June 10th, 2014

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The NFIB Business Optimism Index in the U.S. for May was reported at 96.6, slightly above estimates.
  • The Redbook Index, which measures same-store sales growth for general merchandisers in the U.S., was reportedly down 1.8% and up 3.3% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms.
  • The Consumer Price Index in Greece was reportedly down 2% in year-over-year terms. 

Commodities:

  • Palladium reached the highest price in more than three years after government-led talks with the union leading a pay strike in South Africa failed. Platinum climbed to the highest this month and gold was little changed.
  • The gap between West Texas Intermediate and Brent narrowed to the least in nearly two months as U.S. crude stockpiles were forecast to fall and Ukraine said peace talks with Russia yielded progress.
  • Monsoon rainfall in India, the main source of irrigation for the nation’s 263 million farmers, will be below normal this year as El Nino emerges, weakening prospects for crops from rice to soybeans and sugar and potentially boosting inflation.

Company News:

 

Canada:

  • Andrew Kriegler, who helped steer Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce through the 2008 financial crisis, is a leading candidate to succeed Julie Dickson as Canada’s top banking regulator, said a person familiar with the process.
  • Even with the world’s soundest banks, Stephen Poloz is grabbing a microphone to warn about risks to Canada’s economy.   The Bank of Canada governor, along with new Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins, is taking the unprecedented step of holding a press conference June 12 after publishing the Financial System Review, a previously low-profile report that documents threats to the country’s economy and banking system.
  • 54% of almost 3,500 Canadians surveyed in the online poll said the hazards exceed the advantages of shipping crude oil and LNG to Asia, up from 51% last year, the Vancouver-based organization said today in a report.

United States:

  • Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures signalled the gauge will decline after closing at a record high for a fourth day.
  • B/E Aerospace Inc. said it will split into two separate entities, one focusing on aircraft interiors and the other on distribution, logistics and technical services.
  • RadioShack Corp. investors rejected the company’s executive compensation for the second year in a row, signalling that shareholders are increasingly frustrated with pay levels at the struggling retail chain.
  • Treasury three-year yields rose to the highest level in a month before the U.S. auctions the debt today amid speculation the Federal Reserve will raise rates earlier than the market forecasts.

International:

  • European stocks were little changed, trading near a six-year high, as reports showed that industrial production in the U.K. and France matched economists’ estimates. U.S. index futures slipped.
  • U.K. industrial production rose for a third month in April, driving the annual increase to the biggest since 2011.
  • ICAP Plc, the world’s largest broker of transactions between banks, was accused today by the European Union’s antitrust arm of colluding to help rig interbank lending rates.
  • Asian stocks rose, with the Hang Seng Index erasing its loss for the year, after China inflation quickened to the fastest pace in four months. Casino shares dropped in Hong Kong.
  • China’s inflation accelerated in May to the fastest pace in four months on food costs, while a decline in factory-gate prices moderated.
  • The ranks of China’s first-home buyers have shrunk amid a market slowdown, according to a report from the Survey and Research Centre for China Household Finance.