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Saturday, July 25, 2009

Economics Week Ahead: GDP & Earnings Steal the Show

We have a rather tumultuous week in terms of economic data, which will focus on the US housing sector, consumer confidence, durable goods, and US GDP. The week kicks off Monday morning with the US Census Bureau reporting June’s new home sales. Recent housing data has been indicative of a bottom for the sector, so it will be important to see whether new home sales data confirms this trend. Mid-week the market will focus on June’s durable goods, looking for any signs of a potential turnaround in industrial production, which experienced a 13.6%yoy decline in June. The week’s main economic event is taking place on Friday with the Commerce Department’s release of the advanced 2Q09 GDP estimates. They will also be releasing changes to the benchmark methodology, which could cause some revisions to past data. But again, this week’s earnings calendar will overshadow most of the week’s economic news. Big names reporting this week include Chevron, Walt Disney, Travelers, Verizon, Viacom, Exxon Mobile, Amgen, Norfolk Southern, Genco Shipping, DryShips, Visa, and International Paper. There will also be a record US$115bn long-dated Treasury auction occurring this week, which coupled with better than anticipated earnings has put some downward pressure on Treasury prices.

Monday July 27th:

10:00AM: New Home Sales (Risk: Upward, Market Reaction: Significant): Attractive mortgage rates combined with tax incentives and relatively low home prices should place some upward pressure on this release, but sustained weakness in the labor market will prevent this index from realizing its full potential. The current Bloomberg consensus for new home sales is 350K, compared to last month’s reading of 342K.

Tuesday July 28th:

7:45AM: ICSC-Goldman Store Sales (Risk: Negative, Market Reaction: Marginal): This weekly index tracks aggregate store sales across major US retailers, accounting for roughly 10% of total retail sales. Given recent data supporting an increasing US saving rates and a worsening employment situation, this index could face some downward pressure. Last week’s number indicated a 0.5% gain in store sales over the previous week.

10:00AM: S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index (Risk: Neutral, Market Moderate: xx): The S&P Case Shiller HPI is reported monthly, but on a two month lag. Last month’s report showed the rate at which home prices were declining began diminish, with some major cities even experiencing modest gains. I anticipate this month’s release will reaffirm that trend. But, we would still need to see significant improvements in those regions, which were the hardest hit by the drop in prices, before we can see a strong overall recovery.

10:00AM: Consumer Confidence (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Significant): Weakness in the labor market could adversely impact consumer confidence, overshadowing the recent spike in equity prices. Supporting this is the fact that last week’s Reuters/UofM Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 66 in July from 70.8 a month prior. It will also be important to monitor changes in the expectations index, which has remained elevated, and could help buffer any negative surprises in the current conditions index. The current Bloomberg consensus forecast for July’s consumer confidence reading is 50.0, versus an outcome last month of 49.3.

10:00AM: Janet Yellen, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President, speaks on the economic outlook to the Idaho/Oregon Bankers Association.

Wednesday July 29th:

7:00AM: MBA Purchase Applications (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): This index, which tracks new mortgage applications tends to be a reasonable forward looking indicator for home sales, but issues including customers filling out numerous applications could skew the index. Last week the purchase index rose 1.3%; while the refinance index increased by 4.0% on rising, but still relatively low mortgage rates.

8:30AM: Durable Goods Orders (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Significant): This index could face some negative pressure this month as June’s ISM, Philly Fed, NY Fed indices all indicated contractions in new orders. The current Bloomberg consensus forecast is a month over month change of -0.5%, compared to last month’s reading of 1.8%. In May this index was down roughly 26%y/y.

8:30AM: William Dudley, New York Federal Reserve Bank President speaks to the Association for a Better New York on factors driving U.S. growth and inflation.

10:30AM: EIA Petroleum Status Report (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Moderate): This report indicates domestic petroleum inventories, which could have a significant impact on the energy sector.

2:00PM: Fed Beige Book (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): This report, which is released two weeks before FOMC meetings, outlines economic conditions across the Fed’s 12 districts. Indications of a return to growth for any of the fed’s districts could produce some positive headlines.

