May 18th, 2011 by Belisarius
*** FT Alphaville: Please wait 10 months for your aluminium. Thank you ***
*** FT Alphaville: The ‘Asia connection’ to the commodity rout ***
*** FT Alphaville: China’s trusts – still booming ***
*** The Big Picture: China’s Ghost Cities ***
*** The Big Picture: Sloppy Market? Blame the Financials ***
*** The Big Picture: Japan shows up in April IP ***
*** The Big Picture: Trading as a “Massive Multiplayer Experience” ***
*** The Big Picture: Religion vs Education vs Income? ***
*** Econbrowser: F for Fail ***
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May 16th, 2011 by Belisarius
Empire State Manufacturing General Business Conditions Index for May came out at 11.9 vs. 19.6 consensus and prior reading of 21.7.
Well, we have a series of negative surprises…
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May 16th, 2011 by Belisarius
Baltic dry index fell 2.5% last week; Capesize Index was down 4.6%; Panamax Index fell 2.8%; Supramax Index was up 0.4%; Handysize Index fell 0.5%.
Large decrease in thermal coal stockpiles; steel stockpiles also fell, iron ore stockpiles unchanged. Prices strong. No sign of any China slowdown.
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May 13th, 2011 by Belisarius
U.S. consumer price index rose 0.4% in April vs. 0.4% consensus and March reading of 0.5%. On year level CPI inflation is running at 3.2%.
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May 12th, 2011 by Belisarius
U.S. producer price index rose 0.8% in April vs. 0.6% consensus. March reading was at 0.7%. On year level PPI is up 6.6%.
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May 12th, 2011 by Belisarius
U.S. retail sales were reported up 0.5% in April vs. o.6% consensus. March reading was at +0.9% (revised from +0.4%). On year level retail sales are up 7.6%.
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May 12th, 2011 by Belisarius
Initial jobless claims in the U.S. were reported at 434.000 vs. 430.000 consensus and last week revised (up 4.000) reading of 478.000.
Not looking good.
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May 12th, 2011 by Belisarius
Mixed bag of data. Low refinery utilization rates, low net imports, low product stocks. On the other hand high level of crude oil .
Driving season could begin to lower the crude inventory.
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May 11th, 2011 by Belisarius
*** The Big Picture: How Microsoft Caused the DotCom Bubble and why their Skype ‘Hail Mary’ is irrelevant ***
*** The Big Picture: Please Take My Money for a 1% Return Back ***
*** FT Alphaville: From Quito, to Kingston, to Athens? ***
*** FT Alphaville: Chinese commodity imports are falling ***
*** Streetwise Professor: No Margin For Error ***
*** The Source: Silver’s Modern Day Panic ***
*** The Atlantic: The World’s 26 Best Cities for Business, Life, and Innovation ***
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May 11th, 2011 by Belisarius
hina fixed asset investments were up 25.4% y-o-y in April; March reading was at 25.0%. Consensus was at 24.9%.
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May 11th, 2011 by Belisarius
China retail sales rose 17.1% y-o-y in April vs. 17.4% March reading. Consensus was at 17.6%.
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May 11th, 2011 by Belisarius
Industrial production in China was up 13.4% y-o-y in April; March reading was at 14.8%. The consensus was at 14.6%.
Somewhat soft.
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May 11th, 2011 by Belisarius
China Consumer Price Index was up 5.3% in April, vs. 5.2% consensus and 5.4% March reading. Food CPI edged lower from 11.7% y-o-y to 11.5% y-o-y; Non-food CPI remained at 2.7% y-o-y.
China Producer Price Index was up 6.8% vs. 7.0% consensus and 7.3% March reading. Declining which is a good sign for the CPI.
Overall, PBOC efforts to contain inflation are catching up.
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May 11th, 2011 by Belisarius
The most broad measure of money supply – M2 rose 15.3% y-o-y in April vs. 16.6% consensus and 16.6% rise in March.
Chinese banks issued CNY 740 billion of new loans in April vs. CNY 679.5 billion in March and consensus of CNY 700.0 billion. The government has not provided a target for this year, but inferring on Q1 numbers the pace of loan growth could be similar to last years pace.
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May 10th, 2011 by Belisarius
*** FT Alphaville: Roubini’s guide to a Greek debt restructuring ***
*** FT Alphaville: A proclamation from the Spanish Ministry of Public Works… ***
*** FT Alphaville: There’s no change for the US driver… ***
*** Zero Hedge: Reuters Special Report On What Caused The “Causeless” Crude Crash; Other Hedge Fund Casualties Identified ***
*** Zero Hedge: Sprott Launches Physical Silver Mutual Fund, Will Likely Soak Up Much Marginal Silver Inventory ***
*** The Slope Of Hope: How Long to Hold Silver? ***
*** Econompicdata: Secret Sauce Continues to Grip It and Rip It ***
*** Phil Pearlman: The Rise of the Market Participant Editor in Finance Media ***
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