Asian stocks outside Japan rose, with the Kospi up 1.4% and the Hang Seng 0.2% higher. The MSCI Asia Pacific was little changed as Japan's markets were slightly softer. (Bloomberg)
Today: Bernanke testifies before the House Financial Services committee. (Financial Times)(Wall Street Journal)
Also: US housing data, building permits. Bank of Canada rates decision.
The EU is proposing to cap card transaction fees. A draft plan seen by the FT would introduce a ceiling for charges on all consumer debit and credit card transactions, and would require payment card schemes and the entities that process transactions to be legally separated – a forced split that would remake the business model for the main payment groups. (Financial Times)
Chinese premier Li Keqiang said he would keep economic growth, employment and inflation within limits, avoiding "wide fluctuations", in his first comments since the GDP release on Monday. According to an official summary of a speech made yesterday, Li talked of "scientific macroeconomic policy framework" to offer markets "stable predictability". Bloomberg says the comments "signal he won't let expansion slow too much, without indicating any immediate plans for stimulus". (Bloomberg)
Yahoo's sales fell 7% to $1.2bn in Q2 and the company cut its full-year revenue guidance, as acquisitions and product overhauls failed to boost revenue. The company's 2013 sales guidance was $4.45bn to $4.55bn, down from $4.5bn to $4.6bn previously, and guidance for Q3 revenue $1.06bn to $1.1bn was slightly below analysts' forecasts. (Financial Times)(Reuters)
BHP's iron ore production beats expectations. Output from its most profitable Western Australian mines was 19% higher in the June quarter on a sequential basis, and full-year output was up 7% to June 30, exceeding company guidance. Quarterly copper output rose 8.5%, also beating forecasts, however petroleum output for the year rose 6%, slightly missing full-year targets. (Financial Times)
Singapore's exports fell further in June: Exports were 8.8% lower than a year earlier, the fifth month of consecutive falls. (Bloomberg)
The Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF will probably never hit the market because it's too difficult for authorised participants and market-makers to profit from discrepancies between the fund and the underlying asset, say industry insiders. The fund has yet to attract authorised participants, according to a source familiar with the proposed ETF. (Financial Times)
FT ALPHAVILLE
- The Great UST sell-off, Carib account edition.
- A mere 141bn. And 22%.
- Reuters, UMich and the 'public interest.
COMMENT AND CURIOS:
- GlaxoSmithKline, and China's dysfunctional healthcare system. (Financial Times)
- John Kay: Mark-to-market and the contradiction at the heart of the efficient markets hypothesis. (Financial Times)
- Bond kings line up for self-criticism or defensiveness over UST carnage. Mostly, defensiveness. (Reuters)
- Bank results suggest bond markets are just fine, thankyouverymuch. (NYT Dealbook)
- China may become the world's top wheat importer as domestic crop suffers frost, rain. (Reuters)
- Never mind the BusinessWeek covers: The macro hedge fund manager is back. (Financial Times)
- The Alabama coal billionaire and the Colombian murder lawsuit. (Bloomberg)
- Chinese 'shadow banker' executed without seeing family. (Bloomberg)
OVERNIGHT MARKETS: MIXED
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 down -40.81 (-0.28%) at 14,558
Topix up +0.46 (+0.04%) at 1,211
Hang Seng up +43.52 (+0.20%) at 21,356
US markets
S&P 500 down -6.24 (-0.37%) at 1,676
DJIA down -32.41 (-0.21%) at 15,452
Nasdaq down -8.99 (-0.25%) at 3,599
European markets
Eurofirst 300 down -8.77 (-0.73%) at 1,191
FTSE100 down -29.76 (-0.45%) at 6,556
CAC 40 down -27.55 (-0.71%) at 3,851
Dax down -33.76 (-0.41%) at 8,201
Currencies
€/$ 1.31 (1.32)
$/¥ 99.30 (99.09)
£/$ 1.51 (1.52)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.13 at 108.01
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.29 at 105.71
100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,291
Copper (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 3.20
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.54%
UK 2.26%
Germany 1.55%
CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe -0.43bps at 100.2bp
Markit iTraxx Europe +1.64bps at 113.57bp
Markit iTraxx Xover +9.58bps at 455.56bp
Markit CDX IG +1.12bps at 86.56bp
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
