Succinct Summation of Week’s Events:
Positives:
1) Housing starts strong
2) Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPM, GE earnings were good
3) Retail sales stronger than expected
4) China GDP grows 7.9 percent in Q4 — better than expected
5) Industrial Production was in line;
6) CPI inflation modest
7) PPI report was soft; inflationary pressures remain muted
8) Speculation about Dell LBO could heat up M&A activity
9) Beige Book reports modest expansion in economic activity;
10) Japanese stock market comes alive on new stimulus plan
Negatives:
1) Consumer confidence sucks, back at December low 70s levels;
2) Debt ceiling talks off to a weak start (fiscal cliff redux);
3) Intel profit falls 27% on PC sales drop (stock falls 7%);
4) Apple down 30% from peak is a broken stock technically;
5) Oil prices are climbing;
6) Citigroup, Bank America earnings disappoint;
7) Philly Fed declines more than expected; Empire manufacturing basically flat;
If I missed any, please let me know in comments.
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