Archive - Jun 28, 2013 - Story

So much for the great underdog renaissance. Most people will hardly be surprised to learn that in a world in which economic conditions are deteriorating faster and faster for the vast majority of the population, that what little disposable cash flow consumers have is not being spent on a product that was "cool" and "faddy" in 2003, namely the Blackberry. And if there was any confusion the just released Q1 results will confirm this:

• Q1 revenue $3.07 billion, expected $3.37 billion
• Q1 adjusted loss per share -$0.13, exp. +$0.08 with the company blaming the miss on Venezuela's currency devaluation. No really.
• Q1 shipments were 6.8 million, on expectations of 7.45 million. Supposedly the firm formerly known as RIM couldn't blame this on Venezuela.

Nope. Like we said nobody can be surprised by these results. Nobody expect, of course, for the sellside penguin brigade whose trading desks are axed to sell:

Overnight newsflow (which nowadays has zero impact on markets which only care what Ben Bernanke had for dinner) started in Japan where factory orders were reported to have risen the most since December 2011, retail sales climbed, the unemployment rate rose modestly, consumer prices stayed flat compared to a year ago, however real spending plunged -1.6% significantly below the market consensus forecast for +1.3% yoy, marking the first yoy decline in five months. This suggests that households are cutting utility costs more so than the level of increase in prices. By contrast, real spending on clothing and footwear grew sharply by 6.9% yoy (+0.6% in April) marking positive growth for a fourth consecutive month. Simply said, the Japanese reflation continues to be limited by the lack of wage growth even as utility and energy prices are exploding and limiting the potential for core inflation across the board.

Nearly a year after revelations of financial fraud involving the Vatican Bank, and months after a German lawyer was picked to become the new head of the bank that is collateralized by the full faith and credit of Catholicism, the scandal is back following news tha a cleric, a spook and a banker were arrested as part of the ongoing Italian investigation into the troubled bank.

In the aftermath of the record cash crunch in the Chinese interbank market, many financial institutions in China and abroad have been hoping that the PBOC would either end its stance of aloof detachment or at least break its vow of silence and if not act then at a minimum promise good times ahead. Alas, despite repeated confusion in various press reports that it has done that, it hasn't aside from the occasional "behind the scenes" bank bailout. And at today's Lujiazui Financial Forum, PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan kept the status quo saying the central bank will adjust liquidity "at the proper time to ensure market stability." That time, however, is not now.