Quote:
‘We don’t do God.’ Alastair Campbell (1957-)
The News:
S&P warns that Mexico’s BBB+ sovereign rating might be cut.
The Numbers:
British Summer Time, with expectations and previous figures in brackets.
00:01 GB April BRC Retail Sales Monitor +4.6% Y/Y, Total Sales +6.3%, versus –1.2% March. Distorted by late Easter.
00:01 GB April RICS House Price Balance –59.9% versus revised –72.1% Mar.
00:30 US Fed’s Bernanke speaks on the stress tests, Georgia. Says the US dollar will be strong.
06:00 JP March Leading Index 76.6, Coincident 84.9, versus revised 74.5 and 85.2 February.
07:00 JP April Machine Tool Orders –80.4% Y/Y versus –85.2% March.
07:00 DE April Wholesale Prices +0.1% M/M, -8.1% Y/Y, versus –0.9% and –8.0% March.
09:30 GB March Trade Balance (-£7.6B to -£6.9B, Non-EU -£4.5B to -£3.9B, versus -£7.3B and -£3.9 February).
09:30 GB March Industrial Production (-1.5% to 0% M/M, -13.4% to -12.1% Y/Y, vs –1.0% and –12.5% February).
09:30 GB March Manufacturing Production (-1.4% to 0% M/M, -14.5% to –13.2% Y/Y, vs –0.9% and –13.8% Feb).
09:30 GB March DCLG House Prices (-15.2% to –12.5% Y/Y versus –12.3% February).
13:30 US March Trade Balance (-$32.5B to -$19B versus -$26B February).
13:30 CA March Trade Balance (-C$1.0B to +C$1.0B versus +C$0.1B February).
16:00 DE ECB’s Weber speaks on the financial crisis, Munich.
19:00 US April Monthly Budget Statement (-$70B to +$80B versus +$159B March).
00:01 GB April NIESR GDP.
00:50 JP March Trade Balance (Mizuho Securities Y140B, Current Account Y750B, vs 202B and 1116B Feb).
The Psychology:
US Pentagon dismisses top Army General in Afghanistan in charge of 80,000 troops.
The Risk:
Re-thinking attitudes to ‘risk’.
Today’s most interesting chart: US 5-year TNote yield
Undoing excesses of last 2 days.
