Thursday, June 21, 2012

Today's Headlines

Posted by Gary .....at 2:58 PM

Bloomberg:
  • Spain's Banks Need Up To $78 Billion, Report Shows. Spain’s banks would need as much as 62 billion euros ($78 billion) in capital to withstand a worst- case economic scenario, according to two consulting firms hired by the government to conduct stress tests on the lenders. Oliver Wyman Ltd. estimated banks would need between 51 billion euros and 62 billion euros should Spanish gross domestic product shrink by 6.5 percent and house prices drop 60 percent from the peak.
  • Spain Meets Bond Auction Maximum Target With Surging Costs. Spain paid the most in at least eight years to sell three-year debt ahead of the publication of its banks' capital needs that will determine how much the euro area's fourth-largest economy needs from European rescue funds. The Treasury today sold 2.22 billion euros ($2.81 billion) of bonds, the Madrid-based Bank of Spain said today. That's above a 2 billion-euro maximum target for the sale. Three-year bonds maturing in July 2015 fetched an average rate of 5.547 percent, compared with 4.876 percent on May 17, and the most since at least 2004.
  • Samaras Names Banker to Greek Cabinet as Troika Prepares Return. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras appointed Vassilios Rapanos, head of the country’s biggest bank, to lead his finance team as the government prepares for talks with international creditors on relief from austerity measures. Rapanos, chairman of National Bank of Greece SA (ETE), was named as finance minister today after Samaras, the head of the New Democracy party, met with his coalition partners, socialist Pasok chief Evangelos Venizelos and Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis. Demetris Avramopoulos, a former defense and tourism minister and mayor of Athens, was named foreign minister.
  • National Bank of Greece to Sell Luxury Resort as Slump Bites. National Bank of Greece SA is preparing to sell an Athenian Riviera resort, visited by world leaders and movie stars for more than half a century, in a test of the country’s ability to sell assets amid concern that it will leave the euro. The 3.3 million-square-foot (307,000 square-meter) Astir Palace complex has already drawn investors’ interest, according to Aristotelis Karytinos, general manager of real estate at the lender. The Athens-based bank and Greece’s privatization fund, which owns part of the property, will put out a public tender in coming months, he said.
  • Russian Exports Seen Threatening Europe Steel Industry, FTD Says. Russia joining the World Trade Organization means its steel exports are a threat to Europe’s steel industry, according to Karlheinz Blessing, the chief executive officer of Dillinger Huette Saarstahl AG, the Financial Times Deutschland reported. Speaking at the Economic Press Club in Dusseldorf, Blessing said Russian steelmakers have ample raw materials and produce at lower cost than German companies, and imports could lead to overcapacity in the market, the newspaper reported.
  • Moody’s Said to Be Poised to Announce Bank Downgrades Today. Moody’s Investors Service has told banks it may later today announce downgrades of the credit ratings of as many as 17 lenders and securities firms with global capital markets operations, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. The announcement may come after the close of trading in New York today, said one of the people, who asked to not be identified because the information is private.
  • Ratings Cuts at Three-Year High on China Slowdown: Brazil Credit. Brazilian companies are being downgraded at the fastest pace in three years as economic growth slows, driving up borrowing costs for companies from Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA to Suzano Papel & Celulose SA. S&P and Moody's Investors Service have lowered the rating and outlooks of Brazilian companies 27 times this year, compared with 21 in all of 2011.
  • Manufacturing Slump Deepens From Euro Area To China: Economy. Euro-area manufacturing output shrank at the fastest pace in three years in June and a Chinese output gauge indicated contraction as Europe’s worsening fiscal crisis clouded global economic-growth prospects. A gauge of euro-region manufacturing fell to 44.8 from 45.1 in May, London-based Markit Economics said today in an initial estimate. That’s the lowest in 36 months. The preliminary reading was 48.1 for a Chinese purchasing managers’ index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. A gauge of German manufacturing output dropped to 44.7 in June from 45.2 in the previous month, Markit said today. The French indicator rose to 45.3 from 44.7. Euro-region gross domestic product probably dropped 0.6 percent in the second quarter, according to Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit. In the year’s first three months, the area’s economy stalled. “The downturn is gathering pace and spreading across the region, with Germany on course for a marginal fall in GDP in the second quarter, though far steeper declines are likely elsewhere,” Williamson wrote in the statement. “Firms are preparing for conditions to worsen in the coming months, with the darker outlook often attributed to uncertainty caused by the region’s ongoing economic and political crises.”
  • China Said to Propose Keeping Limit on Local Government Loans. China’s banking regulator proposed keeping a cap on local government loans to curtail defaults while encouraging funding for railways, roads and affordable homes, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. The China Banking Regulatory Commission suggested limiting loans to local government financing vehicles to levels reached at the end of 2011, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named because the proposal is confidential. The watchdog made the recommendation in a report sent to the cabinet after Premier Wen Jiabao’s call last month for the government to focus on growth, the person said.
  • Firings In US Remain Elevated and Factories Retrench: Economy. More Americans than forecast filed claims for jobless benefits and manufacturing in the Philadelphia region shrank, adding to evidence the U.S. economic expansion is weakening. Applications for unemployment insurance payments fell by 2,000 to 387,000 in the week ended June 16, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 45 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for 383,000. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s factory index dropped to minus 16.6 in June, the lowest level since August. “The labor-market recovery appears to be stalling,” said Millan Mulraine, a senior U.S. strategist at TD Securities in New York. “We are likely to see further moderation in consumer spending, which suggests weakness in manufacturing. This provides confirmation of the Fed’s stance.” Another report today showed the fewest Americans in five months said the economy was improving in June, signaling the slowdown in employment is seeping into consumer psychology. The share of households viewing the economy as heading in the right direction fell to 22 percent this month, the lowest since January, pushing the Bloomberg monthly expectations gauge to minus 11 from minus 1 in May. The weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was minus 37.9 in the period ended June 17, down from a four-week high of minus 36.4. “The steady drip of dreary economic data and a deteriorating labor market is reshaping public expectations,” said Bloomberg LP senior economist Joseph Brusuelas in New York. The decline “will likely result in slower spending, which in turn will likely have an adverse impact on business confidence.”
  • Sales of Existing US Homes Fall in May to 4.55M. Sales of previously owned U.S. homes declined in May, showing an uneven recovery in residential real estate. Purchases of existing properties dropped 1.5 percent to a 4.55 million annual rate last month, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 4.57 million pace. The weakest employment gain in a year last month and limited access to credit are restraining a housing industry that’s been supported by record-low borrowing costs and cheaper properties that are drawing investors. At the current pace, it would take 6.6 months to sell existing inventory, compared with 6.5 months at the end of the prior period.
