Style Underperformer:
Sector Underperformers:
- 1) Disk Drives -2.70% 2) Education -2.31% 3) Homebuilders -1.80%
Stocks Faling on Unusual Volume:
- DFT, FIO, FTE, CBB, MRCY, TV, MNST, COT, CLF, TCBI, SZYM, WLL, TBI, SPR, CROX, CAB, ATHN, TZOO, SIMO, ESI, NAV, SWI, OFIX, MJN, ACAT, CLGX, BCO, FFIV, DTG, ARII, NOW, NVO, UA, ASPS, MKSI, BOE, BCO, PHK, STJ, KEX, ATI, CBST, GPI, TRN, NOV, PDH, AN, BHE, CTXS, JAH, TEX, SHW, LAD, EGN, TAL, BBY and SPR
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
- 1) NOV 2) LRCX 3) CME 4) DHR 5) HYG
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
- 1) NUVA 2) CP 3) TBI 4) MJN 5) UAL
Charts:
Style Outperformer:
Sector Outperformers:
- 1) Gaming +2.98% 2) Gold & Silver +1.98% 3) Steel +1.16%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
- NCT, PSSI, ANGI, RCL, CRR, LOGM, DDD, AKAM, TEN, GTI, ARRS, HRC, SYMC, WYNN, TER, NXPI, TWI, LQDT, ADT, PCAR, AMP and ILMN
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
- 1) RCL 2) EA 3) NOV 4) GRPN 5) FIO
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
- 1) AKAM 2) AB 3) SYMC 4) GPI 5) PG
Charts:
Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Spain’s Bad Bank Seen as Too Big to Work: Mortgages. Spain’s efforts to sell as much as
90 billion euros ($117 billion) of toxic property assets it uses
to create a bad bank from lenders that take state aid will be
constrained by the size and inability to provide credit to
potential buyers, adding to the risk of taxpayer losses. “When managing tens of thousands of assets scattered
across the whole of Spain, big is not beautiful, it’s sheer
chaos,” said Mikel Echavarren, chairman of Irea, a Madrid-based
financial adviser. A large, “clumsy” bad bank will be at a
“tremendous” disadvantage and will generate losses that
Spaniards will have to foot the bill for.
- Spain
Rally at Risk as Pioneer Sells on Aid Delay: Euro Credit. The rally
that sent Spanish 10-year government bond yields to a six-month low is
at risk after Pioneer Investments and ING Groep NV suggested selling the
securities as the nation resists asking for a sovereign bailout. "It
was a good time to sell," said Cosimo Marasciulo, who helps oversee $200
billion as head of government bonds and currencies at Pioneer in
Dublin. "From a risk-reward point of view, we are happy to take some
profits. We don't see the government in any rush."
- Daimler Scraps 2013 Targets After Cutting Forecast. Daimler
AG (DAI), the world’s third- biggest maker of luxury vehicles, lowered
its 2012 forecast and scrapped profit targets for next year amid
declining demand in Europe and increased competition in China. The parent of Mercedes-Benz forecast full-year earnings
before interest and taxes will fall 11 percent to 8 billion
euros ($10.4 billion), after a previous target of matching last
year’s 9 billion euros. The Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker
also said late yesterday it will no longer reach 2013 operating
margin goals because of toughening market conditions.
- France’s Quiet Bank Rescues Top EU60 Billion With Peugeot Aid.
France’s aid to PSA Peugeot Citroen SA (UG)’s troubled finance arm
brings the state’s backing for the nation’s banks to more than 60
billion euros ($78 billion). The government yesterday said it will
guarantee 7 billion euros in new bonds by Banque PSA Finance, the
consumer-finance unit of Europe’s second-largest carmaker. The aid comes
on top of support for Dexia SA (DEXB), the French-Belgian municipal
lender, and for home-loans company Credit Immobilier de France. “These
bank rescues on the quiet should be getting more critical market
attention,” said Bill Blain, a strategist at Mint Partners Ltd. in
London. “We don’t know what’s next, but
it certainly demonstrates that some of the specialized financial
institutions remain very, very weak.”
- Firings Reach Highest Since 2010 as Ford(F) to Dow(DOW) Face Sales Slump. Ford
Motor Co. (F) and Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) joined a growing number of
companies firing thousands of workers as sluggish U.S. growth and
Europe’s deepening recession lead to a persisting slump in sales.
