Thursday, January 20, 2011

Initial Jobless Claims: Survey 420 Actual 404 Prior 445 Revised 441

The average weekly initial jobless claims going back to 1970 is 373.5.

During Chinese President Hu Jintao's January 18-20, 2011, visit to Washington, the U.S.
is focusing on gaining access for American firms to the Chinese market, rather than on currency
issues. – Roubini Global Economics
GDP in China rose 9.8% in Q4, substantially more than the 9.2% expected, despite
efforts by the government to slow the domestic economy. Materials stocks were lower
overnight in part because investors worry about further steps to cool China’s booming
growth. The government’s primary concern is containing inflation, which officially slowed from
5.1% to 4.6% in December, but is thought to be quite a bit higher than that by locals. – FTN
Financial
The WSJ says substantially lower earnings at Goldman in Q4, which has cast a shadow
over financial stocks in general the past couple of days, were partly the result of Dodd-Frank’s
Volcker rule limit on proprietary trading at banks and partly the result of a lower risk appetite of
bank customers including hedge funds. – FTN Financial
Spain is planning a €3 billion debt issue, and plans to eventually raise €30 billion,
according to people quoted by the WSJ, to recapitalize its banks. Perhaps the primary reason
Europe cannot devalue peripheral sovereign debt is the exposure of its banks. A restructuring
now would cause a banking crisis. Adding capital to the banks, therefore, is not entirely positive
from a market perspective because it increases the odds of an eventual restructuring of public
debt. – FTN Financial
U.S. housing starts fell by 4.3% m/m in December 2010 with the headline drop driven
entirely by single-family starts, which fell back by 9% m/m following a 5.7% gain in November. –
Roubini Global Economics

Housing Starts and Permits