  • Commodities Fall to Lowest Since 2010 as Fed Cuts Outlook. Commodities dropped to the lowest level in almost 19 months after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its growth outlook for the world’s largest economy. Crude fell below $80 a barrel in New York for the first time since October. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities fell for a second day, losing as much as 1.5 percent to 566.85, the lowest since November 2010, and was at 568.91 at 9:49 a.m. in London. Raw materials will enter a bear market if they finish around 570.26, or 20.3 percent below their Feb. 24 closing high.
  • Coal Excess Grows on U.S. Shale Boom, China Mines: Chart of the Day. Global coal output will exceed consumption by a record this year, surpassing the margin set in 2011, as China mines more for its power plants while U.S. utilities shift their fuel of choice to natural gas. Global coal production rose 6.2% in 2011 to a record 3.96 billion metric tons of oil equivalent, compared with a 5.4% increase in consumption to 3.72 billion tons, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2012, published last week. Coal prices at Australia's Newcastle port slumped to $83.75 a ton in the week ended June 15, the lowest since December 18,2009, as overcapacity rises, Bloomberg data show. Global coal supply will expand about 8% annually this year and next, while demand growth will decelerate, Standard Chartered Plc said in a recent report.
  • China Crude Imports From Iran Climb To Highest This Year. China’s imports of crude from Iran rose to the highest level this year even as Western nations stepped up pressure to cut purchases of the commodity from the Persian Gulf nation. China, the world’s second-biggest crude consumer, bought 2.22 million tons of oil from Iran in May, according to a report e-mailed by the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs today. That’s equivalent to more than 524,000 barrels a day, up 35 percent from the 390,000 barrels a day purchased in April. It imported 2.27 million tons, or about 537,000 barrels a day, in May last year.
  • Former Fed Chief Greenspan Says Economy 'Very Sluggish'. Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman, said today the U.S. economy “looks very sluggish.” Greenspan, in a television interview on Bloomberg Surveillance with Tom Keene, also said he sees “global slack” in the economy. “It looks very sluggish to me,” Greenspan said when asked about the U.S. expansion. “We have a two-stage economy in this country.”
  • BofA(BAC) Fined $2.8 Million for Overbilling 95,000 Accounts. Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch wealth-management unit was fined $2.8 million by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for overbilling customers by $32.2 million over an eight-year period. Merrill Lynch charged the fees to about 95,000 accounts between April 2003 and December 2011, FINRA said in a statement today. New York-based Merrill Lynch, which was acquired by Bank of America in 2009, lacked an adequate supervisory system to ensure that customers were billed in accordance with their contracts and disclosure documents, the regulator said. “Investors must be able to trust that the fees charged by their securities firm are, in fact, correct,” Brad Bennett, FINRA’s chief of enforcement, said in the statement. “When this is not the case, investor confidence is threatened.”
  • Shunning Second Car May Hurt U.S. Auto Sales: Chart of the Day. Auto sales may have less room to grow because Americans are increasingly willing to settle for owning one car or truck, according to Itay Michaeli, a Citigroup Inc. analyst. The CHART OF THE DAY displays the average number of vehicles for every U.S. driver since 1960, according to data that Citigroup compiled from the Federal Highway Administration and Ward’s Automotive Reports. Michaeli included a similar chart in a report two days ago. Last year’s average was little changed at 1.14, according to his estimate. The indicator of what he called auto density had fallen for three straight years after rising to a record 1.18 in 2007.
  • Navistar(NAV) Fined by EPA Over Technology Built With Agency. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is fining diesel-engine maker Navistar International Corp. for shortcomings in pollution-control technology the agency helped it develop. “EPA is entangled in a blatant conflict in regulating a business partner,” Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said in an e-mail.
  • Onyx(ONXX) Wins Backing of FDA Advisory Panel for Cancer Drug. Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ONXX) rose the most in five years after winning support from a U.S. advisory panel for its drug to treat a deadly blood cancer that affects 50,000 Americans. Onyx jumped 39 percent to $62.19 at 9:39 a.m. New York time, after reaching $63 in the biggest intraday increase since February, 2007. The shares have gained 29 percent in the 12 months before today. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (LGND), which has an agreement with Onyx to explore an IV version of the medicine, increased 10 percent to $16.
  • Philip Morris Cuts 2012 Earnings Forecast on Currency Swings. Philip Morris International Inc., the world’s largest publicly traded tobacco company, cut its 2012 earnings forecast as the strength of the dollar hurts sales generated abroad by the maker of Marlboro cigarettes. Earnings per share this year will be $5.10 to $5.20 based on prevailing rates, the New York-based company said in a statement today, compared with an April forecast of $5.20 to $5.30. Philip Morris said currency shifts will cut 25 cents from EPS, more than the 15 cents forecast in April. The U.S. dollar has gained 4.5 percent against the euro in the past two months. Philip Morris, created in 2008 when Altria Group Inc. (MO) (MO) spun off its businesses outside the U.S., got 39 percent of revenue (PM) from the European Union in 2011. Philip Morris fell 2.4 percent to the equivalent of $86.39 in European trading (PM) as of 8:47 a.m. London time.
  • Blankfein Sees 80% of Goldman's(GS) Growth Coming From BRICs. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein said the firm will rely on the biggest emerging markets for most of its growth even amid increasing concern economic expansion in Brazil, Russia, India and China may be slowing.
  • Egypt Islamists Call for Protest Over Army's Power Move. Egypt’s main Islamist groups called for protests after prayers tomorrow against moves by the ruling generals to expand their powers, as a delay in presidential election results added to political tensions.
Wall Street Journal:
MarketWatch:
  • Senate Approves Sweeping Five-Year Farm Bill. The Senate on Thursday passed a sweeping, $500 billion farm bill that would end direct payments and other subsidies to farmers, while expanding crop insurance and funneling new money to “specialty” crop growers.
  • Lack of Leadership Marks G-20 Summit. The photo op at the Group of 20 economic summit this week with President Barack Obama and Russia’s Vladimir Putin showing their evident distaste for one another drew a lot of attention, but a less visible spectacle was that of Obama lecturing German Chancellor Angela Merkel on economics. That’s a picture — much like the blind leading the blind.
Fox News:
  • Supreme Court Rules Against FCC Profanity, Nudity Policy. The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the FCC's policy regulating curse words and nudity on broadcast television. In an 8-0 decision, the high court threw out fines and sanctions imposed by the Federal Communications Commission. The case involved some uncensored curse words and brief nudity on various networks, including Fox. "Because the FCC failed to give FOX or ABC fair notice prior to the broadcasts in question that fleeting expletives and momentary nudity could be found actionably indecent, the Commissions' standards as applied to these broadcasts were vague," the Supreme Court said in its opinion. The court said the FCC is "free to modify its current indecency policy" in light of the ruling.

