Archive for May, 2016

Weak Factory Data in Japan and China

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Factory activity in the two largest Asian economies remains subdued. In Japan the PMI registered its weakest level since January 2013. In China the data was somewhat mixed with official PMI data hovering just above 50 while the private data remain in contraction

Recipe for Disaster

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

This WSJ article describes the global search for yield in a low rate environment. The bottom line is that investors are strapping on more risk to generate returns and performance. That strategy always works well until one day you wake up and find out it is no longer working. Via WSJ: By ...

HSBC Cutting High Priced Talent

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Via Bloomberg: HSBC Said to Cut Senior Investment-Banking Jobs to Lower Costs May 31, 2016 — 4:31 PM EDT HSBC Holdings Plc is cutting senior investment-banking positions as part of the lender’s ongoing plan to reduce costs across the company, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The cuts reflect a gradual trimming ...

Some Large Corporate Deals This Day

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Via Bloomberg: BFW 05/31 18:14 *LAUNCH: PFIZER $5B DEBT OFFERING IN FIVE PARTS LAUNCH: Pfizer $5b Debt Offering in Five Parts 2016-05-31 18:17:09.388 GMT By Pham-Duy Nguyen (Bloomberg) -- Total size $5b. * Launch/Guid/IPT: * $1.25b 2Y +35; +40A; +40-45 * $850m 3Y +45; +50A; +50A * $1.15b 5Y +60; +65A * $1.25b 10Y +90; +95A; +105A * $500m 30Y Tap ...

Overnight Data Preview

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Via Robert Sinche at Amherst Pierpont Securities: CHINA: The Bberg consensus expects the official PMI to inch down to 50.0 in May from 50.1 in April while the Non-Manufacturing PMI for May will follow a solid 53.5 reading in April. The consensus expects the Caixin/Markit manufacturing PMI to have slipped to ...

Atlanta Fed GDP Now Unchanged

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Via Atlanta Fed: Latest forecast: 2.9 percent — May 31, 2016 The GDPNow model forecast for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2016 is 2.9 percent on May 31, unchanged from May 26. The second-quarter forecast for real consumer spending growth remained at 3.6 percent after ...

Consumer Confidence

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Via Stephen Stanley at Amherst Pierpont Securities: Consumer confidence as measured by the Conference Board fell by about 2 points in May, a very surprising result.  After the index had slipped in April, I had expected a bounceback in May (in line with the University of Michigan gauge, which jumped by ...

Very Weak Chicago PMI

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Via Millan Mulraine at TDSecurities: US: Chicago PMI Points the Way Lower ·         The Chicago PMI was much weaker than expected, falling back below the 50-threshold to 49.3 in May from 50.4. The market consensus was for a modest rise to 50.5. ·         The details of this report were quite weak, pointing to some ...

Strong Consumption Data

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Via Millan Mulraine at TDSecurities: TD SECURITIES DATAFLASH                    US: Consumption Activity Rebounds Strongly in Q2 ·         After slowing markedly in recent quarters, personal consumption rose at a solid 1.0% m/m pace in April, signally a strong GDP rebound this quarter. ·         Real spending posted an equally impressive 0.6% m/m advance, while the pace of core ...

The Message From the Flattening Yield Curve

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Ed Yardeni has been around for a long time(for that matter so have I). I think that he is the fellow who coined the term "bond vigilantes" in the 1980s. Back in the day he was the chief economist at the venerable investment bank EFHutton (defunct). He has digitally penned ...