Daily Highlights: 4.14.10

• China to increase gasoline and diesel prices by as much as 4.6 percent starting today.
• China’s property prices rose 11.7% - record pace in March.
• China's Hu rebuffs Obama on yuan, says Beijing will act in line with domestic interests.
• Nikkei rises 0.4% as Intel boosts tech stocks.
• Singapore Dollar surges, Asian stocks climb as global growth accelerates.
• Singapore unexpectedly revalued its currency, after govt raised forecasts for economic growth and inflation.
• US economy will probably expand at a moderate pace for the rest of this year -Lacker
• Yen weakens for 5th day versus Euro on global recovery signs.
• AIG's ILFC unit sells 53 planes to Macquarie for $2B after bailout.
• ASML Hldg swung to Q1 profit of €107.3M as revs rose from €183.6M to €741.8M.
• CSX Corp's Q1 net rises 24% to $306M, beats est. Revs up 11% at $2.5B.
• GMAC is struggling to sell its troubled mortgage unit Residential Capital.
• Intel's profit nearly quadrupled to $2.4B as revenue surged 44% from a year ago.
• JP Morgan's March net income rises from $2.1B last year to $3.3B this year.
• Levi Strauss Q1 up 17% at $56.4M on 9.1% rise in revs at $1.02B, margins improved to 51.5%.
• Linear Technology Corp. said Q3 revenue was $311.3M, beats cons. est. of $279.3M.
• Losses at a Morgan Stanley real-estate fund could wipe out nearly two-thirds of its $8.8B investments.
• LVMH beats est., posts 11% rise in Q1 revs at €4.47B.
• Shinsei Bank Ltd. to post a full-year loss of $1.4B, scraps merger with Aozora Bank Ltd.
• Starwood Hotels to sell two of its W hotels in Manhattan to for $78M.
• Talbots post Q4 profit of $4.1M vs. year-ago loss of $361.5M; revs fall 3.7% to $315.9M.
• Toyota halts sales of Lexus GX 460 SUV after vehicle called 'safety risk'.

Economic Calendar: Data on CPI, Retail Sales, Fed's Beige Book to be released today.

Earnings Calendar: ACGY, ADTN, ASML, CHKE, CTBI, DYII, GWW, JPM, KMR, MYE, SCHW, YUM.

RECENT RATING ACTIONS

CSX CORP (CSX)
COOPER COS INC/THE (COO)
DEVON ENERGY CORP (DVN)
APACHE CORP (APA)
STEINWAY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (LVB)
HARRAH'S ENTERTAINMENT INC (HET)
NISOURCE INC (NI)
CONOCOPHILLIPS (COP)
ARVINMERITOR INC (ARM)
MIRANT CORP (MIR)
RRI ENERGY INC (RRI)
CONSTELLATION BRANDS INC (STZ)

Data provided by Egan-Jones Ratings and Analytics

Comments

[Racer]

Consumer confidence fell a lot in the ABC report last night, but that is irrelevant, who needs consumers....

[No One]

Retail Sales Up in March!!!! Nevermind the fact that people have stopped paying their mortgages. I imagine those people have at least 3 months of missed mortgage payments and then their IRS refunds in hand, just buring a hole...

[aldousd]

US Bank Chief Mobbed by Angry Borrowers:

www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63C5LO20100413

[yabs]

according to mchugha VIX sell signal was triggered yesterday which is usually very bearish
lets hope