“Never bet that things that aren’t happening will start happening. Bet instead that things that are already happening will keep happening” — Jesse Livermore

1. Shinzo Abe’s LDP wins big in election — the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a big majority in an election for the country’s upper house, giving the LDP control of both chambers of parliament. The victory in the vote for parliament’s upper house gives Abe a stronger mandate for his prescription for reviving the stagnant economy.
2. U.S. Weighs Inquiry Into Big Banks’ Storage of Commodities — NYTimes, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has taken the first step in an examination of warehouse operations that are controlled by Goldman Sachs (GS), Glencore Xstrata, the Noble Group and major banks such as JPMorgan (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) used to store vast amounts of aluminum. Legislators are expected to explore whether banks should be allowed to continue to store metal, transport oil and operate mines, and possibly how prices have been affected by the companies’ activities.
3. Eurozone stabilises as PMI hits one-and-a-half year high — Manufacturers reported the largest monthly increase in output since June 2011, registering an expansion for the first time since February of last year. “The best (composite) PMI reading for 1 1/2 years provides encouraging evidence to suggest that the euro area could – at long last – pull out of its recession in the third quarter,” says Markit.
4. Japanese export growth slows — Japanese exports increased for a fourth consecutive month in June, rising 7.4% on year, although that marked a slowdown from +10.1% in May, while the reading also missed consensus of +10.3%. Imports grew 11.8% and the trade deficit widened to ¥180.8B ($1.81B) from ¥996.4B. Exports to the U.S., China and even the EU increased.
5. Earnings Beat Rate for 2Q 2013 — courtesy of BIG, the earnings beat rate for the second quarter of 2013 has actually increased to 65.2%. Below is a look at the earnings beat rate by sector.

6. China boosts railway budget to keep growth on track — Bloomberg, China increased its 2010-2015 budget for railway spending by 500B yuan (81.48B) to 3.3T yuan as the government looks to accelerate construction as part of a bid to prevent GDP growth from slowing too much. The State Council also approved tax breaks for small companies and reduced fees for exporters to boost growth.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: