Challenger Job-Cuts For January At 38,519
Challenger’s count of layoff announcements was reported at 38,519 in January vs. 32,004 in December.
Slight tick up.
MBA Mortgage Applications Up 11.3%
MBA mortgage applications rose 11.3%; Prior reading was a decrease of 12.9%; On year level MBA Basic Index is down 20.8%.
Morning Reading – Wednesday, February 2, 2011
*** FT Alphaville: Dear Nokia and Microsoft CEOs ***
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*** FT BeyondBRICs: Mubarak won’t run for re-election ***
*** FT BeyondBRICs: Russia’s oil windfall: how to spend it? ***
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*** London Banker: Egypt, China and Famine Futures ***
*** Bond Vigilantes: Inflation Hedging for Long-Term Investors – the most important academic paper you will read this year ***
January U.S. Motor Vehicle Sales Unchanged At 12.53 Million SAAR
U.S. total motor vehicle sales for January remained unchanged at 12.53 million SAAR. On year level motor vehicle sales are up 16.3%.
Like with other consumer related parts of the economy auto purchases are steadily gaining ground.
U.S. Construction Spending Fell 2.5% In December
U.S. construction spending fell 2.5% in December vs. 0.1% consensus and 0.2% fall(revised from 0.4% gain) in November. On year level we are at -6.4%.
Lowest reading since July 2000.
January ISM Manufacturing Index At 60.8
ISM Manufacturing Index was reported at 60.8 vs. prior reading of 58.5 (revised from 57.0) and consensus of 58.0.
Improved ISM Manufacturing Index suggest January industrial production growth rate in the U.S. could increase.
China Official PMI Fell To 52.6 In January; HSBC/Markit China PMI Rose To 54.5
Official (China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing and National Bureau of Statistics) China PMI fell form 53.9 to 52.6; HSBC/Markit PMI rose from 54.4 to 54.5.
Looks like industrial production growth in January will remain at present levels.
Morning Reading – Tuesday, February 1, 2011
*** The Big Picture: Fusion IQ Technical Overview ***
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*** FT Energy Source Blog: Oil hits $100/bbl ***
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*** FT Alphaville: Another Egypt downgrade – S&P cuts to BB ***
*** FT Alphaville: Remittances to Egypt ***
*** FT Alphaville: A conspicuously absent ECB ***
*** FT Alphaville: More on the bank business lending recovery ***
*** FT BeyondBRICs: Food drives Indonesian inflation again ***
*** Calculated Risk: Q4 2010: Homeownership Rate Falls to 1998 Levels ***
*** Economix: The Haves and the Have-Nots ***
*** Reuters: Gold premiums highest since 2004; India, China stock up ***
*** CNBC: Why Is Wall Street So Addicted to Prestige Colleges? ***
Chicago Purchasing Managers Index For January At 68.8
Chicago Purchasing Managers Index was reported at 68.8. Consensus was at 65.0, prior reading at 68.6.
To repeat: Industrial production will continue to slowly expand in January.
U.S. Personal Income Rose 0.4%; U.S. Consumer Spending Rose 0.7%
U.S. personal income rose 0.4% in December vs. 0.4% consensus and 0.3% rise in November. On y-o-y level personal income is up 3.8%.
Dry Bulk Weekly – January 31, 2011
Baltic dry index fell 17.0% last week; Capesize Index was down 12.1%; Panamax Index fell 19.0%; Supramax Index decreased 15.3%; Handysize Index fell 7.1%.
Iron ore stockpiles in Chinese ports at all-time high, iron ore demand will be weaker because of lunar new year (February 3rd). All this looks quite negative for dry bulk rates.
Dry bulk companies news flow very negative with Korea line receivership and Excel maritime postponing $250 million debt offering.
We could see some improvement after the lunar new year; Keeping close watch on Egypt developments.
Morning Reading – January 31, 2011
*** FT BeyondBRICs: Egypt downgraded ***
*** Econbrowser: Geopolitical unrest and world oil markets ***
*** Reuters: RPT-FACTBOX-The Suez Canal ***
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Tanker Weekly – January 30, 2011
Baltic Dirty Tanker Index fell 0.9%; Baltic Clean Tanker Index rose 1.7%.
My comment remains the same: too many available ships for the cargoes offered. We could see some positive freight rate developments if Egypt unrests affect Suez canal normal operation.
January University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Final Reading At 74.2
January University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment final reading was reported at 74.2 vs. 73.0 consensus, 72.7 prior reading and 74.5 December reading.
U.S. Freight Carloads Weekly – January 28, 2011
U.S. railroads originated 282,837 carloads, up 2.0% compared with the same week in 2010 and down 3.2% compared with 5-year average. Week over week change was -0.1%.