“Solid 4% global volume growth

Global Trademark Coca-Cola volume growth of 3%

Worldwide share gains advance in both sparkling and still beverages

First Quarter 2013 Highlights

• Solid 4% first quarter global volume growth. Volume growth of 3% for Coca-Cola Americas and 5% for Coca-Cola International.
• Global sparkling beverage volume grew 3%, led by brand Coca-Cola, up 3%, and global still beverage volume grew 6% in the first quarter.
• First quarter reported net revenues declined 1%. Excluding the impact of currency and structural changes, net revenues grew 2% despite two fewer selling days in the quarter.
• First quarter reported operating income declined 4% and comparable currency neutral operating income grew 5%, in line with our expectations and reflecting the impact of two fewer selling days in the quarter.
• First quarter reported EPS was $0.39, down 13%, and comparable EPS was $0.46, up 5%, including a currency headwind of approximately 4%.
• The Company announces implementation of a new partnership model in the United States…..”

Full article

Comments »

“Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since July amid signs global economic growth may slow, curbing fuel demand. West Texas Intermediate declined to a four-month low on speculation U.S. supplies rose.

Brent futures slid as much as 2.6 percent to $98 a barrel, while WTI dropped to the lowest intraday price since Dec. 14. German investor confidence declined more than economists forecast in April. U.S. crude stockpiles probably climbed 1.5 million barrels last week to 390.4 million, the highest since July 1990, according to a Bloomberg survey before a government report tomorrow.

“As with many times in the past, oil has been used as the tool to express concerns about the macro economy and we are in the same situation now,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil market analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd., a research company in London, who predicted on April 8 that Brent may soon drop to $100. “Brent has been under pressure due to an improvement in supplies and a lack of demand.”

Brent for June settlement fell as much as $2.63 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, and recovered to $99.87 as of 11:48 a.m. local time. The volume of all futures traded was 70 percent higher than the 100-day average for the time of day. Prices are down 10 percent this year after four annual gains. The front-month European benchmark grade was at a premium of $11.24 to WTI.

OPEC Basket

WTI for May delivery slipped as much as $2.65 to $86.06 a barrel in electronic trading on theNew York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are down a fourth day, the longest run of declines this year. The volume of all futures traded was more almost three times higher than the 100-day average. The contract fell $2.58 to $88.71 yesterday, the lowest close since Dec. 24….”

Full article

Comments »

“The selloff in gold that cut futures 13 percent over two days was sparked by investor concern that European governments may have to follow Cyprus in selling part of their holdings, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The slump, which drove prices to their lowest level since January 2011 today, was exacerbated as the metal fell below so- called technical-support levels, analysts including Jeff Currie and Damien Courvalin said in a report dated today, entitled “There Are Weeks When Decades Happen.”

Gold has plunged into a bear market as investors reduced holdings in exchange-traded products amid signs the U.S. economy is recovering, paring haven demand. Goldman said April 10 the turn in the gold cycle was quickening and investors should sell the metal. The drop in the past two days was one of the largest corrections in modern history, according to Deutsche Bank AG.

“The sharp selloff in gold was triggered by growing fears that the central bank of Cyprus would sell its gold reserves, potentially reflecting a larger monetization of gold reserves across other European central banks,” the Goldman analysts wrote in the report dated today.

Bullion for June delivery was 1.3 percent higher at $1,378.50 an ounce on the Comex at 5:33 p.m. in Singapore after losing as much as 2.9 percent to $1,321.50. Futures plunged 9.3 percent yesterday after entering a bear market last week, falling more than 20 percent from the record close in 2011.

Raise Funds…”

Full article

Comments »

“Chancellor Angela Merkel said that austerity in the euro area will claim victims as European leaders struggle to resolve the debt crisis, though the pain will be worth it to regain sustainable economic growth.

The German leader dismissed the notion that increasing debt is necessary to generate growth. She lauded European leaders for cutting budget deficits in half during the years of crisis, citing her championing of the bloc’s fiscal pact.

“We know that there will have to be victims from this in many countries,” Merkel told a forestry conference today in Berlin. “But I believe that in the long term we’ll have to have a growth strategy without always having to pile on debt.”

