Bloomberg:
- Spanish Banks Downgraded by Moody's Amid Review of Possible Government Aid. Thirty of Spain’s smaller banks had their senior debt and deposit ratings downgraded, as Moody’s Investors Service reviews whether governments are willing to support all their lenders in a crisis. Citing heightened financial pressure on the country’s sovereign rating and “many weak banks,” the New York-based ratings firm cut 15 lenders by two levels and five by three or four, according to a statement today. The outlook on most banks’ senior and deposit ratings remains negative, Moody’s said. “It seems increasingly plausible that hard choices will need to be made at some point over the rating horizon, balancing the sovereign’s incentive to support the banks with the need to protect its own balance sheet,” Moody’s said in the statement. “It is, in Moody’s view, increasingly likely that the sovereign will not be prepared to write all banks a blank check.”
- Highway to Japan Quake Area Opens as Tolls of Dead, Missing Exceeds 25,000. Japan’s main expressway between Tokyo and the region devastated by the record earthquake and tsunami 13 days ago opened for the first time since the temblor, as the number of dead and missing rose above 25,000.
- Traders piled into leveraged and inverse ETFs last week at the fastest pace since May as a jump in volatility spurred bets that magnify or run counter to price swings in underlying securities. Weekly flows more than doubled to $1.04 billion as the VIX climbed to an eight-month high. The last time inflows for leveraged funds and inverse ETFs topped that level was the week ended May 21 when they reached $1.29 billion, Bloomberg data show. Leveraged and inverse ETFs make up about $34.8 billion of the more than $1 trillion ETF market.
- Jobless Claims in U.S. Fell by 5,000 Last Week to 382,000. Fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, signaling the labor market is mending. Jobless claims declined by 5,000 to 382,000 in the week ended March 19, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington, in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, fell to 385,250 last week, the lowest level since July 2008, today’s data showed. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the jobless rate, was 3 percent for a fourth consecutive week.
- Walgreen(WAG) Buys Drugstore.com for $429 Million to Add Sites. Walgreen Co. (WAG), the largest U.S. drugstore chain, agreed to buy Drugstore.com Inc. (DSCM) for about $429 million to add about 60,000 products available online. Drugstore.com holders will receive $3.80 in cash for each of their shares, in a transaction with an enterprise value of $409 million, Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreen said today in a statement. That’s a 112 percent premium to Drugstore.com’s closing share price of $1.79 yesterday.
- Consumer Comfort in U.S. Falls to Seven-Month Low on Gas. Consumer confidence in the U.S. fell last week to the lowest level since August as more Americans became despondent over the economy. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 48.9 in the period to March 20 from minus 48.5 the prior week. The measure of the current state of the economy slumped to a 15- month low. The highest gasoline prices in more than two years weighed on families already dealing with rising grocery bills.
- Small-Business Hiring Gains Momentum, Data Show. U.S. small businesses are starting to ramp up hiring 21 months after the end of the deepest recession since the 1930s, supporting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s confidence in a gradual labor-market recovery. Paychex Inc. (PAYX), which manages payroll accounting for companies that employ fewer than 100 workers, said checks per client rose 2.8 percent from a year ago in the quarter ended Feb. 28, the biggest gain in at least two years. The data, released with the company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings yesterday, adds to other evidence showing growing confidence by small businesses, including data from Insperity Inc. and surveys by Intuit Inc. (INTU) and the National Federation of Independent Business.
- Emerging-market stocks are likely to fall victim to accelerating inflation even after performing better this month than shares traded in developed countries, according to Barclays Capital. Emerging markets tend to do relatively poorly when the ISM index of prices paid exceeds 75, according to Barclays. The ISM gauge surpassed 75 in January and rose last month to 82, the highest since July 2008.
- Top U.S. Republicans Question Purpose and Goals of Libya Military Mission. Top Republicans in Congress questioned the purpose and goals of U.S. military intervention in Libya and complained that lawmakers weren’t consulted before President Barack Obama decided that America would join the international combat mission. House Speaker John Boehner sought an explanation of what he termed a “contradiction” between Obama’s stated goal of regime change in Libya and the limitation of the United Nations- sanctioned attack to curbing the ability of Muammar Qaddafi’s forces to attack civilians. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, yesterday called for congressional hearings on the mission as U.S. and allied warplanes continued to strike Qaddafi’s ground forces.
- Apple's(AAPL) 50% Sales Growth My Continue Through 2012 on Boom in Mobile Apps. Apple Inc. (AAPL) can keep posting sales growth of more than 50 percent in the next two years as a mobile applications boom fuels demand for devices such as the iPad, said the chief executive officer of Forrester Research Inc. (FORR) George Colony, who founded Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Forrester in 1983, outlined his predictions in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York.
- Orders for U.S. Durable Goods Unexpectedly Declined in February. Orders for long-lasting goods unexpectedly fell in February, reflecting declines in demand for capital goods and military aircraft. Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years dropped 0.9 percent after a 3.6 percent gain the prior month that was higher than initially reported, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Orders excluding transportation equipment fell for a second month and demand for business equipment declined.
- Caterpillar(CAT), Komatsu Say U.S. Construction Equipment Demand is Rebounding. Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), Komatsu Ltd. (6301) and Volvo Group AB said North American construction equipment demand is rebounding from the slump that followed the financial crisis. The market may expand as much as 30 percent in 2011, said Olof Persson, president of Volvo’s construction equipment unit.
