Frontrunning: May 20

• Netanyahu: U.S. "does not understand reality" (Reuters)
• Bank of Japan Refrains From Adding Stimulus (Bloomberg)
• Tepco Credit-Default Swaps Surge Above Levels BP Hit After Gulf Oil Spill (Bloomberg)
• IEA: More Oil Needed Urgently (WSJ)
• Obama Speech Elicits Conflicting Reactions (WSJ)
• Two top Fed officials say easy money still needed (Reuters)
• ECB Threatens Greek Funding (WSJ)
• Meredith Whitney Trips Over Her Muni Default Tale (Bloomberg)
• Watch out for tail risks hanging over Treasuries (FT)
• Spain Vote Threatens to Uncover Debt (WSJ)
• As we warned starting in December: Profit Margin Squeeze Continues to Grip the Economy (dshort)
• Capitalists Who Fear Free Markets (NYT)
• Drifting back to gold standard (The Hindu)
• Senate will await Biden group budget plan (Reuters)
• N.Korea's heir apparent in China to boost economic ties (Reuters)
• Chinese set new standard in buying gold (FT)
• Phony fears on fracking (Post)
• What are China’s next steps? (Reuters)
• Yemen leadership may yet sign transition deal (Reuters)
• Senator downplays urgency of US debt limit (FT)
• Pakistan Taliban says attacked U.S. consulate convoy (Reuters)
• Lagarde Is Favored to Head IMF (Bloomberg)
• Liberty Media offers $1 billion for Barnes & Noble (Reuters)

Global highlights courtesy of Egan-Jones

• Asia stocks pare weekly loss as US Jobless Claims report lifts exporters.
• BOJ refrains from adding stimulus even as economy contracts.
• Existing-Home Sales in US decrease 0.8% to 5.05 million pace.
• Aeropostale guides Q2 EPS below consensus, plans to clear through spring inventories.
• Aeropostale's Q1 net falls 64% to $16.4M on weak growth in sales and margins.
• American Tower Board approves reorganization for REIT qualification.
• Autodesk beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS, revs in-line.
• Barnes & Noble Board receives $17/sh cash bid from Liberty Media to buy the company.
• BoA to sell its remaining stake in BlackRock Inc. back to the company for ~$2.5B.
• BP, MOEX reach settlement on Gulf oil spill. Latter to pay $1.065B to BP.
• Brocade posts Q2 EPS of $0.13 (cons $0.10); revs rose 9.8% to $550M.
• China Unicom says National Audit uncovered 'improper’ procedures by group.
• Deckers Outdoor to purchase Sanuk Brands for ~$120M.
• Foot Locker Q1 profit jumped 74% to $94M as sales rose 13% to $1.4B.
• Fortune Brands to sell its golf unit for $1.2B.
• Gap beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides FY12 EPS below consensus.
• Hasbro plans additional $500M in stock buybacks.
• Hercules Offshore cautiously optimistic of Gulf rig demand.
• Intuit beats by $0.05, reports Q3 EPS of $2.33. Revs rose 15.0% to $1.85B.
• LDK Solar postpones dollar-denominated debt deal, blames high interest rates.
• LinkedIn stock soars 109% after IPO; Warnings of return to the internet bubble as shares more than double.
• Nordson posts Q2 EPS of $0.95 (cons $0.88); revs rose 26.7% to $318.9M.
• Quest Diagnostics to pay $241M to settle California lawsuit related to Medi-Cal billing.
• Salesforce.com beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS, revs above consensus.
• Shoe Carnival sees Q2 EPS of $0.27-0.31 (cons $0.30); revs of $169-172M (cons $174.89M).
• Symantec to acquire Clearwell Systems for a purchase price of ~$390M.
• Thermo Fisher rises to record on agreement to buy Phadia for $3.5B.

Earnings Calendar: BAMM, CHINA, DCI, HIBB, LPHI, RAVN.

Comments

[scratch_and_sniff]

Here's another headline;

Spain(+13bps)

Greece(all time wide)

Italy(+8)

Belgium(+6)

Contagion bitchez.

[Silverstar]

I can add a link for that :D

http://pigbonds.info/

Maybe someone can explain what happens to the 2Year Farce erm.. France bonds ??

and a livecam for the spanish demonstrations

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/motionlook

Have a nice weekend

[lizzy36]

WOW, it is possible for the ECB-EU to handle the peripheral debt crisis any worse?

The behind-the-scenes differences between the ECB and the E-Z governments are now becoming more open with the ECB threatening to stop funding of Greek banks if the EU agrees to a debt restructure for the Greek government (WSJ)

As if they would stop funding greek banks. EU should call their bluff on this.

[Stormdancer]

Gonna be fun to watch those Bloomberg editors eat their attempt to marginalize Meredith Whitney.  Shouldn't be a long wait.

[oogs66]

she really isn't that good or credible on muni's   the story is great and i hope she is correct but there are many others out there who are negative on muni's but actually have facts and realistic assessments

[Stormdancer]

I'm not a muni expert by any means, but looking at it from 30,000 feet I just don't see how declining tax bases can service already impossible debt levels.  The FED is going to monetize everything in sight before this is over, but I doubt he'll get to the muni level before the dollar collapses.

[I am a Man I am...]

i've been saying MW has gotten this wrong ever since she has had an opinion on the subject, most municipalities have acted responsibly and have cut way back on their spending and they do not have impossible debt levels, this is why only $600M have defaulted this year on a several trillion dollar market, which is next to nothing

[snowball777]

US: Netanyahu doesn't understand who is keeping his ass a going concern.

[Broomer]

Can someone in the know explain to me how Israel can do whatever it wants? I mean, isn't America supposed to be the most powerful country?

[lsbumblebee]

What every American should know:

http://vimeo.com/23674530

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/08/24/israeli-control-of-america-a-vet...

[Jim in MN]

TEPCO president resigns amid quarterly earnings bloodbath

[Stormdancer]

Probably the easiest decision he's ever made.  I feel (a little) for his successor.

[Jim in MN]

Da link for da story:

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20_25.html

TEPCO president to step down in June

The president of Tokyo Electric Power Company, Masataka Shimizu, will step down to take the blame for the nuclear accident in Fukushima.

TEPCO's executive board decided on Friday that Shimizu should resign in June when the company holds its shareholders' meeting.

As the utility's president, Shimizu is being held responsible for the enormous damage caused by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, including the forced evacuation of many residents.

Shimizu will be succeeded by Managing Director Toshio Nishizawa, who is 60 years old. Nishizawa previously served as the head of the utility's planning division.

TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata will remain in his post to lead the efforts to bring the nuclear plant under control.

Friday, May 20, 2011 16:04 +0900 (JST)

[Jim B]

Netanyahu: U.S. "does not understand reality = NObama "the rookie" is clueless!

[zice]

Obama believes he is prompting Netanyahu's hand. As you say this rookie is clueless or extremely clued in.

[downwiththebanks]

Did everyone see this today?

[Apartheid] Israel approves 1,500 settler homes in east Jerusalem.

Nothin' like the old middle finger to show 'em who's boss.

[youngman]

Interesting headlines for the weekend...the EU is going down down down...I am liking Norway for calling it....Obama´s speech just gave the go ahead to the Muslim´s to take out Israel....more or less...Linkdin just shows the world how stupid our market is in on the lowest volume day.....but silver is in a bubble...but Linkdin is a hot stock...lol

China buying gold..the real stuff..not the GLD...me too....I used to say I was an investor...no I say I want to be a survivor...

[downwiththebanks]

Sorry, my man.

Apartheid Israel is too busy killing unarmed refugees, grandmothers, and babies to be put onto the defensive.  And Uncle Sam isn't cutting off the welfare checks, nor are they endorsing Palestinian statehood.

[Jim in MN]

More damage at Hamaoka nuclear plant, shut down by government edict:

http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2011051900816

5 Tons of Seawater Has Entered Hamaoka N-Plant Reactor Core

   Nagoya, May 19 (Jiji Press)--Chubu Electric Power Co. <9502> officials said Thursday about 5 tons of seawater is estimated to have entered a reactor core at the company's Hamaoka nuclear power plant in central Japan.
   During work to shut down the No. 5 reactor in accordance with a government request, Chubu Electric found an estimated 400 tons of seawater has flooded into the main steam condenser.
   In addition, the firm's assessment of the purity of water inside the reactor's pressure vessel, which contains nuclear fuel, showed some 5 tons of seawater came from the condenser, the officials said.
   Water that circulates through the vessel should not be salty but fresh, because salt causes corrosion.
   The steam condenser, designed to convert waste steam from a power-generation turbine into water, has some 64,000 tubes, each 3 centimeters in diameter, in which seawater is injected to cool the steam. Normally, the steam-converted pure water never has direct contact with the seawater running through the tubes, the officials said.

[MrBoompi]

My comment about the Wall Street Journal article that said the world needs an increased supply of oil to "stabilize the world market"?

Utter bullshit.

[Ted K]

Netanyahu: "The U.S. does not understand reality"

By that you mean, Israel will do whatever she damn well feels like, including killing women and children in Gaza with phosphorescent bullets shot into hospitals and then slowly starving them to death??? Well, we're starting to get the picture.

[malek]

NYT: "Capitalists Who Fear Free Markets"... luckily that is only a problem in Japan (and soon to be presented as next villain: China), but never at home, right? No, no, no, no, no, everything is fine here.......