The Fed hasn't lowered "real" interest rates enough, says Minneapolis Fed chief Kocherlakota, not disappointing his new fans. Somewhat hawkish until a near-religious conversion last year, Kocherlakota is now the most dovish on the FOMC (though not a voter this year) and fond of making statements like that. [View news story]
Soon the Fed will be the only buyer of the bonds as people start to dump them....and I think that is soon..next 6 months
McDonald's (MCD) will boost its workforce by 83% this year to take it to 165K as it picks up its pace of store growth in the nation. The restaurant operator has less than half of the fast-food market share that Yum Brands claims, but the gap is narrowing with KFC China suffering some turmoil. [View news story]
don´t go into the food court of those vacant malls..just a hint
"Do you really think risk-averse central bankers are going to try and catch the knife," asks Credit Suisse commodity research chief Ric Deverell about gold. "No" is his answer as this crowd only buys when the price is headed higher. Of reports of heavy physical buying, he's unimpressed, noting investment demand (ETFs) is the gorilla in the gold market. The metal's (GLD -1.6%) within a few dollars of taking out the 26-month low hit in April. [View news story]
In a short time...the Eastern world will own much of the metal..and it won´t be coming back.....mining is getting harder and costs much more...the West is selling their sole for paper profits...short term gain for sure..but long term loss is also true....the fall of the fiat dollar...
The deadline for claims against BP related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is 11 months away, but the overseer responsible for paying the claims says he is already bracing for a late surge in filings. Of more than 165K claims filed as of May 15, nearly 25% have been determined eligible for payments worth ~$3.2B, and 200K claims seems likely before all is said and done. (earlier) [View news story]
You can bet there are lawyers advertising in the area for people to file suits...its free money in their minds.....easy as an Obama Phone..
More on Dell: Revenue only fell 2% Y/Y after dropping 11% in FQ4 - Carl Icahn will notice. But gross margin -140 bps Y/Y to 20.6%; Dell was apparently willing to price more aggressively. Spending picked up: SG&A 15.7% of revenue vs. 13.9% a year ago, R&D 2.2% vs. 1.7%. Desktop sales only -2%, much better than FQ4's -14%. Notebooks -16% vs. -25%. PCs 49% of sales. Servers/networking (19% of sales) still strong, +14% vs. +18%. Storage still weak, -10% vs. -13%. Services +2%, up from -3%. 3rd-party software/peripherals -6% vs. -11%. $295M in Dell software sales (lifted by Quest). No guidance. DELL unchanged. CC at 4:45PM ET (webcast) (PR) [View news story]
What is the demand here for the takeover....I see no upside in this...
Aluminum demand is strong despite record-high inventories and will be further buoyed in coming years by increased usage in the automotive and aerospace industries, a top Alcoa (AA +0.6%) and other industry players tell CRU's World Aluminum congress. Alcoa says it is investing $575M in two new U.S. automotive sheet production facilities to meet North American demand that should quadruple by 2015. [View news story]
4 times as many cars sold in North America...no way...that is pretty aggressive
U.K. government officials say BP (BP -0.2%) has not sought help from PM David Cameron in reducing compensation claims related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Either way, a U.S. President has no sway over the independent U.S. judiciary. A BBC report cited BP sources who worry that cash leakage from compensation claims could put its dividend at risk and make it vulnerable to a takeover (also). [View news story]
Bill Gross pokes some fun at himself, telling Bloomberg TV "We are not always right, but we are always certain." He reiterates his belief that the 30+ year secular bond bull market is over, but isn't expecting a 1994-like meltdown in Treasurys. He instead thinks Treasurys (TLT) and corporates - both investment-grade (LQD) and high-yield (HYG, JNK) - won't move much over the coming 12 months. [View news story]
It all depends on what the Fed is going to do....I think they are in for many many years...no quitting now...the client is now an addict and can´t quit the good stuff...
More highlights from Wal-Mart (WMT): 1) Legal expenses related to the bribery probe and FCPA issues are expected to be $65M-$70M in Q2. 2) The retailer sees U.S. stores comparable sales flat to +2% for Q2. 3) Sam's Club fees were increased on May 15 for Advantage (+$5) and Business (+$10) memberships, marking the first bump since 2006. In Q1, Sam's Club saw comp traffic up 1.3% while the average ticket was 1.1% lower. WMT -2.4% premarket. (PR) [View news story]
Always....the lawyer fees are more than the actual bribes....always
The VIX (VXX +0.6%) - typically moving the opposite direction of stock prices - has been more correlated to equities this year than any other time since 1996, according to Kaitlyn Kiernan, with today (if it holds) being the 23rd instance YTD in which both have moved in the same direction. That translates into 25% of the trading sessions (for all 1996, it was 29%). [View news story]
To me this is another red flag that this really isn´t a market...its been taken over by the central bankers and their ilk...like a Madonna concert..no real singing...just lip syncing...all staged
It's a parking ticket, but Goldman Sachs (GS) is ordered by an arbitration panel to pay about $2.5M to a client who claimed being steered to an inappropriate investment in the bank's Special Opportunities Fund in 2006. In a rare move, one of the three on the panel disagreed with the verdict, and found the fund was a suitable investment for the client. [View news story]
That one guy has a job at GS whenevver he wants...lol
Don't look now but the hedgies are betting on Fannie FNMA.OB +6.6% and Freddie FMCC.OB +7%. WSJ says Paulson & Co. and Perry Capital (among others) are buying preferred shares on the off-chance Washington has a change of heart and decides to recapitalize the companies and sell taxpayers' stake on the open market. With the White House overwhelmingly in favor of winding down the two entities, anyone betting on profiting from a potential recap is "placing a political bet … that faces unimaginably long odds," former White House adviser Jim Parrott tells the Journal. [View news story]
There is too much political power in Fannie and Freddy for the politicians to give them up....
The Fed hasn't lowered "real" interest rates enough, says Minneapolis Fed chief Kocherlakota, not disappointing his new fans. Somewhat hawkish until a near-religious conversion last year, Kocherlakota is now the most dovish on the FOMC (though not a voter this year) and fond of making statements like that. [View news story]
McDonald's (MCD) will boost its workforce by 83% this year to take it to 165K as it picks up its pace of store growth in the nation. The restaurant operator has less than half of the fast-food market share that Yum Brands claims, but the gap is narrowing with KFC China suffering some turmoil. [View news story]
"Do you really think risk-averse central bankers are going to try and catch the knife," asks Credit Suisse commodity research chief Ric Deverell about gold. "No" is his answer as this crowd only buys when the price is headed higher. Of reports of heavy physical buying, he's unimpressed, noting investment demand (ETFs) is the gorilla in the gold market. The metal's (GLD -1.6%) within a few dollars of taking out the 26-month low hit in April. [View news story]
Tesla Motors (TSLA) prices its offering of 3.393M shares of common stock at $92.24 per share. [View news story]
The deadline for claims against BP related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is 11 months away, but the overseer responsible for paying the claims says he is already bracing for a late surge in filings. Of more than 165K claims filed as of May 15, nearly 25% have been determined eligible for payments worth ~$3.2B, and 200K claims seems likely before all is said and done. (earlier) [View news story]
More on Dell: Revenue only fell 2% Y/Y after dropping 11% in FQ4 - Carl Icahn will notice. But gross margin -140 bps Y/Y to 20.6%; Dell was apparently willing to price more aggressively. Spending picked up: SG&A 15.7% of revenue vs. 13.9% a year ago, R&D 2.2% vs. 1.7%. Desktop sales only -2%, much better than FQ4's -14%. Notebooks -16% vs. -25%. PCs 49% of sales. Servers/networking (19% of sales) still strong, +14% vs. +18%. Storage still weak, -10% vs. -13%. Services +2%, up from -3%. 3rd-party software/peripherals -6% vs. -11%. $295M in Dell software sales (lifted by Quest). No guidance. DELL unchanged. CC at 4:45PM ET (webcast) (PR) [View news story]
Aluminum demand is strong despite record-high inventories and will be further buoyed in coming years by increased usage in the automotive and aerospace industries, a top Alcoa (AA +0.6%) and other industry players tell CRU's World Aluminum congress. Alcoa says it is investing $575M in two new U.S. automotive sheet production facilities to meet North American demand that should quadruple by 2015. [View news story]
U.K. government officials say BP (BP -0.2%) has not sought help from PM David Cameron in reducing compensation claims related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Either way, a U.S. President has no sway over the independent U.S. judiciary. A BBC report cited BP sources who worry that cash leakage from compensation claims could put its dividend at risk and make it vulnerable to a takeover (also). [View news story]
Bill Gross pokes some fun at himself, telling Bloomberg TV "We are not always right, but we are always certain." He reiterates his belief that the 30+ year secular bond bull market is over, but isn't expecting a 1994-like meltdown in Treasurys. He instead thinks Treasurys (TLT) and corporates - both investment-grade (LQD) and high-yield (HYG, JNK) - won't move much over the coming 12 months. [View news story]
April Housing Starts: 853K vs. 970K forecast, 1.04M previous. [View news story]
More highlights from Wal-Mart (WMT): 1) Legal expenses related to the bribery probe and FCPA issues are expected to be $65M-$70M in Q2. 2) The retailer sees U.S. stores comparable sales flat to +2% for Q2. 3) Sam's Club fees were increased on May 15 for Advantage (+$5) and Business (+$10) memberships, marking the first bump since 2006. In Q1, Sam's Club saw comp traffic up 1.3% while the average ticket was 1.1% lower. WMT -2.4% premarket. (PR) [View news story]
The VIX (VXX +0.6%) - typically moving the opposite direction of stock prices - has been more correlated to equities this year than any other time since 1996, according to Kaitlyn Kiernan, with today (if it holds) being the 23rd instance YTD in which both have moved in the same direction. That translates into 25% of the trading sessions (for all 1996, it was 29%). [View news story]
It's a parking ticket, but Goldman Sachs (GS) is ordered by an arbitration panel to pay about $2.5M to a client who claimed being steered to an inappropriate investment in the bank's Special Opportunities Fund in 2006. In a rare move, one of the three on the panel disagreed with the verdict, and found the fund was a suitable investment for the client. [View news story]
Don't look now but the hedgies are betting on Fannie FNMA.OB +6.6% and Freddie FMCC.OB +7%. WSJ says Paulson & Co. and Perry Capital (among others) are buying preferred shares on the off-chance Washington has a change of heart and decides to recapitalize the companies and sell taxpayers' stake on the open market. With the White House overwhelmingly in favor of winding down the two entities, anyone betting on profiting from a potential recap is "placing a political bet … that faces unimaginably long odds," former White House adviser Jim Parrott tells the Journal. [View news story]
NFIB Small Business Optimism Index: +2.6 pts. to 92.1, vs. consensus of 90.5, 89.5 prior. [View news story]