month, with gains in some second-tier locations surpassing those in Shanghai and Shenzhen. New-home prices excluding affordable homes climbed in 60 cities, down from 65 in April, among the 70 tracked by the government, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday. They dropped in four places, compared with five a month earlier, and were unchanged in six. The recovery in home prices abated as local governments encouraged curbs in top economic centers like Shanghai and Shenzhen where prices have been surging, while they deployed home-buying stimulus in smaller cities to clear a glut of unsold residences.
  • Brexit or Remain, Pound Is Set for Big Swings as EU Vote Looms. It’s almost upon us: the week when Britain takes the historic decision of whether to remain in the European Union. And whatever the polls say in the days to come -- and regardless of the result on June 24 -- the pound is set for a wild ride. One-week anticipated volatility surged Friday to the highest on record, posting the biggest increase among more than 40 global currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
  • The World Economy Looks a Bit Like It's the 1930s. Now, like then, a financial crisis has left deep scars.
  • Treasuries Gain a Third Week as Global Yields Deepen Record Lows. (video)
Wall Street Journal:
Barron's:
  • Had bullish commentary on (DLPH), (CELG), (MNST) and (ORCL).
  • Had bearish commentary on (SQ).
Zero Hedge:
Reuters:
  • Indian central bank chief to step down in surprise move. India's "rock star" central bank governor Raghuram Rajan, feted by foreign investors but under pressure from political opponents at home, stunned government officials and colleagues on Saturday by announcing he would step down after just one three-year term. Rajan, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, is held in high esteem by policymakers and investors at home and abroad for overhauling the way the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) operates.

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