“Exhilaration is that feeling you get just after a great idea hits you, and just before you realize what's wrong with it.” Sir Rex Harrison, English actor, March 5th 1908 – June 2nd 1990
Summary
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Quiet end to Friday session on Wall Street
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Putin “wins” Russian presidential election
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China revise down GDP target to 7.5%
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Markets in Far East lower
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Europe follow the lead, with UK miners hit
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Decent ISM number in the US, as well as Factory Order data
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……..but signs of inflation….
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Markets sell off, also not helped by worries over US bank stress test results
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FTSE down 0.61% at close, Wall Street fall similar, most of Europe slightly worse
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“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” Theodor Seuss Geisel, American writer and poet (better known as Dr Seuss), March 2nd 1904 – September 24th 1991
Summary
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US closed up a little
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Far East end the week in good heart
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Effects of LTRO on liquidity start to become clear
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Spanish government debt forecasts revised up
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UK ends a quiet day down
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Most of Europe up a touch
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US down a tad as we closed
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“We have a bias to international product and service companies. Growth rates for many of these will be positive this year because of demand levels from emerging markets.”
There is growing confidence among economists and commentators that the UK economy will avoid a double dip recession in the first quarter of 2012. This is based on recent data in the services, manufacturing and retail sectors that suggest the economy is showing signs of recovery from the 0.2% decline in the fourth quarter of 2011. Our best guess for the UK economy continues to be that it will undergo a period of slow growth as the process of deleveraging continues.
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“Change is good. And in fact unavoidable” - Dirk Benedict, aka Lt Templeton "Faceman" Peck, born 1st March 1945.
Summary
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Wall Street trades sideways after we closed yesterday, falling on good news from Bernanke
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Silver down 9%
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Beige book survey in line with data, moderately positive
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Apple market cap eclipses Saudi Arabia GDP
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Fed’s Plosser said may need to hike rates!
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China PMI better, but poor loan growth rumours weigh
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Europe opens in the red but soon rallies
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PMI generally fine
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Greek debt-swap is not a CDS triggering event according to ISDA (ruling body)
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Busy day for numbers
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US ISM weaker but brushed off
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Markets rally all day, close up >1% unwinding yesterday’s selloff
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“Give me a laundry-list and I'll set it to music.” Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer, best known for operas The Barber of Deville and William Tell, February 29th 1792 – November 13th 1868
Summary
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Wall Street trades sideways after we closed yesterday
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Far East markets pretty robust with decent macro numbers pointing to growth
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Europe opens in good heart
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LTRO comes in at EUR529.5 billion
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Notable weakness in Portuguese bond market, no obvious reason………yet
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Bernanke says nothing about further QE in testimony to Congress
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Risk assets wobble
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Equities, metals, commodities, oil all head south
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FTSE ends lower by almost 1%
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Europe down, but not by as much
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S&P down by 0.42% as pulled the shutters down
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“A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet, February 27th 1807 – March 24th 1882
Summary
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Quiet session on Wall Street
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Far East generally firmer
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Greece credit rating cut to “Selective Default”
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Europe opens stronger (but very light volumes)
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Italian bond auction goes well
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Consensus on LTRO (tomorrow) improving
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Mixed European confidence data
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Very weak US orders data, but could be misleading?
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Extremely US strong consumer confidence numbers and Richmond Fed also solid
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Market end a see-saw day in positive territory, FTSE by 0.21%, Europe by a tad more and the S&P by 0.35% as we packed up
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“The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet, Feb 27th 1807 – March 24th 1882
Summary
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Wall Street closes slightly lower, volumes low
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Oil prices starting to worry a bit
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World Bank / Development Research Centre predict slowing Chinese growth
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Japanese exporters either fall or rally depending on when you ask
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China up on monetary easing hopes, Hong Kong down on comments from IMF head (or more like nothing)
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G20 tells Germany to pony up more cash if they want further IMF help
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Talk about Wednesday’s LTRO €500bn the forecast
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Greek PSI details out
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Buffet on the prowl
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HSBC fall on their numbers
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Bond auctions go fine
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Alarm over German sausage prices
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German lower house have just approved bailout
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Markets rally from their lows to close down a tad, no real harm done
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“I was worth over $1,000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over $100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money.” Steve Jobs, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple, February 24th 1955 – October 5th 2011
Summary
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Wall Street closes slightly higher than when we went home yesterday
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Asian markets in fine fettle, led by China
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Europe opens better
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UK and German Q4 GDP in line with expectations
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Confusing numbers from Lloyds
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Markets drift easier until………
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…..A strong University of Michigan confidence survey
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“Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes her laws” – Mayer Amschel Rothschild, founder of the Rothschild family international banking dynasty, 23rd Feb 1744 – 19 Sept 1812
Summary
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Drifty markets overnight thanks to weak PMI, big revision in existing home sales
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Obama unveils headline grabbing tax cut plan
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Wen may target GDP growth of sub 8%
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Japanese market up on “buyers”
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More tension with Iran, oil up again
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Greece default highly like in the near term according to Fitch
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Germany says €500bn is big enough for ESM
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Moody’s put financials on review for possible downgrade
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Osbourne/Azumi urge US to rewrite Volker rule
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German IFO points to growth
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Eurozone to contract by 0.3% this year say EU
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Eurozone to contract by 0.5% this year say DB
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Lots of numbers out again
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Markets stuck in range
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“We never fail when we try to do our duty, we always fail when we neglect to do it.” Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout Movement, 22nd February 1857 – 8th January 1941
Summary
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Wall Street gives up a little ground post our close
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Far East markets strong
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Chinese PMI a tad weak…….
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…….but Europe generally worse, particularly relative to expectations…..
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…….which hit European markets
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UK housing data worse than expected
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UK rallied, closing down by 0.2%
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Europe didn’t!
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US lower by 0.25% as we pulled stumps
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