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Ft.com

IBM and Procter & Gamble have sold bonds with the lowest interest payments on record for US marketed corporate issues, as investors accept low returns for the safety of owning debt from secure companies, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2012/02/02/864831/highly-rated-us-indu...

 

Britain faces spending cuts “almost without historical or international precedent” over the next few years and, painful as the squeeze has been so far, it amounts to less than a 10th of what is planned by the 2016/17 fiscal year, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2012/02/02/864861/ifs-warns-on-scale-o...

 

The bill to revamp City regulation includes a “gaping hole” that could prevent important warnings from reaching the chancellor of the exchequer , Ed Balls, Labour’s shadow chancellor, has told the FT. Mr Balls – an architect of the current regulatory system which dispersed power between the Treasury,http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2012/02/02/864631/balls-sees-gaping-ho...

 

Foreign first-time-buyers are clambering to get into the London office market as sovereign wealth funds and cash-rich individuals seek stable assets amid the uncertainty in the global financial markets. http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2012/02/02/864611/foreign-buyers-snap-...

 

 

Facebook launched the process for its highly anticipated stock market debut, filing papers for a $5bn initial public offering that will turn key shareholders into billionaires, most notably Mark Zuckerberg, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2012/02/02/864581/facebook-sets-wheels...

 

Nomura has reported a surprise 33 per cent gain in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, reports the WSJ. Part of the gain, however, was due to one-off events such as the sale of the company’s stake in Japanese restaurant chain Skylark Co. http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2012/02/01/864281/nomura-posts-gain/

 

Republicans are rapidly eroding the huge funding advantage that propelled Barack Obama into the White House, with wealthy donors flooding new conservative campaign groups with cash before the presidential election in November. The super-political action committee backing Mitt Romney, the Republican frontrunner for the 2012 nomination, raised $30m last year, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission published on Wednesday, with 10 individuals and corporations donating $1m each. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c7529cb8-4cd9-11e1-8b08-00144feabdc0.html...

 

With just €15m available, however, the fund may quickly prove inadequate. A European Central Bank survey on Wednesday showed the eurozone debt crisis has triggered a severe credit squeeze across the region with banks imposing significantly harsher loan terms on businesses and consumers. Demand for mortgages and loans to fund corporate investment was also falling sharply, the survey showed. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ba53fd9c-4cbe-11e1-8b08-00144feabdc0.html...

 

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has admitted it might take him two rounds to win Russia’s presidential elections in March, a sign he is attempting to manage expectations about his falling approval ratings. Few doubt that Mr Putin will triumph in the elections, as he attempts to return to the presidency for a third term, but the results will be scrutinised as a test of his popularity. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3e78a6f8-4cfc-11e1-bdd1-00144feabdc0.html...

 

Wsj.com

Asian stock markets were higher Thursday as improved global economic data buoyed sentiment, propelling Hong Kong shares to their highest point for the year, while the Australian dollar jumped sharply after the nation posted a larger-than-expected trade surplus. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.9%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.1%, South Korea’s Kospi Composite jumped 1.1% and India’s Sensex rose 1.0%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.5% to 20,629.68, after touching 20,638.96 earlier, its highest level in 2012, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020465290457719774226415460...

 

The next chief executive of Sony Corp. promises to forge a new path for a company that once dominated the business of filling free time with the creation of wildly popular consumer products, from Trinitron TVs to Walkman music players and PlayStation game consoles.  The selection of 51-year-old Kazuo Hirai by Sony’s board Wednesday ends the reign of Howard Stringer, the boisterous and charismatic Brit who in 2005 became the company’s first non-Japanese chief executive and over seven years as boss couldn’t turn around Sony’s electronics business. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020474090457719621426187125...

 

The U.S. manufacturing sector expanded in January and indicators of future activity pointed to continued growth in the months ahead. Meantime, separate gauges of manufacturing around the globe firmed up despite the threat of recession in Europe and a recent cooling of Asian economies.  Manufacturing activity in the euro zone, though still contracting, was slightly less negative, while both government and private-sector gauges showed China’s factory sector accelerated over the month.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020474090457719672303419015...

 

Emerging markets are on a hot streak, as investors no longer transfixed by Europe’s sovereign-debt woes are lured by the prospect of strong growth in the developing world. Many currencies are no longer moving in tandem with the euro, boosting confidence in a sustained rally even as Europe staggers toward a long-term solution to its crisis.  The 25 currencies in the MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index rose 4% in January, outperforming most other assets with the exception of stocks. That compares with a 1.8% increase in the euro’s value against the dollar and a 2.2% rise in the Goldman Sachs http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020392020457719721312860270...

