Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- When Will Greece Run Out of Cash? (video)
- The Chinese Can’t Kick Their Savings Habit. Some bank as much as half of their income, suppressing spending.
- South Korean Exports Drop for Fourth Month as Won Strengthens. South Korea’s exports declined the most in more than two years in
April, amid concern that the won’s strength is undermining the
competitiveness of sales abroad. Overseas shipments fell 8.1 percent in April from a year earlier, the
fourth straight monthly decline, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and
Energy said on Friday. The median of 18 estimates in a Bloomberg survey
was for a 6.6 percent drop.
- Japan Stocks Slip on Kuroda as Yen Falls. Japanese stocks fell, with the Topix index poised for its worst
weekly drop this year, after the central bank governor said no further
policy easing was needed for now. The euro headed for its longest run of
gains against the yen in almost six months and U.S. equity-index
futures advanced.
The Topix fell a second day, losing 0.7 percent by 11:14 a.m. in
Tokyo following a fourth straight monthly gain. Markets from China to
South Korea are closed Friday.
- Oil Producers’ Sale of Future Output Puts a Lid on Price Gains. Oil producers are taking advantage of the biggest monthly price
increase since 2009 to sell more of their future output, threatening to
slow the rally. New York-traded crude for next-month delivery gained 25 percent in
April on signs a record drop in drilling rigs is starting to reduce
production, easing the biggest U.S. oil glut in 85 years. December 2016
contracts were up just 8.7 percent in that period.
- SEC Lacks Accounting Controls It Seeks in Others, GAO Says. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which polices public
companies’ financial reports, lacks internal controls over its own
accounting, a government watchdog said Thursday. The SEC in fiscal 2014 didn’t have proper systems in place to account
for money the regulator had seized from fraudsters or its inventory of
property and equipment, James R. Dalkin, director of the GAO’s office of
financial management and assurance, said in a letter to SEC Chair Mary
Jo White discussing the findings of an audit.
- The 7 Biggest Questions Ahead of Tesla's(TSLA) Battery Announcement.
Wall Street Journal:
- U.S. Navy Starts to Accompany Ships in Strait Where Iran Seized Cargo Carrier. Warships join American-flagged ships in Hormuz, marking a vigorous response to Tehran.
- Big Banks Use Loophole to Avoid Ban. Loophole allows banks to avoid asking the SEC for a waiver. Big banks are using a little-known loophole to avoid triggering a
Securities and Exchange Commission ban on selling certain lucrative
products to clients in the wake of enforcement actions.
- The Threat to Melt the Electric Grid. An electromagnetic-pulse attack from North Korea or another U.S. enemy would cause staggering devastation. The Pentagon is moving the headquarters for the North American Aerospace
Defense Command (Norad) back into Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado
Springs, Colo., a decade after having largely vacated the site.
Fox News:
- Photos show purported ISIS training camp in Afghanistan. (video) New photos purport to show ISIS fighters training at a terrorist camp
in Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border, in what may be yet another
sign of the black-clad jihadist army's expanding reach. The
pictures, obtained by a Pakistani journalist earlier this month and
published by the military blog The Long War Journal, show apparent ISIS
radicals training, marching in formation and brandishing heavy
artillery.
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
Reuters:
- Visa(V) forecasts current-quarter profit below Street. Visa Inc, the world's largest
credit and debit card company, forecast profit below Wall Street
expectations for the current quarter, hurt by continued pressure
from lower crude prices and a strong dollar.
- CME Group(CME) suspends two gold futures traders for allegedly spoofing. CME Group Inc on Thursday
suspended two traders from its markets for allegedly colluding
to enter orders repeatedly with no intention of trading, a
strategy that has been fingered as a key contributor to the 2010
Wall Street flash crash.
- Bubble risk grows as China's stock boom defies gravity. What do a ketchup maker, a
precious metal distributor and a medical device company have in
common? They are the new poster kids of a boom in China's equity
market - and a potential headache for policymakers, as
valuations defy fundamentals. Fuelled in part by cheap credit and a crackdown on shadow
banking, mom and pop buyers - who make up about 60 percent of
the Chinese equities investor base - have been snapping up
shares in a rally that has seen the benchmark Shanghai stock
index double in six months.
Telegraph:
Evening Recommendations
Night Trading
- Asian equity indices are -.25% to +.25% on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 107.50 n/a.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 60.75 +.25 basis point.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.08%.
