*Stocks were generally higher in Asian trade. The Hang Seng added one percent, the Nikkei was up a half percent and Shanghai and Australia rose a small fraction. European indexes are strong across the board, with the Dax up about 1.8% and the Footsie higher by almost 1.5%. US stock futures are up about one percent..
*The Q3 reading of Australia’s GDP was below the forecast, +0.2% on a quarter on quarter basis which was half the expected gain and +2.7% year on year. Slower than expected exports were a drag on the growth figures.
*The November reading of China’s manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers Index was up a half point from the month before to 55.2, beating the estimate for a gain of one tenth; it is the best result since April.
*There is a lot of chatter that ECB boss Trichet is going to significantly expand its government bond purchases, up to EU2.0 trillion? European debt spreads to Germany have tightened in response to the talk and the euro is higher against a broad range of currencies.
*The October reading of German Retail Sales is +2.3% on a month on month basis, almost double the expected gain.
*The final November reading of Germany’s manufacturing sector PMI was revised down eight tenths to 58.1, it had been expected to be unchanged from the previous report; it was 56.6 in October.
*The November reading of Switzerland’s manufacturing sector PMI was, at 61.8, much better than forecast, it was up about two and a half points from the month before.
*UK house prices fell 0.3% on a month on month basis in November, according to Nationwide; the annualized change was +0.4%. Both result were within a tenth of the forecasts.
*The November reading of the UK’s manufacturing sector PMI jumped to 58.0 from a revised higher 55.4 in October, a slight decline had been the expectation.
*US mortgage applications fell 16.5% in the week ended November 26, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for purchase were up 1.1%, but those for Refi fell 21.6%.
*The Challenger Group says that in November there were 48,711 job cut announcements; that is up 10k from the month before but down 3.3% from last November. The number of job cut announcements is the highest since March.
*ADP is scheduled to release at 7:15am CST their estimate for the net change in November of private sector payrolls, it is expected to be a gain of 70k. The final Q3 reading of Non-farm Productivity is due out at 7:30am CST, it is forecast to be revised fractionally to +2.3%, but the Unit Labor Costs estimate is for one tenth lower at -0.2%. The November reading of the ISM Manufacturing Index is due out at 9:00am CST, it is forecast to fall to 56.5, it was 56.9 in October; the Prices Paid component is expected to be steady on the month at 71.0. Also due out at 9:00am is the October reading of Construction Spending, the estimate is -0.3%.
*The automakers are set to release their November sales results today; the annualized total vehicle sales rate is expected to be 12.10 million units, down a bit from the October sales rate of 12.25 million units.
*The weekly report on energy inventories is due out at 9:30am CST. Stocks of Crude Oil are forecast to fall 784k barrels, Gasoline inventories are expected to rise 182k and the estimate for Distillates is -1.05 million.
*The Fed is scheduled to buy Treasuries today that are due to mature between 6/30/16 and 11/30/17; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CST.
*Three Fed speakers are on the calendar today: Vice chair Yellen will talk about fiscal responsibility in New York City at 8:10am CST; Governor Tarullo will testify on mortgage refinancing before the Senate Banking Committee at 8:30am CST; and Dallas Fed boss Fisher will speak about the Fed and the US economy in Texas at noon CST.
*The Dodd-Frank Act requires the Fed to publish on its website, no later than today 12/1/10, all loans and other financial assistance that they intiated through the extraordinary measures that they created in between 12/1/07 and 7/21/10. The website announcement may be released at 11:00am CST, but I have not seen an official statement on the timing. The Fed must provide the identity of the recipients, the type and term of the assistance and the rationale for the facilities and programs.
*The Fed Beige Book is due to be released at 1:00pm CST.
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