General News:
Retail sales rise 0.3% and 0.4% ex-auto. June and May were revised up total. Likewise for ex-auto. Details:
· Building material sales rose 0.2%
· Electronics and appliance store sales rose 1.0%.
· Clothing store sales rose 1.3% — not sure I believe this one.
· General Merchandise rose 0.9% — again seems strong compared to monthly sales numbers
· Food service and drinking places rose 1.3%.
· Gasoline stations fell 0.8%.
– Bank of China and 5 other Chinese banks have a loss of $650 million in subprime losses.
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the second- largest hedge-fund manager, will invest about $2 billion to bail out its Global Equity Opportunities Fund after a 28 percent decline this month.
– Blackstone Group LP, manager of the world’s largest private-equity fund, said second-quarter earnings more than tripled as revenue increased during a record year for leveraged buyouts.
– Energy futures rose, buoyed by easing concerns about the economy and scattered reports of refinery outages over the weekend.
Asia/Europe:
Asia:
– Asian stocks rose, following their biggest drop in five months, as the region’s central banks moved to ease a credit crunch sparked by losses on higher risk mortgages.
– Japan’s economic growth slowed more than economists forecast in the second quarter, making it less likely the central bank will raise interest rates next week after a global credit crunch.
– Inflation in China, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, accelerated to the highest rate in more than 10 years, fueling speculation that the government may raise borrowing costs for a fourth time in 2007.
– Australia’s central bank raised inflation forecasts to the top of its target range and said economic growth will accelerate, a week after increasing the benchmark interest rate to an 11-year high.
– Asian central banks refrained from joining U.S. and European counterparts in pumping additional cash into their markets, reflecting confidence fallout from subprime mortgage losses can be contained without their help.
Europe:
– European stocks rose for the first time in three days after central banks pumped cash into the money market and analysts recommended buying financial shares.
– The European Central Bank lent emergency money to banks for a third day, paring the amount and declaring that markets are returning to normal.
– Akzo Nobel NV, the world’s largest maker of paints and coatings, agreed to buy Imperial Chemical Industries Plc for 8 billion pounds ($16 billion) after a two-month effort to win over the U.K. maker of Dulux and Glidden paints.
– Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s biggest bank, said it hired former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan as a consultant for its securities unit.
– BNP Paribas SA, France’s largest bank, plans to increase its commodities headcount by a third over the next two years and may make an acquisition or establish a joint venture in the U.S. gas and power industry.
Corporate News:
– Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) narrowed its second-quarter earnings guidance and announced its second major share buyback program in a month
– Radio broadcaster and billboard company Clear Channel Communications Inc. (CCU) said it will hold a special meeting of its shareholders on Sept. 25 to vote on the $19.45 billion buyout offer from the group led by Bain Capital Partners LLC and Thomas H.
– CME Group (CME), which operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade, said it set a new volume record on Friday, when 4.3 million options on futures traded.