Thursday July 30th:

8:30AM: Jobless Claims (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Significant): As expected, initial claims experienced a significant uptick last week to 554K from 522K, after two solid weeks of declines. This increase will likely be continued this week as erroneous seasonal adjustments from early auto plant closures continue to correct themselves. Nevertheless, barring recent data, I due anticipate we will see a modest recovery in claims data over the coming months.

10:00AM: EIA Natural Gas Report (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Moderate): This report highlights domestic natural gas inventories, which could have a significant impact on the energy sector.

4:30PM: Fed Balance Sheet & Money Supply (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): Since the Fed’s shift to quantitative easing, the balance sheet has become one method to measure to the Fed’s effectiveness. The market will pay close attention to the reserve bank credit component, which measures factors supplying providing reserves into the banking system. Last week the Fed’s balance sheet decreased to US$2.024trn from US$2.057trn. The fed’s balance sheet has slowly been shifting away from emergency lending facilities to Treasuries, agency debt and mortgage-backed securities to help bring down interest rates.

Friday July 31st:

8:30AM: GDP (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Significant): This will be the key release for the week as investors continue trying to gauge the longevity of the current recession. The current Bloomberg consensus forecast for Real GDP (Q/Q) SAAR is -0.7%, compared to a prior reading of -5.5%. Additionally, the Commerce Department will be releasing their benchmark revisions, which could cause some revisions to past data. In the eyes of the market, this release will likely support the view that there is light at the end of the tunnel. But, make no mistake about it, we are still in the midst of a prolonged recession, which though easing likely won’t abate over the next several months. This data will also reaffirm the Central Bank’s current accommodative policy stance.

8:30AM: Employment Cost Index (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Marginal): The current Bloomberg consensus forecast for the ECI is a quarter over quarter change of 0.3%, compared to a first quarter reading of 0.3%. Interestingly, last quarter’s growth rate was the lowest in the 27 year history of this index. Weakness in the labor market combined with cost cutting, affecting benefits, could place some additional downward pressure on this index.

9:45AM: Chicago PMI (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Moderate): The current Bloomberg consensus forecast for the Chicago PMI Business Barometer Index is 44, versus June’s reading of 39.9. Any reading below 50 indicates a contraction. This index includes both manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies. It will be important to monitor the new orders, employment, and prices paid indices, all of which are currently well below the breakeven of 50.

3:00PM: Farm Prices (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): Given the relationship between farm prices and food prices, this index could have implications on future headline CPI and PPI.

Enjoy the weekend!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Consumer Sentiment Falls on Jobs Weakness

The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index dipped for the fist time in five months to 66, compared to a market consensus of 65 for July. At the same time the July expectations index increased to 63.2 versus July's preliminary reading of 60.9. The drivers behind this month's declines were derived from weakness in the labor market and wages. This reading implies that consumers remain concerned over the current economic conditions, and will likely keep spending restrained until a brighter outlook for the employment situation emerges.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Existing Home Sales Beat Estimates, Rise 3.6%

US existing home sales came in above the market consensus, rising 3.6% at an annualized rate of 4.89mn. Single family home sales increased by 2.4%, while condo/coop sales increased 14.0%. The months supply of home also improved moving to 9.4 months, compared to 9.8 in May. The median home price rose 4.1%, but still remains negative on a yearly basis. All in all, low prices combined with attractive mortgage rates are helping to stabilize the housing sector.

On a personal note, I was recently speaking to a developer in Boston who said business is once again picking up, but without private financing taking on new projects could be tough. He indicated that local banks were still hesitant on financing new deals, even in cases were the relationship has spanned decades. However, he is still working on several projects in Cambridge, and seems cautiously optimistic about the future.

Initial Claims Climb 30K to 554K

As I anticipated, and explained in my US Week Ahead, initial claims experienced a significant uptick this morning, which will likely be continued next week. In reality, this increment was probably due to a correction in what has been overly optimistic data stemming from erroneous seasonal adjustment factors.

Fed Chairman Bernanke in his recent testimony to Congress discussed the fact that weakness in the jobs sector and housing market will continue to be an Achilles heel for a US economic recovery. But, I anticipate that, excluding the anomalous data over the past three weeks, claims will slowly begin to improve. However, given such a weak base and initial claims forward looking ability to predict payrolls, it is very probable the overall employment situation will still get worse before it gets better. The unemployment rate likely to move above 10%. Typically, an initial claims level of around or below 350K would lead to increases in payrolls, but we are still far from those levels.

