U.S. Housing Starts Down 4.1% In December
U.S. housing starts in September fell 4.1% to 657.000 vs. 685.000 November reading. Consensus was at 680.000. On year level U.S. housing starts are up 24.9%.
U.S. Consumer Price Index Unchanged In December
U.S. consumer price index was unchanged in December vs. 0.1% consensus and unchanged reading for November. On year level CPI inflation is running at 3.0%.
Daily Reading – January 18, 2012
The Big Picture: Google, Wikipedia, 1000s Go Black to Protest SOPA/PIPA
The Big Picture: Web Sites to Go Dark
The Big Picture: IMF wants more cash, glass half full or half empty?
FT Alphaville: Goldman in Q4…
FT Alphaville: China’s property sector goes from bad to worse
FT Alphaville: World Bank joins the gloomfest
FT Alphaville: The great Australian bond run
Calculated Risk: Industrial Production increased 0.4% in December, Capacity Utilization increased
the bonddad blog: The ECRI Weekly Leading Index, unmasked
Monthly Strategy – January 2012
The consensus with which I agree is that the Euro zone is heading into a recession. While the economic activity has somewhat improved over the last months in the U.S. I remain doubtful whether the U.S. can escape the recession when Europe enters one. The data coming from China doesn’t (jet) point to a hard landing. For the time being it looks like that the Chinese government is in control. The measures to contain inflation and raising real-estate prices are successful, while in the same time China is has taken early steps to increase domestic consumption and re-balance the economy. One should not disregard and keep close watch on soft data coming from China especially in real estate and commodity related industries which are not reflected in the official data and could be pointing to serious issues.
Bloomberg TV: Goldman’s O’Neill Discusses Global Economic Outlook
Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, talks about the growth outlook for China and the impact on the global economy. (Source: Bloomberg)
Daily Reading – Tuesday, January 17, 2012
FT Alphaville: Don’t worry, it’s normal for China’s GDP to appear a little weird
An American Perspective from China: BBC: China’s 2011 GDP Numbers
FT Alphaville: Is it a rally, or is it short covering?
FT Alphaville: Citi results disappoint
FT Alphaville: How will the world live with $100 oil?
The Big Picture: 2011: Disastrous Year For Mutual, Hedge Fund Managers
FT BeyondBRICs: UBS on EM equity: where you’ve made money or lost it, and how that will change
January Empire State Manufacturing At 13.5
Empire State Manufacturing General Business Conditions Index for Januray came out at 13.5 vs. 11.0 consensus and prior reading of 8.2.
China Retail Sales Up 18.1% In December
China retail sales rose 18.1% y-o-y in December vs. 17.3% November reading. Consensus was at 17.2%.
China Fixed Asset Investments Rose 23.8% In December
China fixed asset investments were up 23.8% y-o-y in December; November reading was at 24.5%. Consensus was at 24.1%.
Chinese Industrial Production Rose 12.8% In December
Industrial production in China rose 12.8 % y-o-y in December; November reading was at 12.4%. Consensus was at 12.3%.
Chinese GDP Rose 8.9% In Q4 2011
China fourth quarter GDP rose 8.9%, vs. prior reading of 9.1% and consensus at 8.7%.
Dry Bulk Weekly – January 16, 2012
Baltic dry index fell 21.8% last week; Capesize Index was down 25.2%; Panamax Index fell 17.8%; Supramax Index was down 12.7%; Handysize Index fell 4.7%.
Tanker Weekly – January 16, 2012
Baltic Dirty Tanker Index rose 3.0%; Baltic Clean Tanker Index rose 12.1%.
U.S. Natural Gas Weekly – January 13, 2012
Total collapse because of oversupply.
U.S. Retail Sales Rose 0.1% In December
U.S. retail sales rose 0.1% in December vs. 0.3% consensus. November reading was at 0.4% (revised from 0.2%). In 2011 retail sales were up 6.5%.
