MBA Mortgage Applications Rose 15.5%
MBA mortgage applications rose 15.5%; Prior reading was fall of 6.5%; On year level MBA Basic Index is down 18.8%.
Video Of The Day: CNBC – Hedge Funds Turn Bearish
A look at what is behind the jump in bearish sentiment among hedge fund managers, with Charles Biderman, TrimTabs Investment Research president/CEO.
Daily Reading – Tuesday, March 8, 2011
*** FT Alphaville: The Saudi capacity puzzle ***
*** FT Alphaville: China’s yuan-child policy, relaxed ***
*** FT Alphaville: Greek spreads… the day after the downgrade ***
*** The Big Picture: Bill Gross: The Economy Is Not “Self-Sustaining” ***
*** The Big Picture: Banks Like Proposed Fraudclosure Settlement ***
Video Of The Day: CNBC – Bill Gross’s Forecast
Sharing his concerns over what will happen to bond yields and stock prices, with William Gross, Pimco co-CIO/founder.
Dailiy Reading – Monday, March 7, 2011
*** FT BeyondBRICs: Fund file: the ETF dynamic ***
*** FT Alphaville: This is not normal ECB tightening ***
*** FT Alphaville: Moodys downgrades Greece to B1 from Ba1 ***
*** FT Alphaville: Shoot the messenger ***
*** FT Alphaville: A stress test mugged by reality ***
*** FT Alphaville: In the midst of a permanent oil-equity correlation breakdown? ***
*** FT BeyondBRICs: Oil: another turn of the screw ***
*** The Big Picture: Change in Ratings (or, Charlie Sheen Goes to Wall St) ***
*** Slope of Hope: Paralyzed with Fear ***
*** Abnormal Returns: The professionalization of the financial blogosphere ***
Dry Bulk Weekly – March 7, 2011
Baltic dry index rose 8.1% last week; Capesize Index was up 8.5%; Panamax Index rose 9.4%; Supramax Index increased 5.9%; Handysize Index was up 2.3%.
Iron ore and steel prices fell on high inventory (iron ore inventory near record high; steel inventory record high). Thermal coal inventory data not released.
WSJ: QE 2 Will Be Completed As Planed
FED pre-announcement via. WSJ…
Rig Count Weekly – March 6, 2011
Number of crude oil drilling rigs rose for 18; Number of natural gas drilling rigs fell for 7.
Tanker Weekly – March 6, 2011
Baltic Dirty Tanker Index rose 20.3%; Baltic Clean Tanker Index was up 12.7%.
As I wrote earlier civil war in Libya is driving rates up. Under the assumption European imports of Libyan crude will be replaced by West Africa crude and West African crude exported to Far East substituted with Saudi crude the distance to which crude is transported could be actually reduced. So, when the tankers reposition according to the new transport setup, what remains is only uncertainty driving the markets.
February Nonfarm Payrolls Rose 192.000; Unemployment Rate At 8.9%
Nonfarm payrolls rose 192.000 in January; Consensus was at 196.000; January reading was an increase of 63.000 (revised +27.000). The unemployment was reported at 8.9% vs. prior reading of 9.0% and consensus of 9.1%.
Private payrolls were up 222.000 vs. 200.000 consensus and 68.000 reading in January (revised +18.000).
Positive report.
Morning Reading – Friday, March 4, 2011
*** The Big Picture: Sam Zell to Carl Quintanilla: BULLSHIT! ***
*** The Big Picture: Headline of the Day: Greenspan Says Government ‘Activism’ Hampering U.S. Recovery ***
*** The Big Picture: NFP: Likely Improvement May Lead to End of QE, ZIRP ***
*** The Big Picture: Chart of the Day: Components of the Gasoline Price ***
*** FT Alphaville: The global economy is critically ill ***
*** FT Alphaville: Mean-reverting US government bonds ***
U.S. Freight Carloads Weekly – March 4, 2011
U.S. railroads originated 296,252 carloads, up 2.1% compared with the same week in 2010 and down 3.1% compared with 5-year average. Week over week change was -0.2%.
Video Of The Day: Bloomberg: Faber Says U.S. Stocks Will Outperform Emerging Markets
March 3 (Bloomberg) — Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report, talks about the outlook for global stock markets. Faber also discusses the U.S. economy and commodity markets. He speaks with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Television’s “Surveillance Midday.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Trichet Paves The Way For A Interest Rise Next Month
Bloomberg:
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the ECB may raise interest rates next month to fight accelerating inflation pressures.
An “increase of interest rates in the next meeting is possible,” told reporters in Frankfurt today after the centralbank left its key rate at a record low of 1 percent. “Strong vigilance is warranted,” Trichet said, adding that any increase would not necessarily be the start of a “series” of moves.
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims At 368.000; Down 20.000
Initial jobless claims in the U.S. were reported at 368.000 vs. 295.000 consensus; last week revised (down 3.000) reading was at 388.000.
Four weeks moving average sharply lower.