July 20th, 2015
Daily Market Commentary
ECONOMIC NEWS
- Wholesale Sales in Canada were down 1% in month-over-month terms, below estimates of flat movement.
- The House Price Index for China was down 4.9% in June.
- The Producer Price Index for Germany was down 0.1% and down 1.4% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
Commodities:
- Gold fell to the lowest level in more than five years on the outlook for higher U.S. interest rates and as China said it held less of the metal in reserves than some analysts forecast. European stocks rose for a ninth day amid a pickup in merger activity.
Canada:
- Ontario, the world’s most indebted sub-sovereign borrower, is ploughing ahead with Canada’s most ambitious infrastructure plan — risking the censure of Standard & Poor’s and underperformance for its C$307 billion ($237 billion) of bonds
United States:
- Lockheed Martin Corp. agreed to buy United Technologies Corp.’s Sikorsky unit, adding the largest maker of military helicopters to a lineup that includes warplanes and missiles, according to a person familiar with the talks.
- By almost any measure the U.S. bond market is safer than before the financial crisis. Yet, only now is the cost to taxpayers becoming clear: at least $13.8 billion.
International:
- Greece gave the order to repay 6.8 billion euros ($7.4 billion) to creditors after last week’s tentative bailout deal, the Finance Ministry said, as Greek banks reopened three weeks after closing to prevent economic collapse.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel held out the prospect of limited debt relief as crisis-ravaged Greece prepares to reopen its banks three weeks after they were shut.
- Barclays Plc is considering deeper job cuts that could see its workforce shrink by about a quarter over the coming years, said a person with knowledge of the matter.
*All information is taken from Bloomberg, unless otherwise noted.
