Week April 1 2011 – Weekly Recap & The Week Ahead
“Don’t confuse brains with a bull market” — Humphrey B. Neill (Investor)
1. Toyota restarts some Japan production — Toyota (TM) has resumed production at plants in Japan for the first time since the earthquake and tsunami brought manufacturing in the country to a complete halt. The carmaker began output at two factories that make three hybrid models and will gradually expand domestic production as its supply of parts recovers.
2. Japan mulls special tax for quake relief — The Japanese government is considering a special tax to help finance relief and recovery efforts in earthquake- and tsunami-hit Japan, according to a published report last Thursday.
3. G-8 to discuss nuclear safety — The Group of Eight industrialized countries will discuss nuclear safety and global safety standards for the industry at its next meeting in May.
4. Fed names banks that took emergency loans — the Fed identified the banks that utilized its discount window during the height of the financial crisis, with U.S. Bancorp (USB), Wachovia (now part of WFC), Morgan Stanley (MS) and several European banks among the largest users. U.S. Bancorp borrowed $3.35B on Sept. 10, 2008, Wachovia borrowed $29B on Oct. 6, Morgan Stanley borrowed over $3B on Oct. 9, and Washington Mutual took out a $2B loan on the day before it collapsed and another $2B the next day. On October 29, when lending peaked at $111B, Belgium’s Dexia took $26.5B and Germany’s Depfa $24.6B. Arab Banking Corp., which was then 29% part-owned by Libya, took 73 loans in an 18-month period, borrowing an aggregate of $35B.
5. Ireland to give banks another €24B — Ireland will pump another €24B ($34B) into its crippled banking sector as it again attempts to bring its three-year financial crisis to an end. The cash will come from Ireland’s emergency EU-IMF credit line and adds to €46.3B that the state has already pumped in. The government, which now controls almost the entire industry, intends to consolidate its holdings into two “pillar banks” based on market leaders Bank of Ireland (IRE) and Allied Irish Banks (AIB).
6. China’s factory-activity gains slow — HSBC’s privately compiled purchasing managers index rose to 51.8, falling below the long-run series average of 52.3, but up from February’s 51.7. Meanwhile, the government’s official PMI by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing rose to 53.4 in March, up from a reading of 52.2 in the previous month. However, this result was below a 54 forecast, according to a Reuters survey.
7. Plunge in 10 ETFs triggers “flash crash” memories — Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said it canceled trades in 10 new ETFs sponsored by Scottrade affiliate FocusShares, some of which briefly plummeted as much as 98 percent.
8. 2011 Q1 Performance — courtesy from the Bespoke Invest Group, below is the chart that shows key ETFs performance in Q1.
The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:
