Here's my summary of the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am, including news that US oil prices have fallen below US$90 per barrel and US imports of crude have fallen to their lowest levels since February 1992, more than 20 years ago.
That has pushed the US into second place behind China as the world's largest oil importer. What is remarkable is how fast the shift is happening. China is not importing more, it is the US that is importing a lot less as local production ramps up quickly. US oil production surged last year by more than 800,000 barrels/day, the largest annual increase since the start of the petroleum era in the country more than 150 years ago.
International prices haven't yet reacted, but the US is starting to export a lot more of its production to capture the higher international price.
US federal budget cuts are widely expected to have a dampening impact on the US economy, but new credit data out suggests it could be less than feared. Americans are finding it easier to borrow from banks, supporting consumer spending and business investment and helping fuel employment just as those budget cuts start to take hold. To a large extent, the Fed's stimulus program is doing what the politicians don't seem able to do - grow employment.
More than that, observers are seeing that there is actually no competitive 'currency war', and even Brazil is giving up on its 'devaluation' complaint.
In China, the State Council said they will enforce a capital gains tax of 20% on profits from home sales, among other measures, to curb exuberance in the housing market. Property stocks plummeted.
In Australia, it is becoming clear that the mining boom has not yet run its course. Miners are planning to spend more than A$100 billion in new projects, plus an equivalent amount in offshore projects according to some new bank research.
We will be covering the announcements this morning for the Mighty River Power minority float, and we will get the first look at Auckland house sales in February when Barfoots make their data public.
The kiwi dollar starts today essentially unchanged at 82.2 USc - although that is its lowest level in 2013 - 81.0 AUc, and the TWI is at 75.7.
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19 Comments
Its 9 months old but still a good one
http://wallstreetexaminer.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1041554
The Conomy Game- The Legend of Bennie The Beard, Henry the Hitman, and the Gangbankster Dealers
Dow Jones Index closes the day's trading at 14 128 points , a mere 37 points shy of the all time high close of 14 165 set on October 9'th , 2007 ......
....... " double dip recession " , Bernard ? .......... ah ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaaa ....... brother , did you call it wrong ...... stick to guessing house prices !
The banks have been handed billions upon billions by the Fed and it had to go somewhere.
Now if we had a booming economy to go with it, I'd agree with you.
Consider unemployment alone in 2007 and now in 2013...
http://ycharts.com/indicators/unemployment_rate
4.6% in 2007 7.9% today...just where was the recovery?
therefore really is a dead cat bounce funded with free money...
oh an dyouth un-employment is,
The unemployment rates for adult men and women remained at 7.3%, while the rates for teenagers, at 23.4% and black people, 13.8%,
So just how can the younger ppl afford to buy our houses off us or our shares? Where do our pension plans go when they need to sell their shares to find the pension claims?
regards
"Traders at investment bank UBS attempted to manipulate Australia’s key financial market benchmark, the bank bill swap rate, according to the bank’s own investigation.
An administrative proceeding from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission against UBS and its Japanese subsidiary, agreed to by the bank in December, reveals that UBS traders gamed not just the global Libor rate but other benchmarks, including Australia’s."
http://www.afr.com/p/business/companies/ubs_traders_tried_to_game_austr…
A country that uses 18 mbpd, peaked at 9 mbpd in 1970, currently producing 7 mbpd, increasingly from 'tight oil'.
Still means they're importing 11 mbpd.
It's a fudge - or bad reporting - not to explain the difference between exporting categories of refined/processed product, versus being a net importer.
http://earlywarn.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/update-on-us-oil-rig-count.html#more
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