10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Mamta Badkar

 Mar. 11, 2013

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading with the Nikkei up 0.53 percent. Europe is selling off with stocks falling from 4.5 year highs after Fitch downgraded Italy. U.S. stocks are flat.

• Chinese consumer prices climbed 3.2 percent year-over-year (YoY) in February, beating expectations for a 3 percent rise. Meanwhile, industrial production was up 9.9 percent in February, from 10.3 percent, fixed asset investment for the Jan-Feb period was up 21.2 percent YoY, and retail sales were up 12.3 percent, missing expectations for a 15 percent rise. 

• German exports were up 1.4 percent month-over-month in January, beating expectations for a 0.5 percent rise. Imports were up 3.3 percent.

• Japanese machinery orders tumbled 13.1 percent month-over-month in January. This was much steeper than expectations of a 1.4 percent decline.

• Samsung became the biggest player in China's smartphone market for the first time last year. It sold 30.06 million smartphones in 2012, taking 17.7 percent of the market share. Lenovo coming in second, and Apple came in third with an 11 percent market share.

• Ireland based online betting site InTrade is shutting down, according to a notice posted on the company's site. The notice said the company is investigating "circumstances" and that "to mitigate any further risk to members’ accounts, we have closed and settled all open contracts at fair market value as of the close of business on March 10, 2013".

• French industrial production fell 1.2 percent month-over-month in January. Auto and food production weighed on industrial production, as did a change in calculation method, according to Reuters.

• The Papal conclave begins Tuesday at the Sistine Chapel, this comes after Pope Benedict XVI offered his resignation earlier this year. Some expect the Church to vote for its first African pope, Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana. Some say Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley to be a favorite.

• Walt Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful had the biggest opening weekend this year, grossing $80.3 million in U.S. and Canada, according to Bloomberg. The movie cost about $225 million to make, and expectations were for sales of $75 million at the opening weekend.

• Ram Singh, the bus driver accused in the fatal gang rape of a 23-year old in India, was found hanged in New Delhi's Tihar jail on Monday. His lawyer told Reuters, "this is not suicide, this is something else. I know he had a few complaints of jail authorities torturing him, but nothing that would make him take his own life. We can't rule out foul play".

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Matthew Boesler

 Jan. 28, 2013

AP

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading. The Japanese Nikkei fell 0.9 percent while the Hang Seng rose 0.4 percent and the Shanghai Composite surged 2.4 percent. In Europe, markets are flat to higher with the exception of the German DAX and Spanish IBEX, both down 0.1 percent. In the United States, futures point to a positive open.

• Chinese industrial earnings growth fell to 19.0 percent year-over-year in December from 22.4 percent in November, but quarterly data showed a surge in earnings growth to 20.4 percent in Q4 from 1.0 percent in Q3. BofA economist Ting Lu says the data are important because they are closely correlated with earnings growth in China's non-financial sector.

• Germany sold 1-year government bills this morning with a positive yield for the first time since June in a sign that investors are eschewing the safety of core sovereign debt for riskier assets. German bills have yielded negative interest as heavy demand over the course of the euro crisis has driven up prices above par value.

• Shares of Jos. A Bank will likely come under pressure at Monday's market open after the company warned that 2012 net income would be about 20 percent lower than in 2011 and that customers are becoming unresponsive to promotional strategies. Jos A. Bank made the announcement Friday evening after markets closed.

• Toyota regained the top spot as the world's largest auto maker Monday when the company announced global sales growth of 23 percent to 9.75 million units in 2012. General Motors, which was bumped out of the top spot, sold 9.29 million units last year.

• Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi declared a state of emergency in three cities near the Suez Canal to last a month after violent protests last week left 49 dead. Mursi's decision immediately spurred additional protests Sunday.

• Caterpillar beat estimates on fourth-quarter earnings and revenues this morning, announcing $1.91 EPS and $16.08 billion in sales. The company expects to make $7.00-9.00 per share in 2013 versus consensus expectations for 2013 EPS of $8.54.

• Durable goods orders rose 4.6 percent in December, more than doubling estimates of a 2.0 percent rise. The widely tracked measure of nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft – commonly known as "core capex" – was up 0.2 percent versus expectations of a 0.4 percent decline.

