Globally Weighted PMIs Improve

“With all the global PMI reports in the books we can better gauge the health of the global economy.  The January data was overwhelmingly positive.  The January globally weighted PMI comes in at 51.8, up from 50.5 in December.  The biggest improvements came from the Eurozone, USA, China, Japan and Brazil.  There was some deterioration in India, but the country remained well in the contraction range over 50.

All in all, this points to a healthier global economy and a clear move back into the expansionary period after the 2012 dip into contraction range.  Here’s a brief breakdown of some of the more important components…”

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Sell Norway and buy India….

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Source 

 

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“Apple took the title of largest mobile maker by volume in the U.S. in Q4 2012, according to Strategy Analytics, which said Cupertino rose to the top of the U.S. phone maker charts for the first time ever — taking a record 34 per cent market share, and shipping an estimated 17.7 million units in the quarter. Samsung came second, with a 32.3 per cent share, shipping 16.8 million smartphones. Third place went to LG — but the company was far behind Apple and Samsung, with only a nine per cent share, and shipments of 4.7 million units.

However, despite losing out to Apple in Q4, Samsung came out on top in the U.S. for the full year 2012 — taking a 31.8 per cent share of the market vs Apple’s 26.2 per cent. LG took 12.3 per cent for the full year…..”

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“BlackBerry, the  Canadian smartphone maker formerly known as RIM — aka Research In Motion — will start trading under its new name on February 4, with its new ticker symbols effective from the start of trading on that day.

BlackBerry said it will trade as BBRY on the Nasdaq, and as BB on the Toronto Stock Exchange….”

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27% to be exact…..

“Auto sales showed surprising strength in January with all three of the domestic manufacturers — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — reporting double-digit gains.

“Automakers are kicking off the year strong, staying true to disciplined incentive spending as many curtailed their spending in January as the current lineup of products speak for themselves,” said Kristen Andersson, an analyst for auto price information company TrueCar.com…”

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“The American workplace is about to get grayer.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans between the ages of 45 and 60 say they plan to delay retirement, according to a report to be released Friday by the Conference Board. That was a steep jump from just two years earlier, when the group found that 42% of respondents expected to put off retirement.

The increase was driven by the financial losses, layoffs and income stagnation sustained during the last few years of recession and recovery, said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at the organization and a co-author of the report, which is based on a 2012 survey of 15,000 individuals.

Matt Stern, 51 years old, a former analyst at a Manhattan hedge fund, met with a financial planner in December, days before he was laid off and the fund announced its imminent liquidation. At the meeting, the planner projected that Mr. Stern could retire at age 62. But now, with his assets down 10% to 20% from their 2008 peak, he is looking for a job and retooling his expectations for retirement.

“I might have to prioritize income over whatever calls to me on other levels,” such as travel or being involved in nonprofit organizations, Mr. Stern said…”

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“Zoetis Inc.’s ZTS 0.00% stock rose in its public-trading debut, as investors jumped at the opportunity to invest in Pfizer Inc.’s PFE +1.65% animal-medicine unit and at the largest U.S. offering since the initial public offering of Facebook Inc. FB -2.39%

Shares opened at $31.50 on the New York Stock Exchange, up 21% from the $26 offer price, and traded recently at $30.65.

Late Thursday, Zoetis priced shares in its $2.2 billion IPO above the $22-to-$25 range initially outlined in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Zoetis commands a market value of about $13 billion based on the offer price….”

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“…..According to Hartnett, last time this signal was triggered, in January 2011, an 8 percent correction on the MSCI All World Country Index (an index of global equities) followed over the course of February and March.

 

 
Hartnett writes, “On average, a ‘sell’ signal precedes a 5 percent correction in global equities over the subsequent 4-5 weeks.” …”

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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ is the answer…

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“Equifax, one of the nation’s largest credit reporting agencies, has been selling the personal information of Americans to debt collectors and other businesses, according to an NBC News investigation.

The Work Number, a company owned by Equifax, maintains “what may be the most powerful and thorough private database of Americans’ personal information ever created,” Bob Sullivan of NBC News reported.

The database contains 190 million employment records, salary records and health insurance details involving more than 30% of all U.S. adults. And much of this data, including how much people have been paid, is sold to third parties, including bill collectors and banks.

“It’s the biggest privacy breach in our time, and it’s legal and no one knows it’s going on,” Robert Mather, who runs a small employment background company named Pre-Employ.com, told the network news web site. “It’s like a secret CIA.”

Equifax obtains its information from thousands of businesses and the federal government. Because the information it holds is considered a credit report, federal law allows Americans to obtain their own records for free once a year.”

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Source & Infograph

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[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQNqURNZ8m0 450 300]

Link for iPhone users: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQNqURNZ8m0

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[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6nXSS9inYA 450 300]

Link for iPhone users: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6nXSS9inYA

 

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[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIct9ZyL2WA 450 300]

Link for iPhone users: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIct9ZyL2WA

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“The January jobs report is out.  And after a taking a few minutes to process the information, markets are now surging.

Dow futures are up 110 points.  S&P futures are up 8 points.

U.S. stock market futures were up handily ahead of the report.  Dow futures were up 69 pts, S&P futures up 6 points.  The 10-year yield was at 1.99 percent.

Gold jumped to $1,673 from $1,663.

The January non-farm payrolls number was a bit lighter than expected, but the December and November numbers were revised up significantly.

The unemployment rate also ticked up to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent a month ago.

At the December FOMC meeting, the Federal Reserve said it would employ unemployment rate and inflation rate targets to help guide monetary policy.  The unemployment rate threshold was 6.5 percent.  Given that, gold may be moving on prospects for extended easy monetary policy.”

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NYSE

NASDAQ

AMEX 

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BUD, BWLD, CB, STZ, EPD, ERIC, GME, JOSB, MA, OIS, ORCL, UPS, VZ, WETF, WYNN,

Full report

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