North American companies have announced plans to eliminate 62,600
positions at home and abroad since Sept. 1, the biggest two-month drop
since the start of 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Firings total 158,100 so far this year, more than the 129,000 job cuts
in the same period in 2011. “Companies are saying, ‘Let’s not build
up inventories, let’s be lean and mean until we know until we have a
better idea of what 2013 is going to look like,’” said Janna Sampson,
who helps manage more than $3 billion for Oakbrook Investments in Lisle,
Illinois. “There is a fear now as companies see that the economic
recovery is not picking up.” So far, out of 204 S&P 500 companies
that have released
third-quarter earnings, 120 have reported sales that trailed
analysts’ estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
- Japan Protests After Four Chinese Vessels Enter Disputed Waters. Japan
issued a protest after four Chinese patrol boats entered East China Sea
waters near islands at the center of a territorial dispute that has
worsened ties
between Asia’s two biggest economies. Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu
Fujimura confirmed that the
vessels entered waters administered by Japan this morning. He
told reporters in Tokyo that repeated incursions by Chinese
boats are regrettable and the vice foreign minister had asked
China’s government that they be withdrawn.
- Hubbard: Good Chance Obama Puts U.S. Over Fiscal Cliff.
The U.S. economy stands a good chance of facing legislated tax
increases and spending cuts if President Barack Obama is re-elected next
month, Glenn Hubbard, a senior economic adviser to Mitt Romney, said
today. “There is a good chance, if the president wins, we go over the
cliff,” said Hubbard, who serves as dean of Columbia Business School.
- China’s Stocks Fall to One-Week Low; Coal, Drug Shares Decline. China’s
stocks fell, driving the benchmark index down to its lowest level in a
week, after a leading index for the nation’s economy rose at a slower
pace in September and earnings for resource producers declined. Guizhou Panjiang Refined Coal Co. and Jiangsu Yueda Investment Co. (600805), which makes cars with Kia Motors Corp., declined
at least 1.9 percent after reporting lower profits. Shanghai
Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. led a gauge of health-care
stocks, this year’s biggest gainer, to the second-biggest
decline among industry groups.
- Wynn Macau Profit Declines as High Rollers Cut Back. Wynn
Macau Ltd., a unit of billionaire Steve Wynn’s Las Vegas-based casino
operator, reported a 3.1 percent drop in third-quarter profit as high
rollers spent less. Net income fell to $203.3 million from $209.9 million a
year earlier, Wynn Macau said in a statement to the Hong Kong
stock exchange today. The company’s casino revenue dropped 4
percent to $857.3 million. The revenue decline reflects slowing growth in the world’s
largest gambling hub, where high rollers, or VIP bettors, from
China’s mainland have cut back. Still, VIP table game wins as a
percentage of turnover was 3.08 percent, exceeding the company’s
expected range and that recorded in the third quarter of 2011,
Wynn Macau said.
- Best Buy(BBY) Says Third-Quarter Profit Will Fall ‘Significantly’. Best Buy Co. said fiscal third-
quarter profit will be “significantly” below last year’s
results as sales at established stores continue to decline. Best Buy fell 3 percent to $16.41 at 4:44 p.m. in New York.
- Cliffs(CLF) Misses Profit Estimate After Iron-Ore Prices Decline. Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., the
largest U.S. iron-ore producer, reported third-quarter results
that missed analysts’ estimates as the price of the steelmaking
raw-material dropped. Net income fell 86 percent to $85.1 million, or 59 cents a
share, from $601.2 million, or $4.15, a year earlier, the
Cleveland-based company said today in a statement. Profit from
continuing operations was 61 cents a share, missing the $1.02
average of 21 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales dropped 30
percent to $1.45 billion. The price of seaborne iron ore fell 36 percent to an
average $112 a metric ton in the quarter, compared with $176 a
year earlier, according to Steel Business Briefing data compiled
by Bloomberg. Cliffs decreased its outlook for the spot price of
iron ore this year by 12 percent to $128 a ton from a July
forecast of $145 a ton. Cliffs fell 6.9 percent to $39.76 at 6:29 p.m. after the
close of regular trading in New York.
- An Obama Re-Election Nightmare by Caroline Baum.