• Pending home sales data for the month of December are due out at 10 AM ET. Economists expect sales increased 0.1 percent in December from the previous month, or 12.5 percent year-over-year.

• At 10:30 AM ET, the January reading of the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity index is released. Economists expect the index to fall to 3.0 from last month's 6.8 reading. Recent measures of regional manufacturing activity have surprised to the downside in January, though national figures remain robust.

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Mamta Badkar

 Oct. 29, 2012

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were mostly lower in overnight trading with the Shanghai Composite down 0.35 percent. Europe is selling off and all U.S. stock markets are closed today as the east coast braces for Hurricane Sandy.

• On the east coast all eyes are on Hurricane Sandy, the biggest storm in a 100 years that is expected to make landfall in New Jersey late Monday night. 10 million people are expected to lose power, according to Johns Hopkins engineer Seth Guikema. 375,000 people in low-lying parts of New York have been evacuated according to Bloomberg.

• Sicilians voted on Sunday for a regional government and early polls showed a lead for anti-establishment party 5 Star Movement, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi threatened to oust the Monti government increasing uncertainty over the nation's governance and contributing to the rout in the Italian market.

• UBS shares surged over 5 percent after reports that the bank was cutting 10,000 jobs and splitting up its fixed-income operations into a separate division that would eventually be wound down.

• Honda posted a 36 percent jump in profits in the July-September quarter as the Japanese automaker recovered from the impact of last year's tsunami. But Honda lowered its annual forecast to 4.1 million vehicle sales because of the current dispute with China over the Diaoyu-Senkaku islands. 

• Personal income and outlays for September will be out at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey at 10:30 a.m. ET. Expectations are for personal income to rise 0.4 percent month-over-month, and for the business activity index to rise to 2.

• Italian prime minister Mario Monti and Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy are meeting in Madrid today. The two are expected to hide a growing rift over Europe's new bailout strategy.

• India's finance minister outlined a plan to reduce India's deficit to 5.3 percent of GDP this fiscal year, and 4.8 percent in the next fiscal year.

• percent gain. The end of government subsidies for car purchases dampened demand.

• UK home prices fell 0.1 percent month-over-month in October, and were down 0.4 percent from a year ago, according to property research group Hometrack. 

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Mamta Badkar

 Oct. 23, 2012

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Lynn University students enjoy a pool party before the presidential debate

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading, with the Shanghai Composite down 0.86 percent on concerns of weaker earnings and growth. Europe is selling off and U.S. futures are in the red.

• Spanish GDP contracted 0.4 percent in the third quarter, but beat expectations of a 0.7 percent decline. This is the fifth straight quarterly decline in GDP.

• Last night president Obama and Mitt Romney faced off in Boca Raton on in the final presidential debate. Romney played it safe and didn't go on the offensive against his opponent, but he was criticized for agreeing too much with Obama on foreign policy. 

• Apple is set to unveil the iPad mini in San Jose today. The tablet is expected to have a 7.8-inch and to cost anywhere from $249 to $349. 

• In earnings news, Netflix is expected to report third quarter earnings of $0.04 per share. Meanwhile, chemical maker DuPont missed earnings and revenue expectations and is cutting 1,500 jobs.

• Yahoo! reported earnings of $0.35 per share, on net revenue of $1.09 billion beating expectations. During the conference call CEO Marissa Mayer said that half of Yahoo's engineers should be mobile engineers and that the company will make small acquisitions.

• Moody's cut the credit ratings of five Spanish regions – Andalucia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalunya, and Murcia. The regions were downgraded because of "the deterioration in their liquidity positions" and because three of the regions "face large debt redemptions in Q4 2012". 

• Texas instruments meanwhile, reported a 30 percent rise in third quarter profit, but slashed its fourth quarter earnings and revenue estimates.

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Mamta Badkar

 Oct. 22, 2012

Frazer Harisson/Getty Images

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were mostly higher in overnight trading with the Nikkei up 0.1 percent, making this its longest winning streak in 13-months. Europe is mixed, and U.S. markets have opened modestly lower.

• Bellweather Caterpillar beat expectations when it reported earnings of $2.54 per share, but missed on revenue. It also cut its 2012 forecast and now expects revenue of $66 billion and profits of $9.00 - $9.25 per share.

