Stocks Slightly Lower into Final Hour on Falling Euro, Profit-Taking, Global Growth Fears, More Shorting

Broad Market Tone:

• Advance/Decline Line: Lower
  
• Sector Performance: Most Sectors Declining
  
• Volume: About Average
  
• Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line
  

Equity Investor Angst:

• VIX 15.75 +6.42%
  
• ISE Sentiment Index 84.0 -10.64%
  
• Total Put/Call .80 -5.88%
  
• NYSE Arms .61 -59.19%
  

Credit Investor Angst:

• North American Investment Grade CDS Index 91.63 -2.13%
  
• European Financial Sector CDS Index 153.72 -4.48%
  
• Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 235.0 -7.5%
  
• Emerging Market CDS Index 225.96 -1.34%
  
• 2-Year Swap Spread 26.25 unch.
  
• TED Spread 39.25 unch.
  
• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -60.0 +3.75 bps
  

Economic Gauges:

• 3-Month T-Bill Yield .08% unch.
  
• Yield Curve 189.0 +11 bps
  
• China Import Iron Ore Spot $144.30/Metric Tonne +.14%
  
• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 39.90 -1.1 points
  
• 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.38 +4 basis points
  

Overseas Futures:

• Nikkei Futures: Indicating an unch. open in Japan
• DAX Futures: Indicating a +3 open in Germany

Portfolio:

• Slightly Higher: On gains in my Retail and Tech sector longs
  
• Disclosed Trades: Added to my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges, added to my (EEM) short
  
• Market Exposure: Moved to 75% Net Long

BOTTOM LINE: Today's overall market action is mildly bearish, as the S&P 500 trades near session lows despite falling energy prices, less Eurozone debt angst and another surge in market leader (AAPL). On the positive side, Defense, Computer Service, Bank, HMO and Restaurant shares are higher on the day. Oil is falling -1.03%, Lumber is rising +1.3% and Gold is down -2.0%. The 10Y Yield is rising +15 bps to 2.27%. Major Asian indices rose around +1.0% overnight with the exception of Shanghai, which fell -2.6% on comments from Wen Jiabao that home prices are still far from reasonable levels. I continue to believe that investors are overly optimistic on the prospects for a new major aggressive easing cycle out of China. I also think the hard-landing scenario still can’t be ruled out. Major European indices rose around +.5%, led by a +1.3% gain in German shares. The Bloomberg European Financial Services/Bank Index rose +1.64%. The Germany sovereign cds is down -4.6% to 71.50 bps, the France sovereign cds is down -4.4% to 171.80 bps, the Italy sovereign cds is down -4.6% to 366.42 bps and the Saudi sovereign cds is down -5.4% to 120.08 bps. Moreover, the European Investment Grade CDS Index is down -3.6% to 108.08 bps. On the negative side, Utility, Coal, Alt Energy, Oil Service, Disk Drive, Networking, Telecom, Construction, Homebuilding, Gaming, Road & Rail and Airline shares are under pressure, falling more than -1.0%. Copper is down -1.7%. The Transports remain laggards, which continues to be a broad market red flag. As well, the Philly Fed ADS Real-Time Business Conditions Index continues to trend lower from its mid-December peak, falling -14.0% over the last 5 days despite investor perceptions that the US economy is accelerating. The Portugal sovereign cds is jumping +3.8% to 1,311.41 bps. The Portugal cds is breaking out technically, but still off its Jan. record high of 1,554.04 bps. Lumber is -4.2% since its Dec. 29th high despite the better US economic data, more dovish Fed commentary, improving sentiment towards homebuilders, equity rally and decline in eurozone debt angst. Moreover, the weekly MBA Purchase Applications Index has been around the same level since May 2010. The Baltic Dry Index has plunged over -60.0% from its Oct. 14th high and is now down around -50.0% ytd. China Iron Ore Spot has plunged -20.3% since Sept. 7th of last year. Shanghai Copper Inventories are up +724.% ytd and are still very near their recent all-time high. I still think this is more of a red flag for falling demand rather than the intentional hoarding, which many suggest. The major averages are consolidating yesterday’s breakout advance in a healthy fashion. Banks are leading the averages again today. The euro and bonds are trading poorly. While these are longer-term positives, an acceleration lower in these two would likely lead to near-term equity turbulence. The ease with which my (AAPL) long still moves higher likely indicates a test of $600 is imminent. For the recent equity advance to maintain traction, I would still expect to see further European credit gauge improvement, a further subsiding of hard-landing fears in key emerging markets, a rising 10-year yield, better volume, stable-to-lower energy prices and higher-quality stock market leadership. I expect US stocks to trade mixed-to-lower into the close from current levels on a decline in the euro, profit-taking, rising global growth fears and more shorting.

Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

• Small-Cap Growth -1.0%

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Gold & Silver -4.22% 2) Road & Rail -2.37% 3) Homebuilders -1.90%

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:

• NOR, SU, CCI, FLT, UAM, CCH, CHL, MTGE, TUDO, VLCCF, JVA, MDRX, VOCS, SSRI, MET, SYX, KNM, C, FLT, CJES, H, GS, LNG and PK
  

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) COP 2) MET 3) IR 4) ABX 5) COF
  

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) CCI 2) JNPR 3) EMC 4) JNJ 5) RAI
  

Charts:

• ETFs Falling on Unusual Volume
• Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume
  

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Large-Cap Growth +.08%

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) HMOs +.44% 2) Semis +.33% 3) Computer Services +.27%

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• NXPI, AAPL, WLP, AXP, CLF, GEOY, IDT, FRAN, ASCA, ZION, PWRD, SZYM, ELGX, BBBY, LHCG, MITK, BTH, STI, SGA, GWRE, RLD, CIT and COF
  

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) ETFC 2) AKS 3) KFT 4) XHB 5) STI
  

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) STT 2) APC 3) MU 4) PDCO 5) CMA
  

Charts:

• ETFs Rising on Unusual Volume
• Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume
  

Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:

• Merkel Says Europe Is 'Good Way' Up Mountain, Not Over It. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that European efforts to resolve the debt crisis are making progress, even as “imbalances” in euro-area economies show that the task is far from complete. “We’ve come a good way along the mountain path, but we’re not completely over the mountain,” Merkel told reporters in Rome late yesterday after talks with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti. “I suspect that in the next few years there will continue to be new mountains -- there won’t be a celebratory event in which we say we’re over the mountain and now we can sit among the trees and say that we’ve done it.” Merkel praised Monti’s “bold” efforts since taking office on Nov. 16 to overhaul Italy’s economy, which include 20 billion euros in austerity measures and steps to deregulate services amid surging Italian bond yields that threatened to rip apart the currency region. Aided by European Central Bank liquidity measures, Italian 10-year borrowing costs have fallen to 4.89 percent from a euro-era record of 7.26 percent on Nov. 25. Monti, a former European Union competition commissioner, said Italy has “arrested” the crisis though not yet overcome it. “Italy still has homework to do,” he said. Italy prefers to rely on its “own strengths” rather than seek any external aid during the worst moments of the crisis.
• Fed Says 15 of 19 Banks Have Adequate Capital in Stress Scenario. The resilience of the largest U.S. financial firms when tested against a recession more severe than the last one shows regulators have succeeded in pushing banks to build fortress-like balance sheets. The Fed yesterday said 15 of 19 banks would be able to maintain capital levels above a regulatory minimum in an “extremely adverse” economic scenario, even while continuing to pay dividends and repurchasing stock. Those results were due to scrutiny by the Fed on capital payouts over the past three years, the central bank said.
• Rising Costs, Risks Threaten Futures Brokers, DeWaal Says. Changes to how clearinghouses are used to back derivatives trades are putting brokerages on “a dangerous path” that threatens the futures business model, said Gary DeWaal, general counsel of Newedge USA LLC. The risk to brokerages, known as futures commission merchants, or FCMs, began with the Dodd-Frank Act requirement to guarantee swap trades with clearinghouses, DeWaal said in an interview today at the Futures Industry Association annual conference in Boca Raton, Florida.
• Oil Trades Near 2-Day High as Economy Lifts U.S. Demand Outlook. Oil for April delivery was at $106.63 a barrel, down 8 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:43 p.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday increased 37 cents to $106.71 a barrel, the highest close since March 9. Prices are 7.9 percent higher this year. Brent oil for April settlement slid 21 cents to $126.01 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
• Apple(AAPL) Drives Record $1.24 Trillion of Company Cash, Moody's Says. Apple Inc. (AAPL), the world’s most valuable business, led U.S. corporations in amassing a record $1.24 trillion of cash last year as memories of the 2008 credit crisis linger, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Excluding Apple, with $97.6 billion of cash and no outstanding debt, the figure was relatively unchanged at $1.15 trillion, even as revenue and cash flow from operations rose to a record, Moody’s analysts led by Richard Lane said in a report yesterday. Investment-grade companies graded A3 or higher by Moody’s hold $594.3 billion, or 54 percent, Moody’s said in the report, which tracked cash and liquid investments for non- financials.

