Pivotfarm Daily News Harvest 22nd July 2010

Markets in a Flash

·        
Markets in Asian countries had
mixed sessions over night. China and Hong Kong rose while Japan fell.

·        
The Nikkie fell as the Japanese
Yen gained hurting the countries exporters.

·        
European equity markets are
trading higher after European economic data beats expectations.

·        
Commodities markets are looking
strong today as European data is strong. Gold falls back further from $1200.

·        
The USD looks weaker today
after investors sought safety in the currency yesterday after Bernanke’s
comments.

·        
US equity futures are following
to European lead and are pointing to a higher open.

News Focus

After Bernanke’s
comments yesterday pushed investors towards less risky assets data released
today in Europe has reversed this trend. The data released has pushed the
commodities and European equity markets higher while weakening the USD.

Data for July’s
manufacturing and service output in the Eurozone grew faster than was expected.
The index rose to its three month high of 56.7 which beat analyst expectations
of 55.5 and the previous month’s figure of 56.0. The main reason for the
strength of the index has come from the major economies of Germany and France.
This data relieves fears of a double dip recession in the Eurozone.

 Retail sales data released in the UK came in
better than expected. Sales volumes for the month of June rose by 1 percent.
This is a strong increase in sales and has been boosted by consumer spending
related the World Cup.

Just Released

0830ET
- Jobless Claims

Previous 429 K

Consensus 450 K

Consensus Range 430 K to 490 K                                                   

Actual 464 K

This weeks Jobless Claims figure has come
in worse than previous and consensus. The figure shows that more people than
expected have filed for unemployment insurance. This proves bearish for the
markets as it shows that the labour market is worse than was previously
thought.

Coming up Today

As the earnings season continues a number of companies
report today. Ones to watchare:

·         Amazon

·        
American Express

·        
Caterpillar

·        
Microsoft

1000ET – Existing Home
Sales

Previous 5.66 M

Consensus 5.260 M

Consensus Range 4.800 M to 6.200 M         

After last
month’s fall in home sales it is expected that this months, for June, will
repeat the pattern. The fall in home sales is a reflection of the slowdown in
the economy and the weak labour market. A higher than consensus number will be
bullish as it may suggest the economy is in better health than economists
predict.                                           

1030ET – Natural Gas
Report

The weekly report by the Energy Information
Administration provides data on US natural gas stocks. A report showing a drop
in natural gas stocks may signal increasing demand in the economy and see an
increase in the price of the commodity.

Comments

[Pooh-Bah]

China seemed to be doing better. Then the us, now France and Germany. This appears to be rotational. No matter how bad the macroeconomic situation is, they are able to provide just enough hope and encouragement and fiat money to keep things going.