NY Fed Manufacturing Growth Picks Up In July

“NEW YORK (Reuters) – A gauge of manufacturing in New York state perked up in July after a sharp drop off the month before, but new orders shrank, the New York Federal Reserve said in a report on Monday.

The New York Fed’s “Empire State” general business conditions index rose to 7.39 from 2.29 in June, topping economists’ expectations for 4.00.

Forward-looking new orders contracted to minus 2.69, the lowest level since September 2011, from 2.18. Employment gauges were mixed, with the index for the number of employees rising to 18.52 from 12.37 and the average employee workweek index falling to zero from 3.09.”

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“Republican governors, eager for new revenue to ease budget strains, are dropping their longtime opposition to imposing sales taxes on online purchases, a significant political shift that could soon bring an end to tax-free sales on the Internet.”

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“The European Central Bank, in a sharp turnaround, advocated imposing losses on holders of senior bonds issued by the most severely damaged Spanish savings banks—though finance ministers have for now rejected the approach, according to people familiar with discussions.

The ECB’s new position was made clear by its president, Mario Draghi, at a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers discussing a rescue for Spain’s struggling local lenders in Brussels the evening of July 9.

It marks a contrast from the position the central bank adopted during the 2010 bailout of Irish banks—which, like Spain’s, were victims of a property meltdown—when it prevailed in its insistence that senior bondholders in bailed-out banks shouldn’t suffer losses.”

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Excluding auto: Prior -0.4%, Market Expects 0.1%, Actual -0.4%

Gapping up 

HGSI +3.5%, V +3.0%, C +2.4%, PRX +14.8%, DSS +5.4%,  V +3%, MA +2.9%

BAC +2.1% , MHP +0.3%,  LVS +0.5%, VOD +0.7%,

Gapping down

BCS -3.9%, NOK -2.2%, TTM -2.0%, DB -1.2%, SAP -1.2%, CS -1.1%, TOT -1.0%, RIO -1.0%

APC, BUD, ACN, BKW, CTSH, DF, EPR, GE, GGP, MMM, PSX, QCOM, O, SNDK, SNH, SPG, SVU, SKT,

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In Play ,

On the Wires

A trend has developed that has led BI and others saying that we are in the opposite of a sovereign debt crisis. The question is how long will it last ?

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Global markets have been flip flopping around the unchanged line throughout their trading session. Europe have just t turned negative with Spain leading the charge.

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“(Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline is expected to announce a deal to buy Human Genome Sciences for about $2.8 billion as soon as Monday, ending a three-month hostile pursuit of the U.S. biotech company on friendly terms after sweetening its offer.”

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$NOK has cut the price of their smartphone in half in order to stem losses elsewhere.

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“SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft is pulling out of the joint venture that owned MSNBC.com, freeing the world’s largest software maker to build its own online news service.

The breakup announced late Sunday dissolves the final shreds of a 16-year marriage between Microsoft Corp. and NBC News, which is now owned by Comcast Corp. The relationship began to unwind in 2005 when Microsoft sold its stake in MSNBC’s cable TV channel to NBC.”

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Barton Biggs is reported dead. He was one of the first hedge fund managers and worked with $MS for the majority of his career.

It had been reported he had benn ill for some time.

Developing….

RIP

“(Reuters) – Consumers have caught a break from the slowing economy as gasoline prices extended their steep three-month decline, but the cost of filling the tank may soon head back up, a widely followed survey said on Sunday.

The Lundberg Survey said the national average price of self-serve, regular gas was $3.41 on July 13, down from $3.478 on June 22, and from $3.615 a year ago.

That decline was the sixth straight in the survey of 2,500 gas stations, which comes out every other or every third week.

Gasoline prices have fallen 14 percent from a recent peak of $3.967 a gallon set on April 6. The record high is $4.112 set on July 11, 2008.”

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“BANGKOK (AP) — Oil fell slightly in Asia on Monday as the Chinese premier’s downbeat comments on the economy underlined the possibility of weak demand from the world’s second biggest crude consumer.

Benchmark oil for August delivery was down 41 cents at $86.69 a barrel at midafternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.02 to finish at $87.10 per barrel in New York on Friday. Brent crude was up 6 cents at $101.48 on the ICE futures exchange.”

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“Billionaire Wilbur Ross, who built a company from distressed U.S. coal assets and sold it last year for $3.4 billion, says the industry’s current slump differs from earlier setbacks and may last for years because of the shale-gas boom.

A combination of cheaper natural gas, environmental regulations and a mild winter has spurred the closure of mines and the loss of thousands of mining jobs in the U.S. Domestic demand is at a 24-year low and the fuel has lost its status as the leading source of electricity, with gas accounting for the same share for the first time in at least four decades.”

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A new study is touting “hard headed socialism” as   Environics Analytics WealthScapes published in the Globe and Mail, that the net worth of the average Canadian household in 2011 was $363,202, while the average American household’s net worth was $319,970.

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“Short sales on the New York Stock Exchange have climbed above last September’s peak, a level that preceded a five-month rally and heralded losses for bears.

Shares borrowed and sold reached 5.35 percent of stock available for trading last month, according to data compiled by NYSE Euronext. (NYX) That eclipses 5.28 percent on Sept. 15, when bearish bets peaked last year and the 25 most-shorted companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) began a 21 percent advance, data compiled by Bloomberg show.”

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The Euro remained under 1.22 as Merkel says Germany will not soften their views on how to manage contagion. Merkel stated that more central control is needed in order to move forward with a bailout to stem contagion.

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