Friday, May 17, 2013

Bull Radar

Posted by Gary .....at 11:52 AM
Style Outperformer:
  • Mid-Cap Value +.71%
Sector Outperformers:
  • 1) Oil Service +1.68% 2) Alt Energy +1.53% 3) Defense +1.27%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
  • TSO, VSAT, SCTY, RKUS, QLIK, GT and ESI
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
  • 1) JRCC 2) ARUN 3) RRC 4) ILMN 5) XLY
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
  • 1) TDW 2) NOC 3) PIKE 4) AIN 5) UAL
Charts:
0 comments

Friday Watch

Posted by Gary .....at 12:35 AM
Evening Headlines 
Bloomberg:
  • Vanishing Risk Penalty Alarms Peripheral Investors: Euro Credit. The penalty that companies from Europe's most indebted nations pay to borrow has shrunk to near the least in three years, alarming investors who are concerned that the region's financial crisis is far from over. Buyers of bonds from companies in the region's periphery are being paid 63 basis points more yield than they're getting from companies in core nations such as France and Germany, down from 319 basis points a year ago, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. The difference is vanishing even as fundraising by companies from Greece to Spain surged to a record 23.6 billion euros ($30.4 billion) this year, up from 15.3 billion euros in the same period of 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 
  • EU Bank Stress Tests Delay Makes Way for ECB Supervision Plan. The European Central Bank is set to take center stage as the euro area’s chief banking supervisor, after the European Banking Authority ditched this year’s stress test in favor of an ECB-led review of lenders’ asset quality. The London-based EBA, set up in 2011 to harmonize rules across the European Union, delayed stress tests until 2014 as the ECB’s asset check goes ahead to “help dispel concerns over the deterioration of asset quality due to macroeconomic conditions in Europe,” the agency said a statement yesterday. 
  • Denmark Shelves Euro Goal Indefinitely as Crisis Scars Too Deep. Denmark is shelving indefinitely its euro adoption goal as Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt says an exchange rate peg without full European monetary membership is proving the best currency regime for the Nordic nation. A euro referendum “in this election term is unrealistic,” Thorning-Schmidt said yesterday in an interview in Stockholm. “I don’t think it makes any sense to discuss the option of a euro referendum in the next term” set to run from 2015 to 2019, she said.
  • Singh’s Growth Push Imperiled as Graft Scandals Rattle: Economy. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s latest skirmish with corruption risks setting back efforts to spur growth, worsening a legislative logjam under a government set to pass the fewest bills ever in a full term. Singh, 80, is grappling with renewed allegations that he has allowed corruption to fester after separate graft probes led to the May 10 dismissal of the law and railways ministers. Parliament ended two days early last week as opposition parties demanding the men’s resignation blocked proceedings, with proposals to open up the country’s pension and insurance industries to overseas investment still stalled. 
  • Asia Stock Index Slides on Earnings, Economic Concerns. Asia’s benchmark stock index fell for a second day as companies from WorleyParsons (WOR) Ltd. to Nippon Sheet Glass Co. forecast weaker earnings and data on jobless claims and housing signaled a slowdown in the U.S. WorleyParsons, Australia’s largest oil and gas engineering company, plunged 13 percent, while Nippon Sheet Glass sank 8.8 percent in Tokyo. Panasonic Corp., Japan’s second-biggest television maker, slid 1.8 percent. Sony Corp. fell 1.6 percent, paring this week’s rally triggered by billionaire Daniel Loeb’s push to get the electronics maker to spin off its entertainment business through an initial public offering. SP Ausnet climbed 2.4 percent after China State Grid Corp. agreed to buy a stake in the Australian electricity distributor. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.3 percent to 142.66 as of 11:01 a.m. Tokyo time, all 10 industry groups in the measure declining.
  • Copper Set for First Weekly Drop in Four After U.S. Data. Copper declined, poised for the first weekly drop in four, after data showed U.S. jobless claims rose and housing starts slumped, raising concern that demand from the second-biggest user is slowing. Metal for delivery in three months fell as much as 0.6 percent to $7,234 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange and was at $7,254 at 9:44 a.m. in Shanghai. Copper has retreated 1.7 percent this week, the first drop since the week ended April 19.
  • Rubber Set for Biggest Weekly Loss in Month as Yen Slump Stalls. Rubber headed for the biggest weekly loss in a month as a slump in Japan’s currency against the dollar stalled, weakening the appeal of yen-denominated futures. Rubber for delivery in October dropped as much as 1.8 percent to 277.3 yen a kilogram ($2,713 a metric ton) before trading at 279.6 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange at 10:27 a.m. Futures have lost 4.9 percent this week, the biggest decline since the week through April 19.
  • Rebar Set for Weekly Decline as Iron Ore Falls to Five-Month Low. Steel reinforcement-bar futures headed for a weekly loss as the price of iron ore, the main ingredient in steelmaking, fell to the lowest in five months. Rebar for delivery in October on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 0.6 percent to 3,529 ($575) a metric ton and was at 3,531 at 10:15 a.m. local time. Futures have declined 3 percent this week, the most since the week ended April 19.
  • Dollar Erases Losses After Williams Says Fed May Taper Purchases. The dollar erased losses versus the yen and euro after Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said the central bank may begin tapering as early as this summer the pace of its bond purchases. The greenback fell earlier from an almost four-year high versus the yen after weaker-than-forecast reports on U.S. unemployment claims, housing and inflation damped bets the Fed will slow its bond buying under the quantitative-easing stimulus strategy. South Africa’s rand slid to the weakest since 2009 on concern the nation’s economic growth will falter. “He’s hinted at possibility of tapering QE already,” Vassili Serebriakov, a foreign-exchange strategist at BNP Paribas SA in New York, said of Williams in a telephone interview. “But I think it still adds fuel to the fire. Markets have been focusing on tapering, and this remark will certainly be noted.” 
