Morning Reading – Thursday, March 3, 2011

*** William H. Gross – Two-Bits, Four-Bits, Six-Bits, a Dollar ***
*** Zero Hedge: A Deep Walkthru For Silver Manipulation – Redux ***
*** Pragmatic Capitalism: PERSPECTIVE ON THE COPPER/OIL DIVERGENCE ***
*** FT Alphaville: Bahrain’s strategic importance, graph du jour ***
*** FT Alphaville: Quick, to the MRO ***
*** The Slope Of Hope: The Obvious Cover ***
*** The Slope Of Hope: AAII Sentiment Survey ***
*** Bloomberg: Cargill Buys Almost 1 Million Tons of Sugar in Expiring Futures Contracts ***

U.S. Petroleum Weekly – March 3, 2011

To repeat: If Libya doesn’t restart producing with full capacity soon the price of oil will go up.

In U.S.: Markets are well supplied, demand historically speaking weak, refiners cutting refining capacity and crude oil imports. WTI – Brent pricing disparity still very high.

Video Of The Day: CNBC – Jobs Unveils iPad 2

CNBC’s Jon Fortt has the story on Apple’s Steve Jobs taking the stage today to unveil the new iPad.

ADP Employment Rose 217,000 In February

ADP Employment rose 217,000 in February vs. revised (up 2,000) gain of 189,000 in January.

This was widely off the mark in recent months, but if we judge just on this nonfarm payrolls on Friday (rule of thumb) could be slightly lower than 193.000 consensus.

Challenger Job-Cuts For February At 50,702

Challenger’s count of layoff announcements was reported at 50,702 in February vs. 38,519 in January.

Slightly up…

MBA Mortgage Applications Fell 6.5%

MBA mortgage applications fell 6.5%; Prior reading was an increase of 13.2%; On year level MBA Basic Index is down 29.3%.

Morning Reading – Wednesday, March 2, 2011

*** FT BeyondBRICs: Gulf: no escape from contagion fears ***
*** Roubini Global Economics: Why Portugal Needs a Bailout in One Chart ***
*** FT Alphaville: Portugal, a broken debt market ***
*** Felix Salmon: When Goldman’s board meetings leaked ***
*** The Big Picture: Marc Faber Interview ***
*** FT Alphaville: Brazil’s balance sheet, oil, and the BRL ***

CNBC – Mohamed El-Erian On U.S. And World Economy

PIMCO’s Mohamed El-Erian on U.S. and world economy, Middle East…
Some serious slaps to Ben Bernanke.

Video Of The Day: CNBC – Dr. Doom: Buy Housing Now

Skip CNBC bla bla bla and fast forward to 02:20…

U.S. Construction Spending Fell 0.7% In January

U.S. construction spending fell 0.7% in January vs. 0.8% consensus and 1.6% fall (revised from 2.5% fall) in November. On year level we are at -5.9%.

February ISM Manufacturing Index At 61.4

ISM Manufacturing Index was reported at 61.4 vs. prior reading of 60.8 and consensus of 61.0.

Highest reading in more than 25 years. Improved ISM Manufacturing Index suggest strong(er) industrial production growth in the U.S.

Morning Reading – Tuesday, March 01, 2011

*** FT BeyondBRICs: Saudi stocks plunge 7.4% ***
*** FT Alphaville: Saudi contagion shivers ***
*** Zero Hedge: Jim Rogers: “Saudi Arabia Is Lying About Being Able To Increase Its Oil Production” ***
*** FT Alphaville: Madoff, father of the automated trade ***
*** The Atlantic: The Myth of Japan’s ‘Lost Decades’ ***
*** The Wall Street Journal Law Blog: The Big Suit? Michael Lewis Sued Over Mortgage Meltdown Book ***
*** The Big Picture: “Trade the First Day, then Stay Away” ***
*** The Slope Of Hope: No Ship, Sherlock ***

February China Official PMI At 52.2; HSBC/Markit China PMI At 51.7

Official (China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing and National Bureau of Statistics) China PMI fell form 52.9 to 52.2; HSBC/Markit PMI fell from 54.5 to 51.7.

Weakening, but inline with expectations.

Pending Home Sales Index Fell 2.8% In January

Pending home sales fell rose 2.0% in January vs. revised (down from +2.0%) fall of 3.2% in December. On year level, the index is down 1.6%.

Chicago Purchasing Managers Index For February At 71.2

Chicago Purchasing Managers Index was reported at 71.2. Consensus was at 67.5, prior reading at 68.8.

Highest reading since 1988. Prepare for a blowout ISM Manufacturing.

 

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