Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- China Said to Plan Crackdown on Banks’ Evasion of Lending Limits. China has drafted rules banning banks from evading lending limits by structuring loans to other
financial institutions so that they can be recorded as asset
sales, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The rules drafted by the China Banking Regulatory
Commission ban borrowers from using resale or repurchase
agreements to move assets off their balance sheets, said the
people, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t
authorized to discuss the rules publicly.
- U.S. to Continue Flights in Defense Zone Claimed by China. The U.S. won’t change its flight
operations to comply with China’s newly claimed air defense zone in the East China Sea, a Pentagon spokesman said today. “We will not in any way change how we conduct our
operations,” Army Colonel Steve Warren told reporters at the
Pentagon. U.S. pilots won’t register their flight plans or
identify their transponder or frequency, Warren said.
- India Office Boom Turns Glut With Vacancies: Real Estate. India’s
slowing economy has left its big cities with a glut of office space,
pushing up vacancy rates, freezing development and prompting some
builders to convert commercial projects into housing. Vacancy
rates in the financial center of Mumbai and capital New Delhi topped 20
percent in the third quarter, the highest in Asia after Chengdu, China,
where 32 percent of offices are empty, according to broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Six Indian cities are among the 10 office markets with the worst vacancies
in the region, according to Cushman.
- India Growth Seen Below 5% for Longest Spell Since 2005: Economy. India’s
economic growth probably held below 5 percent for a fourth straight
quarter, the longest stretch in data going back to 2005, as Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh struggles to boost investment and tame elevated
inflation. Gross domestic product rose 4.6 percent in July through
September from a year earlier, compared with 4.4 percent in the prior
quarter, according to the median of 25 estimates in a
Bloomberg News survey ahead of a report due on Nov. 29.
- Most Asia Stocks Fall as Valuations Approach 6-Month High.
Most Asian stocks fell, dragging the regional benchmark index lower for
the first time in three days, after valuations climbed to near the
highest level in six months. Honda Motor Co. (7267) slid 0.9 percent as
the yen strengthened against the dollar, weakening the earnings
prospects for Japanese carmakers. Doosan Engineering & Construction
Co. (011160) slumped 15 percent after the Korea Economic Daily said the
Seoul-based provider of civil engineering and architectural
services will sell redeemable convertible preferred shares.
Perseus Mining Ltd. rose 5.5 percent in Sydney, leading a
rebound in gold producers after the precious metal climbed. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.1 percent to 141.68 as
of 11:01 a.m. in Hong Kong, with about four shares falling for
every three that advanced.
- Rubber Drops to Two-Week Low After Forecast Surplus May Widen. Rubber declined to a two-week low
after a forecast that the global surplus of the commodity will
widen through 2015 as production increases. Futures for delivery in
April on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange lost as much as 1.8 percent to 256
yen a kilogram ($2,523 a metric ton), matching the intraday low on Nov.
12. Futures traded at 257.3 yen at 11:42 a.m. local time, extending
losses for this year to 15 percent.
- Rebar Rises in Shanghai on More Signs Output Will Fall in Hebei. Steel reinforcement-bar futures in
Shanghai climbed on further signs that output will decline in Hebei province, the largest producing region in China. Rebar
for May delivery, the most-active contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange, rose as much as 0.6 percent to 3,657 yuan ($600) a metric ton,
the highest price since Nov. 13.
Futures traded at 3,653 yuan at 10:32 a.m. local time.
- Paris Office Market Wilts to 10-Year Low as Taxes Crimp Spending. The
office take-up in and around Paris is set to fall by 30
percent this year to a 10-year low of 1.8 million square meters,
according to broker DTZ. That’s less than in 2009, when the French
economy contracted the most since World War II. A tax burden that’s
reached a record high under President Francois Hollande and an economy
in its second year of stagnation amid the European debt crisis are
weighing on spending decisions.
Wall Street Journal:
- Stephens: Worse Than Munich. In 1938, Chamberlain bought time to rearm. In 2013, Obama gives Iran time to go nuclear. To adapt
Churchill
: Never in the field of global diplomacy has so much been given away by so many for so little.
