Succinct summation of week’s events:
Positives:
1) Jan Payroll gains show big upside surprise of 243k, about 100k more than expected, unemployment rate falls to 8.3%
2) ISM services index rises to best since Feb ’11
3) ISM mfr’g up 1 pt but touch less than expected
4) Jan vehicle sales at 14.1mm is best since clunker month in Aug ’09 and the most since May ’08 before that
5) US savings rate rises to 4% from 3.5%
6) Initial Jobless Claims fall 12k
7) Amount of Germans unemployed fall again, rate at 6.7%
8) UK mfr’g and services PMI figures both rise
9) Final euro zone mfr’g and services PMI in line with initial
10) Portuguese bond yields fall from highs, Italian yields lower too with Spain flat
11)China mfr’g PMI stays above 50, Taiwan and South Korea rise but remain below 50
12) India’s mfr’g and services PMI’s both jump
Negatives:
1) US Jan Consumer Confidence falls almost 4 pts to 61.1, well below expectations of 68 as labor market answers soften and those that plan to buy a home falls to lowest since Aug and those that plan to buy a car down at lowest since Oct ’10
2) CS home price index falls to lowest since Feb ’03
3) MBA said refi’s fell 3.6% and purchase apps were down 1.7%
4) Canada’s Jan jobs report disappoints
5) China PMI services index falls to 52.9 from 56, the 2nd lowest since Feb ’11
6) Taiwan’s economy in a recession after Q4 contraction q/o/q
7) Greek debt discussions for another week are hours away from wrapping up
8) Amount of LTRO funds from ECB continue to be redeposited with the ECB
9) Giants/Pats Super Bowl again? How many more tortuous years will I have as a Jets fan?
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