By James Langton
(June 22 – 09:00 ET) – The economic calendar is light for the rest of the week. Last week’s jobless claims were reported in the U.S., they were expected to drop 2,000, but they rose 5,000. Not much reaction is expected. Fed governors Gramlich and Meyer are both out speaking today. But a bond buyback by the U.S. Treasury at 11:00 ET will be the big credit event. Yesterday traders were disappointed that the buyback wasn’t expanded.
Statistics Canada reported the international transactions in securities for April. Foreign investors returned to Canadian bonds, while also continuing to add to their holdings of both Canadian equities and money market instruments. Foreigners added $8 billion to their holdings of Canadian securities in the month. Economists expected foreign investment to stay flat after a huge March. Canadian investors though continued the trend of large investments in foreign stocks. The other event at home this morning is that the Bank of Canada minutes for the May 4th board meeting are out at 10:00 ET.
In Europe stocks are mixed, with oils leading the way up as drug stocks head south. London’s FTSE is up 11 ticks to 6,489. France’s CAC 40 has gained 22 points to 6,512. The German DAX is off 41 points to 7,059.
In M&A news it’s being reported that WorldCom Inc. may offer to sell Sprint Corp.’s long-distance phone and Internet businesses to win antitrust approval. Its US$148 billion merger is said to be on the verge of being disallowed. Burr-Brown Corp. is going to be acquired by Texas Instruments Inc.
In Asian trading markets dropped in response to earlier slides on the North American market. Japan’s Nikkei lost 104 points to 17,106. The Hang Seng slipped 286 points to 15,952.