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News That Matters
Ft.com
China’s manufacturing sector contracted in November, marking the first decline since February 2009, the FT reports. The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49.0 in November from 50.4 in October, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/12/01/774641/china-pmis-go-negati...
Asian markets retained their gains on Thursday on the back of the previous day’s central bank liquidity moves, despite poor manufacturing data from China. The wave of central bank action around the world to avert a liquidity crisis cheered financial markets on Wednesday but highlighted the depth of international concern about possible economic turmoil in Europe,http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/12/01/774701/markets-remain-bouya...
Zynga, the fast-growing online game maker, plans to value itself at as much as $10 billion in its forthcoming IPO, says NYT Dealbook, citing two people briefed on the matter. The company plans to file an amended prospectus on Friday with an estimated price range of about $8 to $10 a share, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/12/01/775001/zynga-said-to-seek-1...
Japan’s two biggest carmakers warned that the record strength of the yen could drive more car manufacturing overseas and called for more aggressive official intervention to push the currency lower, reports the FT. http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/11/30/774551/toyota-and-nissan-ca...
Hillary Clinton has urged developing nations to be “smart shoppers” when accepting foreign aid from China and other new donors, as she became the first US secretary of state in more than 50 years to visitBurma on Wednesday, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/11/30/774501/clinton-warning-over...
Brazil’s central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate to help cushion a rapid slowdown in growth, adding to moves in many of the major emerging markets to ease monetary policy. Banco Central do Brasil, which was among the first monetary authorities to begin cutting rates this year for fear of a deteriorating global economy, reduced the Selic interest rate from 11.5 per cent to 11 per cent – the third such 50 basis point cut since August. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/160e520a-1ba9-11e1-8647-00144feabdc0.html...
Luxottica, the Italian eyewear maker, is set to acquire Grupo Tecnol, a Brazilian manufacturer and distributor, in a move that will allow the group to start production in the Latin American market. The €110m acquisition is the company’s fourth substantial deal in the region this year, after buying the Multiopticas chain and two retailers in Mexico, and opening a Sunglass Hut shop in Rio de Janeiro.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/42219996-1b6e-11e1-8b11-00144feabdc0.html...
Wsj.com
Asian stock markets surged Thursday, led by Hong Kong shares jumping 5.5% to notch their biggest rally in almost two months, after major central banks took coordinated action Wednesday to lower dollar funding costs for European banks, and the People’s Bank of China cut its reserve requirement ratio for the first time in over three years. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 5.5%, marking the biggest gain since Oct. 6, while China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 3.6%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.1%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 2.3%, and South Korea’s Kospi Composite jumped 3.7%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 25 points in screen trade. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020383310457707090097628337...
The European Union is preparing restrictions on the sale of meat derived from cloned animals, opening another front in the battle over food engineering with modern farm powerhouses like Argentina, where farmers increasingly clone prize pigs, cattle and sheep. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive office, is working on a proposed ban or strict labeling plan for the import of meat, dairy and other products from the descendants of cloned animals, say EU officials. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020432390457704074052852591...
Investors worried about how a cut to France’s credit rating could hamstring the euro-zone bailout fund have another issue to deal with: whether Austrian banks could suffer big losses on loans to Central andEastern Europe. The gap between yields on German bonds and 10-year Austrian debt widened considerably last month in a sign of the complexity of the financial crisis sweeping through Europe. Austrian banks hold virtually no debt from fiscally weak euro-zone countries, but they could still suffer if the crisis worsens, choking off growth to the east.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020401200457707000245793893...
Reuters.com
Australia’s foreign minister on Wednesday backed the formation of a security pact with India and the United States, a tie-up that could fuel China’s worries of being fenced in by wary neighbors. It is the latest move by Australia to take a bigger role in the region’s security. Earlier this month, it agreed to host a de facto U.S. base in the north of the country which would provide military reach into southeast Asia and the South China Sea, where China has disputes with several other states over sovereignty. A new trilateral pact bringing in India into a U.S.-Australian security tent was worth exploring because “from little things big things grow,” Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said in an interview with the Australian Financial Review newspaper. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/30/us-australia-security-trilater...
Bloomberg.com
The Federal Reserve-led global effort to ease borrowing costs for financial firms shows both the central bank’s power to jolt markets — and the limits of its ability to alleviate the European debt crisis. Stocks rallied worldwide, commodities rose and yields on most European debt fell after the Fed and five other central banks yesterday cut the cost of emergency dollar loans to banks outside the U.S. At the same time, the action falls short of more-drastic moves that central banks are reluctant to take, including purchases or guarantees of countries’ bonds. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-01/fed-dollar-funding-cost-cut-sho...
