3 Things To Know Before Trading

Oxford, MS. 3/2/2011 (PennyPayDay). Stocks were generally weaker in Asian trade. The Nikkei was among the worst with a decline of almost two and a half percent, the Hang Seng fell one and a half percent, Australia was down about a half percent and Shanghai was off by a slight fraction. European indexes are also broadly lower on the session; the Dax and Footsie are both lower by about a half percent. However, US stock futures are up a fraction.

*The Q4 reading of Australia’s GDP is +0.7% quarter on quarter basis and +2.7% year on year, both results were on or near the estimates.

*Libya continues to deteriorate, and seemingly move toward civil war.

*US mortgage applications were down 6.5% in the week ended February 25, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association; both categories, Purchase and Refi, fell about the same amount.

*The Challenger Group says there were 50,702 job cut announcements in February, up 12k from the month before and up twenty percent from a year ago.

*ADP is scheduled to release their estimate of the net change in private sector non-farm payrolls at 7:15am CST, it is expected to be +180k.

*Fed boss Bernanke is back on the Hill today; he is slated to begin his semiannual testimony before the House Financial Services Committee at 9:00am CST. There is also some other Fed speak on the calendar today: KC Fed’s Hoenig will speak at 7:00am CST before the Council on Foreign Relations in NYC; Atlanta Fed boss Lockhart will give his economic outlook at 1:15pm CST; and Bernanke will talk about “Challenges for State and Local Governments” at the annual dinner of the Citizens Budget Commission in NYC at 7:00pm CST.

*The weekly report on energy inventories is due out at 9:30am CST. Stocks of Crude Oil are forecast to increase 750k barrels, Gasoline inventories are expected to fall 350k and the estimate for Distillates is -1.5 million.

*The Fed is scheduled to buy Treasuries today that are due to mature between 3/31/15 and 8/31/16; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CST.

*The Fed’s Beige Book is due out at 1:00am CST.

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