Stock Market Update - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 Choppy Trend

Stock Market Update

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Latest US Economic News Headlines:

USA EQUITY INDEXES: (NOV. 17, 4:05 PM EST)

(WEDNESDAY'S CLOSING INDEX NUMBERS)
Dow Jones 11,007.88 -15.62 (-0.14%)
S&P 500    1,178.59 +0.25 (+0.02%)
Nasdaq     2,476.01 +6.17 (+0.25%)


Dow Jones 3:30 PM Averages: DJIA 11,015.22 DN 8.28
  30 INDUS     11,015.22 DN    8.28 OR    0.08%
  20 TRANSP     4,762.48 UP   12.49 OR    0.26%
  15 UTILS        397.04 DN    0.25 OR    0.06%
  65 STOCKS     3,833.73 UP    1.20 OR    0.03%

US COMMODITY PRICES: (NOV. 17, 4:05 PM EST)
Crude Oil     80.49     + 0.06%
Natural Gas     4.03     -
Gasoline     2.16     + 0.26%
Heating Oil     2.25     -
Gold     1336.31     - 0.26%
Silver     25.64     + 0.87%
Copper     3.73     -


US DOLLAR FUTURES INDEX DXY: NOV. 17, 5:00PM EST: 79.05  Down 0.16 (0.21%)

 US Stocks Flat, Dollar Choppy Decline

The dollar relaxed its gaining momentum after overnight trades moved it up against other trading pairs. The euro moved up a small gain against the dollar Wednesday, helped by a weak US economic data.  

Today's EURUSD and AUDUSD rallies were corrective in nature. The British Pound rallied to a high of 1.5936 on Wednesday as the economic docket reinforced an improved outlook for the U.K. The US Dollar, however,  is likely to continue strengthening against the Euro and other key counterparts amidst an important correction in FX Futures and Options sentiment. We have long argued that bearish sentiment extremes pointed to USD strength, and indeed we have seen signs that the currency may have set an important bottom through recent trade.



The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for the fourth day that saw the markets dragged down by a rising dollar and financial stocks. The blue-chip index was able, however, to finish above the 11000 mark, helped by strong earnings by retailers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12 points to trade at 11007, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose less than one point to 1178 and the Nasdaq Composite gained six points to 2476.

Consumer-discretionary stocks were showing gains after a second consecutive day of encouraging results from big-box retailers.

US stocks held their ground, trading modestly in positive territory. Crude oil futures were lower and gold futures were higher on Wednesday, after separate reports showed a drop in consumer prices and in housing starts in October. Crude oil for January delivery was down 1 cent at $82.76 a barrel. Gold for December delivery rose $1.60, or 0.1%, to $1,340 an ounce. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14 points to 11009 in early trading, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 2 points to 1176.75. The Nasdaq Composite gained 2 points to 2472.

EQUITIES:
Dow Jones Industrial Average components and nearly two dozen other companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index will report quarterly results this week. Target Corp. (TGT) will post results Wednesday, followed by Gap Inc. (GPS) and Sears Holding Corp. (SHLD) on Thursday.

Target gained 3.9% after third-quarter earnings rose 23%, beating analysts' forecasts. BJ's Wholesale Club added 2% after reporting a 32% earnings jump and raising its full-year earnings forecast.

The pair of strong profit reports comes a day after Wal-Mart Stores and Home Depot posted positive earnings reports, though those two stocks were among the weakest of the Dow components, falling 1.1% and 1.7% respectively after their Tuesday gains.

Other retailers were among the best-performing stocks, with Coach adding 4.1%, Office Depot gaining 3.6% and Kohl's rising 3.4%.


Financial stocks declined after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is conducting about 50 criminal investigations of former executives, directors and employees at U.S. banks that have failed since the start of the financial crisis.

Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase fell 1.1% each, while Regions Financial dropped 3.6%, Keycorp sank 2.4% and Wells Fargo declined 1.1%.