US Initial Claims

Source: St Louis FRED

Monday, July 20, 2009

Leading Indicators Up: A Good Sign for the Economy

The index of leading indicators was up in June by 0.7%, or slightly above the market consensus of 0.5%. At the same time May's number was revised up to 1.3% from 1.2%. This is the third consecutive month of gains for the index. In the release the Conference Board was quoted as saying, "The behavior of the composite indexes suggest that the recession will continue to ease and that the economy may begin to recover in the near term." The LEI tends to be a good forward looking indicator towards industrial production and the ISM. Seven out of ten of the LEI sub-components were positive for the month with the biggest gains coming from the yield curve and building permits; while money supply was the weakest component. The Conference Board also released June''s coincident and lagging indices, both of which were down.

Friday, July 17, 2009

US Economic Week Ahead: Cue Earnings

After last week’s barrage of economic data, this week is relatively light. The few exceptions will be Monday’s leading indicator release, Thursday’s jobless claims and existing home sales data, and Friday’s consumer sentiment report. This week’s claims data will likely take on added importance as the market tries to decipher the impact early auto plant shutdowns may have had on the index’s seasonal adjustment factors, leading to better than expected claims data over the past couple weeks. Additionally, starting on Tuesday Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver his semi-annual monetary policy testimony to House Financial Services Committee, which will almost certainly generate some headlines. But, earnings will again steal the spotlight this week with roughly 33% of the companies in the DJI and 25% of the S&P500 set to report. Some of the major names include Apple, Microsoft, Boeing, Caterpillar, UPS, Morgan Stanley, Yahoo, EBay, Amazon, Texas Instruments, and Advanced Micro Devices.

Monday July 20th:

10:00AM: Leading Indicators (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Maringal/Moderate): The leading indicators index is a composite index of ten economic indicators considered to be forward looking to economic activity, these include among others jobless claims, building permits, stock prices and the University of Michigan expectations survey. The index climbed in both May and April by 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively. The market is currently anticipating a 0.5% increment in June’s release.

Tuesday July 21st:

7:45AM: ICSC-Goldman Store Sales (Risk: Negative, Market Reaction: Marginal): This weekly index tracks aggregate store sales across major US retailers, accounting for roughly 10% of total retail sales. Given recent data supporting an increasing US saving rates and a worsening employment situation, this index could face some downward pressure. Last week’s number indicated a 0.9% decline in store sales over the previous week.

8:30AM: Chicago Fed National Activity Index (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): The CFNAI is an index of 85 separate data sets designed to represent national economic activity and inflationary pressure. A reading of 0 indicates the economy is growing at the historical trend while a negative or positive result indicates the economy is growing below or above its historical average, respectively. Given the volatile nature of this index the three month moving average is typically quoted. This index remains somewhat obscure in the mainstream media and is likely to have a minimal impact on trading. I anticipate that we will see a marginal improvement from last month’s reading of -2.67 based on improving economic data,

10:00AM: Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke delivers his semi-annual monetary policy testimony to House Financial Services Committee

Wednesday July 22nd:

7:00AM: MBA Purchase Applications (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): This index, which tracks new mortgage applications tends to be a reasonable forward looking indicator for home sales, but issues including customers filling out numerous applications could skew the index. Last week the purchase index fell 9.4%; while the refinance index increased by 18.0% on the back of relatively low mortgage rates.

10:00AM: Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke delivers his second day of semi-annual monetary policy testimony to House Financial Services Committee

10:30AM: EIA Petroleum Status Report (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Moderate): This report indicates domestic petroleum inventories, which could have a significant impact on the energy sector.

Thursday July 23rd:

8:30AM: Jobless Claims (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Significant): After two consecutive weeks of positive surprises, stemming from what was likely erroneous seasonal adjustment factors caused by early auto plant shut downs, we will likely see a correction. The current Bloomberg consensus stands at 560K compared to last week’s reading of 522K.