Cnbc.com
Greece needs to stay in the euro and realizes its economy needs drastic reform, the country’s prime minister said in a letter to international creditors in which he promised to stick to the terms of a debt reduction deal. The European Union had demanded the assurance from Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, and similar written pledges from leaders of the two parties that back his coalition government, before releasing an 8 billion euro tranche of aid which Greece needs to avoid bankruptcy next month. http://www.cnbc.com/id/45499982
The economy expanded at a slow to moderate pace in most areas of the country over the past two months, according to a Federal Reserve survey released Wednesday. A modest pickup in consumer spending, tourism and manufacturing drove the growth. The Fed said economic conditions improved in all but one of its 12 bank districts. The one exception was the St. Louis district, where conditions declined. Even with the growth, hiring was weak in most areas. Businesses in six of the Fed regions said they had a hard time finding qualified workers for those jobs that were open, particularly for high-skilled manufacturing and tech jobs. http://www.cnbc.com/id/45495559
Nytimes.com
Islamists claimed a decisive victory on Wednesday as early election results put them on track to win a dominant majority in Egypt’s first Parliament since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, the most significant step yet in the religious movement’s rise since the start of the Arab Spring. The party formed by the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s mainstream Islamist group, appeared to have taken about 40 percent of the vote, as expected. But a big surprise was the strong showing of ultraconservative Islamists, called Salafis, many of whom see most popular entertainment as sinful and reject women’s participation in voting or public life. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/world/middleeast/voting-in-egypt-shows...
Foxbusiness.com
President Barack Obama on Wednesday pushed Congress to pass an extension to the 2011 payroll-tax cut, even though it appears that he may have already won the battle. Over the past twenty-four hours, Republicans leaders have indicated they will back the tax break even though they differ with Democrats over how to pay for it. Workers this year have had their payroll taxes cut to 4.2% from 6.2% in 2010. Obama wants to reduce the tax to 3.1% in 2012. Democrats want to pay for the measure with a tax on people making more than $1 million per year. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/11/30/obama-stumps-for-payroll-t...
Washingtonpost.com
Japan plans a fourth extra budget, a step unprecedented since postwar reconstruction, to help shore up a rebound that’s under threat from a surge in the yen, Europe’s crisis and Thai floods that have disrupted production. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda today ordered the measure, which will probably be at least 2 trillion yen ($26 billion), Finance Minister Jun Azumi told reporters in Tokyo. The step won’t require the sale of deficit-covering bonds, he said. Japan has already allocated 18 trillion yen in three packages since the record earthquake in March. The plan is Japan’s latest effort to secure its recovery, building on efforts including 15 trillion yen in asset purchases by the central bank and record amounts of yen sales to counter the currency’s surge. Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said yesterday his company will gradually shift production abroad because of Japan’s challenges. http://washpost.bloomberg.com/story?docId=1376-LVI6IX6TTDSB01-7GTQNL4CSE...
BBC.co.uk
Canada’s annualized GDP grew by 3.5% in the third quarter of 2011, exceeding growth expectations. Analysts had expected a 3% growth rate after a previous decline in GDP. The growth was led by stronger exports and housing purchases. The gain was the biggest quarterly growth since 2004, but both domestic demand and personal and government spending grew at a slower pace. The United States’s own GDP grew 2% in the same period. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15973969
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has said, amid an uncertain global economic outlook, that Asian countries need to focus on equal job creation and improving job quality. It also says wages need to be more fair, in a report released on Thursday. Asian economies have seen robust growth, although now there are signs of a slowdown. The ILO says that in this climate, the region must not lose the economic and social gains it has made. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15957402
Telegraph.co.uk
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has poured cold water on the Government’s plans to rekindle growth through building projects and business reforms, saying the policies “are really quite small”. The respected think-tank dampened any hopes the Chancellor might have that growth will be helped by the £5bn of infrastructure spending he unveiled on Wednesday and ambitious policies such as “credit easing” to boost lending to small businesses. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/8926897/Autumn-Statement-2011-...
The Government will have to sell its stakes in the part-nationalised banks for an £8bn profit if it is to recover the full cost of the financial sector bail-out, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has revealed. Protecting the taxpayer from a loss appears a dim prospect, though, as the state’s holdings in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group are currently worth £30.6bn less than was paid, the OBR added. In total, the taxpayer is currently £38.4bn out of pocket on the rescue. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8926728/...