Morning Preview Links
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
- (AXL)/.57
- (AON)/1.28
- (CVX)/.81
- (CLX)/1.10
- (CVS)/1.08
- (DUK)/1.14
- (FE)/.52
- (ITT)/.53
- (LM)/.99
- (LPNT)/.99
- (MCO)/1.03
- (ZEUS)/-.33
- (VFC)/.67
- (WY)/.25
- (BRK.B)/2374.70
Economic Releases
9:45 AM EST
- Final Markit US Manufacturing PMI for April is estimated at 54.2 versus a prior estimate of 54.2.
10:00 am EST
- Construction Spending for March is estimated to rise +.5% versus a -.1% decline in February.
- ISM Manufacturing for April is estimated to rise to 52.0 versus 51.5 in March.
- ISM Prices Paid for April is estimated to rise to 42.0 versus 39.0 in March.
- Final Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment for April is estimated at 96.0 versus a prior estimate of 95.9.
Afternoon
- Total Vehicle Sales for April are estimated to fall to 16.9M versus 17.05M in March.
Upcoming Splits
Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed's Mester speaking, Fed's Williams speaking and the (BSX) investor day could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by technology
and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open
mixed 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: Substantially Lower
- Sector Performance: Almost Every Sector Declining
- Market Leading Stocks: Underperforming
Equity Investor Angst:
- Volatility(VIX) 14.45 +7.92%
- Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 140.06 +1.23%
- Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 10.09 +2.13%
- S&P 500 Implied Correlation 67.28 +.73%
- ISE Sentiment Index 118.0 +45.68%
- Total Put/Call 1.01 +6.32%
Credit Investor Angst:
- North American Investment Grade CDS Index 63.86 +1.97%
- America Energy Sector High-Yield CDS Index 1,079.0 +.66%
- European Financial Sector CDS Index 70.66 -1.91%
- Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 24.10 -5.45%
- Asia Pacific Sovereign Debt CDS Index 60.31 -.33%
- Emerging Market CDS Index 297.33 +.57%
- iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporates High Yield Index 117.86 +.08%
- 2-Year Swap Spread 25.25 +1.5 basis points
- TED Spread 27.75 +1.0 basis point
- 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -19.75 unch.
Economic Gauges:
- 3-Month T-Bill Yield .00% unch.
- China Import Iron Ore Spot $56.18/Metric Tonne -1.66%
- Citi US Economic Surprise Index -62.20 +4.6 points
- Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 11.90 -5.3 points
- Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -15.6 +.9 point
- 10-Year TIPS Spread 1.94 +2.0 basis points
Overseas Futures:
- Nikkei Futures: Indicating -65 open in Japan
- DAX Futures: Indicating -25 open in Germany
Portfolio:
- Slightly Higher: On gains in my index hedges and emerging market shorts
- Market Exposure: 25% Net Long
Bloomberg:
- Weapons Buildup by Ukraine Rebels Raises Tensions, Klimkin Says. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that a buildup in arms
supplies to pro-Russian separatists risks worsening tensions in the
country’s easternmost regions, “We are seeing more and more weapons, including heavy weaponry, in
the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, more possibilities for terrorists
training,” Klimkin said in an interview in New York Wednesday. “There is
an extremely high number of armed people there, those who must be
disarmed according to the Minsk agreements. All that means additional
risks.”
- Iglesias Says EU Risking Right-Wing Backlash With Greek Pressure. (video) The euro area risks fueling extremist nationalist groups with its
hard-line approach to negotiations with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras,
according to the Greek premier’s Spanish ally, Pablo Iglesias. If Greeks don’t win relief from the euro area’s austerity program
through Tsipras’s plan to write down the country’s debts and boost
government spending, they may embrace the Golden Dawn party instead,
according to Iglesias, who leads the Spanish anti-austerity group
Podemos and is a lawmaker in the European Parliament.
- German Bonds Drop for Second Day After Region’s $61 Billion Loss. German government bonds declined, extending a selloff from Wednesday
that wiped about 55 billion euros ($62 billion) off the value of
euro-area debt. The region’s benchmark yields climbed to the highest
level in seven
weeks, while those of French five-year debt touched their highest since
January. Signs that traders rushed to get out of positions amplified the
selloff after some money managers said they were considering betting
against German debt. Others, including State Street Global Advisors,
said this didn’t mark the end of a rally in the region’s debt. Royal
Bank of
Scotland Group Plc said it was still bullish on the securities.
