Week July 6 2012 – Weekly Recap & The Week Ahead
“It’s a buy when the 10-week moving average crosses the 30-week moving average and the slope of both averages is up” – Victor Sperandeo
1. June ISM manufacturing gauge turns below 50% — Manufacturing activity in the U.S. dropped in June into contraction territory for the first time since July 2009, the Institute for Supply Management reported.
2. EU embargo on Iranian oil takes effect — EU oil sanctions on Iran came into full force July 1st as exemptions on some contracts and tanker insurance – which has been key in enforcing the embargo – expired. The IEA has forecast that the measures will remove around 1M bpd from oil markets.
3. Price-fixing suit would put potash industry on trial — according to FinancialPost, U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that an antitrust suit against potash producers can proceed. Potash Corp. (POT), Agrium (AGU) and Mosaic (MOS) could face total damages of $2B-$6.5B if they lose.
4. ECB cut its benchmark lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a record-low 0.75% — European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said further downside risks to euro-area growth have materialized and indications for the second quarter point to weakened growth. lowered the deposit and marginal lending-facility rates.
5. China Cuts Interest Rates for Second Time This Year — per cnbc, China unexpectedly cut rates for the 2nd time in a month suggesting heightened fears about slowing growth.
6. Rate-Rigging Inquiry Widens — Barclay (BCS) Chairman, CEO and COO quit after the bank was fined $453 mil by the US and UK for rigging Libor, a benchmark rate underpinning $350 tril in global financial products. Investigators globally are probing more than a dozen big banks for rate manipulation.
Barron bearish article on investing in China — click here for more details
The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: