General News:
– Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) rose in line with expectations at 0.1% with core up 0.1% as well
– Employment Cost Index (ECI) data shows government compensation up 1.1% and trending stronger than the private sector. Wages and salaries are tame and show signs of mean reversion. Financial activity was hard hit.
– Headlines are saying that TXU buyers are considering a pull out and could pay $1 billion in break up fees.
– In an SEC filing, PIMCO’s Bill Gross is said to have bought 100,000 shares of a corporate bond fund on July 25th.
– The Chinese government may increase its shareholding in GB Group after already purchasing 15.5 million shares between June 15th and July 13th.
– International Council of Shopping Centers report that sales rose 1.1% week over week as a result of back to school sales, marking the strongest increase since February.
Asia/Europe:
Asia:
– Japanese housing starts rose 6.0% when -3.5% was expected.
– Japanese small business confidence was unchanged and construction orders rose 26.4%.
– The Japanese jobless rate fell 0.1% to 3.7%.
– India raised its bank reserve requirements by 50 basis points. Lenders must put aside 7% of deposits as of August 4th.
– HK retail sales rose 14.3% in June. 10% was expected.
Europe:
– German retail sales rose 0.7%, 1.2% was expected.
– French consumer confidence fell.
– German unemployment fell 45,000, more than expected.
– Italy’s PPI rose 2.8% year over year, 3% was expected.
Corporate News:
– Shares in GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) rose and the drugmaker confirmed its 2007 earnings outlook after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel recommended that its diabetes drug Avandia remain on the market, but with stronger health warnings.
– Cosan Ltd., a producer of sugar and ethanol, said it plans an initial public offering of 100 million shares, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission
– Power provider Entergy Corp. (ETR) said its second-quarter profit slipped 5% and missed Wall Street expectations due to cooler weather and higher operational and maintenance costs.
– American Electric Power (AEP) said its second-quarter profit rose slightly from a year ago, buoyed by price hikes, new contracts, more favorable weather and fewer unplanned outages.
– Bemis Inc. (BMS), one of the country’s largest food packaging suppliers, said Tuesday its second-quarter profit rose a paltry 1.2% as sales volume declined because Americans seemed to be buying less pre-packaged meals due to rising grocery prices.