|
FinNews for the week ending June 22, 2012 Top Stories Meeting Friday, the leaders of the euro zone agreed to provide up to $164 billion in an attempt to jumpstart Spain's economy. (1) In the meantime, Spain aims to funnel relief funds directly to its banks, bypassing the government in order to avoid increasing its debt load. (2) A slew of poor economic data Thursday sent the stock market into its second-worst decline of 2012. The Dow, Standard & Poor's 500, and Nasdaq all lost their gains for the week, each seeing 2 percent and greater declines. (3) Though the stocks have recovered some of their losses, worry over Europe's debt crisis still has left investors hesitant. (4) Economic Releases & Statistics In its meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee lowered their estimates for growth in 2012, expecting it to pick up gradually over time. The FOMC stated it would "maintain a highly accommodative stance for monetary policy" and announced it would continue its "Operation Twist" program to lower long term interest rates until the end of the year. (5) Building permits rose 7.9 percent to a seasonally-adjusted 780 thousand in May, a forty-four month high. Housing starts fell 4.8 percent to a seasonally-adjusted 708 thousand, countering estimates for a 1 percent rise to 730 thousand. (6) U.S. existing home sales fell 1.5 percent last month to a seasonally-adjusted 4.55 million, down from 4.62. (7) Unemployment claims fell 2,000 last week to a seasonally-adjusted 387,000 last week, only slightly higher than forecasts for a fall to 385,000. (8) Unemployment rose to 8.2 percent, the first rise in nearly a year. Only 69,000 jobs were created last month, half of analyst forecasts. (9) The following is a paid third-party advertisement:  Stocks & Earnings Due to the European debt crisis and the uncertainty in U.S. markets, and bolstered by the monumental Facebook IPO flop, the total number of IPOs for 2012 is 106, a 39 percent drop from last year. (10) Though still the world's top game publisher, Electronic Arts' stock has fallen over 40 percent for the year due to poor recent releases. (11) Bed Bath & Beyond fell 17 percent, suffering weak earnings despite improved profits. ConAgra Foods gained 2.7 percent. (2) Global Currencies The euro gained on the dollar this week following Friday's euro zone meeting. The dollar index rose to 82.465, the highest since June. (12) Responding to Europe's crisis, the rupee fell 3.1 percent this week, followed by the baht's 1.1 loss. (13) Meanwhile, the yuan responded only slightly to the crisis. (14) In Colombia, the peso has appreciated 8.7 percent against the dollar, seeing the most considerable currency gains this year. The Colombian government is aiming for a devalued exchange rate in order to empower bigger dollar interventions. (15) Oil & Energies Natural gas storage grew by 62 billion cubic feet to 3.006 trillion cubic feet last week, just shy of the 63-67 bcf gains forecast by analysts. These gains are 27.1 percent higher than the five-year average of 2.365 trillion cubic feet. (16) Crude oil supplies have grown 2.9 million barrels, versus estimates for a 600,000 barrel drop. Gasoline storage rose 900,000 barrels, overshooting forecasts for a 600,000 barrel growth. Distillates improved by 1.2 million barrels, doubling estimates for a 600,000 barrel gain. (17) Energy giant Encana Corp. aims to improve its 2012 spending by $600 million in order to improve its oil and natural gas commodities production, and remove itself from the depressed natural gas market. (18) Grains & Field Crops Monday's Crop Progress report brought news of widespread dry soil throughout the Corn Belt, depriving crops of valuable moisture. The U.S. corn crop labeled excellent consequently fell 1 percent to 11 percent, while the good crop fell 2 percent to 52 percent. Soybeans were also affected: the excellent crop fell 1 percent to 8, and good dropped 3 percent to 48. (19) Argentina's corn harvest was also heavily affected by drought in the area, resulting in a yield of 5.3 tons per hectare, the lowest in 15 years. Forecasts for its 2011/12 corn production sit at 19 million tons. Its soybean forecast fell to 40.5 million tons, down from May's 40.9 estimate. (20) In an attempt to move away from grains and take advantage of lower production costs, Argentina and Brazil may plant record amounts of soybeans during the 2012-13 period. Argentina aims to plant 19.6 million hectares, up 5.8 percent, and is looking to harvest 54.5 to 55.5 million metric tons. Brazil looks to plant 26.4 million hectares of soybeans, a 5.4 percent growth. (21) Brazil's drought has given rise to ideal corn-growing conditions, resulting in a 26.5 percent acreage increase over 2011's 13 million acres. Successful harvests have prompted the nation's farmers to plant a record second crop. (22) Wheat production in India rose 35 percent to a record 37.19 