So what will move markets today ?
International News
BHP Billiton sees profits down significantly
The world’s largest miner, BHP Billiton, reported a 56.5 percent slump in first-half profit Wednesday, warning the financial crisis left the outlook for commodities weak and uncertain.
Australian pension plans fried on the “barbi”
Having forced Australians over the past two decades to trust in markets to provide for their old age — and tempted other nations to go down the same path — it is watching horrified as a big chunk of its retirement savings go up in smoke.
Finally in Australia, their largest investment bank feels the pain
Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia’s largest investment bank, said full-year profit will plunge 50 percent, snapping 16 years of rising earnings as investments slump and trading losses mount.
New Zealand certainly is not escaping the global recession
New Zealand’s jobless rate rose to a five-year high in the fourth quarter as a prolonged recession prompted companies to cut production and fire workers.
Russia plans on injecting $40 billion into their banking system
Russia is preparing to inject around $40 billion in Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital into domestic banks, with the condition that banks will lend some of the funds to businesses, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Wednesday.
Speaking in London, Kudrin also said Russia has no intention of introducing capital controls to stop the ruble from depreciating further, adding that this year’s inflation could overshoot the target of 13 percent due to the falling currency.
Kudrin said he would welcome the participation of Russia’s No. 2 bank VTB in the banking support program, although VTB Chief Executive Andrei Kostin said no decision on injecting capital into the bank has been finalized yet.
Tier 1 capital is the core measure of a bank’s financial strength from a regulatory point of view, such as equity and cash, and Tier 2 capital is regarded as the next most reliable.
Asian Stocks fall in opening trade
Asian stocks fell for the first time in three days as reduced earnings forecasts in Japan and share sales in Australia fueled concerns that the global recession is deepening.
China will try to stimulate manufacturing and textiles to stem over 20 million unemployed migrant workers with rebate tax
In a national plan to invigorate China’s textile industry adopted by the State Council Wednesday, the government would allocate funds for companies that produce textiles or fibers, or operate in the textile printing and dyeing sector, to upgrade technology and develop domestic brands.
Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party will try to allow the largest depositor based company, Japan Post, to loan money to business and consumers
Japan Post, with 179.1 trillion yen ($2 trillion) in deposits at the end of December, is currently unable to make corporate or consumer loans on its own. Regional banks oppose letting the former state-run postal system into the lending business, saying it would overwhelm them.
The ECB leaves rates unchanged @ 2% while the BOE cut rates the their lowest level by .05% to 1%
W. Buffet’s Bershire Hathaway invests $2.6 billion into Swiss Re a reinsurance company
3 month dollar LIBOR rates remain at their highest level over the past few weeks
Domestic News
The U.S. is planning one of it largest debt sales on record
The US Treasury on Wednesday opened the floodgates of government bond issuance, revealing plans for a record debt sale in February and more frequent auctions in the months to come.
The announcement came amid growing fears about US government deficits and sent the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 2.95 per cent, up from just over 2 per cent at the end of December.
The rise in Treasury yields has been pushing mortgage rates higher, complicating efforts to revive the economy. The US Federal Reserve said last week it was “prepared to” buy Treasuries if that would be a “particularly effective” way of reducing private borrowing costs.
Obama faces frustrations over elected cabinet members resigning
US productivity is expected to rise
U.S. companies, struggling to contain escalating losses in the deepening recession, squeezed more output from their remaining workers last quarter, economists said before a government report today.
Productivity, a measure of employee output per hour, rose at a 1.5 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter following a 1.3 percent gain the previous three months, according to the median estimate of 60 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
Efficiency rose even as the economy shrank at the fastest pace in 26 years as companies slashed millions of workers from payrolls and cut hours for those still on staff. The job market is likely to keep deteriorating as the slump in consumer spending forces companies such as Macy’s Inc. and Pier 1 Imports Inc. to trim costs further.
Jobless Claims come in @ 626k up 41000 from 591k
US productivity did rise to 4.3%
Stocks on the move due to earnings click here
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As a final note due to tech issues I was unable to link to all of the headlines. My sources included Bloomberg, Yahoo News, The Independent, CCTV, WSJ, and the Financial Times
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