• This weekend saw regional elections in Spain. Prime minister Mariano Rajoy's party took the majority of seats in the Galicia region but got beat in the Basque region. The victory in the Galacia region however is expected to make it easier for Rajoy to impose austerity and request a sovereign bailout. 
  

• Microsoft is releasing Windows 8 this week, but the operating system has been criticized for being too complicated. Most companies are unlikely to adopt Windows 8, according to a CNBC report.

• Tonight marks the final presidential debate between president Obama and Mitt Romney. This debate will be centered on foreign policy and will be held at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida starting 9 p.m. ET.

• Chinese policymakers have asked think-tanks to draft their most ambitious plans for economic reform. This could decrease the power of the nation's state owned enterprises and offer more freedom in setting interest rates and the valuation of the yuan, according to Reuters. 

• Canada rejected Malaysian company Petronas' acquisition bid for Progress Energy Resources Corp.. This has raised concerns in China, that Canada could reject CNOOC's plan to purchase Nexen.

• In M&A news, Rosneft announced a two-part $55 billion deal that gives BP a 19.75 percent stake and two seats on the board, according to Reuters.. Meanwhile, Ancestry.com is being acquired by European private equity firm Premira for $1.6 billion.

• The latest poll from the Wall Street Journal says it's a "dead heat tie" of 47 percent - 47 percent in the presidential race. This erased the three-point lead that president Obama had over Romney at the end of September. Among registered voters however Obama leads 49-44 percent.

• Japanese exports fell 10.3 percent in September on a year-over-year basis. Imports climbed 4.1 percent. The trade data adds to signs of a contraction in the Japanese economy.

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Eric Platt

 Sep. 19, 2012

Jan Staal/Youtube

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Markets in Asia rallied in overnight trade, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 1.2 percent. Shares in Europe are flat in afternoon trade while U.S. futures point to a positive open.

• The Bank of Japan said it will continue to ease monetary policy as it increases its asset buying program by ¥10 trillion, or $127 billion, to ¥55 trillion yen. Together, with the central bank's ¥25 trillion credit-loan program, total easing now stands at ¥80 trillion. Gold has now hit a 6-month high. Meanwhile, China is hinting at economic warfare with Japan.

• The Bank of England voted 9-0 in its September meeting to keep its asset purchase program and headline interest rates unchanged, newly released minutes from the central bank show. 

• Australia's 'AAA' rating was affirmed by Standard & Poor's. The ratings agency cited the country's strong mining portfolio, which helped offset domestic consumption weakness.

• Goldman Sachs will replace its longtime chief financial officer David Viniar with Harvey Scwhartz, the company's global co-head of the Securities Division. Scwhartz will assume the role in January when Viniar retires. Viniar will join the firm's board of directors at that time. 

• Heineken says it has won major shareholder approval in its offer for Asia Pacific Brewery shares. Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, whose entities control more than 30 percent of APB, said he had reached an agreement with the firm and backs the deal.

• China's ZTE said it would work with Mozilla on creating a new mobile operating system by the end of this year or early next year. Mozilla, the maker of Firefox, will challenge Google's Android and Apple's iOS systems.

• U.S. housing starts increased 2.3 percent in August to an annual pace of 750,000 units. Although that fell below expectations, it was the second strongest reading since 2008. Existing home sales follow at 10:00 a.m, with expectations for a 2.0 percent rise to an annual run rate of 4.56 million units. 

• President Obama strengthened his lead over Republican Challenger Mitt Romney, a new poll out of NBC News and the Wall Street Journal shows. Obama led Romney 50-45 among likely voters as his job approval rating jumped to its highest level since March. 

• The Chicago Teachers Union ended its strike last night, allowing the country's third-largest school district to return to classes today. Some 350,000 students were kept out of classes following the union's strike over job security and evaluations.

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Matthew Boesler

 Sep. 17, 2012

(AP Photo/Daniel Munoz, Pool)

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were mostly lower in overnight trading. The Shanghai market got slammed,down 2 percent. European markets are headed lower, with the Spanish IBEX down 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 down 0.6 percent.

• A territorial dispute between China and Japan escalated quickly over the weekend, causing Japanese companies to shut down their China factories over fear of unrest and anti-Japanese sentiment.