Fox News:
- Deal in hand, will Iran follow path of North Korea? Now that the Obama administration has its nuclear deal with Iran, the
big question is can Tehran be trusted to make good on its promises --
or, will it follow the path of North Korea? "I am concerned this agreement could be a dangerous step that
degrades our pressure on the Iranian regime without demonstrable actions
on Iran's part to end its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability -- a
situation that would be reminiscent of our experience over two decades
with North Korea," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in a statement. Critics of the newly struck deal with Iran cite the United States'
bruising experience with North Korea over the past two decades. The
rogue nation repeatedly led on the U.S. and other nations, only to
renege time after time.
- Almost 80 million with employer health care plans could have coverage canceled, experts predict. Almost 80 million people with employer health plans could find their
coverage canceled because they are not compliant with ObamaCare, several
experts predicted. Their losses would be in addition to the millions who found their individual coverage cancelled for the same reason. Stan Veuger of the American Enterprise Institute said that in
addition to the individual cancellations, "at least half the people on
employer plans would by 2014 start losing plans as well." There are
approximately 157 million employer health care policy holders.
CNBC:
Zero Hedge:
Boston Globe:
The Daily Beast:
- World Doubts Obama Will Enforce Red Line on Iran. The Iran gambit has risks and, if a final deal isn’t achieved after six
months, the possibility of war rises. World leaders say President
Obama’s credibility to enforce the deadline has been badly damaged.
Reuters:
- U.S. diners plan even fewer restaurant visits next year-survey. U.S. diners, who have been cutting back
on restaurant visits, plan to eat out even less frequently in
2014, according to a new survey from consultancy AlixPartners.
For the first time in the five years that AlixPartners has
conducted the survey, participants said the No. 1 reason for
dining out less was the desire to eat healthier. That answer just edged out the need to trim personal
spending.
MNI:
- ECB's Noyer Says Euro Area Recovery Weak, Fragile. European
Central Bank governing council member and Bank of France governor
Christian Noyer said euro area's recovery is weak and fragile, citing
Noyer as speaking today at a forum in Beijing.
The
Obama administration will press ahead Friday with tough requirements
for new coal-fired power plants, moving to impose for the first time
strict limits on the pollution blamed for global warming.
The proposal would help reshape where Americans get electricity, away
from a coal-dependent past into a future fired by cleaner sources of
energy. It's also a key step in President Barack Obama's global warming
plans, because it would help end what he called "the limitless dumping
of carbon pollution" from power plants.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130919_ap_0f857b20e0c144a5a1e1b9dddc9f9d72.html#YRThyDOhArykUeYy.99
Kyodo:
- Suga Says Japan Can't Be Bound by China Airspace Zone. Japan told its airline operators that they are not bound by the China airspace defense zone, citing remarks by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
NHK:
- Chinese embassy prepares for unexpected occurrence. The Chinese embassy in Tokyo is urging Chinese residents in Japan to
register their contact details in case of unexpected emergencies. Officials posted the notification online on November 8th. That's about 2
weeks before China announced a new air defense identification zone over
the East China Sea. The zone covers the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China and Taiwan.
Nikkei:
- Japan, U.S. May Deploy Unmanned Plane to East China Sea. Japan,
U.S. may deploy Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft to East China
Sea after China announced an air defense zone in the region.
Evening Recommendations
Night Trading
- Asian equity indices are -.50% to +.25% on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 129.75 +.75 basis point.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 101.0 -.75 basis point.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.14%.
Morning Preview Links
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- Building Permits for October are estimated at 930K.
9:00 am EST
- The S&P/CS 20 City MoM SA for September is estimated to rise +.9% versus a +.93% gain in August.
- The House Price Index for September is estimated to rise +.4% versus a +.3% gain in August.
10:00 am EST
- Consumer Confidence for November is estimated to rise to 72.6 versus 71.2 in October.
- Richmond Fed Manufacturing for November is estimated to rise to 4.0 versus 1.0 in October.
Upcoming Splits
Other Potential Market Movers
- The
$35B 5Y T-Note auction, UK nationwide home prices, weekly retail sales
reports and the (JEC) analyst day could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by industrial and automaker 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 Equity Market Tone:
- Advance/Decline Line: About Even
- Sector Performance: Most Sectors Declining
- Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line
Equity Investor Angst:
- Volatility(VIX) 12.72 +3.75%
- Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 143.13 unch.
- Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 8.59 unch.
- S&P 500 Implied Correlation 54.76 +.57%
- ISE Sentiment Index 144.0 unch.
- Total Put/Call .77 -18.09%
Credit Investor Angst:
- North American Investment Grade CDS Index 67.95 -.83%
- European Financial Sector CDS Index 99.19 -2.34%
- Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 62.0 -.80%
- Emerging Market CDS Index 291.28 +.90%
- 2-Year Swap Spread 9.5 -.25 basis point
- TED Spread 17.50 +.5 basis point
- 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -1.25 unch.
Economic Gauges:
- 3-Month T-Bill Yield .06% -1 basis point
- Yield Curve 245.0 -2 basis points
- China Import Iron Ore Spot $136.50/Metric Tonne unch.
- Citi US Economic Surprise Index 4.70 -2.0 points
- Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -15.20 -.9 point
- 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.19 -1 basis point
Overseas Futures:
- Nikkei Futures: Indicating -104 open in Japan
- DAX Futures: Indicating -14 open in Germany
Portfolio:
- Slightly Higher: On gains in my biotech/retail sector longs and emerging markets shorts
- Disclosed Trades: Added to my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges
- Market Exposure: Moved to 25% Net Long
Bloomberg:
- Extremist Tide Poses Growing Threat to Europe, Katainen Says. Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen urged voters to embrace more moderate policies as he
cautioned against the threat to Europe posed by a surge in
extremists bent on splitting the euro area. Katainen asked voters to leave “anti-euro thinking
aside,” in a Nov. 21 interview in Helsinki. “Times have been
tough for quite a while and that’s showing for the political
groups who have been there to clean up the mess.”
- RBS Appoints Clifford Chance to Conduct Lending Probe. Royal
Bank of Scotland Group Plc appointed Clifford Chance LLP to investigate
whether it pushed companies that owed it money into difficulties to
boost profit. RBS said in an e-mailed statement today it appointed
the law firm after a report by Lawrence Tomlinson, chairman and founder
of LNT Group
Ltd., said that once companies were in default, the bank could charge
them advisory fees and buy their assets at reduced prices. Business
Secretary Vince Cable has referred RBS to the Financial Conduct
Authority.
- European Stocks Rise on Iran Accord as Air France Climbs.
European stocks advanced, after posting their first weekly loss since
October, as Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program. International
Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) and Air France-KLM (AF) Group rose
with a gauge of travel stocks as oil prices fell after Iran’s accord.
PSA Peugeot Citroen gained 5.1 percent after people familiar with the
matter said it will appoint a new chief executive officer. Fresenius
Medical Care AG
surged the most in five years after U.S. regulators scrapped a
plan to cut Medicare payments next year. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.4 percent to 324.18
at the close in London, 0.5 points away from its May 2008 high
reached Nov. 18.
- Oil Slump Seen as ‘Knee-Jerk’ Reaction to Iran Deal. Brent crude, a benchmark for more than half the world’s
oil, lost as much as $3 a barrel to $108.05, the biggest
intraday loss since June 20, before recovering about one-third
of the decline. WTI fell as much as $1.55, to $93.29 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Wall Street Journal:
- China Government-Bond Yields Soar. Yields on Chinese government debt have soared to their highest levels
in nearly nine years amid Beijing’s relentless drive to tighten the
monetary spigots in the world’s second-largest economy. The higher yields on government debt have pushed up borrowing costs
broadly, creating obstacles for companies and government agencies
looking to tap bond markets. Several Chinese development banks, which
have mandates to encourage growth through targeted investments, have had
to either scale back borrowing plans or postpone bond sales.
The slowing pace of bond sales from earlier in the year is reviving
worries of reduced credit and soaring funding costs that were sparked in
June, when China’s debt markets were rattled by a cash crunch.
Fox News:
MarketWatch:
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
Reuters:
Xinhua:
- China inks regulation to ban official extravagance. In the latest move in China's
anti-waste campaign, central authorities on Monday issued a written
regulation to standardize fund management and ban Party and government
extravagance. The regulation, which contains 65 items and 12 chapters, outlined the
proper management of funds for various uses, including official travel,
receptions, meetings, official vehicles and buildings. It is meant to guide the Party and government organs in practicing
frugality and rejecting extravagance, and is an important move in the
spirit of the recently-concluded Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC
Central Committee, according to a statement issued by the Communist
Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, China's
Cabinet.
