Morning Market Briefing

Morning Market Briefing Thursday, October 13, 2011, 09:01 Contents Commentary Economic News Earnings News Corporate News Broker Ratings Changes Todays WS Events Commentary Stocks May Show A Lack Of Direction In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary Stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Thursday, as traders express some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength. The major index futures are currently pointing to a mixed open for the markets. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article Economic News BoJ Minutes: Economic Activity Picking Up Steadily Members of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy board said that Japan's economic activity has been steadily improving, minutes from the bank's September 6 and 7 meeting revealed on Thursday. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article Bank Of Korea Keeps Rates At 3.25% The members of the Bank of Korea monetary policy board on Thursday decided to keep interest rates unchanged at the current level of 3.25 percent for the fourth straight month, in line with expectations. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article Australia's Jobless Rate Falls First Time In 6 Months Australia's unemployment rate declined for the first time in six months in September as employers stepped up hiring after shedding jobs in the past two months, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article China Sept. Trade Surplus Falls; Export Growth Hits 7-Month Low China's trade surplus shrank more than expected in September, while growth in exports eased to a seven-month low reflecting slackening global demand and dwindling confidence levels amid debt crisis in Europe. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article Rising Downside Risks Demand Rebalancing In Asia, Says IMF European debt crisis and slowdown in the U.S. have increased the risks to Asia, demanding rapid progress in rebalancing to shield the region from global vulnerabilities, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Thursday. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article High Uncertainty, Intensified Downside Risks Dominate Eurozone Outlook: ECB The European Central Bank said that euro area's economic outlook remains subject to particularly high uncertainty and intensified downside risks, though economic activity will benefit from recently announced measures to support the financial sector. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Edge Down To 404,000 New U.S. unemployment claims ticked down slightly in the week ended October 8th, according to figures released Thursday by the Labor Department. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported that 404,000 Americans filed new claims for unemployment insurance for the week. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article U.S. Trade Deficit Nearly Unchanged In August With the value of imports and exports nearly unchanged in the month of August, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing that the trade deficit for the month was also virtually unchanged from the previous month. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article Earnings News JPMorgan Chase Q3 Profit Declines JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Thursday posted a lower third-quarter profit as a result of higher noninterest expenses. The results, however, exceeded Street expectations. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article Fastenal Co. Q3 Profit Rises The Fastenal Co. (FAST) announced Thursday a rise in third-quarter profit largely reflecting higher revenues. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article Corporate News Rio Tinto Q3 Iron Ore Production Edges Up Rio Tinto plc (RIO, RIO.L, RTNTF.PK, RTPPF.PK) Thursday said third-quarter global iron ore production went up 5 percent year-over-year with operations recovering from severe weather events. Mined copper, however, fell 32 percent hurt by lower grades at the Escondida and Kennecott Utah Copper mines. (Oct 13, 2011) Full Article Broker Ratings Changes Duncan-Williams Downgrades Healthcare Services Group (HCSG) To Hold From Buy (Oct 13, 2011) Robert W. Baird Downgrades Altera Corp. (ALTR) To Neutral From Outperform With $35 down from $46 Price Target (Oct 13, 2011) Robert W. Baird Ups Broadcom Corporation (BRCM) To Outperform From Neutral With $46 up from $35 Price Target (Oct 13, 2011) Todays WS Events Fastenal Q3 11 Earnings Conference Call At 10:00 AM ET Fastenal Co. (FAST) will host a conference call at 10:00 AM ET on October 13, 2011 to discuss its Q3 11 earnings results. To access the live webcast, log on at http://investor.fastenal.com/events.cfm (Oct 13, 2011) Gap Investors Meeting At 8:45 AM ET Gap Inc. (GPS) will host a Investors Meeting at its Gap Global Creative Center in New York. The event is scheduled to begin at 8:45 AM ET, October 13, 2011. To access the live webcast, log on to www.gapinc.com To listen to the call, dial 1-800-374-1731 (US) or 706-679-5876 (International) with conference ID number 10818933. (Oct 13, 2011) Google Q3 11 Earnings Conference Call At 4:30 PM ET Google Inc. (GOOG) will host a conference call at 4:30 PM ET on October 13, 2011 to discuss its Q3 11 earnings results. To access the live webcast, log on at investor.google.com/webcast.html (Oct 13, 2011) JPMorgan Chase Q3 11 Earnings Conference Call At 10:00 AM ET JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) will host a conference call at 10:00 AM ET on October 13, 2011 to discuss its Q3 11 earnings results. To access the live audio webcast, log on at www.jpmorganchase.com To hear the live call, dial (866) 541-2724 (US/Canada) or (706) 634-7246 (International). A replay of the call can be heard by dialing (855) 859-2056 (US/Canada) or (404) 537-3406 (International) with ID 99901747. (Oct 13, 2011) Safeway Q3 11 Earnings Conference Call At 11:00 AM ET Safeway Inc. (SWY) will host a conference call at 11:00 AM ET on October 13, 2011 to discuss its Q3 11 earnings results. To access the live webcast, log on at www.safeway.com/investor_relations (Oct 13, 2011) Home | Top Stories | Breaking News | Economic News | Forex | Politics | Featured Interviews Sent to autoforextradingpro@gmail.com | Customize your alerts | Unsubscribe Copyright © 2011 RTTNews. All rights reserved. By using this service, you agree to the Terms of Service