singing in the rain
Andy Hay via flickr
Tons of economic data from around the world. The Dow was down as much as 100 points this morning.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 13,268, -10.7, -0.0%

S&P 500: 1,402, -3.5, -0.2%

NASDAQ: 3,059, +9.4, +0.3%

And now the top stories:
  • Manufacturing PMI numbers were published around the world during the last 24 hours.  China's was the first big number, and it came in at 49.3, which beat the flash (or preliminary) number.  It was also higher than last month's reading of 48.3.  According to the report, the "pace of China's slowdown is stabilized." 

  • The European PMI numbers were much more dismal.  Spanish, German, French, and Greek PMI numbers were all horrible.  The eurozone unemployment rate climbed to 10.9 percent.  Spanish youth unemployment is at a horrific 51.1 percent.  The European stock markets got crushed with Spain and Italy each falling by around 2.5 percent.
  • U.S. economic data was worrisome.  According to ADP, private companies added just 119k jobs, down from last month's 201k number.  Economists were looking for 170k.  March factory orders fell 1.5 percent, which was right in line with economists' expectation for a 1.6 percent drop. 

  • Chesapeake Energy plunged today.  The natural gas company, which has been embroiled in controversy, reported Q1 EPS of $0.19.  This missed analysts' estimates by a mile.  According to a bombshell report from Reuters, CEO Aubrey McClendon reportedly ran a $200 million energy hedge fund on the side. 

  • Mark your calendars for tomorrow morning's ECB rate announcement and Friday's April jobs report.
  • EXCLUSIVE: Apple Has Destroyed 490,000 American Jobs >