The German-led strategy of scaling back deficits as a response to the three-year-old debt crisis has come under criticism from other parts of the world because of recession and record unemployment in the 17-nation euro bloc…..”

Full article

Comments »

“U.K. inflation was unchanged in March, extending its run above the Bank of England’s target and maintaining a squeeze on consumers.

Consumer prices rose 2.8 percent from a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. That matched the median forecast of 36 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. In a separate release, the ONS said factory-gate prices rose 0.3 percent in March from February and were up 2 percent from a year earlier.

U.K. consumers are under pressure from rising prices and a fiscal tightening that’s deeper than that implemented byMargaret Thatcher during her premiership. While the government has broadened the BOE’s scope to add to stimulus even as inflation remains above its 2 percent goal, a majority of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain the size of the bond-purchase plan this month.

“More inflation misery is coming for consumers,” said Rob Wood, chief U.K. economist at Berenberg Bank in London. The pace of inflation will probably accelerate further in the coming months, he said. “The BOE seems unlikely to engage in more asset purchases in the next month or two.”

The pound was little changed against the dollar after the data were published. It traded at $1.5289 as of 10:17 a.m. London time, from $1.5285 yesterday.

U.K. inflation has been above the BOE’s target every month since December 2009.

Recreation Costs….”

Full article 

Comments »

“European stocks slid for a third day as German investor confidence declined more than forecast. Asian shares retreated while U.S. index futures indicated a rebound from the biggest drop in five months.

Michael Page International Plc (MPI) slumped the most in three months after the U.K. recruiter reported lower profit. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC) retreated to the lowest price in more than four months as revenue growth slowed. Danone (BN) rallied to a five-year high as the food company posted first-quarter sales growth that beat analysts’ estimates.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) fell 0.6 percent to 288.61 at 11:06 a.m. in London, extending the decline over the past three days to 2.2 percent. The benchmark measure has still gained 3.2 percent this year as U.S. lawmakers agreed on a compromise budget and central banks maintained stimulus measures.

“The ZEW and other data shows that Germany is facing a slowdown,” Soeren Steinert, who helps manage about $24 billion as associate director for equities trading at Quoniam Asset Management GmbH inFrankfurt, wrote in an e-mail. “That will affect Europe for sure.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.4 percent today, a second day of losses. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.6 percent after the U.S. gauge sank 2.3 percent. American equities extended losses yesterday as explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three people…..”

Full article

Comments »

“Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the government to come up with a plan to revive the flagging economy after a minister warned that a recession is possible as companies cut investment and export demand wanes.

Putin told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who will address lawmakers tomorrow, to devise steps to aid “shoots” of growth, according to televised remarks. While not the main scenario,Russia risks sliding into a recession without stimulus, Economy Minister Andrei Belousov said last week after cutting this year’s growth forecast….”

Full article

Comments »

“China’s stocks rebounded from a three-month low, as property shares jumped on speculation the government won’t impose any more real-estate curbs as economic growth slows and lower oil boosted auto companies and airlines.

China Vanke Co. (000002) and Poly Real Estate Group Co. led a gauge of developers to its biggest gain since February. SAIC Motor Corp. (600104) and China Eastern Airlines Co. rose at least 3.6 percent after Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since July. China Life Insurance Co. and Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. gained after the government said it will allow shareholders to take bigger stakes in insurers.

“There was bargain hunting as investors took advantage of the earlier slump and the policy risk of property stocks has almost faded,” said Wu Kan, a Shanghai-based fund manager at Dazhong Insurance Co., which oversees $285 million. “Concern about economic growth lingers and will weigh on sentiment.”

The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) rose 0.6 percent to 2,194.85 at the close, erasing a loss of as much as 0.7 percent. The CSI 300 Index added 0.9 percent to 2,459.59. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) gained 0.3 percent.

The Shanghai index has fallen 9.8 percent from a Feb. 6 high amid concern steps to coolproperty prices will drag on growth. The Bloomberg China-US 55 Index (CH55BN) slid 3.3 percent yesterday and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 2.3 percent. U.S. stocks extended losses after explosions rocked the finish line area of the Boston Marathon. Three people were killed and at least 128 people were hospitalized, officials said…..”

