Archive - Mar 6, 2013 - Story

Today, the Federal Government's office in D.C. will be closed due to weather: we note this because supposedly someone would notice a difference. Not the sequester, no matter how hard the administration would like to blame it for today's shutdown, but the weather is to blame. Stone McCarthy explains what this means for today's economic reports. "The Office of Personal Management announced Wednesday, March 6 that federal government offices in the Washington, DC area would be closed due to weather. As a result, the usual lockup procedures for the release of economic data will be suspended. The only economic report of note set for release by the federal government on Wednesday is the data for factory orders in January. It will be published on the Census Bureau website at 10:00 ET as scheduled. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book is scheduled for release at 14:00 ET on Wednesday, and we anticipate it will be available on that website at the announced time."

• Kuroda to Hit ‘Wall of Reality’ at BOJ, Ex-Board Member Says (BBG)
• Venezuelans mourn Chavez as focus turns to election (Reuters)
• South Korea says to strike back at North if attacked (Reuters)
• Milk Powder Surges Most in 2 1/2 Years on New Zealand Drought (BBG)
• As Confetti Settles, Strategists Wonder: Will Dow's Rally Last?  (WSJ)
• Pollution, Risk Are Downside of China's 'Blind Expansion' (BBG)
• Obama Calls Republicans in Latest Round of Spending Talks (BBG)
• Ryan Budget Plan Draws GOP Flak (WSJ)
• Samsung buys stake in Apple-supplier Sharp (FT)
• China Joining U.S. Shale Renaissance With $40 Billion (BBG)
• Say Goodbye to the 4% Rule  (WSJ)
• Traders Flee Asia Hedge Funds as Job Haven Turns Dead End (BBG)
• Power rustlers turn the screw in Bulgaria, EU's poorest country (Reuters)

Unlike the session before, there has been little actionable news overnight, with the euphoria from the record high DJIA still translating into a buying panic, and forcing algos to buy futures because other algos are buying futures, and so on, simply because nothing says cheap like all time high prices (and forward multiples that are higher than 2007 levels). The one event so far was the Europe's second Q4 GDP estimate which came in as expected at -0.6%, the fifth consecutive decline in a row. More notable was that Q4 exports tumbled by 0.9% which was the biggest fall since Q1 2009. And while the news has served to keep the EURUSD in line and subdued ahead of tomorrow's ECB conference, the stock market buying panic has moved to European stocks which continue to ignore fundamentals, and are soaring, taking peripheral bond yields lower with them, despite ongoing lack of any clarity what happens in Italy as Bersani is ready to propose a government to parliament which is certain not to pass. But in a world in which fundamentals and reality have lost all significance, and in which only momentum and hope matter, we expect that risk will continue being bid in line with central bank balance sheet expansion until this tired 4 year old last recourse plan no longer works.