GlaxoSmithKline's American depositary shares gained 2.9% after reports that a Food and Drug Administration panel backed approval of a new lupus drug jointly developed by Glaxo and Human Genome Sciences. Shares of Human Genome Sciences, however, fell 1.1%.

Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) said cigarette sales volumes will remain challenged and that the company will focus more on emerging markets for growth opportunities. The world's second-largest cigarette maker by volume, Philip Morris International has seen volume decline amid economic upheaval in Europe and "disruptive" tax increases in Greece, Japan, Turkey and Ukraine as countries seek to plug budget gaps.

GAP STORES TO OPEN IN CHILE
The Gap To Open First South America Store In Chile

Gap Inc. (GPS) announced a franchise agreement to bring its namesake chain to South America as the retailer continues its push to boost its international footprint.

The franchise deal announced Wednesday with an entity called Komax will result in the first Gap brand store opening in Santiago, Chile, in September. It gives Gap Inc. such deals on six continents and 25 countries.

At the end of October, Gap had 165 franchise stores in 23 countries throughout Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia.

TARGET SALES CLIMB

TGT - Target Corp. reported Wednesday a better-than-expected 23% increase in third-quarter profit, after the No. 2 U.S. discount retailer more than doubled its credit-card segment income and expanded fresh food assortments to boost sales.

The company (TGT 53.79, -0.37, -0.68%), which in mid-October began to give a 5% discount on most purchases made with its Target credit and debit cards to lift demand, also forecast fourth-quarter comparable sales would be the best in the past three years. 


U.S. BANKS WARNED ON MITIGATION COSTS
U.S. banks need to maintain sufficient capital cushions to cover any losses associated with foreclosure paperwork problems, regulators are warning. John Walsh, acting comptroller of the currency, said regulators are examining potential losses by banks due to allegations that their use of falsified paperwork caused some struggling borrowers to be illegally evicted from their homes.

"We are directing banks to maintain adequate reserves for potential losses and other contingencies and to make appropriate disclosures," Walsh said in prepared testimony released on Wednesday. The testimony is to be delivered to a House Financial Services subcommittee on Thursday.

Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke, also in prepared testimony, said regulators' on-site review of major banks will be completed by the end of the year, and bank agencies will publicly release their findings in early 2011.

The Fed and other regulators are trying to understand the scope of the problem and potential impact to the economy, she said.

"Delays and uncertainty resulting from flaws in the foreclosure process have the potential to delay recovery in housing markets and to undermine confidence in our financial and legal systems," Duke said.

Banks are accused of having used "robo-signers" to sign hundreds of foreclosure documents a day without proper legal reviews, a fiasco that reignited public anger with banks that received billions of dollars in taxpayer aid during the financial crisis.

The foreclosure practices of Bank of America, JPMorgan, Ally Financial and Wells Fargo are being scrutinized by bank regulators, all 50 state attorneys general, and the Department of Justice.

Duke said banks with widespread foreclosure procedure problems may be subject to fines and fees in addition to the costs of correcting the errors. Walsh also said regulators have a range of enforcement options, including criminal referrals, where appropriate.

Duke said the Fed is also evaluating the potential macroeconomic effects of foreclosure documentation problems to the mortgage and housing markets. She said the Fed expects about 2.25 million foreclosure filings this year and again next year, and about 2 million more in 2012.


FED SEEKS NEW STRESS TEST FOR BANKS
Federal Reserve will require all 19 banks that underwent stress tests during the height of the financial crisis to undergo another review of their capital and their ability to absorb losses under an "adverse" economic scenario..

US NEW HOMES SALES DECLINED

Lowest level in 18 months.

U.S. housing starts fall nearly 12% in October.  

Construction of new U.S. homes sank 11.7% to an annualized rate of 519,000 in October, the lowest level in 18 months, but permits rose slightly, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The last time starts were that low was in April 2009. 

New housing starts in September were revised down to 588,000 from an original reading of 600,000. 

Permits for new construction, viewed as a more accurate gauge of home building, rose 0.5% in October to an annualized rate of 547,000. Permits were also revised slightly higher in the prior month.