CNBC.com:

  • Beware the Looming 'Monetary Cliff': Goldman's(GS) Hatzius. After reading so much about the dreaded “Fiscal Cliff” these days, market participants can add another term to their fear lexicon thanks to Goldman Sachs: the “Monetary Cliff.” On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve extended its so-called Operation Twist program (selling short-term Treasurys and using the proceeds to buy long-term Treasurys) to the end of this year. This timeline — and the central bank’s failure to explicitly extend its low-rate guidance — sets the country up for a drop-off in accommodative Fed policies, points out the firm’s chief U.S. economist, Jan Hatzius. “The economy now faces a ‘monetary cliff’ in addition to the ‘fiscal cliff,’ ” wrote Hatzius, in a note to clients. “Our forecast implies that the U.S. economy will continue to struggle with slow growth and high unemployment of more than 8 percent going into 2013. Specifically, we forecast a slowdown in real (gross domestic product) span#ExplainsLink a, span#ExplainsLink a img, span#ExplainsLink a:visited img, span#ExplainsLink a:visited {border:none;} growth to just 1.5 percent (quarter-on-quarter, annualized) in the first quarter of 2013.”
  • ECB Mulls Scrapping Sovereign Rating Rules: Sources. The European Central Bank is discussing a medium-term plan to scrap rating rules on euro zone sovereign bonds and instead set their value when used as collateral in lending operations on its own internal assessment, central bank sources said.
  • Bosses Rein in UBS Banker Who Golfs With Obama. The banker, Robert Wolf, a top UBS executive in New York, is among President Obama's leading fund-raisers, building more than $500,000 for his re-election so far this year. A regular presence at big campaign fund-raisers, Mr. Wolf, who is 50, golfs and vacations with Mr. Obama and is known for e-mailing friends photos of himself with the president. While such a close relationship might have been envied by other bankers in 2008, when much of Wall Street was infatuated with Mr. Obama and donated heavily to his presidential bid, it has been making other UBS executives uneasy of late.

Business Insider:

Zero Hedge:

New York Times:
  • France and Germany Fae Delicate Talks Over Economy. Armed with a new mandate and a solid legislative majority, France’s François Hollande is off to do battle with Germany in the name of growth, prosperity and human decency. Or that’s the popular image, at least, of what is in fact a more delicate and nuanced relationship between the new French president and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.
Benzinga:
  • Whitney Stands By Call On Municipal Defaults. Meredith Whitney, widely known as the first bank analyst to call to light the risks of the sub-prime market, is standing by her call that some U.S. states and municipalities remain financially vulnerable. In an interview with Bloomberg Television's "Risk Takers" program, Whitney cleared the air about her controversial view on the financial health of U.S. states and cities.

CNN:

FINalternatives:
  • Hedge Funds Fall In Early June. Hedge funds extended their May—and April—losses in the first half of this month, one industry benchmark shows. The HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index shed 0.54% on the month through June 15. The decline leaves the index up just 0.97% on the year. Only one of the 15 strategy, sub-strategy and regional indices complied by Hedge Fund Research for the HFRX suite was in the black in the first two weeks of June, and it only barely: Fundamental value equity funds rose a microscopic 0.03% (0.54% YTD). The rest of the report was a sea of red. Macro funds and commodity trading advisers lost 1.06% (down 1.57% YTD), relative value arbitrage funds 0.42% (up 1.72% YTD), and equity hedge fund and event-driven funds 0.38% apiece (up 0.27% and 3.18% YTD, respectively). Systematic diversified funds took the biggest loss in early June, dropping 1.89% (down 2.6% YTD). Equity market neutral funds lost 0.98% (down 4.5% YTD), special situations 0.52% (up 1.52% YTD) and convertible arbitrage 0.47% (up 2.73% YTD).

Reuters:

  • US Ex-Im Bank signs $1 bln pact with Russia's Sberbank. The U.S. Export-Import Bank on Thursday said it has signed a $1 billion financing arrangement with Sberbank, Russia's largest financial institution, to boost exports of U.S. aircraft, energy equipment and other goods and services to the former Cold War enemy. The action comes as Russia is the verge of entering the World Trade Organization and the U.S. Congress is facing a vote on whether to establish "permanent normal trade relations" by repealing a 1974 provision that makes favorable U.S. tariff rates for Russia conditional on the rights of Jews to emigrate.
  • Big investors eye loading up on hedge funds: survey. Pension funds, endowments and charities may soon heap more hedge funds into their portfolios. Nearly one third of institutional investors said they have too much cash on hand and not enough money invested in hedge funds, according to a poll released by Russell Investments on Tuesday. "At least 30 percent of respondents indicated they were below their target weights in hedge funds, private real estate and private equity," Russell wrote in its 2012 Global Survey on Alternative Investing, a biennial survey.
  • CarMax(KMX) shares down as wholesale unit disappoints. CarMax Inc, a retailer of new and used cars, posted a quarterly profit that missed analysts' estimates as its wholesale business sold fewer cars. The largest retailer of used cars in the United States said although more people visited its stores to sell their cars during the quarter compared with a year earlier, the visits did not translate into as many buys by the company.

Financial Times:

  • Germany Infected By Eurozone Woes. (graph) The eurozone is stuck firmly in a sharp economic contraction, with the region’s escalating debt crisis hitting Germany with increasing severity, according to a closely watched survey.

Telegraph:

meps:

  • MEPS Reports Weaker Northern European Steel Prices As Demand Declines. The market for flat products in northern Europe remains very weak. Activity levels in mainland Europe are very depressed and, although demand in the Nordic region is better, research at the beginning of June revealed falling transaction values throughout all the countries reviewed.