million tons this season, shooting past the targeted 32 million. This brings the nation's 2011-12 wheat harvest to an estimated 90.23 million tons. (23) The following is a paid third-party advertisement:  Precious Metals In India, delayed monsoons coupled with hefty gold prices have prompted many investors to turn to silver. These sales have prompted forecasts for a 6 percent return on silver this year, up from last year's negative return. Gold is forecast to have a 20 percent return, 10 percent higher than last year. (24) Other Commodities Continued rainfall in Brazil has slowed its coffee crop harvest and delayed confirmation of its size. (25) These rains have also slowed the nation's sugar cane harvesting. (26) In an effort to assist Colombian coffee farmers, Starbucks opened a farmer-support center in the country, the fourth of its kind. There, the company teaches agronomy, guiding farmers in soil analysis, land terracing, and in measures to handle heavy rains. (27) Some Ivory Coast cocoa farmers have begun returning to their farms out of fear for their crops, despite the risk of being attacked by Liberian forces. (28) Considerable rainfall in the area has both strengthened crops and brought the risk of flooding and disease. Though beneficial following Ivory Coast's long dry spell, without sunlight to ward off insects the current crop may face damages. (29) Indonesia's cocoa full-year harvest is estimated to show a 10 percent improvement this year, though the current crop was delayed until May due to rain during the first quarter. (30) The nation's 2013 cocoa output is forecast to grow 15 to 20 percent, following boosted planting and improved cocoa production and processing. (31) Next Week:
2. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/06/22/spain-to-reveal-size-bank-bailout-july/ 3. http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/story/2012-06-21/stocks-thursday-6-21/55731458/1 4. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/22/us-markets-global-idUSBRE8520GN20120622 7. http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-06-21/economy/32343033_1_median-prices-prices-surge-home-sales 9. http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-economy-jobs-20120601,0,4574904.story 10. http://www.cnbc.com/id/47906154 12. http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/22/markets-forex-idINL5E8HM1LD20120622 16. http://www.boston.com/cars/news/articles/2012/06/21/us_natural_gas_supplies_grew_last_week/ 20. http://en.mercopress.com/2012/06/21/drought-hit-argentina-soy-beans-and-corn-crops-really-hard 21. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-19/south-american-soy-plantings-seen-at-record-by-oil-world 22. http://farmfutures.com/story.aspx/brazil-reaps-record-corn-crop-after-extreme-drought-17/60746 24. http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page32?oid=153795&sn=Detail&pid=102055 25. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303836404577474720873449052.html 27. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2018473302_starbucks20.html 29. http://af.reuters.com/article/ivoryCoastNews/idAFL5E8HIEMF20120618 30. http://af.reuters.com/article/ghanaNews/idAFL3E8HF2K720120615 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Disclaimer: Trading and investing involve a substantial degree of a risk of loss and are not suitable for everyone. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Fundamental factors, seasonal and weather trends, daily news, and other current events may have already been factored into the markets. Some trading strategies have unlimited risk. Educate yourself on the risks and rewards of such investing prior to trading. The publisher, and/or its affiliates, staff or anyone associated with FinNews, do not guarantee profits or pre-determined loss points, and are not held monetarily responsible for the trading losses of others (subscribers or otherwise). Information provided is compiled by sources believed to be reliable. Financial Media Corp, and/or its principals, assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions as the information may not be complete or events may have been canceled or rescheduled. Any copy, reprint, broadcast or distribution of this report of any kind is prohibited without the expressed written consent of the publisher. This email contains third-party advertisements for a product or service that is not offered, recommended or endorsed by the publisher and neither the company nor its affiliates bear responsibility or control over the content of the advertisement and the product or service offered. Proceed at your own risk. |
This email was sent to kumaresan.selva.blogger@gmail.com by Trading in America
109 Nature Walk Pkwy | Unit#101 | St. Augustine | FL | 32092
Forward to a friend | Manage Preferences | Unsubscribe
Forward to a friend | Manage Preferences | Unsubscribe
No comments:
Post a Comment