  • Nordstrom(JWN) Slides After Quarterly Revenue Trails Estimates. Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) dropped after the department-store chain posted first-quarter revenue that trailed analysts’ estimates and cut its sales forecast for the year. Nordstrom fell 2.7 percent to $59.45 at 4:42 p.m. after regular trading ended in New York.
Wall Street Journal: 
  • Russia Raises Stakes in Syria. Assad Ally Bolsters Warships in Region; U.S. Sees Warning.
    Russia has sent a dozen or more warships to patrol waters near its naval base in Syria, a buildup that U.S. and European officials see as a newly aggressive stance meant partly to warn the West and Israel not to intervene in Syria's bloody civil war. Russia's expanded presence in the eastern Mediterranean, which began attracting U.S. officials' notice three months ago, represents one of its largest sustained naval deployments since the Cold War. While Western officials say they don't fear an impending conflict with Russia's aged fleet, the presence adds a new source of potential danger for miscalculation in an increasingly combustible region. "It is a show of force. It's muscle flexing," a senior U.S. defense official said of the Russian deployments. "It is about demonstrating their commitment to their interests." 
Fox News: 
  • ICE admits hundreds of illegal immigrants with criminal records released. Hundreds of illegal immigrants with criminal records were released earlier this year as the Obama administration prepared for budget cuts, according to newly released data that challenged claims the program involved "low-risk" individuals. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released the figures to two top senators, after a three-month delay and under the threat of congressional subpoenas.
MarketWatch.com:
  • Videogame sales in U.S. suffer tailspin in April. Videogame hardware, software and accessory sales in U.S. retail stores fell 25% in April to $495.2 million, from $657.5 million a year earlier, according to NPD Group, an industry researcher. Data from the month showed double-digit declines in every segment, including software and accessories, though hardware sales saw the most dramatic contraction.
CNBC: 
  • Stock Market Gains Show Signs of Wear. Stocks head into Friday with a 1 percent gain for the week so far, but traders are increasingly seeing signs of wear, particularly as a growing list of disappointing economic reports stacks up against the market's gains.
  • Struggling JC Penney(JCP Reports Bigger Loss Than Expected. Struggling department-store retailer JC Penney on Thursday reported operating margins plunged in the first quarter on weak sales and heavy clearance deals, as its new chief executive promised more promotions and a return to basics to win back shoppers.
Zero Hedge: 
Business Insider:
New York Times:
ABCNews:
  • IRS Official in Charge During Tea Party Targeting Now Runs Obamacare Office. The Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted tea party groups now runs the IRS office responsible for the health care legislation. Sarah Hall Ingram served as commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt organizations between 2009 and 2012. But Ingram has since left that part of the IRS and is now the director of the IRS’ Affordable Care Act office, the IRS confirmed to ABC News today.
Real Clear Politics:
  • Schieffer On Scandals: "It's Very, Very Disturbing What We're Seeing". (video) I mean, just all of a sudden you have this thing with the Justice Department where they’re getting all these phone records of all the reporters. The Attorney General, well he didn’t know anything about it. You get to the IRS, they don’t seem to know anything about the Tea Party thing. You come to White House, they don’t know anything about Benghazi. Somebody’s got to grab hold of this thing. It’s very, very disturbing what we’re seeing here.
Reuters:
  • Autodesk(ADSK) cuts full-year revenue forecast, shares fall. Autodesk Inc's first-quarter results missed market expectations on sales declines in the Americas and emerging markets, prompting the maker of AutoCAD design software to cut its full-year revenue forecast. Shares of the company fell 5 percent after the bell. 
Financial Times: 
  • US farmland prices rise despite weak grain market. Farmland prices in the US corn belt have risen at double-digit clip this year despite weaker grain markets in a move that will intensify debate over whether loose monetary policy and congressional largesse are inflating a bubble.
Telegraph: 
National Business Daily:
  • China Slows Pace of Some High-Speed Rail Construction. China Railway Corp. may face cash flow shortfall if it doesn't sell bonds "soon", citing a person from the railway system. Some high-speed rail projects have slowed their construction pace, the report said. A high-speed rail connecting Guizhou and Guangdong provinces has delayed its start of service because of a lack of funds, the report said, citing Hu Xiaodeng, a researcher at Guizhou Academy of Social Sciences. Another high-speed rail connecting Henan province and Chongqing has delayed the start of construction, the report said.
Evening Recommendations 
Barclays:
  • Rated (AMT) Overweight, target $98.
  • Rated (VZ) Overweight, target $59.
  • Rated (LEAP) Underweight, target $4. 
Night Trading
  • Asian equity indices are -.50% to +.25% on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 102.50 +1.0 basis point.
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 84.75 +.75 basis point.
  • FTSE-100 futures +.06%.
  • S&P 500 futures +.15%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures +.13%.
Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
  • (DCI)/.49
  • (SSI)/.09 
Economic Releases
9:55 am EST
  • Preliminary Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence for May is estimated to rise to 77.9 versus 76.4 in April. 
10:00 am EST
  • Leading Indicators for April are estimated to rise +.2% versus a -.1% decline in March.  
Upcoming Splits
  • (ESBF) 6-for-5
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The Fed's Kocherlakota speaking and China property price data could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by technology and financial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.
0 comments

