Oxford, MS 9/7/2011 (PennyPayDay) – *Stocks were broadly higher in Asian trade. Australia was among the best with a gain of 2.6%, the Nikkei added two percent, Shanghai was up 1.8% and the Hang Seng rose 1.7%. European indexes are also strong this morning, with the Dax currently up by two and three quarters percent and the Footsie better by 1.8%. US stock futures are higher by about one percent as I write.*The Q2 reading of Australia’s GDP is +1.2% on a quarterly basis, a couple of tenth better than forecast; the previous quarter was revised up to -0.9% from -1.2%.
*The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady; the key rate remains at +0.10% and the size of the asset purchase and credit loan programs are also unchanged. BoJ says that they are closely monitoring developments overseas and the effect of the strong yen on the economy.
*The German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe rejected the lawsuit challenging German participation in the 2010 Greek bailout. The court added however that this ruling should not be taken as a “blanket” approval for any German participation in any rescue package and the government must seek approval from the parliament for guarantees it takes on under the EFSF.
*There has been no date set yet for the troika to return to Athens to continue the prep work for a debt rescue. In part because of the troubled negotiations the Greek 10 Year yield briefly rose above 20%, for the first time ever, earlier today.
*The July reading of German Industrial Production was much better than expected, up 4.0% on a monthly basis, well above the +0.5% estimate.
*The July reading of UK Industrial Production was -0.2% on a month on month basis, but had been expected to increase 0.2% on the month.
*US mortgage applications were down 4.9% in the week ended September 2, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The purchase component was up 0.2% on the week, but the refi component was down 6.3%.
*The weekly report on chain store sales from ICSC showed a drop of 0.7% on a week on week basis for the week ended September 3; sales are said to be +2.7% when compared to the corresponding week from a year ago, the smallest gain in more than two months. The Johnson Redbook report on the same thing is due out at 7:55am CDT.
*There are a couple of Fed speakers on the calendar today, including: Chicago Fed boss Evans will talk about the economy and monetary policy in London at 10:15am CDT and San Francisco Fed’s Williams will give a speech in Seattle at 3:00pm CDT.
*The Fed Beige Book is set to be released at 1:00pm CDT.
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