Wall Street Journal:

• Santorum Wins Alabama, Mississippi. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum won the Alabama and Mississippi primaries Tuesday, pulling off another pair of surprise victories and boosting his claim to be the conservative alternative to Republican front-runner Mitt Romney.
• Romney's Delegate Strategy Pressures Rivals.
• China's Wage Hikes Rip9ple Across Asia. More Asian governments are pressing businesses to hike wages as a way to prevent outbreaks of labor unrest, raising the specter of higher manufacturing costs for global companies—and the products they sell world-wide. In the latest move, Malaysia's cabinet has approved the country's first-ever minimum wage to be imposed soon, according to people familiar with the matter. The decision follows similar moves elsewhere in the region, as officials from Thailand to Indonesia follow efforts by China over the past two years to boost pay after years of widening gaps between rich and poor.
• A Warning for Women of the Arab Spring by Shirin Ebadi. I hope that in the countries where people have risen against dictatorships, they will reflect on and learn from what happened to us in Iran.
  

MarketWatch:

• Canada's Housing Market Flirts With Bubble. After a brief dip, home prices have shot up; incomes haven’t kept up.
  

Business Insider:

• Here's What Really Happened Today When JPMorgan(JPM) Announced Its New Dividend.
• Obama's Big Health-Care Reform Is Going To Cost Double What He Said. The Congressional Budget Office, the bi-partisan number-crunching office that 'scores' legislation for the cost has revised its forecasts for the cost of health-care reform. Obamacare is going to cost about double what the president and Democrats promised. When the bill was passed, President Obama and Nancy Pelosi would cost "around $900 billion over ten years." Looks like it is going to be close to $1.8 trillion.
  

Zero Hedge:

• Japan's Shocking Keynesian Slip: "We Are Worse Than Greece".
• Troika Finds Greece Already Likely To Miss Bailout Budget Targets.
• Fed Stress Test Released: Citi, SunTrust, Ally and MetLife Have Insufficient Capital.
• 4 Big 'Troubles' in Little China. (graphs)
  

IBD:

• Teradata(TDC) Helps Clients Analyst Data Influx.
  

Washington Post:

• CBO: Deficit Estimate for 2012 Hiked to $1.2 Trillion After Payroll Tax Cut, Jobless Benefits. A new estimate from congressional economists says the government will run a $1.2 trillion deficit for the budget year ending just a few weeks before Election Day. It would be the fourth straight year of trillion dollar-plus deficits. The almost $100 billion spike from earlier projections for the fiscal 2012 deficit comes almost exclusively because Congress passed legislation recommended by President Barack Obama to renew a 2 percentage point cut in payroll taxes and jobless benefits for people languishing on unemployment rolls for more than six months.

The American Spectator:

• The Chu Energy Plan. The administration's pie-in-the-sky energy planning is working exactly as one might have predicted. Dr. Chu's proposal to hike gas prices in the United States to European levels was published in the Wall Street Journal on December 12, 2008. Six weeks later, on January 21, 2009, he was sworn into office as President Obama's Secretary of Energy.