Full article

Comments »

“The Reserve Bank of Australia reiterated that the inflation outlook gives it room to reduceborrowing costs to a record even as earlier cuts boost demand.

“Interest-sensitive parts of the economy were responding to the historically low levels of lending rates and it remained likely that this had further to run,” minutes of the April 2 meeting released in Sydney today showed. “At the same time, the factors weighing on the economy — including the high exchange rate, the waning growth of mining investment, and fiscal consolidation — were likely to persist. The key issues were what the balance of these factors would turn out to be.”

Governor Glenn Stevens and his board held the cash rate at 3 percent after reducing borrowing costs in six steps for a total of 1.75 percentage points in the 14 months through December. Policy makers are trying to buoy industries outside of mining and are grappling with a currencythat has reached its highest level on a trade-weighted basis since early 1985.

“Members again noted that the exchange rate remained high despite the terms of trade having declined significantly since peaking about 18 months earlier,” the minutes showed, referring to a measure of export prices relative to import prices.

The Australian dollar weakened to $1.0328 as of 11:37 a.m. in Sydney, from $1.0338 before the announcement, paring its advance from $1.0313 yesterday in New York.

Stevens is aiming to rebalance a two-speed economy, where mining regions in the north and west thrive while manufacturers, builders and retailers in the south and east struggle. He has said the loosening of monetary policy is designed to offset some of the drag on growth from the currency and spur industries including construction.

Stronger Housing…”

Full article

Comments »

“Shizuoka Bank Ltd. (8355) joined Japanese national lenders in expanding U.S. dollar finance activity, anticipating monetary easing will crush margins on yen loans.

The nation’s second-biggest regional bank by market value raised $500 million in zero-coupon notes due 2018, the first public sale of dollar-denominated convertible bonds by a Japanese company since 2002. The average interest rate on long- term yen loans from the country’s lenders fell to 0.942 percent in February, compared with 3.348 percent companies worldwide pay on dollar facilities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. plans to increase energy and utility financing in the U.S., as the Bank of Japan (8301)’s focus on cutting long-term borrowing costs undercuts earnings from yen loans, President Nobuyuki Hirano said. Sumitomo Mitsui (8316) Financial Group Inc. aims to sell a record amount of dollar bonds this year for overseas business, even as the BOJ policy seeks to spur domestic lending to revive the economy.

“You know it’s a big deal when a conservative lender like Shizuoka Bank does this, a sure sign that yen debt is just not cutting it anymore,” said Nozomi Kokubun, a Tokyo-based analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. “Dollar-denominated loans are attractive for banks because they offer a spread you simply won’t find in Japan.”

Excess Cash…”

Full article

Comments »

“South Korea unveiled a 17.3 trillion won ($15.4 billion) supplementary budget to support exporters pressured by a weaker Japanese currency and revive an economy that grew last year at the slowest pace since 2009.

The package will boost growth by 0.3 percentage points and create 40,000 jobs, the Finance Ministry said in a statement in Sejong. The net increase is 5.3 trillion won after covering expected revenue shortfalls, the government said. Another 2 trillion won will be available for support measures from outside the budget, it said.

The government plan may boost consumption and confidence as China’s economy shows signs of weakness and NorthKorea’s Kim Jong Un ratchets up threats against the U.S. and the South. A stronger won, which has risen more than 21 percent against the yen in the past six months, has hindered export-reliant companies such as Hyundai Motor Co. (005380)and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) by making their products more expensive overseas.

“The extra budget will lift up the recovery in the second half of this year, which is needed as sentiment has been weak,” said Jun Min Kyoo, a Seoul-based economist at Korea Investment & Securities Co. “The focus on job growth and exporters will boost private consumption.”

President Park Geun Hye’s government announced plans for a stimulus package on the same day last month it lowered its 2013 growth forecast to 2.3 percent from 3 percent. The government moved today after the Bank of Korea last week resisted pressure to cut the benchmark interest rate.

