Stocks were generally lower in Asian trade. The Nikkei fell a half percent, the Hang Seng lost more than a third of a percent and Shanghai was down a quarter percent. Australia was an exception with a gain of 0.6%. European indexes are currently mixed, with the Footsie up a slight fraction and the Dax essentially unchanged. US stock futures are up a slight fraction.*The February reading of Japan’s Machine Orders was down 2.3% on the month, a decline that was more than twice the predicted drop.
*The US government is open after a last minute deal on the budget was struck Friday night. Now we can start worrying about their ability to come to an agreement on the debt ceiling and the next budget.
*New York Fed boss Dudley is speaking in Tokyo. He says the economy is in better shape than it was last summer, but has lost some momentum in the last couple of months, which he attributes to rising oil prices. But he says it is important not to overreact to the increase in headline inflation, calling that a policy mistake. The big focus for the Fed, he says, is inflation expectations; he also mentioned wages, calling them benign.
*Chicago Fed boss Evans is scheduled to talk at a conference on risk at 9:00am CDT and Vice Chairperson Yellen will speak on “Commodity Prices, the Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy” at 11:15am CDT.
*The Fed is scheduled to buy Treasuries today that are due to mature between 10/31/16 and 3/31/18; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CDT.
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