Reuters:

• Most Americans Would Back US Strike Over Iran Nuclear Weapon - Poll. The poll showed 56 percent of Americans would support U.S. military action against Iran if there were evidence of a nuclear weapon program. Thirty-nine percent of Americans opposed military strikes. Asked whether they would back U.S. military action if it led to higher gasoline prices, 53 percent of Americans said they would, while 42 percent said they would not. The Reuters/Ipsos poll also found that 62 percent of Americans would back Israel taking military action against Iran for the same reasons.
• Japan Q1 Business Mood Worsens But Seen Improving. Big Japanese manufacturers turned slightly more pessimistic about business conditions in January-March, but sentiment is expected to improve in the next quarter with the yen off record highs and due to spending for post-quake reconstruction. Wednesday's data suggests the Bank of Japan's closely-watched tankan sentiment survey, due next month, is unlikely to show a sharp worsening in sentiment.
• Exclusive: US Dangles Secret Data for Russia Missile Shield Approval. The Obama administration is leaving open the possibility of giving Moscow certain secret data on U.S. interceptor missiles due to help protect Europe from any Iranian missile strike. A deal is being sought by Washington that could include classified data exchange because it is in the U.S. interest to enlist Russia and its radar stations in the missile-defense effort, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Tuesday in written replies to Reuters.
  

Financial Times:

• Hedge Funds to Pay More for Litigation Insurance. Hedge funds are being asked to pay an average 5 per cent to 10 per cent more to buy officers’ and directors’ insurance in response to an expected increase in litigation from insider trading and regulatory investigations, a survey has found. Richard Canter, president of SKCG, the New York risk management adviser to hedge funds that conducted the survey, said hedge funds with poor performance and high redemption requests are quoted rates that are 15 per cent higher than three months ago.
• Bundesbank Steps Up Pressure On Draghi. Germany’s Bundesbank has stepped up pressure on Mario Draghi, European Central Bank president, to plan the withdrawal of exceptional help for eurozone banks, warning of potentially dangerous side-effects for the region’s financial system.
• Brusssels Probes Possible Telecoms Collusion. Europe’s biggest telecoms companies are facing the threat of a European Commission probe focusing on whether meetings between their top executives led to possible collusion.

Telegraph:

• Getting to Grips With the EU's New Fiscal Pact. A picture paints a thousands words. Over the course of countless summits, European leaders have strained to produce the right narrative for photographers: extravagant triple-kiss greetings, toothy grins, and wistful stares between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. But tonight in Brussels the choreography went horribly wrong: Jean Claude Juncker, head of the group of 17 euro zone finance ministers, was snapped strangling his Spanish counterpart.

Dong-A Ilbo:

• North Korean secret agents are luring defectors in South Korea to China to abduct and execute them, citing unidentified sources.

Evening Recommendations
Citigroup Global Markets:

• Reiterated Buy on (CLF), target $96.

Night Trading

• Asian equity indices are +.75% to +1.25% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 147.0 -8.5 basis points.
  
• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 123.25 -4.25 basis points.
• FTSE-100 futures +.67%.
  
• S&P 500 futures -.03%.
  
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.06%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate

• (GEOI)/.39
• (GES)/1.04

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST

• The Import Price Index for February is estimated to rise +.6% versus a +.3% gain in January.
• The Current Account Deficit for February is estimated to widen to -$115.0B versus -$110.3B in January.

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory build of +1,600,000 barrels versus an +832,000 barrel gain the prior week. Distillate supplies are estimated to fall by -1,500,000 barrels versus a -1,944,000 barrel decline the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -1,000,000 barrels versus a -396,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated unch. versus a +.3% gain the prior week.
  

Upcoming Splits

• (ALK) 2-for-1
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Bernanke speaking, Italian Bond auction, 30Y T-Note auction, weekly MBA mortgage applications report, BoJ Monthly report and the UBS Consumer Conference could also impact trading today.
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are higher, boosted by technology and financial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.

