The Week That Was: July 22nd - 26th 2013

Succinctly summarizing the positive and negative news, data, and market events of the week...

Positives

1. Gold hits pre-taper levels
2. AAPL beats in Q3, cash grows to record levels
3. US has no issues selling $35bn in 2yr paper
4. Smooth as silk – US again has no issue selling $35bn 5yr notes
5. Durable goods headline number healthy in June (non-defense capital goods however…)
6. Weekly initial jobless claims rise only slightly, downward trend has leveled out
7. Bank lobbying 1 – Common Sense 0 … Regulators no longer to impose “skin-in-the-game” regulations
8. Consumer confidence soars in July (as everyone ignores all reality)…
9. Inflation is taking hold in Japan… kind of
10. Every time Kevin Henry sings, a PM gets his wings: DJIA, ES, RUT defy gravity and ramp higher before close

Negatives

1. Richmond Fed posts biggest miss vs expectations in 7 years
2. Is the skyscraper index indicating a pending crisis?
3. CAT implodes YoY in Q2, guides down
4. China PMI hits 11-month low
5. Cyprus bank deposits plunge at fastest rate in history
6. JP Morgan & Goldman probed over metals warehouse manipulations
7. Like clockwork: Amazon misses earnings estimates once again in Q2
8. Unintended consequences: Muni liquidity to tighten after Detroit bankruptcy?
9. How do you spin a recession? Continuously lowering GDP expectations
10. If you #timestamp and click your heels 3x, you can pretend the market levels are due to fundamentals

Additional

• Here are the 217 ‘representatives’ who voted to continue NSA surveillance
• Mooch? -- SAC Capital has been Indicted
• SAC’s true gross exposure
• Klarman clears up the unreality

(h/t @ZH_Crown)