• There is a dispute between the U.S. Treasury and General Motors over the government's stake in the automaker. GM is pushing the Treasury to sell the rest of its shares back to GM, ending government assistance, but the Treasury is unwilling to take a loss on its investment.

• The U.S. is planning on filing a complaint against China with the World Trade Organization over the latter's export subsidies for cars and car parts. The U.S. claims these subsidies undermine U.S. competitiveness and force outsourcing of U.S. manufacturing.

• Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos resisted further austerity measures in a speech this weekend, saying that the current reform program was ambitious enough. This comes at a time when tension between the Spanish government and troika lenders threatens to jeopardize the eurozone's new bailout plan. 

• According to AT&T, the iPhone 5 is the best selling iPhone of all time.

• The Reserve Bank of India cut its cash reserve ratio to 4.5 percent from 4.75 percent in an attempt to inject life into its ailing economy. However, the central bank left its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 8 percent.

• The United States and its allies launched a big naval exercise in the Persian Gulfthis weekend in a sign of escalating tensions with Iran. The exercise will continue for 11 days but will not venture into the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil chokepoint controlled by Iran.

• At 8:30 AM ET, we get the latest Empire Fed manufacturing index. The consensus survey is for a -2 reading after a -5.85 reading last month. 

• Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he would sue to end a contentious teacher strike over the weekend. This follows strikes that led to no classes all last week in the city's public school system.

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Mamta Badkar

 Sep. 4, 2012,

Adam Pretty/Getty Images

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were mostly lower in overnight trading with the Shanghai Composite down 0.75 percent, as investors were disappointed by lack of policy action to support growth. Europe is selling off, and U.S. futures are modestly higher.

• European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said he is comfortable buying three-year government bonds to help European nations. This caused yields on the Spanish two-year to decline to a record low. The ECB could announce its bond-buying program as early as Thursday. 

• Moody's has cut the outlook for the European Union to negative. The downgrade reflects the "negative outlooks" assigned to Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands which "account for 45 percent of the EU's budget revenue".

• Over the holiday weekend, we saw manufacturing PMI numbers from around the world. Chinese manufacturing PMI came in worse than expected falling to 49.2. In Europe, German PMI climbed to 44.7, but stayed below the contractionary reading of 50.

• The Democratic National Convention begins in Charlotte, North Carolina. All eyes are on first lady Michelle Obama's speech.

• ISM manufacturing index for August and construction spending for July will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Consensus is for a 0.4 percent month-over-month increase in a construction spending, and for a rise in the ISM manufacturing index to 50. 

• In M&A news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals has agreed to buy Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. for $2.6 billion. Ericsson is vying to acquire the business support systems unit of Nokia Siemens 

• The Reserve Bank of Australia kept its benchmark interest rate at 3.5 percent. The central bank said the slowdown in China was hurting the economy. 

• The Swiss economy unexpectedly contracted 0.1 percent in the second quarter from a revised 0.5 percent gain in the first quarter.

• Motor vehicle sales for August will be out through the day. Meanwhile, U.S. PMI for August will be out at 9 a.m. ET. 

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Matthew Boesler

 Aug. 31, 2012

Shutterstock

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• The Japanese Nikkei tumbled 1.6 percent led by natural resources stocks as world growth concerns weigh on investors. Europe is posting nice gains led Spanish stocks, and the U.S. is bouncing back after a rough day yesterday. 

• The big story today is the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole summit of central bankers, where Ben Bernanke will be speaking at 10:00 a.m. Investors are eager to hear additional hints of stimulus measures to be taken soon after a dovish-sounding August FOMC minutes last week.

• The euro-area unemployment rate rose to record highs in July, but was flat after June's numbers were revised higher. Inflation across the eurozone also rose from 2.4 percent to 2.6 percent.

• Bild reported last night that Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann has considered resigning several times over the ECB's bond buying plan that is expected to be unveiled September 12. However, he apparently has chosen not to do so.

• German retail sales missed big in July, falling 1.0 percent year-over-year in July versus expectations of a 0.1 percent gain.

• A Tokyo court ruled against Apple in its patent infringement case with Samsung today. This follows a ruling by a U.S. court earlier this week that Samsung did indeed infringe on Apple patents. 

• The ECB is expected to obtain the sole power to grant banking licenses in the euro area at their next meeting on September 12. This will widen the ECB's influence on banking matters in the eurozone at a time of extreme industry duress. 