Stocks Surging into Final Hour on Less Eurozone Debt Angst, Financial/Tech Sector Optimism, US Economic Data, Short-Covering

Broad Market Tone:

• Advance/Decline Line: Substantially Higher
  
• Sector Performance: Almost Every Sector Rising
  
• Volume: Below Average
  
• Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line
  

Equity Investor Angst:

• VIX 15.93 +1.73%
  
• ISE Sentiment Index 98.0 -5.77%
  
• Total Put/Call .86 -18.87%
  
• NYSE Arms .36 -69.51%
  

Credit Investor Angst:

• North American Investment Grade CDS Index 93.62 -2.1%
  
• European Financial Sector CDS Index 160.87 -6.91%
  
• Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 254.04 n/a
  
• Emerging Market CDS Index 229.26 -3.51%
  
• 2-Year Swap Spread 26.25 +.5 bp
  
• TED Spread 39.25 -.5 bp
  
• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -63.75 -.25 bp
  

Economic Gauges:

• 3-Month T-Bill Yield .08% unch.
  
• Yield Curve 178.0 +7 bps
  
• China Import Iron Ore Spot $144.10/Metric Tonne +.56%
  
• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 41.0 +2.7 points
  
• 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.34 +5 basis points
  

Overseas Futures:

• Nikkei Futures: Indicating +166 open in Japan
• DAX Futures: Indicating +43 open in Germany

Portfolio:

• Higher: On gains in my Tech, Retail, Biotech and Medical sector longs
  
• Disclosed Trades: Covered all of my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges and some of my (EEM) short
  
• Market Exposure: Moved to 100% Net Long

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Soaring Target2 Imbalances Stoke German Risk Angst: Euro Credit. German angst is growing as an entry on the Bundesbank’s balance sheet swells to a sum worth about 20 percent of economic output, a sign of the extent to which Europe’s largest economy is funding the region’s laggards. The European Central Bank’s Target2 system, which calculates debts between the euro region’s central banks, shows the Bundesbank is owed 489 billion euros ($656 billion), up almost 65 percent from a year earlier. German central bank President Jens Weidmann wrote to ECB President Mario Draghi last month to warn about growing systemic risks, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported Feb. 29. “The Germans are very much justified in their concern,” said John Whittaker, an economist at Lancaster University Management School, who drew attention to the growing imbalances in papers published last year. “The Target2 liabilities are just as risky and just as real as holding the government bonds of Greece and other peripherals.”
  
• Greek Yield Curve Inverted on Bets Debt Control Effort Will Fail. Greece's bonds due in 2023 yield more than securities maturing in 2042 following a restructuring of the nation's debt, showing investors remain concerned the government will fail to control its finances. Yields on shorter-dated bonds climbed more than those on longer-term debt in the first full day of trading of the new securities today, inverting the so-called yield curve. Bondholders last week agreed to write off more than 100 billion euros ($130.6 billion) on their investments as Greece struggled to meet its target of cutting outstanding obligations to about 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020, from 160 percent last year. "Greece still has problems, in spite of the debt swap and restructuring," said Orlando Green, a fixed-income strategist at Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in London. "It needs to meet its targets. Debt sustainability remains a key concern, and that's reflected in the prices and the shape of the yield curve."
• Paulson's Lacoursiere Said to Leave to Start Own Hedge Fund. Robert Lacoursiere, the Paulson & Co. partner who oversaw the $23 billion hedge fund’s financial investing, quit after four years to start his own fund, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Lacoursiere, 49, plans to start an equity hedge fund within six months that will focus on financial companies, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Founded by billionaire John Paulson, the firm suffered record losses last year as his bet on a U.S. recovery went awry. The hedge fund last quarter sold entire stakes in Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., which it had built up in 2009 as part of that wager, before the shares rallied this year.
• Crude Rises as Retail Sales and Equities Gain, Signaling Economic Growth. Oil for April delivery rose 80 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $107.14 a barrel at 12:17 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price is up 8.4 percent this year. Brent crude for April settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange gained $1.11, or 0.9 percent, to $126.45 a barrel.
• U.S. Insider Stock Sales Turn Less Favorable: Technical Analysis. The number of insider sellers averaged about 43 a day in the 30 days through March 5, the highest level since at least 2004, according to Bloomberg data for S&P 500 companies. The last two peaks of insider selling, in March 2010 and March 2011, both came before market tops the next month.
• Syria Mines Borders With Turkey, Lebanon as Thousands Flee Assad's Forces. Syrian forces are sowing minefields along the border with Turkey and Lebanon even as thousands of refugees flee a widening crackdown by President Bashar al- Assad’s military. The landmines are already causing civilian casualties, Human Rights Watch said today in a statement on its website.
• Retail Sales in U.S. Rose in February by Most in Five Months. The 1.1 percent advance followed a 0.6 percent increase in January that was larger than previously estimated, according to Commerce Department data issued today in Washington. Sales rose in 11 of 13 categories, including auto dealers and clothing stores, showing gains in demand were broad based.
• Business Inventories in U.S. Expand More Than Forecast on Auto Stockpiles. Businesses in the U.S. increased inventories in January at a faster pace than projected, led by the biggest jump in automobile stockpiles in more than a year. The 0.7 percent rise followed a revised 0.6 percent advance the prior month that was larger than previously reported, Commerce Department data showed today in Washington. The median projection in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 0.5 percent gain. Sales climbed 0.4 percent.

