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MARKET CURRENTS

8:41 PM Singapore revises Q1 GDP up to show a 1.8% Q/Q expansion (seasonally adjusted, annualized) versus an advance estimate of a 1.4% decline. On a Y/Y basis the economy expanded 0.2%. The Ministry of Trade and Industry says "economic growth … is expected to improve gradually over the course of the year." The Singapore ETF (EWS) is up 19.8% Y/Y. Comment! [Global & FX]
8:31 PM Japanese stocks move up in early trading, with the Nikkei Average rising 0.7% as a weakened yen gives a boost to exporters and offsets early losses in banks: Canon (CAJ +3.4%), Fast Retailing (FRCOY.PK +2.9%), Fanuc (FANUY.PK +1%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust (SUTNY.PK -1.9%), Shinsei Bank (SKLKY.PK -2%). Comment! [Global & FX]
8:20 PM Citi's Willem Buiter throws in the towel on a "Grexit" in 2014, notable not only because Buiter has repeatedly predicted Greece will eventually bid the eurozone adieu (putting the odds at 90% within 12-18 months late last summer) but because he is credited with coining the term "Grexit" in the first place. Bears needn't despair too much though: Buiter still says "there is a fairly high risk of Grexit at some stage in the coming years." 1 Comment [Global & FX]
8:07 PM US Airways (LCC) prices $100M in aircraft financing to reimburse the company for the cost of the purchase of two Airbus aircraft currently owned and two aircraft scheduled to be delivered prior to the date of issuance in June. It also plans to use funds to finance its purchase of seven Airbus aircraft scheduled to be delivered from June 2013 to October 2013. Comment! [Consumer]
7:50 PM More on Pacific Sunwear (PSUN): Q1 beat across the board as total sales rose by 4.7% Y/Y. But net losses widened, as the retailer was hit by store-closure costs and losses on derivatives, which led to gross margins narrowing to 25.1% from 38.1%. The company offered a better picture for the current quarter however, now expecting its bottom line EPS to range between a loss of $0.05 and a profit of $0.02. It also projects revenue of $209M to $219M. Analysts were expecting a per-share loss of $0.04 a share on revenue of $198M. Shares +19.5% AH. Comment! [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move]
7:13 PM Lender Processing Services (LPS) is the subject of acquisition talks with Fidelity National (FNF) and buyout shop Thomas H. Lee, with a price tag of about $2.9B, the WSJ reports. Fidelity National was LPS' parent until a 2008 spinoff; a deal would not only bring the service provider back into FNF's umbrella, but mark the latest of many deals Fidelity's made with Thomas H. Lee. The deal values LPS at about $33/share; it closed Wednesday at $29.11. 1 Comment [Financials, Breaking News, M&A, Top Stories]
6:37 PM In its earnings call today, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) CEO Meg Whitman remarked that its position in the PC market has been boosted by recent efforts to sell tablets powered by Google's (GOOG) Android, thus allowing it to compete in tablets again after discontinuing its Palm/webOS TouchPad in 2011. "If we have the right product and the right price, the channel still loves H-P and they want to sell our products," Whitman said. "Frankly, having Android products helps a lot." (Webcast) Shares +13.3% AH. 1 Comment [Tech, Earnings, On the Move]
6:19 PM Apricus Biosciences (APRI) gets slammed in the post session after anouncing a public offering of common stock and warrants, with a 30-day option to purchase additional shares and warrants to cover over-allotments, if any. Lazard Capital Markets is acting as sole book-running manager. Shares -13% AH. Comment! [Healthcare, On the Move]
6:00 PM AvalonBay Communities (AVB) announces a 7.9M share at-the-market secondary public stock offering by Jupiter Enterprise, an indirect subsidiary of Lehman Brothers Holding. 14.9M shares were issued to Jupiter in connection with the company's acquisition of a portion of the Archstone apartment community portfolio in February 2013. The seller stockholder will receive all of the proceeds. Shares -0.8% AH. Comment! [Financials]
5:58 PM A theme bubbling up at the start of the annual MLP conference (where attendance is up 38% Y/Y): the largely retail ownership of MLPs is slowly shifting as more institutions get interested in MLPs. Individuals tend to be unwilling to sell MLPs as the deferred tax burden rises, and more institutional ownership could fuel more trading or short-short selling in MLPs. 2 Comments [Energy]