9:30AM: Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo testifies to the Senate Banking Committee, FDIC, and SEC on regulatory restructuring

10:00AM: Existing Home Sales (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Moderate/Significant): The Bloomberg consensus for existing home sales stands at 4.850 compared to last month’s reading of 4.770. It will be important to watch the inventory levels, which last month declined to 9.6 months from 10.1 months, the month prior. But, a recent article in the WSJ highlights the fact that a glitch in the California Association of Realtors computer system may have been inflating the number of homes sold in San Diego over the past several months, which means we will likely see some downward revisions.

10:00AM: EIA Natural Gas Report (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Moderate): This report highlights domestic natural gas inventories, which could have a significant impact on the energy sector.

4:30PM: Fed Balance Sheet & Money Supply (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): Since the Fed’s shift to quantitative easing, the balance sheet has become one method to measure to the Fed’s effectiveness. The market will pay close attention to the reserve bank credit component, which measures factors supplying providing reserves into the banking system. Last week the Fed’s balance sheet increased by US$34.2bn to move back above US$2 trillion.

Friday July 24th:

10:00AM: Consumer Sentiment (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Significant): Rising stock prices and receding energy prices should bode well for this index, but could be offset by continued weakness on the labor front. The current Bloomberg consensus for July’s final consumer sentiment index is 65.0 compared to mid-July’s reading of 64.6.

Enjoy the weekend!

June Housing Starts Show Big Gains

June housing starts came in this morning well above expectations increasing 3.6%, totaling 582K (SAAR) units. Economists has been anticipating 530K. This is the index's second consecutive month of gains, which could indicate some stabilization for the sector. There were also some positive revisions to April's and May's starts numbers. The increase was due to a 14.4% increment in single-family home starts, while multi-family housing starts actually declined by 25.8%. Regionally, the South experienced the largest increase in starts with a gain of 13.9%, while the West was the weakest with a gain of only 1.9%. Housing permits were up 8.7% in June. Overall this is a positive report for the housing sector, but we will need to see significant improvements in the level of foreclosures and the supply glut currently on the market prior to any true recovery.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Philly Manufacturing Index Declines More Than Expected

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index fell to -7.5 this month compared to -2.2, last month. Looking deeper into the details, the future general activity index remained positive, but declined to 51.9 from 60.1 last month. Further deterioration to this component could indicate continued weakness in in the general business activity index through the beginning of 2010. This manufacturing index is highly correlated with both ISM and industrial production.

The prices paid index increased to -3.5 from -13.0 a month prior. New orders moved to -2.2 from -4.8 a month prior, any reading below 0 indicates a contraction. The labor market conditions index continued facing pressure coming in at -25.3, compared to -21.8 in June.

I believe we are likely still far off from any sustained recovery in the manufacturing sector. But, the worst is behind us.

Jobless Claims Drop, But Reading is too Optimistic

As I mentioned was a likely scenario in my US Economic Week Ahead, jobless claims fell 47K to 522K. As with last week, early auto company layoffs have likely distorted the index due to misaligned seasonal adjustments. I do believe we should continue to see an improvement in jobless claims, but the levels seen over the past two weeks are too optimistic. Thus, I believe over the next several weeks this issue will begin to correct itself, and we will start to experience what appears to be an increase in jobless claims. The market places a lot of importance on the initial claims number as it is an excellent forward looking indicator to payrolls.

Continuing claims experienced a record drop of 642K to 6.915mn. But, this too was likely a one off event caused by statistical factors.


Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Empire Survey and Industrial Production Surprise to the Upside

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey's General Business Conditions Index moved up to -0.6 from -9.4 in June. Both the new orders and shipment indices came in above 0 this month, indicating growth, at 5.9 and 11.0, respectively. But, the employment index remained depressed with a reading of -20.8, almost unchanged from the prior month. It will be important to see if the Philly survey, being released tomorrow shows similar results.

June's Industrial production came in above analysts' expectations this morning, despite a decline of 0.4%. As I expected manufacturing experienced the largest drop of 0.6% followed by mining with a decline of 0.5%. Utilities posted a gain of 0.8%. Capacity utilization set a new historic low for the index finishing the month at 68.0%.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Retail Sales Jump, but the Story is in the Details...