Wall Street Journal:

• Apple(AAPL) Accuses Proview of Misleading. Apple Inc. elaborated on its claims to the iPad trademark in China, saying that the Chinese company on the other side of a lawsuit over the name is "misleading Chinese courts.
• El-Erian: Greece May Need Another "Messier" Restructuring - FT. Greece's debt reduction deal last week only provides a bit more time before another "messier" restructuring may be needed, Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of the world's largest bond investor, Pacific Investment Management Co., writes in the Financial Times Tuesday.
• Faulty Wells, Not Fracking, Blamed for Water Pollution. Some energy companies, state regulators, academics and environmentalists are reaching consensus that natural-gas drilling has led to several incidents of water pollution—but not because of fracking.
• Greece Lenders Warn of Deeper Cuts Ahead. Greece's economy will remain in severe recession this year and activity will "at best" stagnate next year, forcing the country to make additional spending cuts of 5.5% of gross domestic product over the next two years to meet fiscal targets, a report by the country's lenders said.
• JPMorgan(JPM) Halts Fund Raising for Real-Estate Vehicle. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has ceased efforts for now to raise a new $750 million real-estate fund because of lack of investor interest in the type of high-risk, high-return deals that it was planning to do, according to people familiar with the matter.
• For Romney, South Offers Opportunity.
  

Barron's:

• Dell(DELL) Buys Firewall Firm SonicWall.

MarketWatch:

• Former CFTC Chief Sees Lack of Swaps Preparedness. Many companies that use swap contracts to hedge financial and commodity risks remain unprepared for pending regulations that will tighten practices in the market, a former member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Tuesday. "I'm appalled at the lack of readiness" among so-called end users, said Michael Dunn, a commissioner from 2004 until last October. He said regulators share some blame for not yet detailing key aspects of the planned swap-market overhaul.

Business Insider:

• Striking Pictures of US Troops Serving Around The World.
• Art Cashin: The Experts I Talk To See Some Major Problems In The Latest Jobs Reports.
• Apple(AAPL) TV Production Starts In May, Goes On Sale At Year End, Says Jefferies.
• Why Everyone is Freaked Out About Portugal in One Huge Slide.
• SocGen: We're Getting Close to a Global Oil Tipping Point, And Manufacturing May Be Stalling.
  

Zero Hedge:

• A Visual Simplification of the CDS Market.
• FOMC Does Nothing, Notes Inflation Threat - Full Redline Comparison to January.
• Market Fisher Accused by CFTC of Pulling an MF Global, Depositing Customer Funds Into Non-Segregated Account.
  

New York Times:

• Is MF Global Getting a Free Pass?

