Succinct summation of week’s events:
Positives:
1) Italian and Spanish bond yields fall sharply on the week as both successfully sell debt to refinance a boat load of upcoming maturities
2) Euro basis swap, US$ 3 month LIBOR and the 3 mo euribor/ois spread all narrower on the week as yr end ’11 funding stress eases somewhat
3) Unicredit stock closes up 11% on week after last week’s drubbing on rights offering details
4) China’s CPI and PPI both moderate
5) Chinese bank loans and M2 money supply both rise more than expected in veiled easing by Chinese officials
6) India Nov IP gains 5.9%, above estimates of 2.1%
7) UoM confidence rises to best since May
8) NFIB small business optimism index up almost 2 pts to best since Feb ’11
9) MBA said refi apps rose 3.3% on the week and purchases were up by 8.1%
Negatives:
1) France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria about to be downgraded by S&P but credit markets knew this was coming while equity markets seem surprised
2) Greek PSI discussions hit snag, is hard default coming?
3) European bank deposits with the ECB overnight rise to record high at 489.9b euros, more than the entire size of the 3 yr LTRO,
4) Chinese imports rise just 11.8%, well below expectations of 18% and the slowest since Oct ’09 while exports rise at 2nd lowest pace since Nov ’09
5) US Dec Retail Sales rise just .1% and fall at the core level
6) Initial Jobless Claims jump 24k to 399k vs an expected reading of 375k
7) Nov Trade Deficit at $47.8b, almost $3b higher than estimated and the biggest since June, exports to Europe fall.
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