Create Jobs….”

Full article

Comments »

“Japanese stocks fell, with the Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average capping the longest losing streak in three months, after commodities slumped amid concern global economic growth is slowing. Shares pared losses as a slide in the yen buoyed exporters.

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. lost 4.8 percent after gold capped the biggest drop in three decades. Mazda Motor Corp. (7261), the Japanese automaker with the highest proportion of exports, erased an earlier 3.3 percent drop as the yen weakened against all its major peers.Softbank Corp. (9984) slumped 6.8 percent after Dish Network Corp. outbid the carrier for Sprint Nextel Corp. Kansai Electric (9503) Power Co. slid 5 percent after CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets recommended selling the utility.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent to close at 13,221.44 in Tokyoafter falling as much as 2 percent. The gauge dropped for a third consecutive day, the longest losing streak since Jan. 23, after climbing to an almost five-year high last week. The broader Topix (TPX) Index fell 1.3 percent to 1,119.20, with more than three shares sliding for each that gained, as economic data from China and the U.S. missed estimates.

“All of a sudden, the market has switched to a risk-off mode,” said Hitoshi Asaoka, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co., a unit of Japan’s third-largest bank by market value. “Investors should take a cautious approach to Japanese stocks, but some are probably looking to buy on dips because of expectations about Bank of Japan policy.”

Topix Rally…”

Full article

Comments »

World Markets

Currencies

Commodities

USD Libor

Euribor

Yields for Italy, Spain, France,  and Germany …

 

Comments »

Comments »

“April 15, 2013

If feedback from the real world is suppressed, then decisions will necessarily be bad.

You’ve probably heard this stock market truism: what everyone knows has no value. This has several components:

1. If you’re basing your trading decisions on the same contexts and conclusions as everyone else, it’s difficult to develop much of an edge.

2. Unless it’s completely manipulated, the market generally doesn’t reward “what everyone knows,” i.e. the consensus, for long.

3. “What everyone knows” often includes trends and targets. For example, everyone now knows gold is in a bear market and the next technical target is $1,250 – $1,300. As a result, everyone’s on one side of the boat: those recommending buying gold at $1,480 are few and far between.

Legendary traders like Jesse Livermore viewed the market as a mechanism for taking as much money from the consensus as possible: taking as few traders as possible along on bullish runs higher and punishing as many traders as possible on bearish declines.

This raises two questions:

1. What does everyone not know that might have value?

2. Is there some contrarian value in what everyone knows?

We all know the Federal Reserve is manipulating the stock market. It does so in two ways:

1. Financial repression: lowering the yield on “safe” assets such as Treasury bonds to negative rates (adjusted for inflation, you’re paying the government to park your capital in its bonds), which drives capital into so-called risk assets that offer a yield, for example dividend-paying stocks and rental housing.

2. POMO and bulk purchases of futures contracts on the S&P 500 before the market opens. Studies have found that the majority of gains in the stock market occur on POMO (one of the Fed’s quantitative easing programs) days and on days when large lots of E-Mini futures contracts are purchased, pushing the markets higher at the open.

Everyone knows markets in the U.S. and Japan are levitating higher as money is created and pushed (via currency devaluation and financial repression) into stocks.

What nobody knows is the eventual consequence of all this manipulation. Right now the consensus is “don’t fight the Fed,” meaning stay invested in stocks because they’re going higher.

In less-manipulated markets, we would expect the consensus to eventually be punished, simply because the market rarely rewards the majority for long. But in central-planning manipulated markets, the feedback that is the foundation of open markets has been suppressed.

Feedback is another way of saying information from the real world is allowed to enter a transparent exchange. We know the exchange is no longer transparent, what with dark pools and high-frequency trading machines. We also know signals from the real economy are not the dominant market-moving forces.

What we know, but cannot say out loud lest the charade lose power, is that the Fed is manipulating the stock market higher because it has lost the ability to manipulate the real economy. Our political and financial Elites would prefer to extend their neofeudal dominance by expanding the traditional foundations of debt-based “prosperity”: increasing household income so households can spend more and service more debt.