Independent.co.uk
The prospect that Britain can borrow its way back to growth dimmed yesterday with official new data showing that consumer credit was flat last month, as the money supply notched up a record monthly decline. Unsecured consumer credit was effectively unchanged in October from the month before, and up 2.1 per cent on the year before, as nervous customers refrained from taking on new debt, in a move that suggests the slump on the high street is set to continue, according to the Bank of England. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/bank-of-england-figures-...
Smh.com.au
Australia’s retail sales rose in October, increasing for a fourth consecutive month, as the industry prepared for its crucial Christmas season. Building approvals figures out today also fell short of expectations. The increase, though, came in at only 0.2 per cent, or half the 0.4 per cent increase for the month expected by economists. It also slowed from the 0.4 per cent rise reported for September by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retail trade rose in the month to a seasonally adjusted $20.951 billion, compared with a downwardly revised $20.899 billion in September. http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail-sales-building-approvals-disappoin...
Spot gold prices traded steady, retaining their 1.7 per cent gain in the previous session, as joint action by the world’s major central banks to boost dollar liquidity spurred rallies in commodities and equities. Spot gold edged up 0.1 per cent to $US1748.46 an ounce, after finishing November with a 1.9-per cent rise, the seventh month of gain so far this year. http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/gold-steadies-after-liquidity-boo...
Oil prices were mixed as traders digested a move by central banks to avert fresh financial crisis and following data showing unexpected rises in US energy inventories. Investors also tracked geopolitical unrest in major oil exporter Iran and news that commodities-hungry China had surprisingly cut its bank reserve requirement ratio. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, rose 90 cents to $US100.73 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for January fell 29 cents to $US110.53 in late London deals. http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/oil-prices-mixed-after-central-ba...
Theglobeandmail.com
In the event of another economic downturn, Canadian banks could be adversely exposed to high levels of unsecured consumer debt, warns a new report by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. While banks insure most of their mortgages, consumers are carrying higher levels of unsecured debt, including credit lines and credit cards. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/unsecured-consumer-debt-pu...
Xinhuanet.com
China’s Ministry of Finance has said the country’s total fiscal revenues this year will exceed the annual budget of 9.122 trillion yuan (1.44 trillion U.S. dollars) due to an increased tax intake. Both the central and local governments will see their fiscal revenues exceed the budgets as a result of increasing intake from import taxes, corporate income taxes, value-added taxes and consumption taxes, said Vice Finance Minister Liao Xiaojun in a video conference on Wednesday. Imports, industrial profits, industrial added value and consumer prices have reported faster-than-expected growth this year, said Liao.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-12/01/c_131281716.htm
Performance of various sectors of Hong Kong’s financial services industry in recent years demonstrates the industry’s strengths, and the number of total employees in the industry is growing, the city’s financial chief said on Wednesday. Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury, K C Chan, told lawmakers that the financial services industry is one of Hong Kong ’s four pillar industries, which employed 208,900 people in 2010, or 6 percent of the city’s entire workforce. The figures rose to 224,800 or 6.2 percent in the second quarter this year. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/30/c_131280378.htm
Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank, lowered its forecast for economic growth in 2012 for a second time on Wednesday on fears that ongoing problems in Europe and the U.S. might weaken the global economy, the Jakarta Post reported on Thursday. “The central bank cut its estimate of Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2012 to 6.3 percent, down from 6.5 percent,”BI Director for Economic and Monetary Policy Research Perry Warjiyo said. The government’s initial growth estimate was 6.7 percent. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-12/01/c_131281883.ht...
South Korea’s economy is expected to grow at a slower pace next year due mainly to weaker export growth caused by Europe’s debt crisis and the global economic slump, a local think tank said Thursday. In the latest outlook for South Korea, Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) predicted the Asia’s No. 4 economy to grow 3.6 percent in 2012, down from the estimated 4 percent expansion in 2011. Global economic woes and downside risks to the South Korea’s economy expanded in the second half of this year due to the spreading European sovereign debt problems coupled with credit rating downgrades of the United States and Japan, the think tank said. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-12/01/c_131281867.ht...
New Zealand’s fragile export-led recovery is under threat from the impact of the European sovereign debt crisis, two economist forecasts warned Thursday. The Quarterly Predictions released by the independent New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) warned the fallout from the “European sovereign debt mess” would depress export growth. “It will weigh on exports and tourism, which had been a buffer, ” said a statement from the NZIER. “Investment will remain depressed because banks will find it harder to raise capital overseas. The uncertainty around the global outlook is also weighing heavy on business and consumer confidence and thus spending.” http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-12/01/c_131281752.ht...