DYNEGY ACCEPTS BLACKSTONE BID
The power producer's board agreed to Blackstone's raised takeover bid of $5 a share, as well agreeing to pay Blackstone a $16.3 million break-up fee if deal rejected. Dynegy recommends shareholders approve the proposal.
 

 GM Lifts IPO Expectations
Shares of the auto maker will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GM.

The estimated price of General Motors Co.'s initial public offering has been raised to $33 a share ahead of this week's debut as the auto maker also added $1 billion to the amount of convertible preferred stock it plans to sell.

The sale of at least 365 million GM shares is now expected to price between $32 and $33 each, compared with the initial estimate released two weeks ago of $26 to $29. Official pricing of the deal is slated for late Wednesday, and some 1.5 billion shares will be outstanding after the IPO.

GM said Tuesday it now expects to sell $4 billion of the convertible preferred stock.The company will be selling their common stock to the public on Thursday.

CRUDE OIL:
U.S. Crude Oil: $ 80.16 per Barrel At 2:45PM

OIL FUTURES: Nymex Crude Settles Down $1.90 At $80.44/Bbl

Drop In US Oil Stockpiles

Stockpiles Post Largest Drop In 15 Months

U.S. crude inventories showed a sharp draw last week, widely exceeding analysts' expectations, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. refining capacity utilization rose by 1.6 percentage points to 84.0%. Analysts had expected a 0.4-percentage-point increase.

Distillate stockpiles, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, fell by 1.1 million barrels to 158.8 million barrels versus analysts' expectations for them to fall by 2.2 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles declined by 2.7 million barrels to 207.7 million barrels.  The department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report, steeper than the 600,000-barrel drop forecasted.  

DOE: US Crude Oil Stocks -7.286M Bbl In Wk; Seen -0.1M Bbl
US Crude Oil Stocks -7.286 Mln Bbl At 357.596 Mln Bbl
US Refineries Ran At 84.0%; Seen 82.80%
US Refineries Ran At 84.0% Vs 82.4% Week Ago
US Distillate Stocks -1.11M Bbl In Wk; Seen -2.2M Bbl
US Gasoline Stocks -2.657M Bbl In Wk; Seen -0.6M Bbl

NATURAL GAS:
Natural Gas: $3.96
US GAS: Futures Close Up 5.4% At $4.025/MMBtu

PRECIOUS METALS:
Gold:  $ 1,340
Silver:$  25.75

Comex gold futures settled in the red Wednesday as flat U.S. inflation data and a deteriorating debt situation in Ireland pushed investors to the sidelines.

The most actively traded contract, for December delivery, settled down $1.50, or 0.1%, at $1,336.90 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In early trading, the most actively traded contract, for December delivery, was recently up 0.2%, or $3, at $1,341.40 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Settlements (Ranges Include Floor and Electronic Trading):

London PM Gold Fix: $1,337.50; previous PM $1,349.00
Dec gold $1,336.90, down $1.50; Range $1,330.10-$1,344.60
Dec silver $25.511, up 27.8 cents; Range $25.015-$25.905
Jan platinum $1,640.90, down $4.80; Range $1,628.00-$1,648.00
Dec palladium $654.85, up $8.95; Range $625.65-$663.95


U.S. TREASURYS/BONDS:
Yields on 10-year notes (UST10Y 2.86, +0.02, +0.70%), which move inversely to prices, fell 2 basis points to 2.84%. A basis point is 0.01%. Earlier, yields on the benchmark securities had risen to 2.88%.

Yields on 2-year notes (UST2YR 0.50, -0.01, -1.59%) slipped 2 basis points to 0.49%.

Thirty-year bond yields(UST30Y 4.28, +0.01, +0.19%) rose as high as 4.31% earlier, before everting to be little changed at 4.26%.