 

Australia’s trade surplus accelerated in December, buoyed by mining exports to Asia, but economists said softening commodities prices mean that trade may have peaked. The Australian dollar shot to a fresh five-month high after the government released figures showing the country posted a seasonally adjusted trade surplus of 1.71 billion Australian dollars (US$1.8 billion), helped by a 31% rise in gold exports. That surplus compared with A$1.34 billion in November and washttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020474090457719796079635501...

 

Japan’s finance minister stepped up his warnings over the yen’s renewed strength, saying he “can’t overlook” speculative moves in the market to push the currency higher—a trend that threatens to exacerbate the nation’s trade shortfalls and economic slowdown. “I am calmly watching the market now, but I can’t overlook any acceleration in moves by short-term speculators” in the currency market, Jun Azumi told reporters at the Ministry of Finance. “As I have been saying, I will take decisive steps if deemed necessary.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020465290457719786254341345...

 

The auto industry hasn’t just turned the corner. It’s starting to accelerate. In January, U.S. auto sales continued their upward surge, rising 11% over a year ago to their briskest pace in nearly four years. At the same time, several auto makers showed new confidence in the American economy by disclosing billion-dollar expansions of their U.S. factories. On the sales front, Chrysler Group LLC and Volkswagen AG reported increases of more than 40% apiece from a year ago, and most other auto makers posted solid gains. General Motors Co. was the only major company to report a decline; its sales http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020474090457719667398745276...

 

Marketwatch.com

Australia’s image of healthy outdoor living and reputation for a work-life balance has elevated it to the top destination for expatriates globally, according to a worldwide survey by HSBC.  HSBC’s Expat Explorer, which surveyed 3,385 expats from over 100 countries found Australia remained popular despite it lacking the earning potential of other popular destinations. Of those who nominated Australia as their favored destination, 71% chose Australia because it was perceived to offer a better quality of life compared to expatriates who chose the U.S. (54%) and U.K. (55%) based on the perceived financial gain. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/australia-most-popular-expat-destinatio...

 

Bloomberg.com

Mitt Romney sought to seize the upper hand in the Republican presidential race after his 14-point triumph in Florida, assailing rival Newt Gingrich as not a “pure conservative” even as he defended his own attitude toward economically disadvantaged Americans. As the contest moved west in advance of Nevada’s Feb. 4 caucuses, the former Massachusetts governor said Gingrich had strayed from core party principles by advocating action to curb climate change, criticizing a Republican Medicare plan and backing a national mandate to purchase health care. For his part, Gingrich has branded Romney a “Massachusetts moderate” to stoke resistance to his candidacy among the Republican base. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-01/romney-win-in-florida-primary-s...

 

Gold advanced to the highest level in eight weeks, gaining alongside equities and other commodities, as global manufacturing improved, weakening the dollar and boosting demand for alternative investments. Spot gold rallied as much as 0.5 percent to $1,751.97 an ounce, the most expensive since Dec. 8, and traded at $1,746.30 at 1:20 p.m. inSingapore. Gold holdings in exchange-traded products rose 0.2 percent yesterday to 2,376.205 metric tons, the highest level since Dec. 16 and within about 0.7 percent of the Dec. 13 record, according to data tracked by Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-02/gold-advances-to-highest-in-eig...

 

Cnbc.com

Despite strong manufacturing data out of the U.S., one economist says the economy has a high chance of slipping back into recession in the second half of 2012. In the United States, the manufacturing sector grew at its fastest pace in seven months in January as new orders improved, but Jim Walker, Founder and Managing Director of independent research firm, Asianomics, told CNBC that the U.S. economy is going to face a slowdown this year owing to fiscal tightening. http://www.cnbc.com/id/46232025

 

Nytimes.com

Despite the best efforts of European politicians to place a quarantine fence around the Greek economy, the crisis there continues to plague Portugal. The authorities in Lisbon insist otherwise, but investors are predicting that Portugal will be next in line to impose losses on bondholders as it struggles to meet the terms of a 78 billion-euro, or $103 billion, bailout agreement struck with international creditors last May. While a short-term debt auction on Wednesday went off comfortably, Portugal’s long-term borrowing costs remain unsustainably high, and spending cuts that are cleaning up public finances are also helping to plunge Portugal into one of the deepest recessions in the Western world. Its economy is predicted to contract 3 percent this year, and the unemployment rate, at 13.6 percent, is one of the highest in the euro zone.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/business/global/portugal-pulls-off-deb...

 

Foxbusiness.com

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that the euro had “made Europe stronger”, as she began a visit to China aimed in part at reassuring Beijing the eurozone crisis is under control. Merkel made the comment in a speech in Beijing, just hours after landing in the Chinese capital for a three-day visit during where she’ll hold talks with PremierWen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao. http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/02/01/germanys-merkel-euro-currency...