Retail sales jumped 0.9% last month on the back of higher gasoline prices and increased automobile purchases. Automobile sales were mostly catalyzed by bigger incentives to clear inventories. But, factoring out these components retail sales would have actually declined for the 4th consecutive month. Therefore, despite what appears to be a significant increment on the surface, the details behind this morning's data do not yet indicate a recovery for the sector. Finally, consumers' purchases were centered around basic necessities such as food and gas versus discretionary goods.

Please click here for his week's full economic calendar with analysis and expectations.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

US Week Ahead: A Hectic Week on Data & Earnings

Despite a rather hectic week of economic releases; earnings news will likely steal the show this week. Big names on the earnings calendar this week include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, GE, Intel, Google, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson. However, a recent mixture of good and bad economic news, including decreasing consumer sentiment, rising unemployment, and dreadful retail sales have raised concerns over the potential for a prolonged recession. Therefore, it’s important we pay close attention to Tuesday’s retail sales and PPI data, Wednesday’s CPI and industrial production data, and finally Thursday’s jobless claims number, all of which have the potential to move the market in one direction or another. Here is the remainder of the calendar:

Monday July 13th:

2:00PM: Treasury Budget (Risk: Upside, Market Reaction: Marginal): The current Bloomberg consensus for the Treasury’s monthly budget report is –US$97bn compared to –USD187.7bn a month prior. These large deficits have been fueled by TARP expenditures and buying federal housing agency debt. But, several companies have recently paid back TARP funds, which will likely reduce the level of this month’s deficit.

Tuesday July 14th:

7:45AM: ICSC-Goldman Store Sales (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Marginal): This weekly index tracks aggregate store sales across major US retailers, accounting for roughly 10% of total retail sales. Given recent data supporting an increasing US saving rates and a worsening employment situation, this index could face some downward pressure. Last week’s number indicated a 0.1% increment in store sales over the previous week.

8:30AM: Producer Price Index (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Moderate/Significant): Higher energy prices and a small increment in food prices will likely lead to a higher headline number for the PPI, while core-PPI should remain relatively unchanged. According to Bloomberg the current consensus forecast for the PPI and core-PPI is 0.8% and 0.1%, respectively. Any significant upward surprise in this index could amplify rhetoric among inflation hawks. This index is considered a forward looking indicator to profits and the CPI.

8:30AM: Retail Sales (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Significant): The effect of higher gasoline prices in June could cause retail sales to surprise to the upside. But, factoring out gas, recent weakness in other sales indicators imply that June’s sales data will be flat to negative. According to Bloomberg the current market consensus for retail sales and retail sales-ex autos is 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively. Retail sales plunged at the end of last year and have essentially remained flat this year.

10:00AM: Business Inventories (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): On the back of a decline in wholesale inventories, business inventories will likely decline again in June after declining the previous eight months. Look for auto and retail inventories to continue their decline. According to Bloomberg the current market consensus for business inventories is a monthly change of -0.8%. The good news is that with inventory levels so low once a recovery does begin we could see a jump in manufacturing as companies look to replenish their stocks.

Wednesday July 15th:

7:00AM: MBA Purchase Applications (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): This index, which tracks new mortgage applications tends to be a reasonable forward looking indicator for home sales, but issues including customers filling out numerous applications could skew the index. Last week the purchase index rose 6.7%, while the refinance index increased by 15.2% on the back of relatively low mortgage rates.

8:30AM: Consumer Price Index--CPI (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Significant): As with the PPI, a recent rise in energy prices will likely add some upward pressure on the headline index, while core CPI should remain relatively constant relative to last month. According to Bloomberg the current consensus forecast for the CPI and core-CPI is 0.7% and 0.1%, respectively. Any significant upward surprise in this index could amplify rhetoric among inflation hawks; the inverse is true with a downward surprise.

8:30AM: Empire State Manufacturing Survey (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Marginal): This index tracks manufacturing activity in New York state across 175 different companies in a variety of industries. Recent weakness in the overall manufacturing sector will likely add some downside pressure to July’s release. According to Bloomberg, the current market consensus for the general business conditions index is -4.5, compared to -9.4 a month prior. It will be important to monitor the general business conditions, new orders, and prices paid components of the index, all of which were negative last month. Conversely, the future general business conditions index rose last month.