It is April 2015. The cherry
blossoms are in full bloom in the nation’s capital, yet the
colorful display can’t dispel the cloud hanging over the city and the
country. The skies are gray. The mood is gray. Even President Barack
Obama is gray as he looks forward to the end of his second term.
- Obama Slanders the 1920s to Justify His Failures by Amity Shlaes.
Wall Street Journal:
- U.S. Firms Get Dinged in Europe.
- Gupta Gets Two Years for Leaking Inside Tips.
Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. director Rajat Gupta was sentenced to two years in federal prison for
leaking corporate secrets about the bank to a hedge fund at the height
of the financial crisis.
- China Banks Hurt By Weak Economy.
China's major banks are expected to report significantly slower
third-quarter profit growth in coming days, as a weakened economy
reduced business appetite for borrowing and prompted lenders to set
aside more provisions for potential bad loans. The going could
get tougher in coming quarters if economic growth rates don't improve.
Beijing's recent moves to allow some loosening of interest-rate
controls, letting banks price loans more cheaply, could start having a
more pronounced impact on lenders' already-shrinking interest margins.
- The President Sends His Non-Regrets. A revealing interview about his priorities in 2009—and 2013. President Obama doesn't give many interviews these days outside
Comedy Central, so it caused a stir Wednesday when editors at the Des
Moines Register managed to pin him down and even elicit some news.
Specifically, Mr. Obama said he wants to pursue immigration reform in a
second term, as well as a budget "grand bargain" with Republicans that
includes tax reform.
This will come as a surprise to voters
reading the President's just-released 20-page brochure on his
second-term agenda, which makes little or no mention of these
priorities. Perhaps that's why the White House first demanded that the
interview be off the record, making the transcript public only after the
Register editor objected in a public blog post. But the larger reason to be skeptical concerns Mr. Obama's answer to
another Register question: Whether he regrets pursuing ObamaCare and
other liberal social priorities in his first two years rather than
focusing on the economy.
"Absolutely not," Mr. Obama told the Iowa journalists.
CNBC:
- The Germans Are Coming for Their Gold. A
German federal court has said that country’s central bank should
conduct annual audits and physically inspect its gold reserves
worldwide, including gold in the custody of the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York. In addition to the FRBNY, Bundesbank gold is stored in
London, Paris and Frankfurt.
- Why CEOs Are on the 'Fiscal Cliff' Warpath. More and more CEOs are getting restless and starting to beat the drum
about Congress dragging its feet on the nation’s looming budget problem.
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
CNN:
- E-mails: White House knew of extremist claims in Benghazi attack. Two hours after first being notified of an attack on the U.S.
diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, a government e-mail to the White
House, the State Department and the FBI said an Islamist group had
claimed credit, according to a copy obtained by CNN. An initial e-mail was
sent while the attack was still underway, and another that arrived two
hours later -- sent from a State Department address to various
government agencies including the executive office of the president --
identified Ansar al-Sharia as claiming responsibility for the attack on
its Facebook page and on Twitter.
Reuters:
- F5 Networks(FFIV) sees weakness spilling into 2013. Network gear maker F5 Networks Inc
forecast a weak first-quarter as its large U.S.
enterprise and telecoms customers reduced spending, sending its
shares down as much as 12 percent in trading after the bell.
F5 expects first-quarter earnings to be between $1.14 and $1.16 per
share, before items, on revenue of $363 million to $370 million.
Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.20 per share on
revenue of $373.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company said on a conference call that macroeconomic
uncertainty led many of its larger customers to slow down or
reduce spending. Network equipment makers have been hit as telecom service
providers -- their biggest customers -- cut spending due to a
faltering U.S. recovery and weakness in Europe. Rival Juniper Networks Inc forecast current-quarter
results below expectations on Tuesday, citing cautious customer
spend.
- California school districts risk downgrades-Moody's. Moody's Investors Service
said on Wednesday that it would place California school
districts with weak liquidity on review for possible downgrades
if the state's voters reject two November ballot measures that
propose tax increases to raise money for education spending.
- Akamai(AKAM) beats estimates on cloud computing demand, shares rise. Akamai Technologies Inc
beat Wall Street expectations as the internet content delivery company
reported higher revenue in its cloud computing and media delivery
segments. Shares of the company, which
helps firms deliver content faster by avoiding congestion on the Web,
were up 5.5 percent in after-market trade.