South Korea’s consumer price growth accelerated in November, rising above the upper ceiling of the Bank of Korea (BOK)’s inflation target band 2-4 percent, a government report showed Thursday. Consumer prices jumped 4.2 percent in November from a year earlier, up from a 3.6 percent on-year gain tallied in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. It was the first time in three months that the consumer price inflation breached the 4 percent level. From a month before, consumer prices rose 0.1 percent, marking the first positive monthly gain in three months. The data came after the statistical agency revised its method of calculating consumer price index (CPI) as part of its regular revision for the index that has been made every five years. The updated version changed the base year for the CPI to 2010 from the previous 2005, and the revised version was retroactively applied to January 2010. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-12/01/c_131280650.ht...
Thehindu.com
ief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu on Wednesday said slowdown in decision-making, high inflation and global uncertainty were the mains reasons for the dip in economic growth to 6.9 per cent. However, he said in the full financial year, the growth was expected to be around 7.5 per cent. The economy grew by 8.5 per cent in 2010-11. Mr. Basu expressed the hope that the situation would improve from January onwards. “There are three causes for this temporary slowdown in growth. They are slowdown in global situation…so it is in a gloomy global scenario that India’s growth has slowed down. We are battling high inflation. There is no getting away from that and there is some slowdown in decision-making,” Mr. Basu said. http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article2675397.ece
Warning that hard days were coming, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday termed as “not disappointing’’ the 6.9 per cent GDP growth recorded in the second quarter especially in view of global developments and asserted that government will continue to adjust its policies to maintain growth. “‘Now hard days are coming. Present uncertainty with regard to global situation is creating concern about FII and FDI flows. We will continue to adjust our policies according to the developments. Taking into account the trend of the last two quarters together, it appears that the GDP growth would be around 7.3 per cent. The growth performance is not all that disappointing,’’ http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article2674498.ece
Economictimes.com
The government has run a fiscal deficit of nearly threefourths of the full-year estimates in the first seven months of the current year, almost confirming it will miss the target of 4.6%. The April-October fiscal deficit was 74.4% of the full-year estimates, data released by the government on Wednesday shows, well ahead of the fiveyear moving average of 64.1%. Though the government has managed to keep expenditure under check in this period, the sharp drop in revenues because of slowdown and large refunds has hurt the finances. “Both the fiscal deficit and GDP numbers are moving in adverse directions and it will be very difficult for the government to achieve it target, which was very aggressive to begin with,” said Sunil Sinha, senior economist, Crisil.http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/fiscal-deficit-...
Thetrader.se
Mean reversion heaven today again. After having put the worst Thanks giving week since 1932 behind us, we put in the best day since 2009 today. Markets are manic,and investors are forced chasing their tail, still dominated by HFT Algos. Dynamic hedging is almost impossible for any big investor, as lack of liquidity drives prices both ways. Below from Bloomberg. Picture by Banksy. The swings have taken a toll on professional investors. Less than 24 percent of 542 categories of funds tracked by Morningstar Inc. have topped their benchmark indexes this year, the fewest since at least 1999. A Hedge Fund Research Inc. index of industrywide performance has fallen 3.3 percent this year. It’s only the third annual loss since 1990 and the biggest decline since 2008, when it plunged 19 percent, according to data from the Chicago-based firm. http://www.thetrader.se/2011/11/30/zig-zag-in-volatile-manic-markets/
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Also in the news....good news for deadbeats living rent free and buying electronics at Walmart and new GM vehicles using subprime loans:
Foreclosures are setting new records again, this time not in their overall numbers, but in the time it is taking for all of these properties to be processed through the legal system. The average loan in foreclosure has now been delinquent a record 631 days, according to a new report from Florida-based Lender Processing Services.
The after effects of the so-called "robo-signing" foreclosure paperwork scandal, now more than a year old, continue to plague states which require these cases to go before a judge.
The differences in processing times are blatant when you compare judicial versus non-judicial states. Non-judicial state foreclosures inventories are less than half those of judicial states, and foreclosure sale rates in non-judicial states are four to five times that of judicial states. Judges are starting to ramp up the process.
Bank repossessions actually surged in October in many judicial states, up 48 percent in New Jersey and up 73 percent in Indiana month-to-month, according to RealtyTrac. Still the backlog is still enormous. Overall foreclosure inventory is at an all-time high, 4.29 percent of all active loans, according to LPS.
After reading all that,my comment is ,Fuck Hillary Clinton.
Bitch.