Quote:

‘The boom is getting boomier.’ Bertie Ahern (1951-)


The News:

Fed’s Fisher: ‘few imagined in out wildest dreams our global economy could turn so rotten so quickly’.


The Numbers:

Greenwich Mean Time, with expectations and previous figures in brackets.

(23:50) JP January Corporate Service Price –2.2% versus –2.5% December.

(23:50) JP Bank of Japan Minutes MPC meeting. 03:45 auction result 20-year JGB: bid/cover, 3.12 stop 1.896%.

From today DE January Wholesale Price Index (-2.1% to –0.5% M/M, -6.6% to –5.1% Y/Y, vs –3.0% and –3.3% Dec).

From today GB February Nationwide House Prices (-1.5% to –0.9% M/M, -17.1% to –16.5% Y/Y, vs –1.3%/–16.6%).

08:00 DE February IFO Business Climate (81.7 to 85.0, Current 81.2 to 86, Expectations 79 to 85, vs 83.0/86.8/79.4).

09:00 EZ15 December Current Account (-€6B to -€3.5B nsa versus -€13.9B November).

09:30 GB Q4 Total Business Investment (-5.0% to –2.0% Q/Q, -7.2% to –4.3% Y/Y, versus –1.3% and –0.1% Q3).

09:30 GB January BBA Mortgages (versus 22,051 December). 09:40 Bank of England’s Sentence speaks, London.

10:00 EZ 15 December Industrial New Orders (-6.0% to –0.5% M/M, -27.9% to –17.0% Y/Y, vs –4.5% and –26.2%).

11:00 GB Q1 CBI Quarterly Distributive Trades Survey (-60 to –46 versus –47 Q4). 10:30 auction result 2037 Gilt.

14:00 US December CaseShiller House Prices (-19.0% to –17.4% Y/Y versus –18.18% November).

15:00 US February Consumer Confidence (31.0 to 38.0 versus 37.7 January).

15:00 US December House Price Index (-2.1% to –1.4% versus –1.8% November).

15:00 US Q4 House Purchase Index (-3.8% to –1.9% Q/Q versus –1.8% Q3). 18:00 auction result 2-year TNotes.

15:00 US Fed’s Bernanke testifies at semi-annual meeting before Senate Banking Committee, Washington.


The Psychology:

Shrove Tuesday today and Japanese Prime Minister Aso meets Mr. Obama in Washington.


The Risk:

Much noise and pointless flapping as equity indices slide.


Today’s most interesting chart: Dow Jones Industrial Average

One of several indices dropping to multi-year lows, lowest since May 1997, as AIG prepares for record Q4 loss of $60B.