- Divergent: China's Splintering Growth. From Shanxi to Hainan, China's provincial growth rates are splintering as the world's second-largest economy slows. Plagued by overcapacity and a property slowdown, the industrial
northeastern Liaoning province expanded just 1.9 percent from a year
earlier, according to a report by 21st Century Business Herald.
Nearby
Heilongjiang and Jilin are the fourth and fifth slowest growing regions
as China's rust belt gets rustier. Northern Shanxi's dependence on coal
weighted its growth to 2.5 percent, the second slowest. It's also one of
the hardest hit by President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign,
with multiple government officials investigated. As college students
and pensioners queue for hours to open share-trading accounts, the
country's financial capital of Shanghai benefited from the stock
market's boom. Financial services contributed 16.6 percent to
the city's economy in the first quarter -- higher than the most recent
numbers in New York City, Hong Kong and Singapore.
- China Shipbuilding Sector Set to Contract, Yangzijiang Says. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings Ltd., China’s biggest privately
owned shipyard, expects the country’s shipbuilding industry to shrink
significantly in the next three years, reversing almost a decade of
boom. In three years time, there may be only 30 “active” shipyards in
China, from more than 100 now, Chairman Ren Yuanlin said Thursday in a
news briefing in Singapore, where the company’s stock is traded. “There will be mergers and acquisitions as well as closures as the
shipbuilding industry undergoes restructuring,” Ren said. The shipping
sector doesn’t look “optimistic” at the moment, he said.
- UBS' Richest Clients Still Love Dollar on September Fed Bet. UBS Group AG’s wealthiest clients are still buying dollars even as the
most popular trade in the foreign-exchange market has fallen out of
favor, according to the world’s largest private bank. UBS expects the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate increase since
2006 to come in September after policy makers played down the
significance of the economy’s slowdown in the first quarter, said Simon
Smiles, chief investment officer for ultra-high-net-worth individuals in
Zurich.
- Biggest Wealth Fund Joins Bears in Bet Europe Bonds Fade. Norway’s $900 billion sovereign wealth fund is joining Janus
Capital’s Bill Gross and Jeffrey Gundlach of Doubleline Capital in
betting Europe’s historic bond rally is coming to an end. Yngve Slyngstad, the manager of the Oslo-based fund which on
Wednesday reported a record investment return, said he is weighting a
2.5 trillion-krone ($328 billion) bond portfolio to shorter maturities,
meaning it will outperform when rates rise.
- Europe Stocks Fall, Posting April Drop, on Fed Rate-Rise Concern. A third day of declines pushed European stocks to their first
monthly drop of the year, as the Federal Reserve left open the prospect
of interest-rate increases even amid weak U.S. growth.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.4 percent to 395.79 at the close of trading, after earlier losing as much as 1 percent.
- Saudi Arabia Is Burning Through Its Foreign Reserves at a Record Pace. Saudi Arabia is burning through foreign reserves at a record pace as
the largesse of the new king and regional turmoil ratchet up pressure
on public finances already hurt by the oil price slump.
The kingdom spent $36 billion of the central bank’s net foreign
assets -- about 5 percent of the total -- in February and March, the
biggest two-month drop on record, data released this week show.
ZeroHedge:
Business Insider:
Telegraph:
Style Underperformer:
Sector Underperformers:
- 1) Gold & Silver -2.53% 2) Biotech -2.23% 3) Social Media -2.01%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
- ECHO, YELP, ASGN, PCRX, HAR, MC, CSII, GNC, GNRC, TREE, LEAF, CRL, KEX, SSYS, ROG, KN, SAM, VAR, APD, BIDU, TEX, CMPR, USLV, MEP, ELGX, GOV, CNW, CELG, CAH, CRM, FIS, BWA, ZLTQ, ADSK, FSS, VA, MUR, ZMH, SNCR, RYL, ELGX, MAR, CAMP, BDC, HAR, SSYS, PRXL, KN, PETX, AMC, ADXS and UIHC
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
- 1) MBI 2) LOW 3) CY 4) EMR 5) VFC
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
- 1) YELP 2) AGIO 3) OI 4) F 5) GM
Charts:
Style Outperformer:
Sector Outperformers:
- 1) Oil Service +1.53% 2) Gaming +1.09% 3) Steel +.18%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
- CKSW, OVTI, AAWW, HOS, TTEK, TASR, FOE, TILE, HOLX, ROK, VLTC, AVG, WX, CRR, NSR, COMM, ATW, LKQ, TWI, OIS, EQIX, KBR, MWV, INGR, RKT, MLM and CY
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
- 1) NRF 2) OVTI 3) GLUU 4) PAA 5) CY
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
- 1) OXY 2) CCJ 3) BPMC 4) TASR 5) ROK
Charts:
Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Greece Deal Targeted by Sunday as Tsipras Pushes for Progress. Greece and its euro-area partners are stepping up talks in a bid to
break an impasse over bailout aid as early as next week, even as the
country’s government sent conflicting signals over its willingness to
agree on long-stalled reforms. With Greece facing a cash crunch as early as next week, both sides in
a meeting of euro-area officials agreed to pursue intensive
negotiations beginning on Thursday with the target of a preliminary deal
by May 3, according to two people with knowledge of the talks. The aim
would be for finance ministers to sign off on the accord by their next
scheduled meeting on May 11, the officials said, asking not to be named
because the talks are private.