Financial Times:
- The German govt is asking Greece to agree to hire external experts to help collect taxes, fight corruption, sell assets in exchange for a bailout with 2 more years of EU aid, citing a copy of the plan. France and the European Commission support the plan, while the IMF is said to be skeptical. The plan also calls for automatic, across-the-board spending cuts if Greece misses the bailout's revised deficit targets.
Telegraph:
- Foreign firms face tax crackdown in UK and Europe. Foreign companies face a tax crackdown as David Cameron demanded an
investigation into claims of large-scale avoidance while Brussels moved to
close European VAT loop-holes enjoyed by Amazon(AMZN), Skype and Netflix(NFLX).
China Daily:
- China
needs to overcome "reform fatigue," according to an unidentified
commentary in the newspaper. Reform in China is at a critical stage and
if the nation doesn't do a good job, it will face great difficulties
that set back its modernization, the commentary said.
Evening Recommendations
Night Trading
- Asian equity indices are -.50% to +.25% on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 123.0 +1.0 basis point.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 96.0 +.75 basis point.
- FTSE-100 futures -.31%.
- S&P 500 futures +.21%.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.36%.
Morning Preview Links
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
- (ESI)/1.78
- (CRI)/.89
- (AN)/.66
- (PG)/.96
- (PCP)/2.34
- (PHM)/1.20
- (BG)/2.16
- (DBD)/.39
- (IP)/.77
- (HSY)/.87
- (MCK)/1.78
- (RCL)/1.46
- (SPG)/1.92
- (BIIB)/1.59
- (OXY)/1.62
- (CELG)/1.27
- (SHW)/2.20
- (HOT)/.53
- (AET)/1.33
- (CL)/1.38
- (ZMH)/1.13
- (CME)/.69
- (RTN)/1.127
- (UA)/.52
- (COP)/1.19
- (MXIM)/.44
- (KLAC)/.88
- (CA)/.59
- (AMZN)/-.08
- (CERN)/.59
- (DECK)/1.04
- (DV)/.30
- (CB)/1.50
- (APKT)/.07
- (EXPE)/1.26
- (BYI)/.71
- (AAPL)/8.73
- (SCHN)/.00
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- The Chicago Fed Nat Activity Index for September is estimated to rise to -.2 versus -.87 in August.
- Durable Goods Orders for September are estimated to rise +7.5% versus a -13.2% decline in August.
- Durables Ex Transports for September are estimated to rise +.9% versus a -1.6% decline in August.
- Cap Goods Orders Non-Defense Ex Air for September are estimated to rise +.8% versus a +1.1% rise in August.
- Initial Jobless Claims are estimated to fall to 370K versus 388K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims are estimated to rise to 3260K versus 3252K prior.
10:00 am EST
- Pending Home Sales for September are estimated to rise +2.5% versus a -2.6% decline in August.
11:00 am EST
- Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Activity for October is estimated to rise to 5.0 versus 2.0 in September.
Upcoming Splits
Other Potential Market Movers
- The 7Y T-Note auction, South Korean GDP report, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index and the weekly EIA natural gas inventory data could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by technology and transportation shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the day.
Broad Market Tone:
- Advance/Decline Line: Lower
- Sector Performance: Most Sectors Declining
- Volume: Slightly Below Average
- Market Leading Stocks: Underperforming
Equity Investor Angst:
- VIX 18.62 -1.12%
- ISE Sentiment Index 77.0 -4.94%
- Total Put/Call .89 -16.04%
- NYSE Arms 1.39 -47.38%
Credit Investor Angst:
- North American Investment Grade CDS Index 98.25 bps +1.44%
- European Financial Sector CDS Index 170.64 bps -.51%
- Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 108.04 bps -.30%
- Emerging Market CDS Index 212.49 bps unch.
- 2-Year Swap Spread 9.5 -1.25 basis points
- TED Spread 20.75 -.5 basis point
- 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -24.0 +1.5 basis points
Economic Gauges:
- 3-Month T-Bill Yield .11% +1 basis point
- Yield Curve 149.0 +3 basis points
- China Import Iron Ore Spot $118.70/Metric Tonne+1.02%
- Citi US Economic Surprise Index 48.20 -.8 point
- 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.48 -1 basis point
Overseas Futures:
- Nikkei Futures: Indicating +7 open in Japan
- DAX Futures: Indicating -20 open in Germany
Portfolio:
- Slightly Higher: On gains in my Biotech/Medical sector longs, index hedges and emerging markets shorts
- Disclosed Trades: None
- Market Exposure: 25% Net Long
Bloomberg:
- Euro-Area Recession Deepens as Manufacturing Shrinks: Economy.