Style Underperformer:
Sector Underperformers:
- 1) Oil Service -2.30% 2) Gold & Silver -2.0% 3) Steel -1.77%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
- ADT, LGF, SDRL, DLLR, BPT, LL, EBAY, MKTX, UBNT, VCRA, RAX, FONR, UNXL, OII, QIHU, FIX, QCOR, CEO, PXD, LYB, YELP, SPLK, MTD, IBM, JKS, CLDX and AREX
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
- 1) ADT 2) BZH 3) FL 4) EBAY 5) TWTR
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
- 1) QCOM 2) PXD 3) SCCO 4) SINA 5) FB
Charts:
Style Outperformer:
Sector Outperformers:
- 1) Airlines +1.71% 2) Biotech +.99% 3) HMOs +.73%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
- FMS, GA, DVA, BKW, EGHT, MDAS, CBST, UVE, CBST, KCG and BIIB
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
- 1) HBAN 2) TXT 3) CNP 4) LL 5) GNK
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
- 1) BK 2) PGR 3) JNJ 4) AAPL 5) GOOG
Charts:
Weekend Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Obama Moves to Prevent Rift With Allies Over Iran Deal. Hours
after announcing a nuclear
deal with Iran, President Barack Obama moved to prevent the agreement
from opening a rift with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
even with some Democrats in Congress. Obama called Netanyahu before departing on a trip to the U.S. West Coast. At
an Israeli cabinet meeting today, the
Israeli leader called the six-month accord with Iran “an
historic mistake.” Some Democratic lawmakers with significant Jewish
constituencies joined in the criticism, including Charles Schumer of New
York, who said he was “disappointed” by a deal that “does not seem
proportional.” Schumer, the Senate’s third-ranking Democrat, said that
it’s now “more likely” that Democratic lawmakers will join
Republicans in passing legislation to impose additional
sanctions on Iran, a step that Obama warned in announcing the
deal might either disrupt the agreement or distance the U.S.
from allies needed to maintain remaining sanctions.
- Abe’s Stimulus Folly May Destroy Yen and JGBs, Doshisha’s Hama.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s
reliance on fiscal and monetary easing to defeat deflation may
precipitate a “plunge” in the yen and sovereign bonds, said Noriko Hama,
an economics professor at Doshisha University’s Business School in
Kyoto. “The Bank of Japan is no longer functioning as a proper central bank,” Hama said
at a speech in Tokyo on Nov. 21, referring to the BOJ’s doubling of
monthly bond purchases to more than 7 trillion yen ($68.8 billion) in
April. “The
scariest scenario, and the one we should be most wary of, is a
bottomless crash in the yen,” as the global financial community
loses faith in the currency, Hama said.
- China Developers Owe 3.8 Trillion Yuan in Land Taxes, CCTV Says. Chinese property developers failed
to pay at least 3.8 trillion yuan ($624 billion) in land taxes
between 2005 and 2012, according to a China Central Television report.
Agile Property Holdings Ltd. (3383), which owes the government 8.3
billion yuan in land appreciation taxes, and Soho China Ltd. (410), the
biggest developer in Beijing’s central business district, owe the most
among the 45 developers that failed to pay, CCTV reported yesterday,
citing calculations by Li Jinsong, a Beijing-based lawyer. Other
companies that owe the tax include China Vanke Co. (200002), the
country’s biggest developer listed on mainland exchanges, the state
television said. A gauge tracking property shares on the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8 percent as of 10:20 a.m., the biggest decline
among the five industry groups on the benchmark, which dropped
0.3 percent.
- China Trades Barbs With U.S. Over China Sea Defense Zone. China traded barbs with the U.S. and Japan over its newly announced
air defense zone in the East China Sea, as tensions escalated between
Asia’s largest economies and risked damaging a resurgence in trade. China’s
Defense Ministry filed protests to both nations’ embassies, calling
Japan’s remarks “unreasonable” and the U.S. comments “wrong,” according
to a statement posted on the ministry’s website today. Japan lodged a
complaint as the U.S. and South Korea expressed concern about China’s
creation of the zone Nov. 23.
