Monday, December 20, 2010

The WSJ says the widening spreads between strong and weak muni bond credits is increasingly
reminiscent of the European sovereign crisis. – FTN Financial/WSJ
Following downgrades by rating agencies Fitch and S&P, Moody’s has downgraded Ireland’s
sovereign debt rating by five notches to Baa1—three levels above noninvestment grade—with a
negative outlook, warning of further downgrades if Ireland is unable to stabilize its debt situation. –
Roubini Global Economics

Irish Ten Year Sovereign Yields

Contributing to the weakness in Asia was S. Korea’s decision to move forward with planned
artillery tests despite statements from N. Korea which threatened to attack the South in response.
However, N. Korea has since said that it will hold its fire after Seoul changed its firing zones, helping
Europe shares move higher through the session. – JPM
Greenspan interview on BBG - says US growth picking up...3-3.5% reasonable for '11
expectations...."US unquestionably has some momentum".....unemployment should start
falling....says stock prices to climb (this hit during the last 1.5 hrs of trading on Fri) – Bloomberg
Companies spent $92B in the third Q
repurchasing stock; the number was up 71%
from Q2 and the highest amount since the start
of ’08 – WSJ
All Japan wants for Christmas is KFC -
KFC is so popular around the holidays in Japan
that it can be ordered up to two months in
advance. The FT says that sales from Dec 23-25
equal half of the countries normal monthly
sales. – FT