Monthly Archives: November 2009

HOUSING WATCH: CALIFORNIA HOUSING UPDATE

California’s existing single-family home sales increased 6% in October on a seasonally-adjusted basis relative to September. On a year-over- year basis, sales rose 1% to a run-rate of 562,520 units. Sales activity continues to be supported by a large mix … Continue reading

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Risks, Hedges and Opportunities

The cost of money is so low that no matter what view an investor may have, there is enough money around to be right over the short term. Players that are deploying a defensive investment strategy either by buying deflation … Continue reading

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Worries Grow Over Gulf Rift

Gulf markets, which had been closed since Wednesday’s late announcement due to the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, fell sharply on Monday. Asian equity markets rebounded but European markets were more cautious as investors worried about renewed banking sector problems. The … Continue reading

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India GDP Up 7.9% on Year, 13.9% QoQ

Strong performance in manufacturing and services helped India’s growth to shatter growth forecasts in the quarter to the end of September, raising the prospect of an early rise in interest rates. Gross domestic product grew 7.9% from a year earlier … Continue reading

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Euro-Zone Consumer Prices Rise for First Time Since April

(…) The European Union’s statistics agency, Eurostat, said Monday the flash estimate of the consumer price index in the 16 countries that use the euro rose 0.6% on a year-to-year basis in November. In October, the CPI declined 0.1%.(…) "The … Continue reading

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U.K. Consumer Credit Drops, Business Lending Stays Weak

U.K. consumer credit posted its biggest net drop on record in October as consumers paid back more than they borrowed for a fourth consecutive month, Bank of England data showed Monday. U.K. consumer credit dropped by a net £579 million … Continue reading

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BLACK FRIDAY WEEKEND ONLY SO-SO

US consumers maintained their cautious mood over the post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend, with industry analysts on Sunday estimating total sales at the ritual start of the holiday shopping season only slightly up from last year. Roughly 195 million consumers shopped … Continue reading

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NOTABLE US INSIDER TRANSACTIONS

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DUBAI JITTERS

My sense is that will be but a tempest in a bucket of sand. Amid concerns that markets in the Gulf will be hammered when they reopen on Monday – and that pressure will mount on banks with exposure to … Continue reading

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GLOBAL TRADE FLOWS SURGE IN SEPTEMBER

A key concern in recent months has been that the run-up in markets and commodities was speculative in nature. Fortunately, it is accompanied by a strong resumption in global trade flows. According to data just released by the CPB Bureau … Continue reading

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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE IN DISARRAY? MAYBE NOT!

David Rosenberg today reports on a Moody’s release on CRE prices which shows that CRE prices continue to decline. Unfortunately, David does not mention that Moody’s index is appraisal based and thus not an exact reflection of the reality. Below, … Continue reading

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NEWSLETTER WRITERS ARE INCREASINGLY BULLISH

This week’s sentiment survey from Investors Intelligence showed that bullish sentiment among newsletter writers is near its highest levels since the March lows (50.6%), while bearish sentiment is at a five-year low (17.6%).  This puts the spread between bulls and … Continue reading

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