10 Things You Need To Know This Morning
Apr 18, 2013, 16:58 IST
Advertisement
- Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading with the Nikkei down 1.2%, falling below its five-day moving average. Markets are higher in Europe is and U.S. markets have opened higher.
- Over 100 people are reported to be injured, and five to 15 are expected to be dead, after a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas last night. The USGS said the blast was so big it registered as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake.
- Chinese home prices were up 3.6% on the year in March, compared with 2.1% the previous month. Home prices were up in 68 of 70 cities that are surveyed. First tier cities saw a surge in prices. In Guangzhou, prices increased 11.1%, Beijing prices were up 8.6%, and Shanghai prices were up 6.4%. 29 crazy things that only happen in China >
- Initial jobless claims climbed to 352,000, from 348,00 a week ago. The Philadelphia Fed Survey for April will be out at 10 a.m. ET. Consensus is for the general business conditions index level to rise to 3.3. Follow the release at Business Insider >
- In earnings news, Morgan Stanley reported Q1 profit ex-charges of $0.61 per share, on revenue of $8.5 billion. Analysts were looking for earnings of $0.57 per share, on revenue of $8.35 billion. Meanwhile, Pepsico Q1 earnings fell 4.6%. It reported profit of $0.69 per share, on revenue of $12.58 billion.
- Germany's lower house of parliament approved a €10 billion bailout for Cyprus. 407 of 602 policymakers voted in favor of the aid. In a separate vote, the German parliament also approved seven-year loan extensions for Ireland and Portugal. How Portugal became a horrific economic mess >
- Japanese exports climbed 1.1% year-over-year in March, beating expectations for a 0.2% increase. The trade deficit narrowed to 362.4 billion yen, from 777.5 billion yen in February.
- EBay reported Q1 revenue of $3.75 billion, missing expectations for $3.77 billion. It also lowered Q2 guidance to earnings per share of $0.61 - $0.63 per share, on revenue of $3.8 billion - $3.9 billion, against expectations of $0.66 per share, on revenue of $3.95 billion.
- The People's Bank of China plans to widen its yuan trading band soon. The current trading band is 1% of the daily reference rate. The central bank's vice governor Yi Gang is quoted by the WSJ as saying, "The exchange rate is going to be more market-oriented." Everything you need to know about the Chinese renminbi >
- UK retail sales including fuel fell 0.7% month-over-month in March. This was worse than expectations for a 0.6% decline. Cold weather was blamed for the decline in sales of clothing and household products.
