Stocks were mixed in Asian trade, but most of the key indexes closed higher. The Hang Seng rose more than one percent, Shanghai was up 0.85% and the Nikkei added more than a half percent, but Australia was essentially unchanged on the day. European indexes are broadly higher, with the Footsie up more than a half percent and the Dax up a slight fraction. US stock futures are up a quarter to a third percent.*The December reading of Japan’s Tertiary Industry Index is -0.8%, down a couple of tenths more than expected.
*The December reading of the UK Unemployment Rate was steady at 7.9%, as forecast. Also, the January reading of the net change in Jobless Claims was +2.4k, but was expected to fall by 3k.
*The Bank of England says that inflation risks are “skewed to the upside” , according to their Quarterly Inflation Report, but they also think that consumer prices will ease in the medium term, with the timing and extent of that moderation seen as “uncertain”. There is also uncertainty on the rate setting panel, the report noted a “wider range of views than usual” on the MPC.
*Jens Weidmann has been nominated as Bundesbank President to replace the outgoing Axel Weber. Weidmann is currently the chief economic adviser to Chancellor Merkel and, at 42, will be the youngest president of the Buba in its 53 year history.
*US mortgage applications were down 9.5% in the week ended February 11, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Both key components were lower; Purchases -5.9% and Refinancing -11.4%.
*The January reading of the Producer Price Index is due out at 7:30am CST. Headline PPI is expected to be up 0.8% on a month on month basis and the estimate for the Core PPI is +0.2%. Also due out at 7:30am is the January reading of Housing Starts, which are expected to be up 2.1% from the month before for an annualized rate of 540k units; Building Permits are forecast to be down 10.7% on the month for an annualized rate of 560k units. The January readings of Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization are due out at 8:15am CST. Production is expected to increase 0.5% on the month and the estimate for Cap Ut is 76.3%, or up three tenths from the month before.
*The weekly report on energy inventories is due out at 9:30am CST. Stocks of Crude Oil are forecast to increase 2.0 million barrels, Gasoline inventories are expected to grow 1.85 million and the estimate for Distillates is -400k.
*The Fed is scheduled to buy Treasuries today that are due to mature between 5/15/21 and 11/15/27; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CST.
*The minutes from the January 25/26 FOMC meeting are due to be released at 1:00pm CST.
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