- Oil Sinks on Iran Deal as Stocks Advance; Yen Slides.
Crude oil headed for the biggest drop in three weeks after Iran agreed
to limit its nuclear program in exchange for relief from some sanctions.
Asian stocks
climbed, while the yen fell to its weakest since May. Brent crude sank
2.2 percent to $108.62 a barrel by 12:32
p.m. in Tokyo. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which
capped a seventh weekly gain Nov. 22, rose 0.3 percent. The MSCI
Asia Pacific Index added 0.4 percent, while credit risk in the region fell. The yen dropped as much as 0.5 percent while Thailand’s currency and equities slid amid protests in Bangkok.
- Rebar Advances as China’s Hebei Demolishes Old Steel Furnaces. Steel reinforcement-bar futures in
Shanghai advanced as the government in Hebei province began demolishing old steel blast furnaces. Rebar
for May delivery, the most-active contract by volume on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange, rose as much as 0.8 percent to 3,642 yuan ($598) a
metric ton and traded at 3,630 yuan at 10:49
a.m., local time.
- Europe Twin Woes Fester in Draghi Job-to-Inflation Fight. Europe’s twin woes of too little
inflation and too many unemployed will dominate data due this
week just as officials prepare forecasts backing the rationale
for Mario Draghi’s surprise interest-rate cut. Inflation stayed
close to the lowest level in almost four years in November with a
reading of 0.8 percent, according to the median prediction of 44
economists polled by Bloomberg News. Data published at the same time on
Nov. 29 might also reveal the euro-area jobless rate remained at a
record 12.2 percent.
- Businesses Wary as Obama Picks Get Edge in Senate Rules. President
Barack Obama will have more leverage to regulate the energy and
financial-services industries under a Senate rule change that will let a
simple majority confirm most presidential nominees. This week’s Senate
vote means Obama won’t need Republican
support to win approval of his nominees to run federal agencies
and serve on U.S. trial and appeals courts. There are 231 Obama
nominees pending in the Senate, including 53 judges, 81
candidates for cabinet-level agencies and 13 at independent
regulatory agencies, according to the White House. Most important, in many ways, are Obama’s picks to serve on
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,
which handles challenges to federal regulations and is called
the second-highest court in the country. “Under any administration, federal agencies seek to
implement the president’s policies by developing regulations,”
said Jeff Holmstead, a Washington lawyer at Bracewell & Giuliani
LLP who has represented coal-heavy utilities. “But in most
cases, the judges on the D.C. Circuit are the people who decide
whether those regulations comply with federal law.”
- Obama Hitting Seven Democratic Fundraisers on West Coast. President
Barack Obama, with a full plate of domestic and foreign policy issues
before him, is undertaking a three-day fundraising trip that includes
stops at the Seattle home of former Microsoft executive Jon Shirley and
Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles house. Obama left Washington today after the U.S. and other world
powers announced an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program
and as his administration seeks to recover from the troubled
rollout of his health-care law.
- Obamacare Fiasco Erodes Government as Problem-Solver Idea.
When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, voters were not merely
choosing a candidate they found more compelling. They also were
endorsing a renewal
of the notion that government could be a force for good. The flawed rollout of Obamacare, his signature legislative
achievement, is testing that premise, giving Republicans a
chance to re-litigate the role of government and Democrats pause
that the damage could lead to congressional losses.
- For-Profit Colleges Face Consumer Bureau Probe on Lending Roles. The U.S. Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau is investigating at least two for-profit
colleges over potentially abusive practices in marketing and originating student loans.
The CFPB, which is studying and preparing to directly supervise the
entire private student loan industry, is examining potential illegal
practices by Corinthian Colleges Inc. (COCO) and ITT Educational
Services Inc. (ESI), according a document posted on the
agency’s website and securities filings.
Wall Street Journal:
- Iran Pact Faces Stiff Opposition. Israel and Some U.S. Lawmakers Blast Interim Deal to Curb Nuclear Program, Ease Sanctions. A groundbreaking deal to curb Iran's nuclear
program faces towering obstacles at home and abroad to becoming a
permanent agreement, starting with the U.S. Congress and two of
America's closest allies. The leaders of both the Democratic and
Republican parties are threatening to break with President Barack
Obama's policy and enact new punitive sanctions on Iran, arguing that the interim deal reached in Geneva on Sunday yields too much to the
Islamist regime while asking too little.
