ECB Watch: The Gentleman is not for turning

ECB Watch: The Gentleman is not for turning

Two down, more to come: as expected and officially signalled one month ago, the ECB raised all its interest rates by 25bp, bringing the key refinancing rate to 1.5%. But markets were clearly expecting signs that the ECB now believes that it is coming close to an appropriate level of interest rates which were conspicuously absent. In fact, we read the Introductory Statement as suggesting quite clearly that further rate hikes in the near future are the most likely scenario.

CNNMoney: Housing prices: No rebound in sight

RECOVERY AT RISK
Housing prices: No rebound in sight
By Chris Isidore @CNNMoney July 7, 2011: 8:33 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Housing prices are likely to keep falling the rest of this year, and probably won't show much improvement next year either, according to a survey of economists.
A CNNMoney exclusive survey of 27 economists showed the battered housing market is facing myriad problems and won't turn around anytime soon.

WSJ: Rents Rise, Vacancies Go Down

REAL ESTATE JULY 7, 2011
Rents Rise, Vacancies Go Down
By WESLEY LOWERY

Apartment landlords are enjoying rising rents and falling vacancies.

The average effective rent, the amount paid after discounting, was $997 in the second quarter of the year, up from $974 a year earlier, according to a report scheduled for release Thursday by Reis Inc., which tracks leasing data for 82 markets. Second-quarter rents rose in all but two markets.

BNP: GLOBAL DAILY SPOTLIGHT

ECB: Bias to Tighten
Ken Wattret

The ECB delivered the expected rate hike and left the door wide open for more of the same. The ECB played down the slowdown in growth and reiterated the upside risks to price stability, signalling a bias to tighten. We continue to expect a rate hike in October, teed up in September in tandem with higher inflation projections though this could be blown off course by market turmoil. The Q & A was dominated by issues related to the debt crisis with the ECB and some governments still at loggerheads over private sector involvement in the programme for Greece.

SG: FI Weekly: EU stress and US redress

We see US data turning up in the coming weeks and hope the holiday period will lead to an easing in EU sovereign tensions. That will support our tactical defensive views. In Europe, however, cash flow is positive and the uncertainties around the Eurogroup meeting and the EBA stress tests suggest prudence on sovereign risk.

SG: A new world order - When demand overtakes supply

The last long cycle (from 1980 to 2000-05) was shaped by exceptional growth in supply on a global level. The next will be dominated by demand dynamics.

China hikes the interest rates

China hikes the interest rates

China raises benchmark deposit and lending interest rates of all duration by 25bp. We have long anticipated this badly- needed rate hike. Although it is far from enough given China's inflation level, Chinese policymakers are probably going to pay more attention to structural issues for some time.

BRAZIL

BRAZIL

The manufacturing PMI survey continued to decline, sliding to 49.0 in June from 50.8 in May, after a recent peak of 54.6 in February, and falling below the 50.0 mark for the first time since late last year.

CNNMoney: Lagarde: IMF should focus on employment

Lagarde: IMF should focus on employment
By Aaron Smith @CNNMoney July 6, 2011: 11:34 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Christine Lagarde, recently chosen as the new managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said that employment will be her key focus, even more than the fiscal deficits that have swamped the world economy.

Bloomberg: Service Industries in U.S. Expand at Slower Pace in Sign Economy Cooling

Related News: US, Currencies, Municipal Bonds, Economy
Service Industries in U.S. Expand at Slower Pace in Sign Economy Cooling
By Alex Kowalski - Jul 7, 2011 5:40 AM GMT+0900

Service industries in the U.S. expanded at a slower pace in June, a sign the economy cooled at the end of the first half of 2011.