Economic Data
(CH) CHINA OCT TRADE BALANCE: $17.0B V $25.5BE (first rise in 3 months)
(AU) AUSTRALIA OCT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.2% V 5.3%E; EMPLOYMENT CHANGE: 10.1K V 10.0KE; PARTICIPATION RATE: 65.6% V 65.6%E
(JP) JAPAN SEPT MACHINE ORDERS M/M: -8.2% V -7.1%E; Y/Y: 9.8% V 10.6%E; GOVT CUTS ASSESSMENT ON MACHINE ORDERS (first downgrade since Nov 2010)
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND NOV ANZ CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX: 109.0 V 112.3 PRIOR
(AU) AUSTRALIA NOV CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 2.5% V 3.1% PRIOR (lowest since May of 2009)
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND OCT BUSINESS NZ PMI: 46.5 V 50.5 PRIOR (First contraction since Oct 2010; 27-month low)
(KS) SOUTH KOREA OCT BANK LENDING TO HOUSEHOLDS (KRW): 451.8T V 448.7T PRIOR (biggest increase in 4 months)
(PH) PHILIPPINES SEPT TOTAL EXPORTS Y/Y: -27.4% V -19.3%E; TOTAL MONTHLY EXPORTS: $3.9B V $4.1B PRIOR
(JP) JAPAN OCT JAPAN MONEY STOCK M2 Y/Y: 2.7% V 2.7%E; M3 Y/Y: 2.3% V 2.3%E
(KS) SOUTH KOREA OCT PRODUCER PRICE INDEX (PPI) Y/Y: 5.6% V 5.7% PRIOR (lowest since Dec 2010)
(TH) THAILAND OCT CONSUMER CONFIDENCE ECONOMIC: 62.8 V 72.2 PRIOR (10-yr low)
(KS) SOUTH KOREA SEPT SOUTH KOREA MONEY SUPPLY L: 8.9% V 8.7% PRIOR; M2: 4.2% V 4.0% PRIOR
(MA) MALAYSIA SEPT INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION Y/Y: 2.5% V 2.6%E; MANUFACTURING SALES VALUE Y/Y: 16.5% V 10.8% PRIOR
(JP) JAPAN OCT CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: 38.6 V 39.0E; CUTS VIEW ON CONSUMER CONFIDENCE TO MODERATE
(US) US OCT FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY M/M: +7% V -6% PRIOR; Y/Y -31% V -38% PRIOR - REALTYTRAC
(JP) Japan investors selling ¥1.6T in foreign bonds last week v ¥1.1T bought in prior week
Markets Snapshot (as of 04:30GMT)
Nikkei225 -2.8%
S&P/ASX -2.6%
Kospi -3.8%
Taiwan Taiex -3.6%
Singapore Straits Times Index -3.1%
Shanghai Composite -1.1%
Hang Seng -4.5%
S&P Futures -0.1% at 1,225
Dec Gold -1.7% at $1,760/oz
Dec Crude -0.2% at $95.52
Overview/Top Headlines
Asian markets sold off today all declining nearly 2% or more, with the Hang Seng down over 900 points, with telecom companies leading the way with the monopoly probe weighing on shares. Italian bond yields passed 7% and headed into "bailout territory" overnight. Japan's machinery orders fell, China's trade balance came in much lower than expected but the first increase in 3-months, exports slowed while imports rose. Iron ore imports fell to 49.9M tons from 60.6M prior.
Spot and future contract for gold both fell in the session. Dec Copper extending decline to fresh 2-week lows; Down 2% below $3.38. Dec emini S&P500 extending decline below US session lows; Down 0.3% at 1,221 early in the Asian session. AUD/USD rose 20 pips above the $1.0130 level after a lower than expected employment rate of 5.2% and as expected employment change.
Greece's PM gave his farewell speech, however no new leader of the interim govt has been named. A Taiwan Regulator said that Taiwan Financial institutions have exposure to Italy for about $500M.
Japan Lower House of Diet passes ¥12.1T third extra budget for earthquake reconstruction. Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Fujimura said the Govt has not held talks on 4th supplementary budget after earlier in the session PM Noda indicated that additional disaster related spending may be needed.
Jefferson County, Alabama filed for bankruptcy today with total debt of $3.14B, JP Morgan is the biggest creditor. JPM holds $1.2B of the total debt, it is unclear if JPM has set aside reserves in the event of a default, however if all loss is absorbed through existing reserves, loan loss reserve would drop to $27.8B (accounts for 4.0% of total loans).
Speakers/Geopolitical/In the press
(CH) China Premier Wen: Fight against inflation is not over yet as the winter approaches - Chinese press
(AU) RBA Assist Gov Lowe: Market volatility likely to continue; Important not to lose sight of resilience in recovery seen in Asia and US
(NZ) New Zealand Fin Min English: Budget deficit tracking toward forecast but remains too high for comfort; Reiterates still committed to return to surplus by FY14/15
Equities
2353.TT: Acer and Asustek have reduced ultrabook orders to 150-180K from 250-300K units by the end of 2011 - DigiTimes
China Steel, 2002.TT: Reducing utilization rates because of declining domestic demand; Expects Dec sales to fall 10-20% - financial press
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, 1398.HK: Goldman Sachs sold 1.75B shares at HK$4.88/shr (2% of shares outstanding)
QRN.AU: Guides FY12 coal haulage 200-210M tons; Affirms FY12 EBIT A$578M
Singapore Telecommunications, ST10.SI: Reports Q2 Net profit S$882M v S$892M y/y; Rev S$4.6B v S$4.4B y/y
US Equities
GMCR: Reports Q4 $0.47 v $0.48e, R$712M (cites changes in wholesale customer order pattern) v $760Me; -34.2% after hours
SPRD: Reports Q3 $0.83 v $0.68e, R$184.8M v $179Me; +0.9% after hours
CSCO: Reports Q1 $0.43 v $0.39e, R $11.3B v $11Be; +2.6% after hours