- Capital Journal: Allies Fear a U.S. Pullback in Mideast. Some Say Negotiations with Iran Represent Latest Evidence War-Weary U.S. Seeks to Close Books on Region's Long-Term Problems. America's allies in Israel and Saudi Arabia
view the new nuclear agreement with Iran with a mixture of unease and
alarm. But for some in the skeptics' camp, the broader concern extends
well beyond the preliminary nuclear deal. Their
underlying worry is that the negotiations with Iran represent just the
latest evidence that a war-weary U.S. is slowly seeking to close the
books on a series of nettlesome long-term problems, allowing Washington
to pull back from its longtime commitment to the Middle East.
- Companies Prepare to Pass More Health Costs to Workers. Firms Brace for Influx of Participants in Insurance Plans Who Had Earlier Opted Out. Companies are bracing for an influx of
participants in their insurance plans due to the health-care overhaul,
adding to pressure to shift more of the cost of coverage to employees. Many
employers are betting that the Affordable Care Act's requirement that
all Americans have health insurance starting in 2014 will bring more
people into their plans who have previously opted out. That, along with
other rising expenses, is prompting companies to raise workers' premium
contributions, steer them toward high-deductible plans and charge them
more to cover family members.
- Iran's Nuclear Triumph. Tehran can continue to enrich uranium at 10,000 working centrifuges. President
Obama
is hailing a weekend accord that he says has "halted the progress
of the Iranian nuclear program," and we devoutly wish this were true.
The reality is that the agreement in Geneva with five Western nations
takes Iran a giant step closer to becoming a de facto nuclear power. Start
with the fact that this "interim" accord fails to meet the terms of
several United Nations resolutions, which specify no sanctions relief
until Iran suspends all uranium enrichment. Under this deal Iran gets
sanctions relief, but it does not have to give up its centrifuges that
enrich uranium, does not have to stop enriching, does not have to
transfer control of its enrichment stockpiles, and does not have to shut
down its plutonium reactor at Arak.
Marketwatch.com:
- Holiday season ushers in retail stock jitters. Investors will be closely watching the holiday hysteria that’s soon to
overtake the stores and shopping malls of America, especially as Wall
Street fears the coming holiday season could be a dud for retailers.
ValueWalk:
Business Insider:
LA Times:
New York Post:
- False Job Numbers: Did the White House Know?
Let me be the first to ask: Did the White House know that employment
reports were being falsified? Last week I reported exclusively that
someone at the Census Bureau’s Philadelphia region had been screwing
around with employment data. And that person, after he was caught in
2010, claimed he was told to do so by a supervisor two levels up the
chain of command. On top of that, a reliable source whom I haven’t
identified said the falsification of employment data by Census was
widespread and ongoing, especially around the time of the 2012 election.
The Detroit News:
- Obamacare will kill middle class.
Obamacare is the biggest assault ever on the middle class. If not
radically altered or repealed, it will diminish lifestyles and increase
the financial struggles of average individuals and families. Combined
with other costly government meddling in the economy, it will destroy
the concept of an American middle.
Incomes that over the past decade have barely kept pace with inflation
will not absorb the surging cost of health insurance that will come for
many, if not most people, on Jan. 1. We’re painfully familiar with
Obamacare’s impact on the individual insurance market. Those who buy
their own insurance are seeing policies canceled and replaced with ones
costing two to three times as much. President Barack Obama’s fake fix
won’t provide much relief.
Telegraph:
Night Trading
- Asian indices are -.25% to +1.0% on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 129.0 -4.5 basis points.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 101.75 -1.5 basis points.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.29%.
Morning Preview Links
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Economic Releases
10:00 am EST
- Pending Home Sales for October are estimated to rise +1.1% versus a -5.6% decline in September.
10:30 am EST
- Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity for November is estimated to rise to 5.0 versus 3.6 in October.
Upcoming Splits
Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed's Taruillo speaking, 2Y T-Note auction, BoJ Minutes and the (SNE) analyst meeting could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian
indices are mostly higher, boosted by financial and industrial
shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the week.
