June 16th, 2014

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Foreign portfolio investment in Canadian securities was reported at $10.13B, almost more than double estimates of $4.27B.
  • Canadian Investment in foreign securities was listed at $2.49B.
  • The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index was reported at 19.28, above estimates of 15.
  • The Consumer Price index for the Eurozone was reportedly down 0.1% and up 0.5% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The Consumer Price Index Core for the Eurozone was reportedly up 0.7% in year-over-year terms, in line with estimates.

Commodities:

  • Brent crude was projected by Wall Street analysts to average as much as $116 a barrel by the end of the year. Now, with violence escalating in Iraq, how far the price will rise has become anyone’s guess.
  • Copper rose for a second day in London after the central bank in China, the world’s biggest consumer of the metal, extended a reserve-requirement cut in an effort to support economic growth.
  • Wheat rose, rebounding from the longest run of weekly declines since January on speculation that rains in parts of the U.S. will slow harvesting and hurt crop quality in the world’s biggest exporter.
  • Gold rose to the highest level in almost three weeks in New York, as intensifying unrest from Iraq to Ukraine spurred demand for a haven.

Company News:

 

Canada:

  • Enbridge Inc. is poised to win government approval as soon as today for its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline to the Pacific coast, a major step for the project that still faces opposition from aboriginal and environmental groups.
  • Canada’s finance minister is questioning the world’s largest ratings firm over its warning banks will become riskier investments if the country relieves taxpayers from the burden of potential bailouts.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures declined, after equities posted their first weekly drop in almost a month, as intensifying unrest from Iraq and Ukraine overshadowed corporate deals.
  • Medtronic Inc., the second-largest maker of medical devices, agreed to buy Covidien Plc for $42.9 billion in cash and stock as it transforms into a broader-based company bolstered by new tax advantages.
  • SanDisk Corp., a maker of flash memory for mobile devices, agreed to buy Fusion-io Inc. for about $1.1 billion. The deal has been approved by both boards and is expected to be completed by the third quarter.

International:

  • European stocks dropped for a second day as Sunni insurgents made further territorial gains in Iraq, while investors awaited a report on U.S. industrial production. U.S. index futures and Asian shares retreated.
  • Bank of England Governor Mark Carney may have caused financial markets to react excessively when he warned that interest rates could rise sooner than expected, a former BOE policy maker said.
  • Siemens AG is preparing a bid for Alstom SA’s energy unit that would leave it with the French company’s gas turbines while allowing partners Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Hitachi Ltd. to expand their steam turbines and hydro businesses, people familiar with the matter said.
  • Asian stocks fell, after the regional benchmark index posted a fifth week of gains, and U.S. futures dropped amid an escalation of violence in Iraq.
  • Corporate issuers globally will seek about $60 trillion in new debt and re-financing through 208, as China surpasses the U.S. as the country with the most company debt outstanding, Standard & Poor’s said.
  • Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s profit almost tripled in the past year as China’s largest e-commerce company reported new details in its first wave of revisions since filing for an IPO in the U.S.