Handelsblatt:

  • States represented in the euro-area rescue fund may lack seniority in the event that Spain cannot repay aid granted, citing European Union officials. EU officials are considering the move, adding that Spain will today formally request financial help for its banks. The Spanish government will seek a direct injection of aid to its lenders, circumventing the state administration, a move Germany opposes.

Digi Times:

  • Branded Handset Vendors Cutting Orders to Component Suppliers, Say Sources. A number of branded handset vendors, including Nokia, Motorola Mobility, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Sony Mobile Communications, RIM, HTC, Huawei Device and ZTE, have reduced their orders to Taiwan-based handset component suppliers recently, with the reduction expected to swell into the third quarter, according to industry sources. A crunch in buying activities in Europe combined with a slowdown in growth momentum for smartphones in North America has induced branded vendors to revise downward their orders for parts and components, the sources explained. The ratios of reduction ranged from 5-10% for vendors which slashed their orders in small scale, but some vendors cut orders as much as 20-30%, noted the sources. Although some vendors will launch new models in the third quarter, the traditional peak season for component suppliers in the third quarter may not happen this year, said the sources. With the exception of display sizes and clock frequencies of CPUs, the competition of hardware specifications for smartphones has nearly reached the end stage, making it difficult for branded vendors to push sales as well as to figure out the projected shipment volumes for new models, the sources commented.
0 comments

Bear Radar

Posted by Gary .....at 1:25 PM

Style Underperformer:
  • Small-Cap Growth -2.33%
Sector Underperformers:
  • 1) Coal -4.53% 2) Gold & Silver -4.44% 3) Oil Service -4.01%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
  • TGA, ECA, CHU, IMO, RHT, HES, CELG, BBBY, PEET, NLNK, SCVL, DIOD, BRKR, AIRM, TESO, ROSE, HCII, ATHN, MOLX, CERN, PATK, SYNA, DNKN, AREX, PLXS, HEI, MAIN, CYS, UCO, CXO, EOG, CBT, DCI, UA, LQDT, BRKR, KMX and CLC
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
  • 1) FTR 2) BBBY 3) SYMC 4) CCL 5) APC
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
  • 1) AIG 2) ADM 3) CELG 4) BAC 5) GOOG
Charts:
0 comments

Bull Radar

Posted by Gary .....at 11:19 AM

Style Outperformer:
  • Large-Cap Value -1.01%
Sector Outperformers:
  • 1) Utilities +.17% 2) Airlines +.15% 3) Drugs +.03%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
  • CAG, PEET, SZYM, XCO, ONXX, ARNA, PCYC, PANL and OSIR
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
  • 1) MNKD 2) BBBY 3) ONXX 4) RHT 5) ARNA
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
  • 1) BBY 2) NUVA 3) CHK 4) CAG 5) ONXX
Charts:
0 comments

