Stocks: All eyes on Egypt, jobs

Stocks: All eyes on Egypt, jobs

By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporterJanuary 30, 2011: 8:24 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Stocks have been on a run since late August, and investment experts have been warning that the market is due for a short-term correction. With political unrest in the Arab world and the January jobs report taking center stage this week, the catalyst for a downward move may finally be here.

After rising to the highest levels since the summer of 2008 and crossing key psychological milestones -- the Dow topped 12,000 and the S&P hit 1,300 last week -- stocks took a hard hit Friday as investors watched anti-government demonstrations unfold in Egypt.

"We are worried about the developing geopolitical risk in the Middle East and North Africa," said David Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors. "We do not know where it will spread, nor do we know how it will run its course."

Credit Issues In 2011: What To Expect (S&P)

Credit Issues In 2011: What To Expect (00:20:49 min)

In this podcast, Standard & Poor's analysts from our San Francisco office weigh in on what they believe are the biggest issues facing the telecommunications, cable, electric utilities, municipal finance, higher education, and transportation industries in 2011.

Listen

A Home For The Holidays (S&P)

Economic Update: A Home For The Holidays (00:03:48 min)

Standard & Poor's Senior Economist Beth Ann Bovino notes that households in search of a home found one this December, with surprisingly robust sales figures reported for both existing and new homes. The data add further evidence that the recovery is still in place. But the healthy pace was not enough to change the Fed's decision to stay the course at Wednesday’s policy meeting.

Watch

The Start Of A Housing Recovery ... (S&P)

The Start Of A Housing Recovery Could Frame A Stable Year For U.S. Homebuilding And Building Products (00:06:50 min)

In this CreditMatters TV segment, Standard & Poor's Senior Director James Fielding and Director Thomas Nadramia discuss the 2011 industry outlooks for the Homebuilding and Building Products sectors, respectively. Although our economists believe that housing starts will increase continued foreclosures, low employment, and still-falling home prices could extend the housing recovery. Home prices themselves may also decrease due to the elevated amount of existing homes for sale, but adequate to strong liquidity may help companies fund growth.

Watch

Daily Beast: America's Greatest Challenge

The Daily Beast
America's Greatest Challenge
Jan 28, 2011 6:58 AM EST

Legendary geopolitical forecaster George Friedman says that in the next decade America must face the realities of its position as a global empire without losing its republican soul.

Brazil talks tough on inflation, urges gov't to help (Reuters)

Brazil talks tough on inflation, urges gov't to help

Thu Jan 27, 2011 4:47pm EST

Brazil's budget deficit, including debt repayments, stood at 14.4 billion reais ($8.6 billion) in November, nearly five times larger than a year earlier.

JOBS, INFLATION SURGING

Neil Shearing, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics Ltd in London, said the central bank's minutes "are unequivocally hawkish."

"If there were any lingering doubts as to whether or not (the central bank) would shift priorities under the new governor, Alexandre Tombini, I think they've been well and truly banished now," Shearing said.

(more)

The Eurozone's Three-Speed Recovery Could Leave Some Members' Competitiveness In The Slow Lane

The Eurozone's Three-Speed Recovery Could Leave Some Members' Competitiveness In The Slow Lane (00:08:57 min)

Various economic indicators confirm our baseline forecast for a three-speed recovery in Western Europe over the next 18 months. The stronger economies are already successfully rebuilding their capital stock, while the slowest economies still need to increase their capital intensity, given the private sector's reluctance to invest in these countries. In this CreditMatters TV segment, Standard & Poor's Chief Economist Jean-Michel Six discusses how uneven recovery across Europe could aggravate structural differences over the long term for countries in the slowest growth track.

Watch

EMEA Oil And Gas Ratings Outlook For 2011

EMEA Oil And Gas Ratings Outlook For 2011 (00:07:28 min)

In this Credit Matters TV segment, Standard & Poor's Director Simon Redmond explains how rising oil prices affect our Europe, Middle East, and Africa oil and gas ratings and discusses why BP PLC still has a negative outlook.

