Quote:
‘My father had a fierce work ethic. At one point, when I was nine or ten years old and the family was barely scraping by, Dad decided he’d cut our hair himself. He did such a bad job that he left bare patches on our scalps, then he filled in the bald spots with pencil and said no one would notice.’ Hank Paulson (1946-)
The News:
Australian January mortgage lending –7.9% on higher rates and end of government grants, biggest decline in almost 8 years, surprising everyone.
The Numbers:
Greenwich Mean Time, with expectations and previous figures in brackets.
23:50 JP January Machine Orders –3.7% M/M, -1.1% Y/Y, versus +20.1% and –1.5% December.
23:50 JP February Domestic CGPI +0.1% M/M, -1.5% Y/Y, versus +0.3% and –2.1% January.
07:00 DE January Trade Balance +€8.0B, Current Account +€3.6B, versus +€13.5B and +€20.6B December.
09:30 GB January Industrial Production (-0.7% to +0.8% M/M, -1.7% to –0.2% Y/Y, vs +0.5% and –3.6% December).
09:30 GB January Manufacturing Production (-1.1% to +0.5% M/M, +0.1% to +1.7% Y/Y, vs +0.9% and –1.9% Dec).
15:00 US January Wholesale Inventories (-0.5% to +0.9% versus –0.8% December).
18:00 DE ECB’s Trichet inaugurates exhibition on money, Frankfurt.
19:00 US February Monthly Budget Statement (-$225B to -$180B versus -$42.6B January).
19:00 US Treasury Secretary Geithner testifies at House Appropriations Committee on the Budget.
23:50 JP Q4 final GDP (Mizuho Securities +0.9% Q/Q, +3.7% Y/Y, versus +1.1% and +4.6%).
The Psychology:
Greek President urges G20 to look into role of speculators at next meeting.
The Risk:
Portuguese Treasury auctions €750M 3.85% 2021 bond.
Today’s most interesting chart: CME Live Cattle
Highest since November 2008.