With household incomes for the bottom 90% in structural decline, they’ve failed, for reasons they either can’t understand or dare not discuss.

Their only control is the lever pushing stocks higher. Publicly, Fed chairman Bernanke has justified goosing the stock market and housing higher as the only available way to trigger the wealth effect, an inner state of consumerist bliss in which the owner of assets sees his assets gain in value. Feeling wealthier, he goes out and buys a bunch of junk he doesn’t need with debt, boosting demand and bank profits.

As for the fact his real income is declining–sorry, Bucko, we can only boost your assets and herd you into risky bets and more debt. The 90% of you with no meaningful exposure to the stock market–well, don’t you feel things are picking up when you see those “Dow hits new high” headlines? Of course you do; that’s the propaganda value of goosing markets higher.

When the causal connection between risk and consequence has been severed, we call it moral hazard. When banks get to keep their gambling profits and taxpayers cover the banks’ losses, this is moral hazard writ large.

In effect, the Fed is extending moral hazard to the entire stock and housing markets. What the Fed is implicitly promising is this: “Go ahead and sink your wealth and income into risky stocks and housing, because we have your back–we’ll never let stocks or housing go down again.”

Do we know if this campaign of extending moral hazard into every market is sustainable over the long term? No. It is an unprecedented experiment, just like the Krugman Cargo Cult Fantasy being played out by the authorities in Japan……”

Full article

Comments »

ANR, APA, ACI, AHL, ABX, CAH, CMG, XRAY, ENTA, FCX, GFI, GS, JPM, LULU, MODN, OPEN, PVR, SKS, SLM, UA, VZ, GRA,

Full report 

Comments »

“Citigroup Reports First Quarter 2013 Earnings Per Share of $1.23; $1.29 Excluding CVA/DVA1

Net Income of $3.8 Billion; $4.0 Billion Excluding CVA/DVA

Revenues of $20.5 Billion; $20.8 Billion Excluding CVA/DVA

Net Interest Margin Increased to 2.94%

Net Credit Losses of $3.0 Billion Declined 25% Versus Prior Year Period

Loan Loss Reserve Release of $652 Million versus $1.2 Billion in Prior Year Period

Utilized $700 Million of Deferred Tax Assets

Basel I Tier 1 Common Ratio of 11.8%, Reflecting New U.S. Market Risk Rules²
Estimated Basel III Tier 1 Common Ratio Increased to 9.3%³

Book Value Per Share Increased to $62.51
Tangible Book Value Per Share⁴ Increased to $52.35

Citigroup Deposits of $934 Billion Grew 3% versus Prior Year Period

Citicorp Loans of $539 Billion Grew 5% versus Prior Year Period

Citi Holdings Assets of $149 Billion Declined 29% from Prior Year Period and Represented 8% of Total Citigroup Assets at Quarter End”

Full report

Comments »

SOURCE 
NYSE

NASDAQ

AMEX

Comments »

In Play ,

On the Wires 

Comments »

“Previously, we have pointed out why Japan’s attempt at reincarnating its economy, geared solely at generating a stock market-based “wealth effect”, and far less focused on boosting the country’s trade surplus or current account, is doomed to failure, namely due the drastically lower equity participation by the general population and financial institutions in the country’s stock market. Sure, foreign investors will come and go renting each rally for a period of time, but unless the local population participates in the “reflation attempt” (which has already sent the price ofluxury goods, energy and food through the rood), or in other words change the behavioral patterns of two generations of Japanese in under two years, the inflationary shock will simply leads to a loss of faith in the government and ultimately Abe’s second untimely demise. Not surprisingly, 4 months after Japan set off on the most ludicrous economic experiment in history, and one week after the BOJ announced its plans to double its balance sheet, Abe’s approval rating has already begun sliding with a poll by Asahi just reporting that popular support of Abe’s cabinet is already down to 60%, down from 71% a month ago.

The reflationary reality has finally started to get official recognition with the very Goldman Sachs (who like in Europe and the US is behind this epic experiment in hidden taxation of consumers) asking how popular inflation would be in Japan, and answers:

How popular will inflation be in Japan?….”

Full article

Comments »