Economic Data
(AU) AUSTRALIA JAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.1% V 5.3%E (6-month low); EMPLOYMENT CHANGE: 46.3K V 10.0KE (14-month high); PARTICIPATION RATE: 65.3% V 65.3%E
(CH) CHINA JAN ACTUAL FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) Y/Y: -0.3% TO $10B V -12.70% PRIOR (3rd consecutive month of decline)
(SG) SINGAPORE Q4 FINAL GDP Q/Q: -2.5% V -2.3%E; Y/Y: 3.6% V 4.3%E
(AU) AUSTRALIA FEB CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 2.5% V 2.8% PRIOR
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND JAN ANZ NZ JOB ADS M/M: -2.7% V -2.6% PRIOR
(KR) SOUTH KOREA JAN DEPARTMENT STORE SALES Y/Y: -4.1% V 11.0% PRIOR; DISCOUNT STORE SALES Y/Y: 2.7% V 3.7% PRIOR
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND FEB ANZ CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX: 113.3 V 116.1 PRIOR
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND JAN BUSINESS PMI: 50.5 V 51.6 PRIOR
(UK) UK JAN NATIONWIDE CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: 47 V 40E (5-month high)
(AU) AUSTRALIA JAN RBA FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS (A$): 383M V 737M PRIOR
(JP) JAPAN JAN TOKYO CONDOMINIUM SALES Y/Y: 32.6% V 8.5% PRIOR
(US) US JAN FORECLOUSRE ACTIVITY M/M: +3% v -9% PRIOR; Y/Y: -19% v -20% PRIOR - REALTYTRAC
(JP) Japan investors bought ¥1.0T in foreign bonds last week v ¥285B bought in prior week
Markets Snapshot (as of 05:30GMT)
Nikkei225 -0.2%
S&P/ASX -1.7%
Kospi -1.4%
Taiwan Taiex -1.7%
Singapore Straits Times -0.7%
Shanghai Composite -0.7%
Hang Seng -0.9%
S&P Futures -0.5% at 1,335
April gold -0.3% at $1,722/oz
March Crude -0.4% at $101.44
Overview/Top Headlines
Markets declined today follow Wall Street's weaker lead and renewed uncertainty from the EU as fresh divide came out overnight about the next round of bailout funds with the decision being delayed to Feb. 20th, Finland and the Netherlands are calling for the decision to be put off to April when Greece names full time govt. This however presents several problems for Greece, of which the largest is the debt coming due March 20th for the embattled country. The EUR/USD fell near the $1.29 handle, EUR/JPY tested down to ¥102. The Greenback gained against the Swissie testing to CHF0.9280. AUD/USD spiked 50 pips after Australia Jan unemployment came in at a 6 month low at 5.1%, employment change was at a 6 month high. Shanghai Composite came of its 2-month high after FDI fell for the third straight month to $10B. Moody's placed 114 global financial institutions on review for downgrade due to rising funding costs stemming from the EU debt crisis. Banks from New York to Tokyo were included in the review.
Iron ore for immediate delivery fell for a 7th consecutive day to $137.40/ton, Vale's weaker earnings took Rio Tinto and BHP shares downward in Sydney. Australia's second largest bank, Westpac reported Q1 weaker than expectations and slightly lower than last year as Australia's banks continued to be hammered under rising funding costs (many rely on UK banks). Japan's JGB yields continued to decline for the second day on BoJ easing measures.
Speakers/Geopolitical/In the press
(AU) RBA's Deputy Gov Lowe: 2012 has started better than expected and domestic economy is in relatively good shape; Sees underlying inflation at 2-3% for the next few years
(CN) China banks must give CBRC a fresh assessment of local govt debt exposure by the end of March; Will be allowed to extend maturities once for a maximum of 5-years on any bad debts - Chinese press
(KR) Bank of Korea (BoK) Survey: Public is slightly more worried about the slowing economy than a year ago but still want the country's economic policy to target containing inflation - Korean press
(EU) ECB's Liikanen: ECB could cut rates again if required - financial press
(SG) Singapore Central Bank (MAS) Official Robinson: Near term indicators do not show Singapore falling into a recession, though it may be too early to call a technical recession
(CN) China's top 4 banks total yuan loans in early Feb totaled CNY30B v CNY50B in first 2-weeks of Jan - Chinese press
Equities
Korea Gas, 036460.KR: Reports Q4 Net KRW94.7B v loss KRW28.7B y/y; Op KRW362B v KRW181B y/y; Rev KRW8.75T v KRW6.4T y/y
LDW.AU: FLSmidth makes a A$10/share bid vs initial bid of A$7.20/share; enterprise value estimated at approx A$358M
Alibaba, 1688.HK: Expected to sign for a $3.0B loan as soon as this week - financial press
WES.AU: Reports H1 Net Profit A$1.18B v A$1.4Be, +0.3% y/y; Rev A$29.7B v A$28.07B y/y
QAN.AU: Reports H1 Net A$42M v A$111Me, -83% y/y; Will not guide due to high uncertainty and volatility, cutting 500 positions
AWC.AU: Reports FY11 Net A$127M v A$135Me
US Equities
CAR: Reports Q4 -$0.14 v $0.06e, R$1.63B v $1.7Be; -10.4% afterhours
NVDA: Reports Q4 $0.26 (adj) v $0.19e, R$953M v $950Me; Guides Q1 Rev $900-930M v $945Me; -5.4% afterhours
HBI: Reports Q4 $0.41 (unclear if comparable) v $0.51e, R$1.15B v $1.2Be; -9.0% afterhours
VALE: Reports Q4 $0.90 v $0.99e, Rev $14.76B v $14.2Be; -0.4% afterhours
MAR: Reports Q4 $0.46 v $0.47e, R$3.40B (adj) v $3.8Be; -1.4% afterhours
TSLA: Reports Q4 -$0.69 v -$0.63e, R$39.4M v $38Me; +2.2% afterhours
NTAP: Reports Q3 $0.58 v $0.58e, R$1.57B v $1.6Be; +8.6% afterhours