- Europe’s Debt Selloff Erases $61 Billion in Value in One Day. Investors revolting against negative yields in Europe wiped 55
billion euros ($61 billion) off the value of the region’s government
bonds in one day. The value of European debt dropped to 5.844 trillion euros on
Wednesday, the lowest level since March 30, in Bank of America Merrill
Lynch’s Euro Government Index.
- The Most-Crowded Trades Come Undone in Markets Roiled by Europe. The year’s most-popular market bets got hammered on Wednesday, showing just how risky it is to follow the crowd. The dollar, which has rallied more than 15 percent during the past 12
months, extended its longest losing streak since August 2013. The euro,
which has lost about 19 percent in the period, soared. Oil gained,
European stocks tanked, and U.S. Treasures slumped without any obvious
reason. And this was all before the Federal Reserve released its policy
statement at 2 p.m. after a two-day meeting in Washington, which ended
up having relatively little effect on markets. Traders seemed to largely
be responding to other events, such as a measure of the euro region’s
strength accelerating to the fastest pace since 2009.
- Brazil Raises Key Rate for Fifth Time as Inflation Quickens. Brazil’s central bank increased the benchmark interest rate for the
fifth consecutive meeting to bring surging inflation back to target by
the end of next year. The bank’s board, led by its President Alexandre Tombini, in a
unanimous vote raised the key rate by a half-point to 13.25 percent
Wednesday, the highest since January 2009. The statement accompanying
the decision uses the same language as the prior communique. The
increase was forecast by 53 of 61 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The
remainder expected a quarter-point boost.
- Honda Falls Most in Four Years as Profit Forecast Lags Estimates. Honda Motor Co. fell the most in four years in Tokyo trading after
forecasting profit that fell short of analyst estimates, as recall costs
and weaker overseas currencies erode the carmaker’s earnings.
Honda fell as much as 7.7 percent, the biggest intraday decline since
March 2011, to 3,999 yen and traded at 4,032.5 yen as of 9:15 a.m.
- Chinese Stocks in Hong Kong Fall Most in Week Before Data. Chinese stocks trading in Hong Kong fell for a third day, with
raw-material companies sliding before Friday’s manufacturing data and
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. slumping after reporting
its weakest first-quarter earnings growth since listing in 2006. Jiangxi Copper Co., the nation’s biggest producer of the metal,
plunged 2.8 percent. ICBC, the largest lender, declined the most in
three months after net income climbed 1.4 percent and bad-loan charges
surged. Official manufacturing data will probably show a reading of 50
in April, down from the previous month’s 50.1, according to economists
surveyed by Bloomberg News. Technology companies jumped in Shanghai as
investors sought new-economy shares before the factory report.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index in Hong Kong slid for a third day, losing 1.5 percent to 14,381.10 at 10:22 a.m.
- Asian Stocks Pare Biggest Monthly Advance in 19 Months on Fed. Asian stocks dropped, with the regional benchmark paring its biggest
monthly gain since September 2013, as the Federal Reserve downplayed
weak U.S. economic growth and kept raising interest rates on the table
for later this year.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.5 percent to 155.69 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, heading for a 6.4 percent advance this month.
- OmniVision(OVTI) Said to Near $1.7 Billion Sale to Hua Capital. OmniVision Technologies Inc., whose camera sensors have been used in
Apple Inc.’s iPhone, is near an agreement to be acquired by a group of
Chinese investors, people with knowledge of the matter said. Hua Capital Management, the Beijing-based private equity firm, will
pay about $29 a share for the chip designer, said the people, who asked
not to be identified because the transaction hasn’t yet been made
public. A purchase at that price would value the company at $1.68
billion. A deal could be announced as soon as Thursday, the people said. Santa
Clara, California-based OmniVision rose about 5.9 percent in late
trading Wednesday, after ending regular trading at $26.55 a share. Chinese buyers are using takeovers to acquire chip capabilities. Last
year, a Beijing-based university led the acquisition of Spreadtrum
Communications Inc., a designer of chips used to connect smartphones to
cellular networks.