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Stocks Slightly Lower into Final Hour on Rising Global Growth Fears, Profit-Taking, Homebuilding/Biotech Sector Weakness

Posted by Gary .....at 2:47 PM
Broad Market Tone:
  • Advance/Decline Line: About Even
  • Sector Performance: Mixed
  • Volume: Below Average
  • Market Leading Stocks: Underperforming
Equity Investor Angst:
  • VIX 12.84 +.23%
  • ISE Sentiment Index 129.0 +29.0%
  • Total Put/Call .94 +20.51%
  • NYSE Arms 1.05 +80.56%
Credit Investor Angst:
  • North American Investment Grade CDS Index 70.28 -1.62%
  • European Financial Sector CDS Index 133.83 -1.97%
  • Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 90.34 +1.89%
  • Emerging Market CDS Index 243.39 +.88%
  • 2-Year Swap Spread 14.0 -.25 bp
  • TED Spread 24.75 +1.0 bp
  • 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -16.75 -1.0 bp
Economic Gauges:
  • 3-Month T-Bill Yield .03% -1 bp
  • Yield Curve 163.0 -7 bps
  • China Import Iron Ore Spot $125.0/Metric Tonne -1.11%
  • Citi US Economic Surprise Index -23.1 -12.5 points
  • 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.26 -3 bps
Overseas Futures:
  • Nikkei Futures: Indicating +17 open in Japan
  • DAX Futures: Indicating -5 open in Germany
Portfolio: 
  • Slightly Lower: On losses in my medical/biotech/retail sector longs
  • Disclosed Trades: None
  • Market Exposure: 75% Net Long
0 comments