Watch

---

EMEA Metals And Mining Outlook For 2011 And Beyond (00:05:42 min)

Global Price Fears Mount (WSJ)

EUROPE NEWS | JANUARY 23, 2011, 7:37 P.M. ET

Global Price Fears Mount
As Food, Raw Materials Soar, Europe's Central Bank Head Warns on Inflation

By BRIAN BLACKSTONE And MARCUS WALKER

Inflation fears—fueled by spiraling food, oil and raw material prices—are mounting around the globe, prompting the head of the European Central Bank to signal that it could raise interest rates in the future even though some countries have been weakened by the Continent's debt crisis.

Structured Finance Research Week: CMBS Recovery Model And The Impact Of Revised Counterparty Criteria

Structured Finance Research Week: CMBS Recovery Model And The Impact Of Revised Counterparty Criteria (00:12:20 min)

Howard Esaki, Zachary Wolf, James Manzi, and Erkan Erturk of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' Global Structured Finance Research group discuss our commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) recovery model, including the economic scenarios used, and how CMBX Index results compare across various industry models.

Sponsors' Action Plans Mitigate Number Of CreditWatch Placements In EMEA Structured Finance Due To Updated Counterparty Criteria

Sponsors' Action Plans Mitigate Number Of CreditWatch Placements In EMEA Structured Finance Due To Updated Counterparty Criteria (00:09:26 min)

Updates to Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' methodology for assessing counterparty risk in structured finance became effective on Jan. 18, 2011. As a result, we placed nearly 2,000 Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) structured finance ratings on CreditWatch negative, affecting 30% of transactions that we rate. However, many other transactions' sponsors provided us with action plans to mitigate any potential rating effect from the criteria update. In this CreditMatters TV segment, Senior Director Andrew South reveals the asset classes in which CreditWatch actions were most widespread, and discusses which sectors had the most action plans from transaction sponsors.

S&P's Updated Criteria For Rating U.S. States

Standard & Poor's Updated Criteria For Rating U.S. States

Jan 18, 2011 | 00:05:24 min

On Jan. 3, 2011, Standard & Poor’s published “U.S. State Ratings Methodology,” which updates our existing criteria for rating U.S. states and territories. This follows the publication of our request for comment concerning proposed criteria revisions in May 2010. In this podcast, Managing Director Robin Prunty discusses the scope of the new criteria, our updated analytical framework for rating the states, potential rating implications, comments we received, and more.

---

http://www.podcasts.standardandpoors.com/

Muni bond fears run wild

Muni bond fears run wild

By Charles Riley, staff reporterJanuary 14, 2011: 3:20 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Municipal bonds continued to sell off this week, as worried investors fled the market, and the media continued to churn out stories about state and local governments struggling with severe budget shortfalls.

It's easy enough to understand the concern. A growing number of states, including some of the biggest -- like California and Illinois -- face budget shortfalls of billions of dollars.

(more)

The ‘New Normal’ Is Actually Pretty Old

The ‘New Normal’ Is Actually Pretty Old
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Everything old is new again, including normality.

I had the pleasure of attending the American Economics Association’s annual conference this weekend, and over the course of many meetings with various brilliant thinkers one theme persisted: Everyone needs to get over the fear of the “new normal.”

......

Catching of one’s breath on Frankfurt’s market for office space

Catching of one’s breath on Frankfurt’s market for office space
5 Jan, 2011, Frankfurt

The annual property area turnover of 475,000 m² in 2010 represented an increase of about 36% over the result achieved in 2009

http://www.cushwake.com/

Hiring surges in December, buoys economic outlook

Hiring surges in December, buoys economic outlook

(Reuters) - The number of U.S. private-sector jobs surged in December at a rate three times stronger than forecast, a hiring report showed, the most bullish signal in months that a recovery in the world's biggest economy is shifting up a gear.

The ADP Employer Services private-sector jobs report logged its biggest-ever rise on Wednesday. It comes two days ahead of the U.S. government's closely watched and more comprehensive payrolls report for December, spurring many economists to raise their forecasts for that data.

......

2011: Happy New Job!

2011: Happy New Job!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- "Hire more workers" appears to be a popular New Year's resolution for employers this year.

Economists are raising their forecasts for employment growth, as various job readings are suggesting that the long-awaited hiring boom may finally be here -- or at least near.

"http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/05/news/economy/jobs_outlook/index.htm