9:15AM: Industrial Production (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Significant): Continued weakness in manufacturing sector will likely add downward pressure to the overall index. According to Bloomberg, the current market consensus for June’s IP is a monthly change of -0.7% with a capacity utilization rate of 67.8%. In June capacity utilization stood at 68.3%, or 12.6% below its 1972-2008 average.

10:30AM: EIA Petroleum Status Report (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Moderate): This report highlights domestic petroleum inventories, which could have a significant impact on the energy sector.

2:00PM: FOMC Minutes (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): Given the three week lag between the FOMC meeting and the release of the minutes this should have only a marginal effect on trading. But, the minutes could elaborate the rationale behind the FOMC’s decision, and give some clues to future decisions, in which case the market could move on the release.

Thursday July 16th:

8:30AM: Jobless Claims (Risk: Upside, Market Reaction: Significant): Last week’s better than expected initial jobless claims may have been exaggerated by inaccurate seasonal adjustment factors stemming from the timing of automotive and other manufacturing lay-offs, which could be repeated this week. According to Bloomberg the current consensus for initial jobless claims stand at 535K, compared to 565K last week. Although, I do believe we will continue to see a downward trend in the number of new claims, the level last week's number implied is too optimistic.

9:00AM: Treasury International Capital Data (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): This data highlights the flow of financial instruments to and from the US. Thus, indicating foreign demand for US financial instruments, which tends to have a stronger impact on the dollar and bond markets compared to equities.

10:00AM: Philly Fed Survey (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Moderate): This index, which tracks manufacturing activity within the Philly Fed’s district, is correlated to both the ISM and Industrial production indices. According to Bloomberg the current market consensus for the general business conditions index is -5.0 versus -2.2 a month prior. Continued weakness in manufacturing will likely place downward pressure on this index.

10:00AM: EIA Natural Gas Report (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Moderate): This report highlights domestic natural gas inventories, which could have a significant impact on the energy sector.

1:00PM: Housing Market Index (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Moderate): The housing market index, published by the National Association of Home Builders, indicates the demand for housing combined with consumer sentiment towards the housing market. The index is calculated by using a weighted average of the following indices; present sales of new homes, sale of new homes expected in the next six months, and traffic of prospective buyers in new homes. Increasing unemployment coupled with waning consumer confidence could place some downward pressure on this index.

4:30PM: Fed Balance Sheet & Money Supply (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): Since the Fed’s shift to quantitative easing, the balance sheet has become one method to measure to the Fed’s effectiveness. The market will pay close attention to the reserve bank credit component, which measures factors supplying providing reserves into the banking system. Last week the Fed’s balance sheet shrunk to $1.977 trillion from $1.989 trillion the previous week.

Friday July 17th:

8:30AM: Housing Starts (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Marginal/Moderate): After experiencing an unexpected bump in May housing starts are likely to decline in June. According to Bloomberg the current market consensus for starts is 530K, compared to 532K last month. Weak demand for homes will likely place downward pressure on this index.

Have a good weekend!

Friday, July 10, 2009

China's June Exports Fall 21.4%y/y in June

Chinese exports continued struggling in June falling 21.4% y/y compared to analysts' estimates of 21.0%, and a 26.4% y/y drop in May. Continued declines in exports are being offset by increased domestic demand, which is heavily bolstered by the country's stimulus package. According to Bloomberg, China's Premier Wen Jiabao believes the foundation for China's economic recovery is not yet set and they will continue on a course of easy monetary policy and pro-active fiscal policy.

A continued decline in Chinese exports is a bad omen for shipping rates. Shipping rates over the last several months have been supported almost exclusively by China's record importation of raw materials. Without a return of global demand for Chinese goods, many of these raw materials are just sitting in inventories one way or another. Thus, it is highly likely that China's demand for raw materials will begin to wain. But, presently it appears Chinese iron imports rose 3.4% in June to 55.3mn tons. However, this could be caused by a lag effect of massive congestion of vessels waiting to unload off the coast of China, or possibly increased imports from India via land. Supporting this view is that one of China's primary ports actually reported a 12% drop in ore imports from the previous month. In either case, I anticipate that this number will fall in the coming months.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Initial Claims Come in Better than Expected

Initial Claims finished came in this morning at 565K versus the previous week's reading of 614K and a consensus forecast of 610K. I believe the improvement may have been exaggerated by inaccurate seasonal adjustment factors stemming from the timing of automotive and other manufacturing lay-offs, which could be repeated next week. Although, I do believe we will continue to see a downward trend in the number of new claims, the level this week's number (and possibly next week's) indicates is too optimistic.