Bear Radar

Posted by Gary .....at 2:06 PM
Style Underperformer:
  • Large-Cap Growth -.30%
Sector Underperformers:
  • 1) Homebuilders -2.24% 2) Biotech -1.73% 3) Retail -.80%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
  • CRK, NTLS, HES, RF, ARRS, RIO, SWC, INFI, TCP, CLVS, ARIA, JACK, PBH, YRCW, RE, OPTR, BMY, FLT,CSC, PRE, BMRN, SONC, IBB, WX, CRI and INFI
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
  • 1) GME 2) HUN 3) XLY 4) CELG 5) CSCO
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
  • 1) BRK/A 2) CHK 3) ACAT 4) CSC 5) WFC
Charts:
1 comments

Bull Radar

Posted by Gary .....at 11:58 AM
Style Outperformer:
  • Small-Cap Growth +.34%
Sector Outperformers:
  • 1) Networking +3.21% 2) Computer Hardware +1.66% 3) Internet +1.42%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
  • CSCO, CIEN, OCN, RBS, ANW, FANG, CUB, EAC, RKUS, KSS, TSRO, TSLA, DSX, AEGR, AV, SCTY, IMOS, EZCH, INXN, VIPS, BID, YPF, NTAP, YELP, FFIV, JDSU, RVBD, STZ, CAVM, EMC, WLT, BPI, DDS and JNPR
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
  • 1) CSCO 2) TMO 3) KSS 4) CIEN 5) ALTR
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
  • 1) TAP 2) STZ 3) TIF 4) C 5) PAYX
Charts:
0 comments

