I’ll post the daily Market Report and Market Analysis after the close. Here’s some news…
RETAIL SALES WEAK (Reuters)
“U.S. retail sales unexpectedly stalled
in July, pointing to some loss of momentum in the economy early in the third
quarter. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday retail sales, which had increased
0.2 percent in June, were in part held back by a second straight month of
declines in receipts at auto dealers…"Given the strong gains in labor
market activity, along with other indications of strengthening domestic growth
momentum, we expect this slowdown to be short-lived and we look for consumer
spending to rebound strongly in the coming months," said Millan Mulraine,
deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York.” Story at…http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/13/us-economy-retail-idUSKBN0GD14320140813
This is an “advance” number and is subject to revision. Here’s what Doug short had to say: “A preliminary estimate of real sales, based on an extrapolation for the seasonally adjusted CPI, is a month-over-month decline of 0.2%, which would put the YoY growth to an exceptionally weak 1.6%. Bottom Line: The Advance Retail Sales for July, both headline and core, were much weaker than expected. However, the Advance numbers are subject to substantial revisions…” See Advisor perspectives for a detailed discussion at…
http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/Retail-Sales-in-Review.php
BUSINESS INVENTORIES (Briefing.com)
“Business inventories increased 0.4% in June after
increasing an unrevised 0.5% in May. The Briefing.com consensus expected
business inventories to increase 0.4%...Inventories are a component of GDP, and
thus are of interest to economists, but the financial markets don't pay much attention
to this release.” Charts and details at…https://www.briefing.com/Investor/Calendars/Economic/Releases/businv.htm
JAPAN ECONOMY SHRINKS (Bloomberg)
“Japan’s economy contracted the most since
the record earthquake three years ago as consumption and investment plunged
after an April sales-tax increase aimed at curbing the
world’s biggest debt burden. Gross domestic product shrank an
annualized 6.8 percent in the three months through June, the Cabinet Office
said. That was less than the median estimate of 37 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News for a 7 percent drop.” Story at…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-12/japan-economy-shrinks-the-most-since-2011-quake-on-tax.htmlFALLING OIL PRICES MAY CAUSE TROUBLE FOR STOCKS (CNBC)
The price of Brent crude slipped to a 13-month low on
Wednesday, pushed lower by reports of oversupply in the markets. However, some
market watchers believe that this softness could be signaling something more
sinister in the global economy, with a risk that the weakness could spread to
other assets. "At the end of the day it's all about demand," Michael
Hewson, the chief market analyst at brokerage firm CMC Markets told CNBC via
telephone. The oil price is simply a leading indicator for demand across the
globe…current global growth forecasts may be too optimistic and depressed
demand in Europe and China, along with the anticipated normalization of
interest rates in the U.S. and the U.K., could be about to bring investors back
down to earth.” Story at…http://www.cnbc.com/id/101915923
ART CASHIN (CNBC)
Art said that German GDP and the Russian aid convoy (that may be seen as an
invasion by Ukraine) weigh on the markets.
So far the market is range bound between 1910 and 1950. See video from this morning (Wednesday) at…http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000301898