Conversely, continuing jobless claims rose 159,000 to a high of 6.883mn. This increase is primarily due to the lag effect of recently high initial claims coupled with the fact that the unemployed workforce has been unable to find new jobs.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Alcoa's Earnings Come in Above Consensus Estimates

Kicking of the 2Q09 earnings season Alcoa (AA) reported a loss yesterday of US$0.26/share compared to analysts’ average estimate of US$0.38/share. The company accredited the better than expected result to workforce reductions and production cuts. CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said in a statement, “Alcoa has the staying power and reduced cost base to withstand the most serious downturn in the history of the aluminum industry.” Alcoa showed marginal gains in after-hours trading on the news.

MBA Purchase Applications Composite Index Up 10.9%

The MBA The Market Composite Index rose 10.9% the week ending July 3rd 2009. The purchase index rose 6.7%, while the refinancing component climbed 15.2%, on the back of relatively favorable interest rates. Remember this index could be skewed by lenders filling out multiple applications, and I would like to see a continued trend in the index before rushing to any conclusions on the housing sector. The 4wk moving average of the market index is still down by 5.6%.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

ICSC-Goldman Store Sales-- Shows Growth, But Redbook Says Otherwise

ICSC-Goldman Store Sales demonstrated a week over week increase of 0.1% and a year over year increase of 0.5% during the holiday week. This likely won't have much effect on today's trading. But, the Redbook, which was released at 8:55AM showed a 4.2% y/y decline in same store sales, which continues to indicate the retail sector remains depressed. Chain stores will be reporting sales later this week.

ICSC-Goldman Store Sales
Source: Bloomberg

Redbook Results:
Year-over-year: Week (w/e 7/04/09 vs year ago)        -4.2 pct
Year-over-year:Month (June 2009 vs June 2008) -4.4 pct
Month-over-month: (June 2009 vs May 2009) -4.3 pct
Source: Reuters

Monday, July 6, 2009

Non-Manufacturing ISM 47.0 vs Consensus Forecast of 46.7

The Non-Manufacturing ISM came in at 47 compared to the consensus forecast of 46.7. This signifies the sector is still contracting, but at a slower pace than in May, which had a reading of 44.0. This was the index's best showing in 9 months. The new orders index, which tends to be forward looking rose by 4.2 percentage points to 48.6. The prices index showed the sharpest increase of 6.8 percentage points to 53.7 percent in June. This is the prices index first positive reading since October 2008. This should help to quell any ongoing fears of deflation, but could help to put concerns over inflation back on the table.

The following six industries reported growth in the survey (in order of magnitude): Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Accommodation & Food Services; Finance & Insurance; Construction; and Information.

The following 11 industries reported contractions in the survey (in order of magnitude): Mining; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Wholesale Trade; Transportation & Warehousing; Retail Trade; Management of Companies & Support Services; Public Administration; Health Care & Social Assistance; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Educational Services; and Other Services.

Friday, July 3, 2009

US Economic Week Ahead: The Calm after the Storm

This week’s economic calendar is relatively quiet, especially compared to the hustle and bustle of last week. Monday’s non-manufacturing ISM report starts the week off, followed by Wednesday’s consumer credit report, Thursday’s jobless claims data, and Friday’s US trade statistics and consumer sentiment. The impact of this week’s non-manufacturing ISM report could be somewhat subdued since its release comes after June’s employment report; negating the importance the report’s employment index. But, significant declines or advances in the report’s business activity index could help shift market sentiment. This week’s big headlines, however, will likely be driven by the start of the 2Q09 earnings seasons, with Alcoa set to announce earnings on Wednesday. There is also a G8 summit taking place this week in Italy, which could produce some headlines. Here is this week’s US economic calendar:

Monday July 6th:

10:00AM: ISM non-manufacturing Index (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Moderate/Marginal): The non-manufacturing ISM index will likely experience its third consecutive monthly rise. The current Bloomberg consensus for the index is 46.7 compared to last month’s reading of 44.0. The market would take any positive surprises to this index as good news echoing better than anticipated data in the manufacturing sector pointing towards a less severe recession. It will also be important to pay attention to non-manuf. ISM’s new order index, which tends to be a forward looking indicator for the primary business activity index. Since June’s employment report has already been released the employment index is essentially a non-factor.

