Succinct summation of week’s events:
Positives:
1) Initial Jobless Claims total 367k, below 370k for 2nd week after previous 3 weeks above 380k.
2) UoM confidence in May rises 1.4 pts to best since Jan ’08, one yr inflation expectations fall to lowest since Dec ’10.
3) Gasoline prices fall another .06 on the week to $3.73, the lowest since late Feb according to AAA.
4) JOLTS data reveal most amount of job openings since July ’08.
5) US exports rise to record high in March but so do imports mostly due to petro.
6) NFIB small business optimism index up 2 pts to highest since Dec ’07.
7) For those looking to buy a home or refi, avg 30 yr mortgage rate falls to new low at 3.78% according to Bankrate.com.
8) US PPI unexpectedly falls .2% m/o/m and y/o/y gain of 1.9% below 2% for 1st time since Oct ’09 (core rate though remains elevated), April Import Prices fall more than expected.
9) Factory Orders and IP in Germany in March surprise to upside, somewhat dated data and likely to change but points to resilience of its economy.
10) Chinese CPI falls to 3.4% y/o/y gain in April from 3.6% and PPI outright falls for 2nd straight month.
11) Job gains in Australia and Canada well above expectations.
Negatives:
1) In response to chaos in Greece, newly issued Greek bonds fall to new lows, Greek stocks fall 11% on the week to lowest since 1992. Hugo Chavez shouldn’t be the Greek electorate’s role model.
2) Spain’s 10 yr yield rises back to 6%, 5 yr CDS up at record high, IBEX index trades to lowest since ’03 but bounces off it.
3) Spain wants its banks to write off another 30b euros but market wanted 50b, rip the band aid off already I say.
4) In China, retail sales, IP, money supply, bank loans, imports and exports all rise less than expected confirming further the slowdown.
5) India IP in March falls 3.5% vs expectations of a gain of 1.7%.
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