Thursday Watch

Posted by Gary .....at 1:05 AM

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
  • Merkel Balks at Sovereign Debt Purchases to Overcome Crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel balked at committing to direct sovereign debt purchases through the euro-area bailout fund, pushing back on calls by the bloc’s leaders who backed the measure as a way to ease the crisis. Such a move, while legally possible, “is not up for debate” at present, Merkel said yesterday in Berlin. French President Francois Hollande championed the idea of using the European Stability Mechanism to purchase indebted countries’ bonds as a way to counter rising yields. Just returned from the Group of 20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, Merkel said: “I haven’t heard about such things.” “There is no concrete planning that I know about, but there is the possibility of purchasing sovereign bonds on the secondary market,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin after meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. “But this is a purely theoretical statement about the legal situation.” Merkel’s non-committal stance on the measure opens a fresh conflict as euro finance ministers meet today and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti hosts a four-way summit in Rome tomorrow.
  • IOU Maturities Cut With European Banks Roiled: Credit Markets. Average maturities on corporate IOUs relied on for everyday needs from payroll to rent are at about the lowest this year as U.S. money-market mutual funds seeks to curb risk with Europe's debt crisis escalating. Declining maturities on commercial paper held by prime funds, a leading indicator of stress, have fallen to 40 days as of June 15 from 45 days at the end of April, according to figures from Crane Data LLC compiled by Credit Suisse Group AG.
  • Italy, Spain Heading for Full Bailouts, Fidelity’s Stuttard Says. Italy and Spain, which account for more than a quarter of the euro-area economy, are heading for sovereign bailouts in the next 12 months that will send shockwaves through the global economy, Fidelity Investments’s Jamie Stuttard said. Both sovereigns will likely stumble over debt auctions in the next year, forcing European authorities to find official funding for them to hold the single-currency area together, Stuttard, Fidelity’s head of international bond portfolio management in London, said in a telephone interview on June 19.
  • Italians Openly Dodge Property Tax in Test for Monti’s Austerity. Luciano Di Pardo, a lawyer in Milan, is dodging Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti’s new real estate tax. “I didn’t pay it,” Di Pardo, 75, said of the levy that was the centerpiece of Monti’s austerity budget. “I get that we are on the edge of failure and disaster, but you can’t keep taking from ordinary people.” The new levy, which should have cost Di Pardo about 500 euros ($630) when the first payment was due on June 18, may mark the limit of how much Monti can squeeze out of taxpayers. The belt-tightening is also sinking the prospects of Monti’s supporters in parliament and deepening Italy’s fourth recession since 2001.
  • ECB's Coeure Tells FT EU Fiscal Union Is a `Necessity'. European Central Bank executive board member Benoit Coeure sees increased economic integration in the European Union as an essential step toward stability, the Financial Times reported, citing an interview. Coeure, who is responsible for the ECB’s market operations, told the FT that his answer to people who are in doubt about “the necessity of fiscal union” is that “if they want to keep the euro and have the benefits that the euro has brought to their economies, they have to make steps towards a fiscal union.” Europe is in the third year of an economic crisis and reaching a point where “deeper questions are being asked,” the FT cited Coeure as saying. Central to those questions is the shape of a future banking and fiscal union to bolster the monetary union, Coeure said, according to the newspaper. Without such strengthening, “the system will not be stable and we will continue to experience crises,” Coeure told the FT. Couere said a cut in the ECB’s main interest rate -- at 1 percent since December -- was “discussed at the last governing council meeting,” and that he “would expect the next council to discuss it again,” the FT reported. While he supports using the EU’s bailout fund to intervene in government bond markets as a stopgap measure, he is not eager for the ECB to take on that role, saying that the Securities Markets Program isn’t considered “the best instrument to use at the current juncture” because it’s not advisable to “mix the central bank with the fiscal authorities,” he told the newspaper.
  • Citigroup(C) Faces $5 Billion Hit on Dollar’s Rise. Citigroup Inc. book value could take a $3 billion to $5 billion “hit” this quarter as currencies in some of its biggest markets decline against the U.S. dollar, said Charles Peabody of Portales Partners LLC. The Mexican peso and the Brazilian real are among currencies that have weakened, which could lead to “value destruction” for Citigroup, according to Peabody, an analyst for New York-based Portales who was interviewed today by Tom Keene on “Bloomberg Surveillance.” The bank disputed Peabody’s conclusion in an e-mailed statement. Citigroup, ranked third by assets among U.S. lenders, relies on developing nations for more than half its profit as Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit pushes deeper into regions such as Latin America and Asia. The New York-based bank has an “intense focus on capturing emerging-market trade,” Pandit, 55, told shareholders in a March 9 letter. Peabody based his comments on a June 18 analysis of Citigroup’s foreign revenues from more than half a dozen “influential geographies (C)” and what they’re worth when converted into dollars from currencies ranging from the British pound and Turkish lira to the Korean won. There have been “extreme movements” in some of these markets in the second quarter, including the Mexican peso, the Brazilian real, the Indian rupee and the Polish zloty, he wrote. The peso and Turkish lira had the biggest impact on currency translation adjustments in the first quarter, he said, citing Citigroup’s quarterly filings.
  • China Manufacturing Slump May Match That of 2008 Crisis. China’s manufacturing may shrink for an eighth month in June, matching the streak during the global financial crisis in a signal the government’s stimulus has yet to reverse the economy’s slowdown. The 48.1 preliminary reading for a purchasing managers’ index released by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics today compares with a final 48.4 for May. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. If confirmed on July 2, it would equal the run of below-50 readings from August 2008 to March 2009.
  • China’s Stocks Decline to 3-Month Low on Manufacturing Concern. China’s stocks fell, dragging the benchmark index to the lowest level in three months, after a report showed China’s manufacturing may shrink for an eighth month in June and the U.S. cut its economic growth estimates. Jiangxi Copper Co. and China Shenhua Energy Co. the biggest copper and coal producers, declined at least 2 percent on concern demand for commodities will slow. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and China Construction Bank Corp. fell after the 21st Century Business Herald said the four biggest lenders saw net deposits decline by a combined 460 billion yuan ($72 billion) in the first two weeks of this month. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) lost 35.5 points, or 1.6 percent, to 2,257.38 at the 11:30 a.m. local-time break, set for the lowest close since March 29 and a weekly decline as financial markets are closed tomorrow for a holiday.
  • Hanwha Chemical Says Polysilicon Glut to Last Until 2014. The oversupply of polysilicon on world markets may last until at least 2014, pushing more high- cost producers of the raw material used for solar panels into bankruptcy, Hanwha Chemical Corp. (009830) said. The unit of Hanwha Group, which has built a supply chain of solar businesses through acquisitions since 2010, is “skeptical for the moment” about acquisitions as many of the polysilicon assets put up for sale are inefficient, Senior Vice President J.C. Song said in an interview in Seoul. “The polysilicon prices are now covering cash costs at a handful of top-tier producers, which means they are below production costs for the remaining ones,” Song said yesterday. “While it limits expansion and new entrances, the glut may continue until 2014 or 2015.”
  • Flaherty Said to Tighten Canada Mortgage Rules to Avert Bubble. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will tighten mortgage-length rules for the third-time as the Group of Seven country with the soundest government finances tries to avert a household debt crisis, a government official said. Flaherty will shorten the maximum amortization period on mortgages the government insures to 25 years from 30 years, the person said, speaking on condition they not be identified because the decision hasn’t been made public. The changes were first reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. in a report that was confirmed by the government official.
  • Obama Spends More Than He Raises as Aides See Romney Edge. President Barack Obama spent more on his re-election effort last month than he raised, ending May with $109.7 million cash on hand, according to U.S. Federal Election Commission reports filed today. The $39.1 million his campaign took in was outpaced by $44.6 million it paid for television advertisements, employees, offices and other expenses, the reports show. The spending rate is a reversal from the past three months, when the campaign was taking in millions of dollars more than it was spending.
  • SEC Said to Depose SAC's Cohen in Revived Insider-Trading Probe. Steven A. Cohen, the billionaire manager of SAC Capital Advisors LP, is facing renewed scrutiny from U.S. regulators over whether he made illegal trades based on inside information, two people familiar with the matter said. Cohen, 56, was recently deposed by Securities and Exchange Commission investigators in New York about trades made close to news such as mergers and earnings that generated profits at his hedge fund, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the investigation isn't public. Neither Cohen nor SAC Capital, which oversees about $14 billion, has been accused of wrongdoing.
Wall Street Journal:
  • Vote to Sanction Holder Escalates Gun-Probe Fight. A standoff between Republicans and the Obama administration over a botched gun-trafficking operation escalated Wednesday, with a House committee voting to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.
  • Lawmakers Push for Overhaul of IPO Process. A bipartisan group of lawmakers called on regulators to overhaul the way initial public offerings are conducted, concerned that last month's flubbed stock sale by Facebook Inc. shows the current system unfairly punishes small investors. In a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro, Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) prodded the agency to revamp rules for pricing and disclosure in IPOs.
  • Israeli Strike on Iran Stays on Hold, for Now. Israel is unlikely to launch a strike on Iran as long as sanctions on Tehran intensify and diplomatic efforts continue, despite the failure of international talks in Moscow this week, Israeli officials and security experts said. That puts Israeli leaders in a bind: While lack of progress on diplomatic attempts to curb Iran's nuclear program bolsters Israel's position that Tehran won't compromise, it needs to wait for diplomacy and sanctions to be exhausted so it can better persuade others to join it in taking tougher measures, analysts said.
  • Egypt Fraud Probe Stalls Vote Result. Panel Delays Naming of New President as Muslim Brothers Warn of Mayhem if It Is Denied Victory. Egypt's Presidential Election Commission delayed the announcement of a winner of the weekend poll so it could investigate fraud claims by both contenders, deepening suspense and suspicion as the country waited to learn who would be declared its first freely elected president.
  • Regulators Back Off Tougher Curbs on Oil. Europe and Syria took center stage at the Group of 20 meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, this week. But in the oil industry, all eyes were on a report that signaled regulators are backing away from efforts to ratchet up scrutiny of the $2 trillion-a-year market. In an interim report to the G-20, ahead of final recommendations later this year, the International Organization of Securities Commissions, an association of global financial-markets regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, retreated from an earlier proposal to set up a regulatory body to oversee the so-called physical oil market.
  • Plugging the National Security Leaks. Accountability is the key. A Congressional investigation makes more sense than a special prosecutor.
Business Insider:
 Zero Hedge:
 CNBC:

IBD:

NY Post:

  • JPMorgan(JPM) Trading Loss Could Reach $6 Billion. JPMorgan Chase has lopped more than two-thirds of its London Whale-trading blubber, but the debacle still could cost CEO Jamie Dimon $4 billion to $6 billion in trading losses, according to people familiar with the matter. Sources tell The Post that the vast majority of the esoteric derivative trade has been unwound.
Gallup:
USA Today:
 Reuters:
  • Investors fled Europe-linked hedge funds in May-report. Investors cut their exposure to hedge funds that invest in and are located in Europe during May as the euro zone financial crisis wrought havoc on global markets, data showed on Wednesday. Investors last month withdrew about $9.3 billion from hedge funds located in Europe and pulled $9.1 billion from hedge funds that invest mostly in Europe, hedge fund tracking firm eVestment|HFN found. "The higher rate of decline has been from those funds investing primarily in European markets and the reason is fairly straightforward; a lack of desire for exposure to European corporates, whether hedged or not, which are being impacted by the region's slowing growth and sovereign difficulties," said Peter Laurelli, vice president of research at eVestment|HFN.
  • Bed Bath(BBBY) costs rise; fending off Amazon(AMZN). Bed Bath & Beyond Inc gave a weaker-than-expected profit outlook for the current quarter as it spends sooner than expected to improve its e-commerce business, sending the U.S. home goods chain's shares down about 11 percent.
  • Red Hat(RHT) Forecasts Weak 2nd Qtr, Shares Fall. Red Hat Inc, the world's largest distributor of Linux operating software, forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates after quarterly billings fell short of analysts' expectations. Shares of Red Hat fell 10 percent in after-market trading.
Telegraph:

The Independent:
  • Bank Regulator Warns Hedge Funds of Crunch. The Bank of England regulator Robert Jenkins yesterday warned senior hedge fund managers to beware of a potential massive clampdown on their trading activities if the eurozone crisis triggers a return to the kind of liquidity crunch that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers. In a stark warning to traders who have become complacent again with the assumption that liquidity in financial markets – the willingness of investors to buy and sell assets – could be taken for granted, Mr Jenkins, pictured, warned that this may not be the case. "Short-term traders count on it; algo [algorithmic "black box"] trading depends on it. Long/short strategies presume you can short... "But here's the thing: confronted with sudden surges in cross-border flows, elected government will attempt to intervene in the interests of stability generally and to protect their taxpayers specifically, " Mr Jenkins said. He added that "like air and water, market liquidity is no longer limitless and no longer free".
China Times:
  • Lenovo Cuts PC Shipment Guidance to 13%-15% Growth. Co. told suppliers it will lower guidance of its global PC shipment growth for this year to 13%-15%, from previous forecast of 20%-25%. Shares fell as much as 7.2% today on 45% above avg. volume. Dell(DELL) shipments growth will be flat vs. earlier guidance of about +5% y/y.
21st Century Business Herald:
  • China 4 Big Banks Lost 460b Yuan Deposits in Early June. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp., Bank of china Ltd. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. saw net deposits decline by a combined 460b yuan in the first two weeks of this month, citing a lender.
Evening Recommendations
  • None of note
Night Trading
  • Asian equity indices are -1.25% to -.50% on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 174.50 -4.5 basis points.
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 142.25 -2.0 basis points.
  • FTSE-100 futures -.36%.
  • S&P 500 futures -.45%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures -.38%.
Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
  • (KMX)/.53
  • (CAG)/.50
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
  • Initial Jobless Claims are estimated to fall to 383K versus 386K the prior week.
  • Continuing Claims are estimated at 3278K versus 3278K prior.

8:58 am EST

  • The preliminary Markit US PMI for June is estimated to fall to 53.3 versus 54.0 in May.
10:00 am EST
  • Philly Fed for June is estimated to rise to 0.0 versus -5.8 in May.
  • Existing Home Sales for May are estimated to fall to 4.57M versus 4.62M in April.
  • The House Price Index for April is estimated to rise +.4% versus a +1.8% gain in March.
  • Leading Indicators for May are estimated to rise +.1% versus a -.1% decline in April.

Upcoming Splits

  • None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

  • The ECB's Draghi speaking, Spanish bond auction, Spanish mark-to-market audit results, Eurozone PMI, Bloomberg Economic Expectations Index for June, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, week EIA natural gas inventory report, (PM) investor day, (VRX) investor day and the (HOT) investor day could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by commodity and financial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to maintain losses into the afternoon. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.
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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Stocks Slightly Lower into Final Hour on Eurozone Debt Angst, Diminished Central Bank Stimulus Hopes, Profit-Taking, More Shorting