Thursday Watch

Posted by Gary .....at 12:21 AM
Evening Headlines 
Bloomberg:
  • Euro Near 6-Week Low as Inflation Set to Fall to Three-Year Low. The euro slid toward a six-week low before a report that will probably confirm inflation in the 17-nation region was the slowest in three years. The common currency completed a five-day drop yesterday, the longest losing stretch in six months, on speculation the European Central Bank will ease policy after data showed the euro-area economy extended its recession to a record sixth quarter.
  • China Said to Prepare Anti-Dumping Duties on Polysilicon Imports. China, the world’s biggest maker of solar panels, is preparing to set anti-dumping duties on imports of the raw material used to make the equipment after determining it was sold below cost, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The Ministry of Commerce has completed probes that determined the U.S. and European Union are subsidizing producers of polysilicon and that imports of the commodity harmed domestic companies, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The ministry is holding off on setting duties until the EU issues its ruling on anti-dumping tariffs against Chinese-made solar equipment, which will be a factor in China’s decision, the people said. 
  • Foreign Investment in China Misses Estimates Amid Growth Concern. Foreign direct investment in China lagged behind analysts’ estimates in April, highlighting concern at the growth outlook for the world’s second-biggest economy after an unexpected slowdown last quarter. Investment rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier to $8.4 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement today in Beijing. That was less than the 5.7 percent gain in March and the 6.2 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of eight analysts.
  • Japan GDP Jumps Most in Year as Consumers Open Wallets: Economy. Japan’s economy expanded the most in a year last quarter as consumer spending and export gains outweighed the weakest business investment since the wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Gross domestic product rose an annualized 3.5 percent, a Cabinet Office release showed in Tokyo. Private consumption, making up 60 percent of GDP, contributed 2.3 percentage points to the jump. Nominal GDP, which is unadjusted for changes in prices, rose 1.5 percent, also the most in a year. The so-called GDP deflator, a broad measure of prices across the economy, tumbled 1.2 percent from a year before, the most since the final three months of 2011, underscoring Kuroda’s challenge as he seeks to end more than a decade of entrenched deflation.
  • Most Asian Stocks Drop as Japan’s Banks Fall on Earnings. Most Asian stocks fell as a decline in Japanese banks after forecasting lower earnings offset a report that Japan’s economy expanded faster than analysts estimated in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. sank 2.9 percent, leading Japanese lenders lower. Daewoo Shipbuilding (042660) & Marine Engineering Co., South Korea’s third-biggest shipbuilder, fell 10 percent as first-quarter profit plunged. Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. (8750), Japan’s second-largest life insurer, jumped 7.3 percent after projecting improved earnings and a stock split. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.3 percent to 142.78 as of 12:22 p.m. Tokyo time, erasing gains of as much as 0.5 percent. 
  • Copper Set to Decline 16% on Elliott Wave: Technical Analysis. “From a long-term perspective copper is now in a downtrend, after its spectacular five-wave bull run in the decade between 2001 to 2011,” he said. “In the next wave down, during July to September, it will drop to perhaps as low as $6,037.50.”  
  • Rubber Drops to One-Week Low as Declining Oil Reduces Appeal. Rubber fell to a one-week low on speculation that decreasing oil prices would cut the cost of synthetic products, decreasing the appeal of the natural variety. Rubber for delivery in October dropped as much as 2.3 percent to 276.3 yen a kilogram ($2,707 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, the lowest price for the most-active contract since May 9. Futures were at 279.9 yen at 11 a.m., set for a third day of decline and a weekly loss of 4.7 percent. 
  • Rebar Trades Near Lowest in 5 Months on Output, Iron Ore Price. Steel reinforcement-bar futures traded near the lowest level in more than five months amid rising output in China and as iron ore fell into a bear market. Rebar for delivery in October on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 0.8 percent to 3,526 yuan ($573) a metric ton, the lowest since Dec. 3, and was at 3,562 at 10:54 a.m. local time. The most-active contract has retreated 11 percent this year.
  • Apple(AAPL) Said to Be Subject of U.S. Senate Offshore Tax Hearing. Apple Inc. will be the subject of a May 21 Senate hearing on U.S. companies’ offshore tax practices, said two people familiar with the inquiry. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will testify at the hearing of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, one of the people said. The committee has been examining companies that use various maneuvers to reduce their tax bills, including Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ). 
  • Bristol-Myers(BMY) Drug Cocktail Stymies Melanoma Tumors. Two drugs from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) shrank tumors in as many as half of patients with advanced melanoma, according to early research that may pave the way for cocktails that trigger the immune system to destroy cancer. In the study, 52 melanoma patients were simultaneously treated with Bristol-Myers’s melanoma drug Yervoy and nivolumab, its experimental therapy that targets the immune system in a different way. Tumors shrank in 40 percent of patients, and in 53 percent of those who got the most effective dose combination, according to data released today in advance of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting scheduled to begin May 31.
  • Obama’s Commerce Pick Got $54 Million from Bahamas Trust. U.S. Commerce Secretary nominee Penny Pritzker received $54 million last year from an offshore trust in the Bahamas, according to a disclosure report that describes an empire of casinos, hotels, energy companies and family trusts that may be worth more than $2 billion. Pritzker, whose family founded Hyatt Hotels Corp (H)., has assets valued in a range of $400 million to $2.2 billion, not including holdings in the hotel company, according to documents released yesterday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
Wall Street Journal:
  • New Terms Weighed on Default Swaps. An industry group wants to add criteria to a form of debt-default insurance that would lead to payouts for bondholders when banks are rescued. Financial contracts called credit-default swaps act like insurance for bonds and loans. When companies issuing debt experience what is known as an "event of default," sellers of the swaps compensate buyers of the protection. The contracts, also known as derivatives, already pay out on a range of events, including if a company files for bankruptcy protection, misses an interest payment or restructures its debts. 
  • Experiment Brings Human Cloning One Step Closer. Scientists have used cloning technology to transform human skin cells into embryonic stem cells, an experiment that may revive the controversy over human cloning. The researchers stopped well short of creating a human clone. But they showed, for the first time, that it is possible to create cloned embryonic stem cells that are genetically identical to the person from whom they are derived. 
Fox News:
  • Benghazi emails show State Department had heavy hand in watering down account of attack. State Department officials repeatedly objected to -- and tried to water down -- references to Al Qaeda and prior security warnings in the administration's initial internal story-line on the Benghazi attack, according to dozens of emails and notes released by the White House late Wednesday. The documents also showed the White House, along with several other departments, played a role in editing the so-called "talking points," despite claims from the White House that it was barely involved. And they showed then-CIA Director David Petraeus objected to the watered-down version that would ultimately be used as the basis for U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's flawed comments on several TV shows the Sunday after the attack. "Frankly, I'd just as soon not use this," Petraeus told his deputy in a Sept. 15 email.
  • Acting IRS commissioner resigns in wake of agency scandal. President Obama announced Wednesday that acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller has resigned in the wake of the agency scandal in which conservative groups were targeted. The president made the announcement in a brief statement at the White House, following a meeting with Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew  and other top department officials in which they reviewed a highly critical inspector general’s report on the practice. The report concluded poor management allowed agents to improperly target Tea Party and other groups for more than 18 months, starting in 2010.
CNBC:
  • Cisco(CSCO) Stock Jumps on Surprise Earnings Beat. Cisco on Wednesday reported a surprise beat in earnings and revenue in fiscal third-quarter, suggesting the networking-gear maker's customers are spending more on technology. The company's shares jumped more than 8 percent in after-hours trading.
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
New York Times:
  • Big Banks Get Break in Rules to Limit Risks. Under pressure from Wall Street lobbyists, federal regulators have agreed to soften a rule intended to rein in the banking industry’s domination of a risky market. The changes to the rule, which will be announced on Thursday, could effectively empower a few big banks to continue controlling the derivatives market, a main culprit in the financial crisis.
Fox19.com:
Mediabistro:
The Blaze:
  • Another Headache for the Obamacare ‘Train Wreck’? Small Business Owners Sue IRS Over Employer Mandate. Small business owners in six states are suing the federal government over an IRS regulation imposed under the Affordable Care Act (i.e. “Obamacare”) which, they say, will force them to pay hefty fines, cut their employees’ hours, or burden their businesses. “Because of Obamacare I’ve already been forced to cut my ‘hourly’ employees’ hours from 40 down to 28 so I can keep running my business and keep my employees on the payroll,” J. Allen Tharp, CEO of Olde England’s Lion and Rose and a plaintiff in the suit, told TheBlaze.
Reuters:
  • JPMorgan(JPM) presses Bloomberg on reporters' access to data. JPMorgan Chase & Co, one of the biggest customers of Bloomberg LP, said on Wednesday it has sent a formal legal request asking the financial data and news company to provide details of what bank information Bloomberg News reporters had been able to see.
Financial Times:
  • Snags await favourite for Federal Reserve job. Janet Yellen has emerged as the clear frontrunner to become the next chair of the US Federal Reserve, but the choice belongs to one man – Barack Obama – and the selection process can be hard on favourites.
  • French Economy is 'Cumbersome,' Publicis CEO Says. French people troubles by absence of "real reforms" to lead way out of economic gloom, Publicis CEO Maurice Levy writes. Welfare system "costs far too much", he said. Govts have made "bad" decisions including 35-hr working week. Hard measures are still needed, he said.
Telegraph:
Apple Daily:
  • Taiwan May Cut 2013 GDP Forecast to 3.17%. Taiwan's statistics bureau may lower its GDP forecast after April exports fell, citing statistics bureau head Shih Su-mei. Bureau in February forecast 3.59% GDP growth for 2013.
Evening Recommendations 
S&P Capital IQ:
  • Downgraded (C) to Hold, target $52.
  • Downgraded (FITB) to Hold, target $18.
Night Trading
  • Asian equity indices are -.75% to +1.0% on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 101.50 -.5 basis point.
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 84.0 +1.75 basis points.
  • FTSE-100 futures -.03%.
  • S&P 500 futures -.06%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures +.10%.
Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
  • (FLO)/.43
  • (WMT)/1.15
  • (KSS)/.57
  • (JCP)/-1.05
  • (DELL)/.35
  • (JWN)/.76
  • (ARUN)/.12
  • (AMAT)/.13
  • (ADSK)/.45 
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
  • The Consumer Price Index for April is estimated to fall -.3% versus a -.2% decline in March.
  • The CPI Ex Food & Energy for April is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.1% gain in March.
  • Initial Jobless Claims are estimated to rise to 330K versus 323K the prior week.
  • Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 3000K versus 3005K prior.
  • Housing Starts for April are estimated to fall to 970K versus 1036K in March.
  • Building Permits for April are estimated to rise to 941K versus 902K in March.  
10:00 am EST
  • Philly Fed for May is estimated to rise to 2.0 versus 1.3 in April.  
Upcoming Splits
  • (CL) 2-for-1
  • (AOS) 2-for-1
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The Fed's Lacker speaking, Fed's Williams speaking, Fed's Raskin speaking, Fed's Fisher speaking, Fed's Plosser speaking, Fed's Rosengren speaking, Eurozone inflation data, Bloomberg Economic Expectations Index for May, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report, RBC Aerospace/Defense Conference, Morgan Stanley Refining Conference and the (HAE) analyst meeting could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by technology and consumer shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.
0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)