Tuesday July 7th:

7:45AM: ICSC-Goldman Store Sales (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Marginal): This weekly index tracks same store sales at major US retailers, account for roughly 10% of total sales. Given recent data supporting an increasing US saving rates and a worsening employment situation, this index could face some downward pressure. Last week’s number indicated a 1.6% increment in store sales over the previous week.

Wednesday July 8th:

7:00AM: MBA Purchase Applications (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal): This index, which tracks new mortgage applications tends to be a reasonable forward looking indicator for home sales, but issues including customers filling out numerous applications could skew the index. A recent drop in refinancing activity caused this index to drop 18.9% on a weekly basis last week, while the level of mortgages to purchase new homes dropped by 4.5%.

3:00PM: Consumer Credit (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Marginal): Consumer credit has contracted quite severely over the past several months as saving rates rise and banks tighten consumer credit. The current Bloomberg consensus indicates a month over month change of –US$7.5bn compared to –US$15.7bn a month prior—the second biggest drop on record. Given recent deterioration in the employment situation and a drop in consumer confidence we could see this indicator disappoint.

Thursday July 9th:

Same Store Sales: (Risk: Downside, Market Reaction: Moderate): This monthly release breaks out same store sales data for individual retail chains. Like weekly the ICSC-Goldman Store Sales index, recent data supporting an increasing US savings rate and a worsening employment situation coupled with deep discounts at some stores, will likely place some downward pressure on same store sales.

8:00AM: Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke: Is speaking at the FDIC's Interagency Minority Depository Institutions National Conference in Chicago. This could create some headlines.

8:30AM: Initial Claims (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Significant): The current Bloomberg consensus forecast for initial claims is 610K versus last week’s number of 614K. It is likely that after Thursday’s disappointing employment data the market will become more sensitive to changes in claims, as it is an excellent forward looking indicator toward payroll data. I anticipate both initial and continuing claims data will improve as the month progresses.

Friday July 10th:

8:30AM: International Trade (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal/Moderate): The current Bloomberg consensus for the US trade balance is –US$28.8bn versus last month’s reading of –US$29.2bn. Recent increments in oil prices could add to the current deficit, while placing upward pressure on the import price index.

9:55AM: Consumer Sentiment (Risk: Neutral, Market Reaction: Marginal/Moderate): The current consensus on Bloomberg for the Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index stands at 71.5 versus last month’s result of 70.8. The sentiment index is broken up into two parts, current conditions and future expectations. Investors are likely to focus more on this report after last week’s disappointing consumer confidence number. A positive or negative surprise in this index could impact the day’s trading.

10:00AM: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner: Is set to testify before the House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees on derivatives regulation. This could create some headlines.

Have a good weekend!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

June ADP, Comes in Below Expectations

June's ADP release came in at -473,000, implying there could be some downward pressure placed on forecasts for tomorrow's payroll data. Currently, the market is forecasting a -350,000 change in payrolls; I believe we could see this number actually come in around -440,000, which is still much better than the six month average, but below current estimates.

Chinese Manufacturing Shows Marginal Gains

In some upbeat news from China, the Chinese Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) index and the CLSA manufacturing index both demonstrated marginal gains in June. The CFLP increased to 53.2 from 53.1 the previous month, while the CLSA index edged up to 51.8 from 51.2. This performance has been driven by China’s extensive stimulus package leading to higher lending and government spending. Possibly more interesting than the headline number was the CLSA index’s export order sub-component, which indicated a marginal expansion with a reading of 50.9 compared to 49.2 the previous month. But, it is important to keep in mind that this number was calculated from a very small base given recent historical declines. Overall, these numbers alone are unlikely to have much of an impact on the dry bulk sector. But, will reinforce the view of a gradual Chinese recovery. It is important to keep in mind that these gains are not yet sustainable without China’s massive fiscal stimulus package. Additionally, extensive loan growth could cause problems in the future for China as the level of non-performing loans is generally expected to rise.