Futures slip on Greek woes
The IMF and European finance ministers failed to agree on the release of further funds.
U.S. equity futures slipped in early Wednesday trade as the Troika of Greek lenders could not agree on a deal to cut Greece's debt further. Specifically, the International Monetary Fund refused to concede any further debt relief to Greece, and conservative leaders such as German ministers were unwilling to front any more funds. The reports follow last week, where it appeared that leaders were close to a deal.
In other news, the minutes of the recent Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee were released showing that the bank is nowhere near expanding its asset purchase program nor cutting rates despite economic headwinds.
Bank of Spain Governor Linde warned overnight that growth is key to meeting Spain's deficit targets. Linde warns that missing growth targets will lead to missed deficits and an increase in the fiscal crisis.
Germany auctioned 10-year bonds at a low yield of 1.4%, below the 1.56% yield of the previous auction. The drop in yields follows France losing its Aaa rating with Moody's.
- S&P 500 futures fell 2.6 points to 1,383.70.
- The EUR/USD was lower at 1.2780.
- Spanish 10-year government bond yields fell to 5.872%.
- Italian 10-year government bond yields rose to 4.868%.
- Gold rose 0.16% to $1,726.40.
Commodities
Commodities were mixed overnight as positive growth signs in Asia were weighed on by fears over Greece's finances. WTI crude futures rose 0.81% to $87.45 per barrel and Brent crude futures rose 1.02% to $110.95 per barrel. Copper futures slipped 0.58% to $350.60 per pound, Gold was higher, and silver futures rose 0.39% to $33.06 per ounce.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar reigned overnight in currency markets, as investors sold riskier currencies in exchange for the greenback, signaling a clear risk-off tone. The EUR/USD was lower at 1.2780 and the dollar gained against the yen to 82.28, a 0.76% gain. Overall, the Dollar Index rose 0.2% to 81.11 on strength against the yen, the euro, the Swiss franc and the pound. In addition, the Aussie dollar fell against the greenback but did rise against the euro and the yen.
Premarket movers
- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) shares rose 0.51%, adding to a decline of 11.95% Tuesday after the company reported earnings, lowered guidance, and wrote down nearly the entire purchase of software company Autonomy, claiming the company was fraudulently misrepresenting its financial statements prior to the purchase.
- News Corp (NWSA) shares rose 0.46% in premarket trading following the company's agreement to purchase 49% of the YES Network, which carries Yankees games and other sports content.
- Nike (NKE) shares fell 0.59% premarket after dropping 0.74% after the company announced that it is selling its Cole Haan brand to Apax.
- Kripsy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) shares fell 0.54% after rising 23.47% Tuesday on strong earnings and guidance.
Earnings
The earnings calendar is rather light Wednesday. Notable companies expected to report earnings Wednesday include:
- Deere & Co (D) is expected to report fourth quarter earnings per share of $1.88 vs. $1.62 a year ago.
Economics
On the economics calendar Wednesday, the data docket is rather full as some data normally released on Thursdays have been moved up due to the Thanksgiving holiday. MBA purchase applications and initial jobless claims kick off the data, followed by the Markit initial U.S. PMI and consumer sentiment. Also, the Conference Board's leading indicators is due out and the EIA petroleum status report is expected. The Treasury is also set to issue benchmark 10-year TIPS.
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Swaggs.......This has been coming for sooooo many years(i had a typo..Tears) probably was more fitting...?
Looking back, as to why let them into the Eurozone anyway...??
Same reason we have NAFTA with Mexico ??
Maybe for ease of trade and currency transactions only ?
The rest would make little sense, beyond that.
The BLS lists six categories of unemployment figures, but the media only looks at the U-3 category and ignores all of the rest. The U-3 category used by the government and media does not include anyone that has not looked for a job in the past four weeks as they are considered to be out of the workforce. The and their December 2012 figures are:
Economist John Williams, contends that even the U-6 category is not an accurate reflection of the real unemployment figures. For one thing, he says they do not take into account those individuals who have been unemployed and given up looking for work for at least a year. He refers to his system as ShadowStats Alternative Unemployment Rate. In his alternative calculations, Williams adds the U-6 figures with those of the long term unemployed that quit looking but still list themselves as unemployed. That calculation gives him a total unemployment rate of nearly 23%.
:
“If you were to survey everyone in the country as to whether they were employed or unemployed, without qualification as to when they last looked for a job, the resulting unemployment rate would be close to the ShadowStats estimate.”
So when you see the media report unemployment figures on the news, realize that those are only a fraction of the real numbers that they don’t want you to see. The real number are three times what they report and those numbers also say that the economy and jobs are not in recovery as Obama would have you believe. The real numbers indicate that almost 1 of every 4 working class adults are unemployed.
Red Badge of Courage
Even in the face of an overwhelming defeat, Republicans still refuse to accept reality.
What happened to the good ole days when after your opponent was soundly trounced, they would disappear from the spotlight in shame or admit they were wrong, shake hands and apologize?
Instead they're louder and prouder than ever, still insisting that what everyone witnessed was fake or manipulated. That somehow they were robbed of their birth right instead of fessing up and admitting the only plan they had was just more of the same (robbing the poor to continue feeding the rich).
These are not the actions of an honorable people. These are not the actions of American citizens.
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