Below is a succinct list of last week’s events:
Positives:
1) Initial Jobless Claims total 367k, below 370k for 2nd week after previous 3 weeks above 380k.
2) University of Michigan confidence in May rises 1.4 pts to best since Jan ’08, one yr inflation expectations fall to lowest since Dec ’10.
3) Gasoline prices fall another $.06 on the week to $3.73, the lowest since late Feb according to AAA.
4) Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover Survey data reveal most amount of job openings since July ’08.
5) US exports rise to record high in March but so do imports mostly due to petro.
6) National Federation Independent Business’ small business optimism index up 2 pts to highest since Dec ’07.
7) For those looking to buy a home or refinance, average 30 yr mortgage rate falls to new low at 3.78% according to Bankrate.com.
8) US Producer Price Index unexpectedly falls .2% m/o/m and y/o/y gain of 1.9% below 2% for 1st time since Oct ’09 (core rate though remains elevated), April Import Prices fall more than expected.
9) Factory Orders in Germany in March surprise to upside, somewhat dated data and likely to change but points to resilience of its economy.
10) Chinese CPI falls to 3.4% y/o/y gain in April from 3.6% and Producer Price Index outright falls for 2nd straight month.
11) Job gains in Australia and Canada well above expectations.
Negatives:
1) In response to chaos in Greece, newly issued Greek bonds fall to new lows, Greek stocks fall 11% on the week to lowest since 1992.
2) Spain’s 10 yr yield rises back to 6%, 5 yr CDS up at record high, IBEX (Spain’s stock market) index trades to lowest since ’03 but bounces off it.
3) Spain wants its banks to write off another 30billion euros but market wanted 50billion.
4) In China, retail sales, Industrial Production, money supply, bank loans, imports and exports all rise less than expected confirming further the slowdown.
5) India Industrial Production in March falls 3.5% vs expectations of a gain of 1.7% Source: The Big Picture