• Leading Japanese investment bank Nomura is planning an additional $1 billion in cost cuts. The cuts are expected to be focused on jobs outside Japan. 

• India's GDP report beat expectations today, coming in at 5.5 percent growth versus forecasts of 5.2 percent. However, analysts were concerned about the sharp slowdown in services growth.

• Chicago PMI is out at 9:45 a.m. and University of Michigan Consumer Confidence is out at 9:55 a.m. Expectations are for readings of 53.2 and 73.6, respectively. 

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Eric Platt

 Aug. 24, 2012

Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Markets in Asia sold off in overnight trade, with Japan's Nikkei down 1.2 percent. Shares in Europe are lower and U.S. futures point to a negative open.

• U.K. GDP contracted less than originally expected in the second quarter, new government data shows. The economy declined by 0.5 percent during the spring, up from a 0.7 percent drop first recorded.

• Greek Prime Minister Samaras is speaking with German Chancellor Angela Merkel this morning, as he works to secure additional time from creditors to implement reforms in Greece. Merkel has said that she must wait for a Troika report before making any decisions on changing the country's bailout. 

• The European Central Bank is said to await Germany's ruling on the region's new bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, before finalizing its bond plan, Bloomberg's Jeff Black and Stefan Riecher report. The decision to wait highlights uncertainty in the Eurozone and means a decision will likely not be made at Mario Draghi's September press conference.

• HSBC is in talks with U.S. regulators to settle matters that it laundered funds to sanctioned countries including Iran and the Sudan, Bloomberg's Tiffany Kary and Greg Farrell report. Earlier this year, the bank made a $700 million provision for expected fines. 

• Apple and Samsung must both stop selling certain smartphones and tablets in South Korea after a high court ruling. The Seoul Central District Court found Apple violated two Samsung patents, while Samsung infringed on one Apple patent. However, the court said Samsung did not simply copy the iPhone.

• Kodak plans on selling a number of its major units, including its namesake camera-film business. Kodak plans to shift further to commercial businesses like printing. If the sales are completed, the company hopes to emerge from bankruptcy in 2013.

• Orders for durable goods in the United States advanced $9.4 billion, or 4.2 percent, in July, as sales of aircraft boosted the headline figures. However, when stripping out the transportation sector, orders fell 0.4 percent. That missed economist expectations for a 0.5 percent gain.

• Mr. Romney is expected to receive his party's nomination on Monday, two days earlier than originally planned. Officials made the move as Tropical Storm Isaac heads toward the region and concerns rise that Ron Paul supporters could disrupt the convention.

• Lance Armstrong has given up his fight against doping charges brought against him by the US Anti-Doping Agency, which will mean the loss of seven Tour de France titles. Armstrong is expected to be banned for life from cycling.

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Mamta Badkar

 Jun. 13, 2012

AP Images

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were higher in overnight trading with the Shanghai Composite up 1.3 percent. Europe is mixed and U.S. markets opened lower.

• JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon is testifying before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m. ET today. Dimon is expected to talk about the $2 billion trading loss. 

• Dell shares rallied after hours on news that the company would issue a quarterly dividend of $0.08.

• In industry news, Philip Morris announced a new three-year share-repurchase totaling $18 billion scheduled to start August 1. It also declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.77 per common share. Meanwhile, Yahoo and CNBC have formed a content sharing partnership.

• Greek's are reportedly withdrawing money from banks ahead of the weekend election which could set in motion a Greek exit from the euro. Daily withdrawals have increased to the upper end of a €100 - 500 million range this month, according to Bloomberg. 

• Producer prices plunged 1 percent in May and retail sales fell 0.2 percent in line with expectations >

• Italy auctioned €6.5 billion in one-year bills but borrowing costs surged to a six-month high of 3.972 percent, up from 2.34 percent a month ago. Tomorrow the Treasury will auction three-year bonds and two-longer dated issues. 

• Eurozone inflation fell to a 15-month low, with CPI easing to 2.4 percent year-over-year in May, from 2.6 percent the previous month.

• Japan's core machinery orders climbed 5.7 percent MoM in April, after a 2.8 percent decline the previous month.

• Business inventories for April will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Consensus is for a 0.3 percent MoM increase in inventories.