3  Month     0.12%     0.00 (0.00%)
6 Month     0.17%     0.00 (0.00%)
2 Year     0.49%     -0.01 (-2.00%)
5 Year     1.46%     -0.01 (-0.68%)
10 Year     2.86%     +0.02 (0.70%)
30 Year     4.28%     0.00 (0.00%)


ANOTHER NATIONAL SALES TAX?
US Panel Proposes National Sales Tax

After American's already pay more than 50% percent in taxes, another bipartisan panel has released a plan to reduce the nation's debt, offering up a national sales tax as a way to help put the U.S. on a more fiscally-sustainable path.

What is not being said is that American's already pay multiple national sales taxes and fees on every transaction they make, as well as income taxes and fees from the Federal government and all local municipalities, like state, city, and county fees.

After those taxes, add the postal tax, sales taxes of 10% percent,  fuel taxes, energy taxes, recycling taxes, occupation license fees, the proposed carbon tax, and you have government taking close to 70% percent of every dollar earned in the United States of America before the newly proposed national sales tax of an additional 6.5% percent.

The Bipartisan Policy Center's Debt Reduction Task Force, led by former Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici and former White House Budget Director and Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alice Rivlin, unveiled its plan Wednesday.

It would reform Medicare and Medicaid, make changes to Social Security by gradually raising the amount of wages subject to payroll taxes, freeze defense and non-defense discretionary spending for several years, and create a 6.5% debt reduction sales tax.The report comes a week after leaders of a White House commission laid out a controversial draft proposal to cut the federal budget deficit by hundreds of billions a year by targeting U.S. tax and spending policy. 

U.S. INFLATION GROWS

U.S. CPI up 0.2% in October 

U.S. consumer prices edged up 0.2% in October as the growing cost of gasoline offset flat or declining costs in other parts of the economy, a report said Wednesday.

The "core inflation" figure, which excludes volatile food and energy prices was flat for the third straight month and below the 0.1% growth that economists anticipated.

On a year-on-year basis, core prices are now up 0.6%. This is well below the Federal Reserve’s target for inflation of about 2%.

In the past year, the overall CPI has risen 1.2%, and at a 0.9% annual rate so far in 2010. The core CPI has risen at a 0.5% annualized pace so far in 2010.

MEDUSA CURRENCY TRADING SYSTEM RELEASED
Currency Options Trading Online

Trading firm Digital Vega introduced a system Wednesday to offer trading in currencies options based on streaming prices from a range of different banks.

Dubbed Medusa, the system is thought to be the first of its kind. It allows clients to view real-time prices and request options deals from as many as five banks at a time. Pareto Investment Management Ltd, a well-known currencies investor, has already conducted a transaction over the new system, Digital Vega said.

If successful, Medusa could be a step forward for this market, which has been slower to move online than more basic spot deals.

Hedge funds, pension funds, small banks and broker-dealers are all seen as potential users. The system will initially handle six major currency pairs, and a selection of commonly-used deal types.

Suter at Digital Vega hopes the regulatory environment will help the system take hold. "There's a strong chance that in the U.S., FX options trading may shift to multibank systems, so the Medusa platform delivers the ideal solution to address this market requirement," he said.

With global turnover of around $207 billion a day, according to the Bank for International Settlements, options make up a small portion of the overall $4 trillion-a-day currencies market. Indeed, in a triennial report in August, the BIS said that the options market had shrunk by over 2% since 2007, bucking the trend for rapid expansion in other foreign-exchange products. Banks generally blame wild volatility and relatively clunky trading technology for this modest slowdown.

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Canadian Market:

Toronto Stocks Mixed

The stock market closed higher Wednesday, as mining stocks rallied to help erase the benchmark index's earlier losses.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 55.60 points, or 0.4%, to 12657.83. Advances exceeded declines, 1018 to 621. Trading volume was 424.5 million shares, down from Tuesday's total of 622.3 million shares. The S&P/TSX 60 Index closed up 2.51 points, or 0.3%, to 725.65.

.

Toronto Indexes, Volume; 4:05 PM EST Composite Up 55.60

 S&P/TSX Composite   12657.83  up   55.60  or 0.5%
 S&P/TSX 60 Index      725.65  up    2.51  or 0.3%
 Financials            178.19  up    0.62  or 0.3%
 Materials             408.68  up    3.67  or 0.9%
 Energy                292.07  up    0.54  or 0.2%
 Industrials           106.43  up    0.56  or 0.5%
 IT                     29.58  off   0.37  or 1.2%

   Volume         Wednesday  Tuesday
   3-4:15              78.3M    103.4M
   9:30-4:15          424.7M    622.3M

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South American Markets:

BRAZIL:

Brazil's Stocks Close HigherThe benchmark Ibovespa stock index closed at 69,708 points, up 0.8% from Tuesday's close of 69,192.

Brazilian real estate developers climbed on increasing profit. PDG Realty (PDGR3.BR) climbed 1.7% to BRL10.53 after announcing a better-than-expected 6% climb in third-quarter net income. The homebuilder also announced a partnership with Marriott International to develop projects in Brazil.

  Homebuilder Gafisa SA (GFSA3.BR), which also reported a jump in profit, rose 1.1% to BRL13.07. Industry leader Cyrela Brazil Realty SA Empreendimentos e Participacoes (CYRE3.BR) jumped 3.3% to BRL 21.07.

Lojas Americanas (LAME4.BR), Brazil's biggest discount retailer, bolstered gains in the sector, rising 4.6% to BRL17.73. Online unit B2W Cia. Global do Varejo (BTOW3.BR) added 4.2% to BRL32.40.

Most Brazilian blue chips gained in Wednesday trading, though China concern weighed on Vale SA (VALE, VALE5.BR), the world's biggest iron-ore producer. Vale, whose biggest client is China, climbed just 0.1% to BRL48.31.

OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA (OGXP3.BR) climbed 1% to BRL21.10. The oil producer controlled by billionaire Eike Batista said it found natural gas at another well drilled in an onshore basin in northeastern Brazil.

Aircraft manufacturer Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (ERJ, EMBR3.BR), or Embraer, rose 0.8% to BRL12.25. The world's fourth-biggest plane maker said Wednesday that it signed an agreement with China's AVIC International Leasing Co. to obtain a credit line of up to $1.5 billion.

Telephone company Tele Norte Leste SA (TNE, TNLP4.BR), or Oi, advanced 1.6% to BRL24.95. The leading steel producer CSN (SID, CSNA3.BR) was unchanged at BRL28.21. Minas Gerais utility Cemig (CIG, CMIG4.BR) advanced 1% to BRL28.66.

Brazil's EBX Plans C$12.63/Share Bid For Ventana Gold >VEN.T

Brazilian holding company EBX Group is looking to boost its stake in Vancouver miner Ventana Gold Corp. (VEN.T) to 100% with a planned C$1.23 billion takeover offer.

Brazil Central Bank: 12-Month Economic Activity Up 8.03%
High levels of consumer spending helped Brazilian economic activity advance a robust 8.03% in the twelve months through September against the previous 12-month period, the Brazilian Central Bank said Wednesday.

In its monthly report on economic activity, the central bank said activity in September was up 0.69% against August. All figures are seasonally adjusted.

The central bank tracks economic activity on a monthly basis through an index known as the IBC-Br, or Brazilian Economic Activity Index.

Brazil's economy experienced a brief recession in the early months of 2009, part of the global recession and financial crunch. Official gross domestic product figures showed the country's GDP declining 0.2% in 2009.

But 2010 marked a strong recovery, aided by government tax breaks, stepped-up spending on infrastructure projects and interest rate cuts. The policies led to growth in jobs, incomes and, especially, consumption in 2010. Brazilian retail sales, for example, advanced a torrid 11.8% in September against the same month a year before, according to the Brazilian Census Bureau, or IBGE.

Business investment has also picked up. Industrial output in September was up 6.3% against September of 2009, according to the latest IBGE figures. Brazilian GDP expanded 8.8% in the second quarter of 2010 against the same quarter the year before, according to the IBGE. Third-quarter figures are due for release early in December.

A weekly central bank survey of economists, released Tuesday, showed economists forecasting 2010 GDP expansion of 7.6%. The same economists saw a slowdown to 4.5% growth in 2011.




MEXICO:

Mexican Banking Groups Banorte, Ixe Agree To Merge

Mexican banking concerns Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB de CV, Mexico's third largest bank, (GBOOY, GFNORTE.MX) and Ixe Grupo Financiero SAB de CV (IXEGF.MX) said Wednesday they have agreed to merge in an all-stock deal valued at an estimated 16.2 billion pesos ($1.3 billion).

In filings with the Mexican Stock Exchange, the banks said the transaction, which requires regulatory and other approvals, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.

CHILE:

Chile Stocks Rebound

Chile's blue-chip Ipsa index closed higher Wednesday, as the local market rebounded on improved market sentiment.

The Ipsa ended 0.3% higher at 4900.62, while market volume fell to 109.8 billion Chilean pesos ($227.1 million), versus CLP146.9 billion the previous session.
Pulp and paper producer CMPC (CMPC.SN) grew 0.8% to CLP26,620.00, integrated steel and iron ore producer Cap (CAP.SN) gained 0.3% to CLP24,873.00, and specialty chemical and fertilizer producer SQM's (SQM) more liquid B-series shares rose 0.8% to CLP24,178.00.

Retailers La Polar (LAPOLAR.SN) gained 0.5% to CLP3,545.00, Hites (HITES.SN) jumped 1.9% to CLP580.50 and Ripley (RIPLEY.SN) increased 0.8% to CLP680.00.

The nation's largest department store Falabella (FALABELLA.SN), however, fell 1.8% to CLP4,674.40, even though its nine-month net profit nearly doubled on the year to CLP244.25 billion. Analysts said that despite the better-than-expected profit Falabella's shares already priced in expectations for robust results and are trading above end-2011 targets.

Investment bank Banchile Inversiones currently has a CLP4,400 price target for the end of 2011 for Falabella, the bank's analyst Peter McMenamin said. For its part, investment bank CorpResearch has an end-2011 target price of CLP4,630.

The peso ended stronger against the dollar as the euro reclaimed territory against the dollar after weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data.

The peso ended at CLP483.40 to the dollar, versus Tuesday's close of CLP485.70, while trading in a range of CLP483.15 to CLP487.20.


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European Markets:

European shares climbed Wednesday, recovering some ground after the previous session's heavy losses as officials from the Europe Union and the International Monetary Fund announced talks with Ireland aimed at determining the best way to provide potential aid.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.5% to end at 267.31.

STOXX 600        267.31      +1.33  (0.50%)
STOXX 50        2551.62     -12.00  (0.47%)
EuroSTOXX50     2802.70   -20.93 (0.75%)

Pharmaceutical companies were among the best performers after the announcement of a cost-cutting plan from Roche Holding and a positive drug recommendation for GlaxoSmithKline.


BELGIUM:
EU Conditionally Clears Unilever Buy Of Sara Lee Unit 
The European Commission Wednesday cleared consumer-goods giant Unilever PLC (UNA.AE) to buy Sara Lee Corp's (SLE) personal care unit, but stipulated that the antitrust approval depends on the sale of Sara Lee's Sanex bath, shower and deodorants brand in Europe.

The European Commission also cleared Wednesday Swiss agribusiness company Syngenta AG (SYNN.VX) to buy Monsanto Co.'s (MON) global sunflower seeds business, provided the U.S. company's sunflower hybrid seed businesses in Spain and Hungary are sold to overcome competition concerns.

Officials from the European Central Bank, IMF and European Commission are due to conduct a "consultation" with Ireland about the best way to provide any necessary support to address market risks, especially regarding the troubled Irish banking sector.

Agnes Belaisch, head of emerging-market strategy at Threadneedle Asset Management, said the focus swings back and forth between the peripheral euro-zone markets and the weak U.S. recovery.

LONDON:

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index edged up 0.2% to 5,692.56, led higher by shares of Experian, which surged more than 6%. The information-services firm posted a rise in fiscal first-half profit and lifted its dividend by 29%.


U.K. chip designer Imagination Technologies Group PLC (IMG.LN) said Wednesday it agreed to buy U.S. video and voice-over-Internet company HelloSoft for up to $47 million, in a deal that strengthens its position in the delivery of media to mobile devices and televisions.

GERMANY:
The German DAX 30 index ended up 0.6% at 6,700.07.
Infineon Technologies rose 1.4%, extending strong gains from the previous session, which were inspired by the group's decision to pay its first dividend in a decade.

SWITZERLAND:
Shares of Actelion Ltd rallied more than 9% after the biotechnology group said it was "in regular dialogue with other industry participants" following market speculation of a takeover bid. 


FRANCE:
The French CAC 40 index rose 0.8% to 3,792.35, as shares of banking group Societe Generale gained 2%. Shares of Thales dropped 4.2% in Paris after the aerospace and defense group was downgraded two notches to sell from buy at UBS.

IRELAND:

Ireland's ISEQ index rose 1.5%.

Shares of Bank of Ireland gained more than 2% in Dublin. Shares in Northern Foods surged nearly 25%, while Ireland's Greencore Group jumped 31% after the pair agreed to merge.

Ireland Posts 11.1% Rise In Home Mortgages Delinquencies

The number of Irish mortgage accounts in arrears for more than 90 days increased

Delinquencies increased by 11.1% in the three months to end-September from the previous quarter, the Central Bank of Ireland said Wednesday.

Of the 789,000 private residential mortgage accounts held in Ireland, worth EUR117.4 billion in total, 40,472 were in arrears for more than 90 days. The data said EUR7.8 billion was owed in relation to all accounts over 90 days in arrears, of which EUR5.5 billion was owed for accounts over 180 days in arrears.

Mortgage lenders ended the third quarter with 522 repossessed residential properties on their books, having repossessed 81 and disposed of 54 during the three-month period.

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Asian Pacific Markets:
Several markets in Asia were closed for holidays, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and India.

Asian stocks finished mostly lower overnight, with China's Shanghai Composite falling another 1.9% on growing concerns that officials will tighten monetary policy. 

Asian stocks excluding Japan dropped to their lowest level in four weeks.The MSCI Asia stock index fell 1.5 percent to its lowest level since October 20.    


CHINA:

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his government was preparing steps to tame price rises, feeding into market expectations that China will intensify tightening policies.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (HKSE/HSI 23,214.46 -478.56 ) shed 2.2 percent, while Chinese shares (SSEC) fell 1.9 percent.

JAPAN:
Japan's Nikkei average (Osaka:N225 9,811.66 +14.56), showed a gain as shares in some exporters, such as car makers, benefited from the yen's softness against the dollar.


AUSTRALIA:
The Reserve Bank of Australia announced today that it sees a cash deficit A$1.491 billion. Australian banks held A$1.28 billion at RBA accounts.

STOCKS:
S&P/ASX 200     4624.25 -76.02  (-1.62%)
          All Ord         4705.14 -77.70 (-1.62%)

Australian shares (ASX:AXJO ) slid 1.6 percent as BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP.AX) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO.AX) both suffered falls of more than 2 percent.

Investors worry that China, Australia's largest export market, is preparing more aggressive steps to tame inflation and thus risk slower growth.


NEW ZEALAND:

The New Zealand producer costs rose to 0.7% in the 3rd Quarter of the year, more than the 0.3% expected.  The 2Q reading was 1.4%. New Zealand producer output prices rose 1.2% in the same quarter, more than the 0.6% expected. The 2Q reading was 1.1%.

