Russia’s Economy Expands at the Slowest Pace Since 2010

“Russia’s economy expanded in the third quarter at the slowest pace since it began recovering at the start of 2010 as a drought hurt agricultural output and stuttering global growth curbed demand for commodities exports.

Gross domestic product rose 2.9 percent last quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow said today in an e-mailed statement. That exceeded a 2.8 percent median forecast of 15 economists in a Bloomberg survey, which was also the level of growth estimated by the Economy Ministry last month.”

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“China’s new yuan loans unexpectedly fell in October from a year earlier and money supply rose less than forecast, damping signs the world’s second-biggest economy is recovering after a seven-quarter slowdown.

Banks extended 505.2 billion yuan ($81.1 billion) of local- currency loans, down 14 percent from a year earlier, data from the Beijing-based People’s Bank of China showed today. The median estimate was 590 billion yuan in a Bloomberg News survey. M2, the broadest measure of money supply, increased 14.1 percent, compared with a median forecast of 14.5 percent.

Today’s reports show weaker-than-forecast credit expansion may limit a rebound in economic growth as the ruling Communist Party holds a congress in Beijing to anoint new leaders. Central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said yesterday the nation is still dealing with the effects of five years of financial crisis abroad, adding to official cautions on the outlook even after gains in exports and industrial output.”

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“Indian industrial production unexpectedly fell in September and the trade deficit widened to a record last month as exports declined, adding to signs that Asia’s third-largest economy is struggling.

Output at factories, utilities and mines dropped 0.4 percent from a year earlier after a revised 2.3 percent gain in August, the Central Statistical Office said in a statement in New Delhi today. The median of 28 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 2.8 percent increase. The trade deficit was $20.96 billion in October, the Commerce Ministry said in a separate report.

Factory production has been subdued for most of this year, hurt by moderating consumer demand and a drop in exports as the global recovery falters. The Reserve Bank of India has signaled it may lower interest rates in the first quarter of 2013 to aid growth as inflation cools, after resisting calls from the Finance Ministry for a cut last month.”

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“British Broadcasting Corp.’s two most senior news executives stepped aside, expanding the fallout from errors in child sex abuse investigations that forced Director General George Entwistle to quit over the weekend.

News director Helen Boaden and her deputy, Stephen Mitchell, have given up their responsibilities during a probe into why a BBC “Newsnight” program investigating sex abuse claims against former entertainer Jimmy Savile was canceled last year. Entwistle quit this weekend after a separate “Newsnight” investigation erroneously implied that a senior politician had molested a young boy.”

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“Industrial metals advanced with the Australian and New Zealand currencies as China’s exports topped forecasts. European stocks swung between gains and losses before the region’s finance chiefs meet to discuss Greek aid.

Copper jumped 1 percent at 7:20 a.m. in New York. The yuan climbed to a 19-year high and the so-called Aussie gained against its 16 major peers. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.1 percent, with trading volume 12 percent below the 30-day average. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.3 percent, indicating the benchmark gauge will rebound from its worst week in five months. Spain’s 10-year note yield rose four basis points. U.S. bond markets were closed for a holiday.”

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World Markets

Currencies

Commodities

USD Libor

Euribor

Yields for Italy, Spain, France,  and Germany …

Not so fun times for many Americans….

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After being defeated with president elect Romney, the GOP may be lightening up on gridlock in order to save face. The NYT is reporting that Boehner is telling his caucus to get in line. This may be an opportunity to save the markets from getting really bloody.

Stay tuned….

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“As momentum, a shifting currency tide and now even sentiment continues to work against the grain of a slouching equity market structure, many market participants are now just beginning to question if the bull’s ship has finally sailed.

In a week full of emotion and frustration extending from the presidential, congressional and senatorial elections, there is a surplus of pundit causations to fit every wiggle with each tail.

And although some of these may have logical underpinnings, like good propaganda – a seed of truth and convenient correlation is stretched far beyond legitimacy. ”

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Notice how Shanghai leads the to the downside.

Source

Despite some decent data as of late Jim O’Neil points out that technically the S&P looks bad. He states it is similar to the summer of 2011 where we had a sizable correction.

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“It wasn’t the happiest of evenings for pharmaceutical billionaire Stewart Rahr at swank New York restaurant Nobu the other night, Brad Hamilton of the New York Post reports.

Rahr apparently showed up at Nobu Fifty Seven and was outraged to find that other diners were sitting at “his” table. He then marched up to the table and offered to pay the people’s tab to get them to leave.

The restaurant’s manager says he later “called me the C-word and said he would kill me.”

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“Japan’s economy contracted in the third quarter at the fastest pace since last year’s earthquake as exports slumped and consumer spending slid.

Gross domestic product fell an annualized 3.5 percent in the three months through September, after a revised 0.3 percent gain the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo today. The median of 23 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 3.4 percent drop. Barclays Plc and Societe Generale SA are among those forecasting another decline this quarter, meeting the textbook definition of a recession.”

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Nikkei

S&P Futures 

Early on Saturday in Far Rockaway, a coastal area of New York City devastated by the storm surge, more than 500 people lined up with empty fuel cans.
Word had spread Friday night that a tanker truck carrying 8,000 gallons of free gasoline was to arrive around 10am.
The fuel was delivered under the auspices of the Fuel Relief Fund and apparently funded by an anonymous donor.
‘The guy didn’t want his name used, but he wanted to get gas to these people,’ said a New York Police Department captain, who declined to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media. ‘Pretty decent thing to do,’ he said. ‘These people need it bad.’

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q0LG2zCS2E

The Bushes are very clever.

ATTENTION LIBERALS: Prepare to be ruled by George P. Bush, the hispanic version.

George P. Bush, a nephew of former President George W. Bush and son of one-time Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, has made a campaign filing in Texas that is required of candidates planning to run for state office, an official said Thursday night.

The younger Bush, a Fort Worth resident, filed a campaign treasurer appointment Wednesday, a requirement for someone to become a candidate under campaign finance law, Tim Sorrells, general counsel for the Texas Ethics Commission, told The Associated Press.

Sorrells said the report does not specify what office Bush might seek, if any, and he had no other details on the filing, which wasn’t available online. Bush did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment, and no phone listing for him could be found.

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Investors want to forget last week’s sell off, and look forward. But that may be hard to do as technically and politically speaking we are broken. Thankfully, earnings are better than expected with Q3 estimates only down 0.3% yoy.

Next week you want to pay attention to ” Target , Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

Consumer discretionary companies have outperformed the broader S&P 500 in earnings, with 72 percent of the companies in that sector beating analysts’ expectations, compared with 63 percent for the S&P 500 as a whole.

Investors will be paying close attention to those results with the holiday shopping period around the corner, said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey, which oversees about $1 billion in assets.”

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“Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX), the second- largest seller of drug-coated stents, agreed to buy Vessix Vascular Inc. for as much as $425 million to speed its entry into the market for hard-to-treat hypertension devices.

Boston Scientific will pay $125 million for closely held Vessix, based in Laguna Hills, California, and as much as $300 million more by 2017 based on clinical and sales targets, the Natick, Massachusetts-based company said today in a statement. While the acquisition won’t affect earnings excluding one-time items through 2014, the costs and amortization related to the purchase may reduce net income, the company said.”

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Is it me or is corruption at the core of every business these days ? Seems like the new motto is crime pays when you settle for a fraction of what you stole….

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