Euro-area services and manufacturing output contracted more than
economists forecast in October and German business confidence dropped to
the lowest in more than 2 1/2 years as Europe’s recession deepened. A
composite index based on a survey of euro-area purchasing managers in
services and manufacturing fell to 45.8, the lowest in more than three
years, from 46.1 in September, London-based Markit Economics said today.
Economists had forecast a reading of 46.5, according to a Bloomberg News survey. A separate factory index in China rose. In Germany, the Ifo institute’s
business climate index unexpectedly dropped to 100.0 from 101.4
in September.
- Draghi Defends Bond Purchases With Warning of Deflation. European Central Bank President
Mario Draghi defended his plan to buy government bonds in the
German parliament today with a warning about deflation risks. The ECB’s so-called Outright Monetary Transactions “will
not lead to inflation,” Draghi told lawmakers in Berlin in a
closed-door session, according to a text provided by the ECB.
“In our assessment, the greater risk to price stability is
currently falling prices in some euro-area countries,” he said.
“In this sense, OMTs are not in contradiction to our mandate:
in fact, they are essential for ensuring we can continue to
achieve it.”
- German Ifo Business Confidence Unexpectedly Fell in October. German business confidence
unexpectedly fell to the lowest in more than 2 1/2 years in
October as the sovereign debt crisis damped growth in Europe’s largest economy. The
Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a
survey of 7,000 executives, dropped to 100.0 from 101.4 in September.
That’s the sixth straight decline and the lowest reading since February
2010. Economists predicted an increase to 101.6, according to the median of 39 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.
- Volvo Third-Quarter Profit Misses Estimates on Asia Sales.
Volvo AB (VOLVB), the world’s second-largest truckmaker, reported
third-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates as sales dropped in
South America and Asia, and it incurred costs for shutting a production
line. Volvo fell the most in 14 months in Stockholm trading after the
Gothenburg, Sweden-based manufacturer said net income plunged 64 percent
from a year earlier to 1.37 billion kronor ($206.3 million). Earnings
were less than the 2.83 billion-krona average of 12 analyst estimates
compiled by Bloomberg. Sales
decreased 6.2 percent to 67.1 billion kronor. “This is a lousy result,” Mattias Eriksson, an equity
strategist at Nordea Bank AB with a buy recommendation on Volvo,
said by phone. “Both trucks and construction equipment
performed worse than expected. The question is, how much of the
problem is with the company and how much is with the market.”
- Fed Says Growth ‘Moderate’ While Maintaining Bond Buying. The
Federal Reserve said the economy is still growing modestly and
unemployment remains elevated as it maintains $40 billion in monthly
purchases of mortgage-backed securities aimed at spurring the three-year
expansion.“Growth in employment has been slow,” the Federal Open
Market Committee said today at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in
Washington. “Household spending has advanced a bit more quickly.” Fed
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is leading a third round of unprecedented
bond-buying as he seeks to speed job creation for 12.1 million
unemployed Americans. The FOMC, in its last scheduled
meeting before the presidential election, repeated today that it would
press on with the asset purchases until the labor market improves
“substantially.” “Strains in global financial markets continue to
pose significant downside risks,” the statement said. “Inflation
recently picked up somewhat, reflecting higher energy prices.” It said
longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.
- Bank of America(BAC) Sued for $1 Billion by U.S. Over Mortgages.
Bank of America Corp. sold defective residential mortgage loans to
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that later defaulted, the U.S. government
said in a $1 billion fraud lawsuit against the bank. The U.S. Justice Department filed a civil complaint today in
Manhattan federal court, claiming that Countrywide Financial and
its parent Bank of America generated and sold Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac thousands of defective mortgage loans. Bank of
America acquired Countrywide in 2008.
- Netanyahu Says Israel May Broaden Response to Gaza Rocket Fire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned today that “much more
extensive” military action is possible following rocket attacks from
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip today and in the past week. Four Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours by
Israeli air strikes in Gaza, as more than 75 rockets were fired
today at the south of Israel by militant groups from the Hamas-
controlled territory.