Posted by Gary .....at 4:15 PM

Broad Market Tone:
  • Advance/Decline Line: Lower
  • Sector Performance: Most Sectors Declining
  • Volume: Below Average
  • Market Leading Stocks: Underperforming
Equity Investor Angst:
  • VIX 18.07 -1.69%
  • ISE Sentiment Index 80.0 -17.53%
  • Total Put/Call .91 -14.95%
  • NYSE Arms 1.07 +9.18%
Credit Investor Angst:
  • North American Investment Grade CDS Index 114.99 -.37%
  • European Financial Sector CDS Index 275.12 -1.12%
  • Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 304.84 -2.07%
  • Emerging Market CDS Index 284.47 -.05%
  • 2-Year Swap Spread 24.0 -.75 basis point
  • TED Spread 38.75 unch.
  • 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -51.25 +.75 basis point
Economic Gauges:
  • 3-Month T-Bill Yield .08% unch.
  • Yield Curve 133.0 +1 basis point
  • China Import Iron Ore Spot $136.80/Metric Tonne +.15%
  • Citi US Economic Surprise Index -59.30 +.4 point
  • 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.14 -1 basis points
Overseas Futures:
  • Nikkei Futures: Indicating a +13 open in Japan
  • DAX Futures: Indicating -25 open in Germany
Portfolio:
  • Slightly Higher: On gains in my tech sector longs and index hedges
  • Disclosed Trades: Added to my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges and to my (EEM) short, then covered some of them
  • Market Exposure: 50% Net Long
BOTTOM LINE: Today's overall market action is bearish as the S&P 500 trades near session lows on rising Eurozone debt angst, diminished global central bank stimulus hopes and rising global growth fears. On the positive side, Alt Energy, Oil Tanker and Airline shares are especially strong, rising more than +.75%. Tech shares have traded well throughout the day. Gold is falling -.8% and Oil is down -3.9%. Major Asian indices were mostly higher, led by a +1.1% gain in Japan. However, China fell -.34% and is down -1.1% over the last 5 days, while the rest of Asia has rallied. Major European indices are higher, led by a +1.9% gain in Italy. The Bloomberg European Bank/Financial Services Index is rising +1.2%. The Spain sovereign cds is falling -4.8% to 573.46 bps, the Italy sovereign cds is down -3.2% to 511.49 bps and the Portugal sovereign cds is down -6.7% to 931.52 bps. Moreover, the Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread is down -5.3% to 415.25 bps and the European Investment Grade CDS Index is down -1.97% to 168.68 bps. On the negative side, Utility, Energy, Oil Service, Paper, Construction, Restaurant and Road&Rail shares are under pressure, falling more than -.75%. Copper is down -1.7%, Lumber is down -.75% and the UBS-Bloomberg Ag Spot Index is up +.4%. The Germany sovereign cds is up +1.0% to 99.83 bps, the China sovereign cds is up +3.4% to 117.89 bps, the Japan sovereign cds is up +2.6% to 93.87 bps, the Russia sovereign cds is up +2.4% to 220.51 bps and the UK sovereign cds is up +1.75% to 71.55 bps. Weekly retail sales have decelerated to a sluggish rate at +2.5%. US Rail Traffic continues to soften. The Philly Fed ADS Real-Time Business Conditions Index continues to trend lower from its late-December peak. Moreover, the Citi US Economic Surprise Index has fallen back to late-Aug. levels. Lumber is -8.0% since its Dec. 29th high despite improving sentiment towards homebuilders and the broad equity rally ytd. Moreover, the weekly MBA Home Purchase Applications Index has been around the same level since May 2010 despite expectations for a strong spring home selling season. The Baltic Dry Index has plunged around -60.0% from its Oct. 14th high and is now down around -50.0% ytd. China Iron Ore Spot has plunged -23.0% since Sept. 7th of last year. Shanghai Copper Inventories have risen +148.0% ytd. The CRB Commodities Index is now technically in a bear market, having declined -26.0% since May 2nd of last year. Overall, credit gauge deterioration remains a big worry as most key sovereign cds remain technically strong despite some recent improvements. The euro currency, oil, lumber and copper all trade poorly given global central bank stimulus hopes and recent stock gains. As well, the 10Y continues to trade too well as the yield rose just +3 bps today to 1.65%. I still believe the level of complacency among US investors regarding the rapidly deteriorating situation in Europe is fairly high. The Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index is falling another -2.8 points to -68.3 points, which is the lowest since early Oct. of last year. The “solutions” for the European debt crisis I still hear being bandied about are only bigger kick-the-cans that will eventually lead to an even bigger catastrophe as Germany is engulfed, in my opinion. As well, some key economies in the region are likely accelerating their contractions right now. Moreover, the European debt crisis is really beginning to bite emerging market economies now, which will also further pressure exports from the region and further raise the odds of more sovereign/bank downgrades. The "US fiscal cliff "will become more and more of a focus for investors as the year progresses. Finally, the upcoming earnings season could prove more challenging than usual for big multi-nationals given US dollar strength and the precipitous declines in some key parts of the global economy during the quarter. Global central bank stimulus hopes and hopes for a Eurozone fiscal unity "solution" have been propping up stocks, but I still believe there is too much uncertainty on the horizon to conclude a durable stock market low is in place. For this year's equity advance to regain traction, I would expect to see a resumption in European credit gauge improvement, a subsiding of hard-landing fears in key emerging markets, a rising 10-year yield, better volume, stable-to-lower energy prices, a US "fiscal cliff" solution and higher-quality stock market leadership. I expect US stocks to trade modestly lower into the close from current levels on eurozone debt angst, diminished global central bank stimulus hopes, rising global growth fears, profit-taking and more shorting.
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Today's Headlines

