Good morning everyone. It looks like the Nikkei’s six-day winning streak might get clipped today as Nikkei 225 futures traded in Chicago and in the Osaka pre-market bid at least 160 points below its previous close. Chinese futures also signaled a retreat in the region as futures on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.4%, same with the FTSE China A50, while contracts on Hong Kong’s HSI slipped 0.3%. Meanwhile in FX, commodity currencies such as the Kiwi, the Aussie, as well as the Loonie all extended their declines against the greenback, with the Kiwi losing 14% in the past three months.
And now for the news:
Greece’s credit rating just got bumped up a few notches. Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s announced that they have raised Greece’s credit rating up two notches to CCC+, adding that “Greece’s default on its stock of commercial debt is no longer inevitable” though they did add that “Greece’s financial commitments appear to us to be unsustainable over the long term.” With that move, Greece is now as credit worthy as Pakistan and Jamaica. Standard & Poors
“The Volcker Rule” begins. Starting today, the hotly-contested Volcker Rule will officially be taking effect. The big banks however seem to be adequately prepared for it, with J.P. Morgan Chase’s CFO, Marianne Lake, saying that it’s unlikely “to have a direct impact on near-term trading.” WSJ (paywall)
Tech earnings bum the market. Microsoft is red in the face after writing down the entire value of its one-year-old Nokia purchase. That’s $7.5 billion and doesn’t bode well for Microsoft’s mobile phone business. Apple disappointed with slower iPhone sales than expected — although China was a bright spot. IBM continued to see revenues drop. And Yahoo continues to be a shaggy dog story, with everyone waiting for Marissa Mayer to work her magic. Marissa, it’s been three years!
Arrests made in J.P. Morgan hack. The FBI and Israel have arrested four people in connection to the computer hack and complex securities fraud scheme at J.P. Morgan. A fifth person remains at large. The alleged hackers became friends more than 10 years ago at Florida State University. Bloomberg
Rate cuts lure the Chinese back to the housing market. PBoC rate cuts coupled with cash subsidies and lowered transaction taxes for homebuyers are apparently luring the Chinese back into the housing market. Whether or not the decimation of the nation’s stock market factored here was not mentioned, though I’m pretty sure it had a hand in this as well. SCMP (paywall)
Hackers took control of a Jeep 10 miles away. In an effort to show how vulnerable cars are to remote attacks, two hackers “took control of a reporter’s Jeep Cherokee using a laptop 10 miles away, and killed its transmission, as well as messed with its windshield wipers, radio and air conditioning.” They may have also given people ideas in the process. MarketWatch
Photo credit: Hector Romero via Flickr