Archive for March, 2016

Alternative Work

Saturday, March 26th, 2016

Via WSJ: By Anna Louie Sussman and Josh Zumbrun March 25, 2016 56 COMMENTS Uber drivers aren’t the only “gig” workers rattling the U.S. economy. Older workers, especially women, increasingly are filling in as contractors across a range of traditional industries, from highway inspectors to health aides. As companies look to shed noncore tasks and government ...

Plunging Profits

Friday, March 25th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: Earnings fell in 2015 by most in seven years, figures show Drop is `bad news' for the economy, IHS's Behravesh says On the face of it, the latest government update on how the U.S. economy performed in the fourth quarter looked a bit more encouraging. Growth was revised to a 1.4 ...

GDP

Friday, March 25th, 2016

Via Bloomberg: U.S. Economy Grew 1.4% in Fourth Quarter, Supported by Consumers Michelle Jamrisko March 25, 2016 — 8:30 AM EDT Updated on March 25, 2016 — 8:59 AM EDT The U.S. economy grew in the fourth quarter at a faster pace than previously estimated, supported by stronger household spending that’s helping cushion the expansion ...

More on Durables and Claims

Thursday, March 24th, 2016

Via Stephen Stanley at Amherst Pierpont Securities: The February durable goods orders release was not disastrously weaker than expectations, but it was definitely somewhat softer than I was looking for.  The headline gauge fell by 2.8%, in line with expectations, as aircraft and defense bookings both dropped.  Excluding those two volatile ...

Durable Goods and GDP

Thursday, March 24th, 2016

Via Chris Low at FTN Financial: Durable goods orders fell 2.8%, about as expected, but the 1.8% drop in nondefense cap-goods ex-aircraft was worse than expected. In addition, these orders were revised lower in January. Add non-defense cap goods ex-air shipments that fell 1.1% in February and were revised to -1.3% ...

Any Yield is Good Yield, Literally

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016

Via Bloomberg: Even at 0.3% Japan’s Funds Are Loving 20 Years of Risk in Bonds 2016-03-23 01:26:12.318 GMT By Kevin Buckland and Shigeki Nozawa (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s second-biggest bond fund says it will favor securities with whatever maturity it takes to get any positive yield. That means 20-year debt. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co.’s Global Sovereign Open ...

JPMorgan Duration Survey: Long

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016

Via Bloomberg: RATES: Shorts Jump to Longs in Latest JPM Survey 2016-03-22 11:30:56.448 GMT By Robert Elson (Bloomberg) -- The JPMorgan treasury Client Survey for the week ended March 21 vs week ended March 14. * Longs 21 vs 16 * Neutrals 60 vs 59 * Shorts 19 vs 25 * Net longs 2 vs -9 * “The all clients ...

Blackrock: Underweight Treasuries

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016

Via Bloomberg: Investors should be `underweight' Treasuries, Turnill says Sumitomo Mitsui Trust sees quickening U.S. inflation BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager, says investors should pare their Treasury holdings because the U.S. will avoid a recession. “Economic indicators this week may show the U.S. economy experienced a mild slowdown but is not headed for ...

FX Musings

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016

Via Kit Juckes at SocGen: <http://www.sgmarkets.com/r/?id=h101ca252,1657dbe1,1657dbe2&p1=136122&p2=16d8ee0921440910cdeccb1d5b13c059> Yesterday afternoon's bounce in oil prices has been sustained through Asian trading, providing a mostly risk-friendly backdrop and helping commodity-sensitive currencies while keeping the dollar under a little downward pressure. Today's data includes the flash PMIs for the Euro area, Germany's IFO, UK CPI, the Markit ...

Output Freeze?

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016

Via the FT: Saudi Arabia is prepared to sign up to an oil output freeze next month even without Iran taking part, a senior Opec delegate said, paving a way for a deal among big producers. Some of the world’s largest oil players will meet in Doha on April 17 to discuss ...