What a day.... USDJPY breached the range highs ahead of next week's BoJ meeting, UK Prime Minister Cameron cancelled Friday's critical and anticipated EU-speech. Well, bank stress test results by PIMCO on the bailout needs of Cyprus are due as well tomorrow. Interesting times...
Previously on MoreLiver’s:
Roundups and
Commentary
News – Between
The Hedges
Markets – Between
The Hedges
Recap – Global
Macro Trading
The Closer – ¨alphaville / FT
Roundup – Kiron
Sarkar / The Big Picture
Tomorrow’s Tape – WSJ
US: Dow
Jones Closes Just Shy Of 5 Year High – ZH
EUROPE
Will Cyprus be bailed out by gas? – alphaville
/ FT
Debt
dynamics from 140% debt/GDP level can look scary but Cyprus is sitting on huge reserves of
natural gas and potentially oil reserves too. How much are these worth? Initial
gas reserves discovered are likely worth 300% of GDP. This could rise to 2950% GDP.
The EU
should stop financial assistance to Croatia until corruption and tax evasion is
quelled, write Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy.
Swiss franc
at its weakest level against the euro since the Swiss National Bank put its cap
into place in September 2011
UK
**Speech postponed
– bad news coming from Algeria **
The UK could play a leading role in the
process of reforming and strengthening the EU, possibly THE leading role,
writes Nikos Chrysoloras.
David
Cameron‘s speech on the U.K.’s future in the European Union could be big news
for sterling. In fact, it could prove to be a defining moment that justifies
the pound’s safe-haven status and makes it an even more attractive alternative
to the euro.
It feels a
little like Christmas with all the feverish expectations and speculations,
hopes and requests: On Friday David Cameron, the UK’s Prime Minister, is finally going
to make his speech about Europe.
UNITED STATES
More on “substantially” and the Fed – alphaville
/ FT
We still
think the minutes of the December FOMC meeting — specifically their revelation
that “several” committee members believe asset purchases should be slowed or
stopped by the end of this year — were wrongly interpreted by some as a hawkish
shift.
BANK
EARNINGS
BofA
Earnings
Plagued By Legacy Countrywide Woes Offset By $900 Million In Loan Loss Reserve
Releases – ZH
Profit
Drops as Home Loan Costs Stall Turnaround – BB
Profit
Drops 63% After Mortgage Settlements – DealBook
/ NYT
Mortgage
Woes Weigh – DealBook
/ NYT
Citigroup
Earnings
Miss Analysts’ Estimates on Litigation Costs – BB
Profit hit
by more than $2 billion in charges – Reuters
Blackrock
Profit Rises
24% as ETF Deposits Boost Assets – BB
29%
Increase in Earnings – DealBook / NYT
MACRO
NUMBERS
Jobless
claims drop to five-year low – Reuters
Lowest
Initial Claims Reading Since January 2008 – Bespoke
Weekly
Initial Unemployment Claims decline to 335,000 – Calculated
Risk
Housing
Starts Rise Sharply In 2012's Final Month – The
Capital Spectator
Biggest
Philly Fed Miss In 7 Months Ignored As Fed Injects Reserves Via Repo – ZH
OTHER
Global Alpha Weekly: Reiterating our 2013 views – Nordea
(pdf)
FX:
Momentum still in favour of risk-on and EUR rebound. Fixed Income: Fed in
driver’s seat
EMEA Weekly: Week 4 – Danske
Bank (pdf)
Sell Side Indicator – The Big
Picture
Wall Street
proclaims the death of equities – “current bearish sentiment suggests +26%
12-month price return”