Posted by Gary .....at 2:59 PM

Bloomberg:
  • Italy Banks Waning Loan Quality Hurts Efforts on Capital. Italian banks are struggling to increase capital levels as fallout from the European debt crisis and the country’s third recession in a decade force them to boost provisions against rising bad loan levels. Italian corporate and household bad debt totaled 109 billion euros ($138 billion) in April, an increase of 15 percent from a year earlier, according to Bank of Italy data. Impairments, excluding writedowns, rose to 58 billion euros from 50 billion euros. “Asset quality and high non-performing loans are growing problems for Italian banks, especially as capital levels and internal capital generation do not provide sufficient buffers,” Francesca Tondi, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, wrote in a June 15 report. “The economy is already frail and credit is clearly not flowing,” she said. Italy’s economy has lagged the euro region for the past decade and is expected to contract 1.4 percent this year, the European Commission estimates. The recession is reducing the ability of borrowers to repay loans, forcing lenders to increase provisions and hurting their profitability. The banks may need as much as 42 billion euros of additional capital to boost reserves for non-performing loans, according to Morgan Stanley’s analysis. Moody’s Investors Service downgraded 26 Italian banks last month, citing weakened earnings and the poor economic outlook.
  • Merkel Pushes Back On Direct Bond Purchasing to Overcome Crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel declined to commit to direct sovereign debt purchases through the euro-area bailout fund, pushing back on calls by euro-region leaders who backed the measure as a way to ease the crisis. Such a move, while legally possible, “is not up for debate” at present, Merkel said today in Berlin. French President Francois Hollande yesterday championed the idea of using the European Stability Mechanism to purchase indebted countries’ bonds as a way to counter rising yields. Just back from the Group of 20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, Merkel said: “I haven’t heard about such things.” “There is no concrete planning that I know about, but there is the possibility of purchasing sovereign bonds on the secondary market,” Merkel told reporters today in Berlin after meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. “But this is a purely theoretical statement about the legal situation.”
  • French State Needs 10 Billion Euros for 2012 Budget, AFP Says. France’s government will need to find 10 billion euros ($12.7 billion) such as through new tax receipts to meet the 2012 budget, French Minister Alain Vidalies told Agence France-Presse. “The fact that we have 10 billion euros missing at the end of June isn’t the responsibility of this government that has started working May 16,” Vidalies, the Minister for Relations with the Parliament, said in an interview with AFP, Le Monde daily and La Chaine Parlementaire today. Vidalies said President Francois Hollande’s government, which is due to unveil a revised budget law next month, will seek to compensate the missing funds by scrapping tax breaks for tax payers, ending a tax holiday on labor charges and raising taxes for the wealthy people, AFP said.
  • Greece’s Christodoulou Says Spain May Need Writedown Before Aid. Spain may need to impose losses on bondholders before it would be able to receive a “sizable” bailout from international peers, Petros Christodoulou, former head of Greece’s debt office, said in a BBC Radio 5 interview. “There will be some intervention to stabilize” Spain and Italy’s debt, Christodoulou told the radio station today. “If there is no sufficient stabilization” Europe is moving in the direction that “before sizable official money is poured into a country, there has to be some sort of private-sector involvement,” he said. Christodoulou also said buying of government debt by official institutions is “poisonous for the balance of the debt because this is subordinated to the official money.”
  • Julian Robertson Says He's Betting Against the Euro: Tom Keene. Julian Robertson, founder of hedge fund Tiger Management LLC, said he's betting against the euro as the region struggles to resolve its sovereign debt crisis. "I continue to be short the euro against various currencies," Robertson, who once ran one of the biggest and best-performing hedge funds in the world, said today in an interview with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Surveillance. While a lot of investors are betting the euro will fall further, there's no reason to take a contrarian view until policy makers have taken steps to solve the crisis, he said.
  • Fed Expands Operation Twist by $267 Billion Through 2012. The Federal Reserve will expand its program to replace short-term bonds with longer-term debt by $267 billion through the end of 2012 as policy makers lowered their outlook for growth and employment. The continuation of Operation Twist “should put downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative,” the Federal Open Market Committee said today in a statement at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Washington.
  • Job Growth May Fizzle in U.S. as Productivity Gains: Economy. The U.S. economy may be on the cusp of a pickup in productivity that will make it more difficult for Federal Reserve policy makers to reduce unemployment.
  • Could Egypt’s Crisis Doom the Arab Spring? From the moment the Egyptian regime was toppled in February 2011, the nation’s military and its Islamic democrats were set on a collision course. Now we’re seeing the crash.
Wall Street Journal:
  • J.P. Morgan(JPM) Cuts Derivatives Exposure. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. this week slashed the size of a position at the center of more than $2 billion in trading losses, according to traders. The New York company so far this month has reduced by $50 billion its exposure to a credit derivatives index known as the CDX.NA.IG.9, according to people familiar with the trading. Much of the reduction came this week, according to traders.
  • Food Stamp Fiasco. The next time someone moans about Washington "austerity," tell them about the Senate's food stamp votes on Tuesday. Democrats and a few Republicans united to block even modest reform in a welfare program that has exploded in the last decade and is set to spend $770 billion in the next 10 years. Yes, $770 billion on a single program. And you wonder why the U.S. had its credit-rating downgraded?
MarketWatch:
  • Let's Be Frank, The Euro's Days Are Numbered. Don’t be fooled by a rallying stock market, where blind hope that a dollar-deluging Federal Reserve will come to its rescue has trumped fundamental analysis these past two days. The world must come to terms with a brutal fact: the euro’s endgame has begun.

CNBC.com:

Business Insider:

Zero Hedge:

Reuters:

  • Contagion may drag Italy back to heart of crisis. Italy risks being pulled back to the heart of the euro zone debt crisis as the fallout from a Spanish bank bailout makes market access more expensive even though Italian economic fundamentals are seen as stronger than Spain's. The correlation between moves in Italian and Spanish bonds has risen sharply since March, showing the increased risk attached to holding Spanish debt is feeding through to Italy. Many in markets believe rising borrowing costs will push Spain into a sovereign bailout, damaging investor confidence in lower-rated euro zone debt such as Italy's and depleting the regional funds available if Rome needed assistance.
  • Alberta Expects Big Rise In Oil Sands Production.
  • Copper extends losses after Fed "Twists" again.

Telegraph:

MNI News:

  • France PM Ayrault: To Take Years For Euro Bonds To Be Possible. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Wednesday said it will take years before the Eurozone reaches the level of political integration necessary for debt mutualization. "A mutualization of debt requires stronger political integration, and this will certainly take some years," Ayrault said in an interview with German weekly Die Zeit.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:

  • Germany's BVR Banking Assoc. opposes a European banking union as it would provide wrong incentives, citing Gerhard Hofmann, a board member of the organization. A grouping of risks, losses and debt among euro-area banks would go too far and a common European deposit guarantee would be at the detriment of German savers, he said in an interview.

Boersen-Zeitung:

  • Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has failed to win support for this request to allow direct recapitalization of the country's banks through the euro region's financial backstops, citing Brussels-based European Union officials it didn't name.

Bild:

  • German federal lawmakers may be forced to return to parliamentary session in Berlin over the 10-week summer recess if Spain's debt woes worsen, citing politicians. The summer recess begins on June 29.

Die Zeit:

  • The German govt is skeptical about giving the European Stability Mechanism a banking license because it's concerned this would give states direct access to the printing press, citing German finance officials.

Ansa News:

  • The possibility of Italy leaving the euro area if the ECB doesn't start printing euros is not "blasphemy," former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said in Rome today. "The alternative is that member states return to their own currencies," Berlusconi said. This is not "desirable" but it would allow Italy "to increase exports with a competitive depreciation without repercussions on the domestic market."
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