- BP(BP), Rosneft Share-Swap Deal is Blocked by Arbitration Tribunal in London.
Wall Street Journal:
- Airstrikes Fail to Loosen Libyan Siege. Military assessments suggested strikes on Col. Moammar Gadhafi's ground forces have failed to loosen their siege of the key western city of Misrata, as coalition forces pounded targets of the Libyan regime on the Mediterranean coast and deep inland. The city of Misrata, 125 miles east of Tripoli and Libya's third largest, faces a humanitarian emergency, according to military assessments.
- Radiation Extends Past Zone, New Report Says. Levels of radioactivity from Japan's damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex may be above government limits for infants in some areas outside the plant's 20-kilometer evacuation zone, according to the latest estimate to fuel an international debate over how close civilians should be allowed to the plant.
- Bernanke to Hold Press Conferences 4 Times a Year. In a break with tradition, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold public press conference four times a year, in the U.S. central bank's latest move to boost transparency and improve communications after its policies came under attack.
- AT&T Upgraded on T-Mobile 'Synergies'. Shares of AT&T Inc. got a boost Thursday after a Bernstein Research analyst upgraded the company, saying the potential payoff of its pending merger with T-Mobile is too great to ignore.
- US Family Income Down 18% Post-Crisis: Fed. American families have seen their incomes slide by almost a fifth since before the financial crisis, according to a study released by the Federal Reserve on Thursday.
New York Times:
AppleInsider:
- US iPad 2 Orders From Apple's(AAPL) Online Store Now Ship in 3-4 Weeks. Availability of the iPad 2 has begun to improve, as Apple has eased the estimated ship time to between three and four weeks for new orders through its online store in the U.S. The new estimated shipping times for U.S. customers are an improvement from the previous estimate of between four and five weeks. But the wait is a little longer than some international orders, which are estimated to ship in two to three weeks. The shipping improvement is only a week, but it's a sign that Apple is beginning to catch up with strong demand it has faced since the iPad 2 first launched in the U.S. earlier this month. It's also a good sign for the international launch, as there had been some concern that sales in 25 new countries would only exacerbate the problem. The iPad 2 completely sold out at all retail outlets in the U.S. in its first weekend of availability, and stock has continued to trickle in over the following weeks. But there has also been concern about Apple's stock going forward, following the earthquake disaster in Japan and its potential effect on iPad components. Last week, a report from the Far East indicated that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn had stockpiled enough components to continue to assemble iPad 2 units for at least another two to three weeks. It was said that if the situation in Japan did not improve, Apple could face a stockout of the iPad 2. But for now those concerns appear to be unfounded, as availability appears to be improving with quicker shipping estimates. In addition, numerous readers have informed AppleInsider that their iPad 2 online order has shipped ahead of schedule.
- A President Worth a Billion Dollars? In a political career already noted for historic breakthroughs, President Obama is poised in 2012 to chalk up another: the nation’s first $1 billion candidate.
- Warren Buffett Says Collapse of Euro Not Unthinkable: TV. A collapse of the euro currency was not "unthinkable" if it comes under too much strain, billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC on Thursday. "Enough of a strain could cause it to fall apart," Buffet told the news channel. "I know some people think it is unthinkable, I don't think it is unthinkable."
- Canada Fund Managers See Promise in U.S. Stocks. Canadian investment managers are increasingly upbeat about U.S. equities and slightly less bullish about Canadian stocks, according to a survey released on Thursday.
- Dell(DELL): No Material Hit to Supply Chain From Quake. Dell Inc has not suffered any material disruption to its supply chain as a result of the Japan earthquake, a senior executive at the company said on Thursday. "Supply chain disruption has not been material," Paul Bell, head of Dell's public sector and large enterprise business units and a member of the company's executive leadership team, told journalists in London.
- U.S. Commercial Paper Market Expands. The U.S. commercial paper market expanded in the latest week, pointing to growing credit demand to fund payrolls and inventories in the economy, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.
- JD Power Sees U.S. March Auto Sales Up 9%. J.D. Power and Associates forecast U.S. March light vehicle sales would rise 9 percent from a year earlier and indicated that no sales drop due to events in Japan had yet been felt in the new vehicle market. Also on Thursday, Barclays Capital said U.S. light vehicle sales would rise 15 percent in March to 13.4 million vehicles on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate. J.D. Power forecast 12.7 million on the same basis. Retail sales to consumers, excluding bulk fleet sales, are forecast to rise 12 percent, J.D. Power said, to 10.9 million vehicles on an annualized and season-adjusted basis.
Irish Independent:
- EU to Call Emergency Talks on Bank Crisis. AN EMERGENCY meeting of EU finance ministers is now on the cards to investigate the full extent of our banking crisis. It will be called because European leaders are seriously concerned that rescuing the banks will cost more than the €35bn agreed in the bailout deal.
- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi remains confident he'll retake full control of the country and called on him to abide by a UN demand for a cease-fire, citing an interview. "Qaddafi is still confident he can succeed because he has full control of the capital," Berlusconi said.
- Portugal will revise its public debt figures to show a ratio of debt to gross domestic product higher than 90%. The Portuguese government, before the adjustment, estimated a debt ratio of 82.4% for 2010, rising to 87.9% this year.
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