 

Washingtonpost.com

China, the world’s second-largest oil user, may raise retail fuel prices for the first time since April following gains in the crude grades the government tracks. The moving average of Brent, Dubai and Indonesia’s Cinta crudes, the three types in the country’s pricing basket, over the past 22 working days has climbed 4.3 percent as of yesterday, according to C1 Energy, a commodity researcher based in Shanghai. That’s above the 4 percent target that could trigger a fuel adjustment by the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic regulator. Chinese refiners which processed a record amount of crude oil in December want a price increase to pass on higher costs to end-users. The government controls fuel costs to curb inflation which cooled to a 15-month low of 4.1 percent in December. http://washpost.bloomberg.com/story?docId=1376-LYPL4B6S972801-1U3PEOFHGS...

 

BBC.co.uk

Pakistan’s efforts to revive its export sector have received a big boost after some of its goods were given duty free access to the European Union (EU). The World Trade Organization (WTO) has approved the EU’s move to waive duties on 75 Pakistani products, including textiles, for two years. The waiver was granted on humanitarian grounds after Pakistan’s manufacturing was hurt by floods in the country. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16848556

 

Telegraph.co.uk

Germany’s Bundesbank has entirely exhausted its stock of private assets and run up a quarter of a trillion euros in liabilities propping up the eurozone system, testing the political limits of EMU solidarity in Germany.  The operations are part of the European Central Bank’s ‘TARGET2' network of automatic payments between the national central banks of the Euroland club. The Bundesbank has already provided €496bn (£413bn) to countries in trouble, chiefly Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9055142/Bundesbank-si...

 

A eurozone meltdown would plunge Britain back into a two-year recession and send unemployment soaring above 10pc, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. Should Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy all leave the euro, the UK economy would shrink by 1.7pc this year and 0.9pc in 2013, and unemployment would hit 10.7pc– its highest level since its last peak in January 1993. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9055362/UK-faces-a-tw...

 

Independent.co.uk

Shares in Icap, the broking giant founded and run by Michael Spencer, soared yesterday after it said everything in the City is not quite as gloomy as people feared.  It said January had seen a recovery in business from the low levels between October and December. However, it cautioned that electronic broking volumes were down 19 per cent on January 2011 because of low volatility in the yen and Swiss franc. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/icap-sees-rays-of-light-...

 

Smh.com.au

Greece has all but concluded a crucial deal to write off half its privately held debt and is now working on new austerity measures needed to secure continued bailout loans, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said on Tuesday. “We are one step – I would say it is a formality – away from finalising (the debt relief agreement),” Venizelos told a news conference. “The next few days will determine what happens over the coming decade.” Under the deal, private creditors would swap their Greek bonds for new ones with a 50 per cent cut in their face value, a longer repayment period, which could be up to 30 years, and low interest rate, that is still being negotiated. http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/greece-close-to-landing-cr...

 

Straitstimes.com

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday warned the Aussie dollar would likely remain at a high level for years as it came to be seen as a ‘safe haven’ amid global turmoil. The currency has soared past parity with the greenback on the back of Australia’s commodities boom and relatively high interest rates over the past two years, reaching its highest levels since it was first floated in 1983. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStory_761778.htm...

 

Cs.com.cn

China’s State Council, or the Cabinet, on Wednesday called for more efforts to support the sound development of small and micro-sized enterprises. “Small and micro-sized firms serve as a significant channel for creating jobs, a major platform for the growth of entrepreneurship, and an important force of scientific innovation,” according to a statement released Wednesday after a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao. Further supports for small and micro enterprises are crucial as they are still facing great operating pressures, rising costs and financing difficulties, the statement said. http://www.cs.com.cn/english/ei/201202/t20120202_3225735.html

 

China’s manufacturing sector expanded in January, as indicated by a slight rise in the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) to 50.5 from 50.3 in December. The rise was a signal that the pace of economic moderation was stabilizing, analysts said, and further easing policies might soon be announced.  The official PMI, which was jointly released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics &Purchasing (CFLP) for the first time on Wednesday, unexpectedly exceeded the consensus forecast of 48.

