Virus cases jump, economic fallout worsens, and Trump's Fed nominees in Senate hearing. Data revisionA reclassification of how cases of the coronavirus are counted led to a jump of almost 15,000 in China. The total number there is almost 60,000, with the total death toll at 1,367. The two most senior Communist Party officials in the region hardest hit by the outbreak were replaced as authorities try to ease mounting domestic anger. There was also a shakeup in the Chinese agency that oversees Hong Kong with Xia Baolong, a close ally of President Xi Jinping, newly appointed. Costs mountingEvidence of the economic costs of the outbreak in China is mounting. This morning the International Energy Agency forecast the first drop in over a decade in global demand for oil this quarter. The list of companies cutting guidance due to the virus continues to grow, with tiremaker Michelin SCA and drinks giant Pernod Ricard SA among the latest to lower outlooks. The European Commission this morning singled out the crisis as a "key downside risk" to its growth forecast for the year. Tipping the balanceFederal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell finished his testimony to Congress yesterday with a call for more support from fiscal policy in case there is a downturn in the economy. Today, it is the turn of two of President Donald Trump's nominees for the Fed board to face lawmakers. The approval of the selection of Christopher Waller, a long-time Fed economist, seems almost certain, while that of Judy Shelton, who has questioned why the Federal Reserve even needs to exist, is looking like a much closer-run thing. Should both be approved, economists would see it as a shift of the board to a move dovish stance. Markets slipThe high numbers of new cases and deaths announced in China have put pressure on global equities. Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.1% while Japan's Topix index closed 0.3% lower. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was down 0.9% at 5:50 a.m. Eastern Time with all but one industry sector trading lower. S&P 500 futures pointed to a drop at the open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.582% and gold was higher. Coming up...U.S. headline inflation data is expected to show a pickup to 2.4% in January, with core slipping slightly to 2.2% when the numbers are published at 8:30 a.m. Weekly initial jobless claims are also released at that time. As well as the nomination hearings in Washington, Fed watchers will be keeping an eye out for speeches from Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and New York Fed President John Williams later. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Nvidia Corp. and Kraft Heinz Co. are among the companies reporting results. What we've been readingThis is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours. And finally, here's what Sid's interested in this morningWhat if someone told you late last year that Wall Street in February would be forced to abruptly slash their China growth forecasts for the first quarter to around 4% and potentially 5.5% for 2020 overall? Would you have expected market sentiment to hold up this well? Right now, assets sensitive to monetary stimulus, economic growth, trade and credit demand are all roaring. European stocks, especially in Germany, have been rising to new highs this week even as the euro plunges to lowest since 2017 thanks to the region's economic funk. As large chunks of China's economy come to a standstill, developed markets are teeming with animal spirits. Cyclicals are besting defensives, small caps gaining over large caps and high beta over low vol. Aside from the obvious reasons -- Fed, corporate earnings, still-resilient global growth -- Chris Weston of Pepperstone Financial suggests another signal from the bullish action this week. The higher probability of Bernie Sanders taking the Democrat nomination appears to be boosting expectations of a Trump victory. "The market obviously loves the known and the status quo and regardless of the political view, the market loves a Trump re-election," he wrote in a note. So maybe the biggest threat for investors is actually stronger growth that spurs rates, inflation, real yields, duration risk all higher. That could kill total returns across assets given the vanishing premiums for these risks these days.  Like Bloomberg's Five Things? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. | 
♯⊗⋮ 2020 Noticias del Gran Mundo PelÃcula Completa En LÃnea released 2020. story: Cinco años después del fin de la Guerra Civil estadounid...
Post a Comment