Wall Street Journal:
MarketWatch.com:
CNBC:
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
Washington Post:
-
Prisoner in van said Freddie Gray was ‘trying to injure himself,’ document says. A prisoner sharing a police transport van with Freddie Gray told
investigators that he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” of the
vehicle and believed that he “was intentionally trying to injure
himself,” according to a police document obtained by The Washington
Post. The prisoner, who is currently in jail, was separated from
Gray by a metal partition and could not see him. His statement is
contained in an application for a search warrant, which is sealed by the
court. The Post was given the document under the condition that the
prisoner not be named because the person who provided it feared for the
inmate’s safety.
Telegraph:
Shanghai Securities News:
- China
Should Avoid Excessive Credit Expansion. China should keep monetary
policy neutral and not engage in another round of "excessive" credit
expansion, citing Yi Xianrong, a researcher at the Financial Institute
of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Deleveraging will promote
economic restructuring, Yi says. China should eliminate bubbles in the
property market through monetary policy, Yi is cited as saying.
Evening Recommendations
Night Trading
- Asian equity indices are -1.25% to unch. on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 107.50 +1.0 basis point.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 60.5 +.75 basis point.
- NASDAQ 100 futures -.20%.
Morning Preview Links
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Economic Releases
8:30 AM EST
- The 1Q Employment Cost Index is estimated to rise +.6% versus a +.6% gain in 4Q.
- Personal Income for March is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.4% gain in February.
- Personal Spending for March is estimated to rise +.5% versus a +.1% gain in February.
- The PCE Core for March is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.1% gain in February.
- Initial Jobless Claims are estimated to fall to 290K versus 295K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 2300K versus 2325K prior.
9:00 am EST
- ISM Milwaukee for April is estimated to fall to 53.0 versus 53.25 in March.
9:45 am EST
- Chicago Purchasing Manager for April is estimated to rise to 50.0 versus 46.3 in March.
Upcoming Splits
Other Potential Market Movers
- The
Fed's Tarullo speaking, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, weekly
EIA natural gas inventory report and the (GLW) annual meeting could
also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by commodity and industrial
shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed 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: Lower
- Sector Performance: Mixed
- Volume: Slightly Below Average
- Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line
Equity Investor Angst:
- Volatility(VIX) 12.93 +4.19%
- Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 138.0 +1.20%
- Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 9.91 -.60%
- S&P 500 Implied Correlation 66.19 -1.68%
- ISE Sentiment Index 84.0 -26.96%
- Total Put/Call .95 +4.40%
Credit Investor Angst:
- North American Investment Grade CDS Index 62.31 +1.72%
- America Energy Sector High-Yield CDS Index 1,071.0 +1.0%
- European Financial Sector CDS Index 72.03 +2.06%
- Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 25.50 +.73%
- Asia Pacific Sovereign Debt CDS Index 60.21 +.84%
- Emerging Market CDS Index 295.0 +.34%
- iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporates High Yield Index 117.77 +.04%
- 2-Year Swap Spread 23.75 unch.
- TED Spread 26.75 +.25 basis point
- 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -19.75 +.25 basis point
Economic Gauges:
- 3-Month T-Bill Yield .00% -1.0 basis point
- Yield Curve 148.0 +5.0 basis points
- China Import Iron Ore Spot $57.13/Metric Tonne -4.59%
- Citi US Economic Surprise Index -66.80 -8.3 points
- Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 17.20 +1.0 point
- Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -16.5 -.9 point
- 10-Year TIPS Spread 1.92 +2.0 basis points
Overseas Futures:
- Nikkei Futures: Indicating -244 open in Japan
- DAX Futures: Indicating +68 open in Germany
Portfolio:
- Higher: On gains in my biotech sector longs, index hedges and emerging market shorts
- Disclosed Trades: Covered some of my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges
- Market Exposure: Moved to 50% Net Long
Bloomberg:
- Rockets Kill in Ukraine as EU Envoy Sees Sanctions Holding. Separatists
killed a civilian in a rocket attack in eastern Ukraine,
the government said, after the European Union’s envoy to the U.S. said
sanctions against Russia will remain in place at least until year-end.
Militants also fired on government positions and attacked a power
plant in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, the country’s National
Security and Defense Council said on Facebook on Wednesday. The clashes
further undermine a February cease-fire struck in Minsk, Belarus. They
follow fighting near the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol this week that the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called “the most
intense” in more than two months.
- Russia Seizes Candy Factory Owned by Ukraine Leader Poroshenko. A Russian court ordered the seizure of a factory belonging to
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s confectionery business Roshen,
hampering his plans to sell assets, the company said. Roshen lost the right to manage some properties at the Lipetsk
facility south of Moscow until September 13, according to a statement on
the company’s website on Tuesday. The court alleges that Roshen
illegally claimed 180 million rubles ($3.5 million) in value-added-tax
refunds, Roshen said, adding that it will challenge the ruling. Anna
Fadeeva, a spokeswoman for the Basmanny district court in Moscow, didn’t
answer repeated phone calls for comment.
- German Bunds Are Tanking After Big Investors Say to Get Out. (video) Good news for Bill Gross. Euro-area government bonds are falling out of favor. Top money managers are turning against the securities after yields
dropped to unprecedented lows across the region. Emerging signs of
inflation are dimming demand. And investors failed to show up in
sufficient numbers for Germany’s debt office to meet its sales goal at
Wednesday’s auction of five-year notes.
- BlackRock(BLK) Predicts a Taper Tantrum Redux in Emerging Markets. The emerging-market swoon touched off by the so-called taper tantrum
two years ago is destined to repeat itself, BlackRock Inc. says. When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, the selloff will be
every bit as painful as the rout that ensued in May 2013, when
then-Chairman Ben S. Bernanke suggested the central bank would soon wind
down its bond-buying program, according to the world’s largest money
manager. Developing-nation debt sank as much 10 percent in the wake of
the comments while currencies from India’s rupee to Turkey’s lira
plunged.
- Europe Stocks Post Biggest Slump of 2015 as Mining Shares Slide. European stocks tumbled the most since December, with exporters deepening a drop amid a rally in the euro. Continental AG and Volkswagen AG slipped at least 4 percent, sending
carmakers to the worst drop among industry groups. Germany’s DAX Index
plunged 3.2 percent, the most in a year and among the biggest retreats
in western-European markets. Antofagasta Plc and Outokumpu Oyj slid
after reporting quarterly results, pushing miners lower.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 2.2 percent to 397.3 at the close of trading, trimming gains this year to 16 percent.
- Bernanke Joins Pimco; Second Consulting Job in Two Weeks. (video) Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is joining Pacific
Investment Management Co. as a senior adviser, his second consulting
agreement with a top money manager in as many weeks. Bernanke will contribute his economic expertise to the firm’s
investment process, the Newport Beach, California-based firm said
Wednesday. Bernanke previously spoke at Pimco’s client conference in
March and advised on the last two of its quarterly economic forums that
guide investment strategy.
- It’s Always a ‘Great Quarter, Guys!’ If You’re an Equity Analyst. From 2007 through 2014, analysts told companies “Great quarter,
guys,” on 1,265 of the calls. Bloomberg tracked how many companies
were
told what a fine job they did, then compared it to the Standard
&
Poor’s 500 Index for the quarter when the results were reported. While
it was very often a great quarter, guys, it wasn't always as great in
the broader market.
- America’s Student Debt Pain Threatening a Corner of Bond Market. America’s mounting student-debt problem is threatening to create
trouble in part of a $170 billion bond market tied to
government-guaranteed loans. With borrowers increasingly struggling to repay their student loans,
Moody’s Investors Service is warning it may take investors longer than
promised to get their money back. The credit grader said this month it
may lower rankings on $3 billion of top-rated debt as investors face the
threat of slowing principal payments or even receiving no interest.
CNBC:
- Fed: All calendar references removed. Following through on indications in March, the Federal Open Market
Committee on Wednesday offered no changes to its zero interest rate
policy. Not only did it not hike rates, it also
removed all hints for what may lie ahead. Calendar references were
deleted completely from the post-meeting statement.
ZeroHedge:
Business Insider:
Telegraph:
Xinhua:
- China Larger Steel Makers 1Q Sales Fall 14.5% Y/Y. Large and
medium-sized Chinese steel makers 1Q sales fall to 762.9b yuan, citing
data from China Iron and Steel Association. Steel makers' losses from
main business were more than 11b yuan in 1Q because demand and prices
fell.