Washington Post:

• US Job Openings Declined in January; Figures Suggest Hiring May Level Off. The Labor Department said Tuesday that employers posted 3.46 million job openings in January. That’s down from 3.54 million advertised in December. There were still 12.8 million unemployed people in January. That means an average of 3.7 people competed for each open job that month, the lowest ratio in three years. Still, the ratio is usually around 2 to 1 in healthy job markets.
  

American Banker:

• OCC Probing JPMorgan(JPM) Chase Credit Card Collections. JPMorgan Chase & Co. took procedural shortcuts and used faulty account records in suing tens of thousands of delinquent credit card borrowers for at least two years, current and former employees say. The process flaws sparked a regulatory probe by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and forced the bank to stop suing delinquent borrowers altogether last year.

Dealbreaker:

• If Citi’s(C) Ex-Hedge Fund Chief Had To Do It All Over Again He’d Still Invest Like No One Was Watching.

FINalternatives:

• Hedge Fund Launches Return To Pre-Crisis Levels in 2011. Hedge fund launches in 2011 totaled 1,113, the highest calendar year total since 1,197 funds launched in 2007, reports Hedge Fund Research. Fund liquidations were up slightly for the year at 775 compared to 743 in 2010. Those figures include 270 launches and 190 liquidations in the fourth quarter. The total number of funds rose to 9,523 in 2011, while total hedge fund industry capital rose by 3% to $2.02 trillion. In terms of strategy, 479 of the funds launched in 2011 were equity hedge (the highest total since 2006) and 265 were macro (the highest total since HFR began keeping track in 1996). Equity hedge funds also recorded the highest number of liquidations, with 293 such vehicles shuttering operations in 2011. That’s the highest figure since 2008 when 651 equity hedge funds liquidated. The fund of hedge funds sector saw liquidations decline to pre-financial crisis levels in 2011, with 215 funds of funds closing. Geographically speaking, more funds were launched in the United States than in Europe, and liquidations were higher in Europe.

Rasmussen Reports:

• Texas GOP Primary: Romney 32%, Santorum 30%, Gingrich 19%, Paul 9%.
  

Reuters:

• U.S. Asks Saudis To Lift Oil Output From July. The United States is pressing Saudi Arabia to boost oil output to fill a likely supply gap arising from sanctions on Iran, Gulf oil officials said, adding that an increase in production is unlikely to be needed before July. Saudi Arabia is the only producer with spare capacity and oil importers will rely on Riyadh to fill the gap should Iranian output drop. Saudi Arabia has made clear it will only raise output if it sees additional demand for crude and does not want its oil policy implicated in efforts to disrupt Iran's atomic programme which the West says aims to develop a nuclear weapon. "There were talks held between Saudi and the U.S. and the U.S. asked if Saudi could be accommodating once the sanctions take effect in July. And the Saudi response was that it was ready to meet demand in the market if required, but would not like to take part in the politics," one Gulf official said.

Telegaaph:

• EU Leaders are Using the Financial Transaction Tax to Hide a Spanish-Led Revolt Against Germany.
  

Financial Post:

• Greece Credit-Default Swaps Stripped From Sovereign Risk Index. Greek credit-default swaps were stripped from a benchmark measure of European sovereign debt risk after traders ruled that contracts on the nation can be paid out. The new version of the Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe Index linked to credit-default swaps on 14 governments was trading at about 230 basis points at 11 a.m. in London, according to BNP Paribas SA. The gauge closed at 353 basis points yesterday before Greece was removed. Greek swaps will be settled following an auction March 19 after it was ruled last week that the use of collective action clauses to force all investors to take part in the nation’s debt restructuring was a credit event. The sovereign swaps index will roll into its seventh series on March 20. A conference call will be held at 5 p.m. in London today to agree the terms, Sproehnle said, and the final membership list will be published at 8 p.m.

Shanghai Daily:

• Shanghai Home Prices Viewed as Too High in Survey. NEARLY 80 percent of respondents think housing prices in Shanghai are still too high despite government tightening measures being in place for more than one year, according to a latest industry survey. Almost 90 percent of them said they could buy a home that's equivalent to a maximum 10 times their annual household income, revealed the online survey conducted by Soufun.com, which collated responses from over 3,600 people during the week between March 6 and Monday.