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WORLD FOREX CURRENCIES SNAPSHOT:
(WEDNESDAY, NOV 17, 2010 4:05 PM EST)
EUR/USD     1.3521     +0.0030 (0.22%)
USD/JPY     83.2700 -0.1100 (-0.13%)
GBP/USD     1.5898     +0.0010 (0.06%)
CAD/USD     0.9770     -0.0018 (-0.19%)
USD/HKD     7.7571     +0.0006 (0.01%)
USD/CNY     6.6415     +0.0037 (0.06%)
AUD/USD     0.9795     +0.0018 (0.18%)


WORLD MARKETS SNAPSHOT:
(WEDNESDAY, NOV 17, 2010 4:05 PM EST)
Shanghai     2,838.86     -55.68 (-1.92%)
Nikkei 225     9,811.66     +14.56 (0.15%)
Hang Seng Index     23,214.46     -478.56 (-2.02%)
TSEC     8,255.54     -56.67 (-0.68%)
FTSE 100     5,692.56     +10.66 (0.19%)
DJ EURO STOXX 50     2,802.70     +20.93 (0.75%)
CAC 40     3,792.35     +29.88 (0.79%)
S&P TSX     12,657.83     +55.60 (0.44%)
S&P/ASX 200     4,624.30     0.00 (0.00%)
BSE Sensex     19,865.14     -444.55 (-2.19)


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WEDNESDAY'S U.S. ECONOMIC CALENDAR:

7:00 a.m.
Nov 12 MBA Mortgage Applications Survey Market Composite Index (previous 833.3), Cur Chg (previous +5.8%), Purchase Index (S.A.) (previous 188.7), Cur Chg (previous +5.5%), Refinance Index (previous 4587.7), Cur Chg (previous +6%)

8:00 a.m.
Boston Fed Pres Rosengren speaks in Providence, R.I.

8:30 a.m.
Oct New Residential Construction - Housing Starts and Building Permits Total Starts (expected 600K), Starts Percent Change (expected -1.6%), Building Permits (expected 568K), Percent Change (expected +3.8%)

8:30 a.m.
Oct Real Earnings

8:30 a.m.
Oct CPI (expected +0.3%), CPI Core (expected +0.1%), CPI Core, Unrounded (previous 0%), CPI Energy Index (previous +0.7%), CPI Food Index (previous +0.3%), CPI Real Average Weekly Earnings (previous -0.1%), CPI, Unrounded (previous +0.1%)

9:15 a.m.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard speech

10:30 a.m.
Nov 12 EIA Petroleum Status Report Crude Oil Stocks (previous 364.88M), Crude Oil Stocks (Net Change) (expected -300K), Gasoline Stocks (previous 210.34M), (Net Change) (expected -400K), Distillate Stocks (previous 159.9M), (Net Change) (expected -2.1M), Refinery Usage (previous 82.9%)


CONFERENCES:
Among the significant financial conferences this week are REITWorld: NAREIT's Annual Convention for All Things REIT from Monday through Wednesday in New York; Lazard Capital Markets Annual Healthcare Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday in New York; Morgan Stanley Consumer & Retail Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday in New York; Bank of America Merrill Lynch Credit Conference on Wednesday and Thursday in New York; and Deutsche Bank Securities Media and Telecommunications Conference on Wednesday and Thursday in Miami.

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US STOCK MARKET SUMMARY, TUESDAY, NOV. 16, 2010:

Stocks:
U.S. stocks dropped almost 200 points in their biggest one-day drop in nearly a month. Alcoa was among the worst performing of the Dow's 30 components, falling sharply on concern that the push to limit growth in China could lead to lower demand for aluminum.

Treasurys:
Treasurys rallied late as investors were heartened by comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren who said he "fully" sees the Fed buying all $600 billion in Treasurys, in contrast with comments from another voting member of the Fed earlier. Treasury prices rose after two sessions of heavy declines, as skittish investors sought the safety of low-risk U.S. government debt.

Forex:
The U.S. Dollar rallied broadly against its basket of currencies. The euro dropped sharply against the dollar as concern over the euro-zone sovereign-debt crisis spreading across the region triggered a flight into the dollar. The ICE Dollar Index traded at its highest level since late September, while the euro traded below the psychologically key $1.35 level






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