 

Thehindu.com

After a lacklustre 2011, domestic carmakers had an encouraging start to 2012 as January sales figures of most manufacturers registered a good growth. Recovering from its production loss due to labour unrest, Maruti Suzuki registered a modest 2.42 per cent rise in its domestic sales at 88,377 units in January, which came after seven consecutive months of negative growth figures. However, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) saw its sales growing by 11.85 per cent last month at 33,900 units, while Tata Motors registered a growth of 14.75 per cent at 34,669 units. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) and Mahindra & Mahindra posted good growth at 17,395 units (89 per cent growth) and 41,369 units (19.56 per cent), respectively. http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/article2851212.ece

 

The continued slowdown in exports and sudden fast growth in imports have started taking a toll with the trade gap touching a huge $12.7 billion in December 2011. In December 2010, the trade deficit was $8 billion. Exports recorded a 6.7 per cent growth at $25 billion on weak demand from traditional markets such as the U.S. and eurozone. According to the trade data released by the Commerce Ministry on Wednesday, for the April-December period, exports increased by annualised 25.8 per cent to $217.6 billion, but inward shipments grew faster at 30.3 per cent to $350.9 billion, leaving a trade gap of $133.2 billion. This has raised serious doubts about the target set by the Government for $300 billion exports by March 31, 2012. http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article2851216.ece

 

Economictimes.com

Iran has agreed to accept 45 percent of the payment for its oil exports to India in rupees through UCO Bank, based in the eastern city of Kolkata, the Indian Express newspaper reported on Thursday, without citing any sources. India, Iran’s second-biggest oil client after China, buys 12 percent of its oil needs from the Islamic nation, worth about $12 billion annually. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/india-may...

 

The India-EU summit scheduled in New Delhi next week will lay down a ‘strict’ road-map for conclusion of the ambitious bilateral free trade pact and also strengthen cooperation in security. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday on the progress made in the FTA negotiations and the areas that still need to be sorted out. “The PM was briefed on the status of the India-EU agreement and by when it could be reasonably expected to be concluded,” a government official told ET. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/india-eu-...

 

Yonhapnews.co.kr

Chinese people spent a total of US$7.2 billion overseas in buying luxury goods during the long Lunar New Year holidays this year, an industry group said Thursday, underscoring Chinese consumers’ growing appetite for high-end products. According to the World Luxury Association, an estimated $7.2 billion worth of luxury goods were purchased by Chinese people who went abroad during the Jan. 1 to Feb. 1 period. In 2010, the equivalent figure was $4.9 billion. The first day of this year’s Lunar New Year fell on Jan. 23. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2012/02/02/67/0503000000AEN2012...

 

Themoscowtimes.com

Russia is counting on President Bashar Assad to keep his grip on power to see through potential arms contracts worth up to $6 billion and help Moscow reach a record defense export year, according to the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, or CAST. Moscow has been Assad’s main defender as Western and Arab countries push for a UN Security Council resolution that would call for Assad to step down. A veto-wielding permanent member, Russia has already criticized the resolution saying it will lead to civil war.  Having lost tens of billions of dollars in arms contracts with Libya after leader Moammar Gadhafi was ousted last year, Moscow is looking to Damascus to maintain a foothold, both politically and economically, in the region. At stake for Russia — the world’s No. 2 arms exporter — is billions of dollars in potential and current arms contracts with ally Syria, including deliveries on an order of 24 MiG-29M2 fighter jets signed in 2007. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/6bln-in-weapons-sales-a-f...

 

Fin24.com

Belgium became the first eurozone member formally to fall into recession in the second half of last year, data showed on Wednesday, paving the way for what is expected to be a tough contraction for the bloc as a whole in 2012. Gross domestic product (GDP) in the bloc’s sixth largest economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter, following a quarterly contraction of 0.1 percent in the July-Sept period. Two consecutive quarters of contraction is generally accepted by economists as the minimum for an economy to be considered in a recession. http://www.fin24.com/Economy/Belgium-first-in-eurozone-to-enter-recessio...

Tehrantimes.com

South Korea and Japan will soon meet U.S. officials in Washington to ask how much oil they can import from Iran under new sanctions that leave the Asian nations with few alternative sources for energy, government officials said Wednesday. Japan is the world’s third biggest oil consumer, and South Korea is the fifth largest.  Both nations import significant amounts of crude from Iran, which they are under pressure to cut back to secure a waiver from a U.S. law imposing sanctions on financial institutions that trade with Iran’s central bank.  Japan’s foreign ministry said a delegation was due to hold talks in Washington Thursday as part of ongoing consultations and would seek clarity on the law, which is part of a raft of sanctions aimed at reining in Iran’s nuclear ambitions. http://www.tehrantimes.com/economy-and-business/95048-south-korea-japan-...

 

Thetrader.se

Another melt up low volume day. Below are some short term charts. Note how the SPX actually traded higher a few sessions ago. Watch the Viox index carefully here. We might get the total inverted panic if we attack those SPX highs. Also note the Golden Cross eveyrbody is talking about. The market is hitting long term resistance charts and there is a fairly big wedge in the SPX. All in all, we would expect the market to break away rather brutally soon. Just pick the direction via cheap gamma.http://www.thetrader.se/2012/02/01/golden-cross-or-just-crossed-by-the-m...

 

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