MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Thursday, May 24, 2012
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10:45 PM Alibaba.com (ALBCF.PK) shareholders approve a plan to take parent Alibaba Group Holding private, in order to free some of the "pressures" of public listing. Alibaba Group would pay HK$13.50/share for the 27% of Alibaba.com it doesn't already own - another step toward autonomy following a buyback deal with Yahoo. ALBCF.PK shares suspended from trading in Hong Kong. Comment!
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9:04 AM U.S. Flash PMI (first ever) for May 53.9 vs. April's final read of 56.0. It indicates the slowest level of expansion in three months. New Orders 54.8 Vs. 56.9. Backlogs of Work 51.7 vs. 52.2. Input prices 56.3 vs. 63.1. Output prices 52.8 vs. 53.9. 25 Comments
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8:32 AM Initial Jobless Claims: 370K vs. 371K consensus (prior week revised to 372K from 370K). Continuing claims -29K to 3.26M. 1 Comment
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4:33 AM UK Q1 GDP revised down to -0.3% Q/Q from -0.2% preliminary reading. GDP revised down to -0.1% Y/Y from 0.0% preliminary. Comment!
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4:04 AM Eurozone flash PMI composite index comes in at 45.9 in May, a 35-month low, vs. 46.6 expected and 46.7 previous. Manufacturing at 45.0 vs. 45.9 prior. Services at 46.5 vs. 46.9 prior. 4 Comments
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3:32 AM German flash manufacturing PMI at 45.0 in May, down from 46.2 in April. Services unchanged at 52.2. Composite output index at 49.6, down from 50.5 prior and a six-month low. Comment!
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2:01 AM German final Q1 GDP comes in at +0.5% Q/Q and +1.7% Y/Y, both in-line with preliminary readings. Comment!
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
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3:57 PM Take it for what it's worth, but chatter across the wires says Angela Merkel has made a verbal bank deposit guarantee for the entire eurozone. 8 Comments
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12:23 PM Angela Merkel hits the wires saying eurobonds would not contribute to growth and EU treaties forbid such joint liabilities. No decisions are expected at today's summit (other than scheduling the next one, of course). Fiscal union, she says, remains a long way off ... "roughly another 500-600 S&P points," snipes ZH, giving us the laugh of the day. 1 Comment
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9:10 AM Facebook (FB), CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and the IPO underwriters face a class-action suit by shareholders over accusations they concealed from investors "a severe and pronounced reduction" in the company's revenue growth forecasts. 19 Comments
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9:02 AM Emerging from a meeting with Spain's Rajoy, French President Hollande says he's unaware of any call for EU states to come up with contingency plans for a Greek exit. Putting a slight bid into European shares are sketchy comments over the wires about Greece getting more lenient bailout terms from the EU. Stoxx 50 -2%. S&P futures well off session lows, -0.5%. 1 Comment
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7:05 AM MBA Mortgage Applications: +3.8% vs. +9.2% last week. Thirty-year fixed mortgage rate with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 3.93% from 3.96%. 1 Comment
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4:36 AM Horrible retail figures out of the U.K.: Sales fell 2.3% M/M in April, far exceeding the expected 0.8% drop. Sales -1.1% Y/Y vs. expectations of +1%. Comment!
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4:32 AM BoE minutes show members voted 8-1 to keep QE total at £325B in April; David Miles voted for an increase to £350B. Interest rate vote was 9-0. Comment!
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Tuesday, May 22, 2012
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5:17 PM Massachusetts subpoenas Morgan Stanley over the Facebook IPO amid allegations about leaked negative views. MS -1.4% AH. 11 Comments
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2:59 PM SAP is acquiring cloud spend management software/B2B e-commerce network owner Ariba (ARBA) for $45/share in cash, or $4.3B. The price represents an 18% premium to Ariba's final trade before shares were halted at 2:30 PM ET. The deal will be funded using a combo of SAP's existing cash and a €2.4B term loan facility. SAP expects it to close in Q3, and be accretive to 2013 EPS. (PR) (previous) Comment!
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2:56 PM The SEC and Finra look set to launch separate investigations of the Facebook IPO. Finra Chief Rick Ketchum calls allegations analysts for the lead underwriters leaked negative views about FB to select clients ahead of the IPO, "a matter of regulatory concern." 6 Comments
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