Wall Street Journal:
- Consumer Agency Sets Sights on Debt Collectors. A U.S. consumer agency is planning to ring in the new year by examining the nation's largest debt collectors. On Jan. 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will move forward
on plans to supervise 175 consumer debt-collection firms, beefing up
scrutiny of the growing multibillion-dollar market a bit earlier than
some industry officials expected.
MarketWatch.com:
Fox News:
- Weekly Home Purchase Applications Fall -8.3%. Applications for home mortgages fell sharply last week, registering
the biggest percentage decline in a year as demand for both purchase
loans and refinancings tumbled, data from an industry group showed on
Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally
adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both
refinancing and home purchase demand, fell by 12 percent in the week
ended October 19. The seasonally adjusted purchase index, which
measures loan requests for home purchases, fell 8.3 percent over the
previous week. Demand for purchase loans is a leading indicator of home
sales. The MBA's seasonally adjusted refinance index fell 12.9
percent from the previous week to reach its lowest level since late
August. The refinance share of total mortgage activity decreased to 81
percent of total applications from 82 percent the prior week.
- SEC Looking into Citi's(C) Disclosure of Pandit's Exit.
CBS:
- Norfolk Southern(NSC) shares fall -7.2%on lower earnings. Shares of Norfolk Southern Corp. hit a low for the year Wednesday after
the railroad reported a 27 percent drop in third-quarter net income and
an analyst downgraded the stock. The Norfolk, Va., company said
late Tuesday that the main culprit in its falling profit and revenue
last quarter was a steep drop in demand for coal, one of its biggest
hauls.
RasmussenReports:
- Daily Presidential Tracking Poll. The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday
shows Mitt Romney attracting support from 50% of voters nationwide,
while President Obama earns the vote from 46%. Two percent (2%) prefers
some other candidate, and two percent (2%) are undecided.
Reuters:
- White House told of militant claim two hours after Libya attack: emails. Officials at the
White House and State Department were advised two hours after attackers
assaulted the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on September
11 that an Islamic militant group had claimed credit for the attack,
official emails show. A third email, also marked SBU and sent at
6:07 p.m. Washington time, carried the subject line: "Update 2: Ansar
al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack." The
message reported: "Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed
responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on
Embassy Tripoli." While some
information identifying recipients of this message was redacted from
copies of the messages obtained by Reuters, a government source said
that one of the addresses to which the message was sent was the White
House Situation Room, the president's secure command post. Other addressees included intelligence and military units as well as one used by the FBI command center, the source said.
- Greek coalition ally says he remains opposed to labour reforms. The leader of a junior partner in
Greece's three-party coalition told Reuters on Wednesday that he
remained opposed to labour reforms demanded by Greece's lenders,
despite their latest concessions. "As things stand, my position remains unchanged," said Fotis
Kouvelis, head of the small Democratic Left party. Kouvelis has blocked political agreement on a broad package
of austerity cuts by refusing to back the reforms, saying that
European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders must
withdraw proposals that undermine labour rights.
Telegraph:
- This is an assault on living standards set to run and run. Close to the start of the economic crisis, someone I've always considered one
of the City's more astute practitioners privately ventured what seemed a
somewhat startling prediction – by the time it was all over, average living
standards in Britain and many of other advanced economies would have fallen
in real terms by 20pc or more.
Style Underperformer:
Sector Underperformers:
- 1) Road & Rail -2.80% 2) Disk Drives -2.31% 3) Computer Hardware -1.63%
Stocks Faling on Unusual Volume:
- GLW, FTI, JNPR, LVLT, VMED, CAM, DPS, NFX, CTCM, UMBF, TPLM, NEE, NSM, SIX, IACI, EAT, KMT, IRBT, BBRG, UTHR, TPX, INVN, TNC, NSC, BWLD, BKI, UIS, ALXN, UMBF, ABAX, JNY, NYB, SRCL, NFLX, ALTR, MDCO, MFRM, CHRW, WBSN, SIX and ATI
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
- 1) VMED 2) DDD 3) NSM 4) NSC 5) TPX
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
- 1) RCL 2) NSC 3) NTAP 4) BWLD 5) NFLX
Charts:
