March 9, 2016 1:00 a.m. ET / March 9, 2016 1:00 p.m. HKT
It’s been a choppy week in the markets; SPX posted three over 1% moves in the past five sessions while VIX, the so-called fear gauge which tracks implied volatility over the next 30 days, spiked 17%. Elsewhere, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese 10-year bond yields all surged by at least 10 basis points. Miraculously absent from the bond price plunge were 10-year French oats, which surprisingly, joined German bunds in ticking higher. This is odd given France’s potentially blobfish-ugly political and economic situation, but in any case, with the Brexit referendum drawing nearer, things might change for it real quick.
Here’s what else you need to know:
SpaceX nails historic at-sea rocket landing. In a historic accomplishment, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has successfully landed a spent booster rocket vertically on a floating platform. This was the company’s sixth attempt. The company has called the feat “essential to their long-term goal of dramatically reducing the cost and accelerating the pace of launching payloads” into space. The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
U.S. oil rig numbers fall to 2009 low. The Baker Hughes oil rig count dipped by 8 to 354 this week, its lowest level since November 2009 and the third-straight decline for the tally. U.S. energy companies have forced to scale back their number of active oil rigs amid plunging prices and mounting debt loads. The Financial Times (paywall)
U.S.: China should abide by international ruling on disputed islands. “We don’t expect China to like it, but they should abide by the ruling,” said Colin Willett, the State Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian Affairs. Bloomberg
North Korea tests missile engines as U.S. talks up THAAD. Barely a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter reiterated plans to deploy THAAD – a U.S. Army anti-ballistic missile system – in South Korea, North Korea announced that it has successfully tested an engine for one of their recently-developed intercontinental ballistic rockets. Bloomberg
Pope Francis opens the door for divorced, “irregular” families. In a controversial, 60,000-word document titled “On Love in the Family,” Pope Francis offered a more welcoming tone for gays and “irregular” families without actually changing any official church doctrine. Officially, re-married divorced individuals are not allowed to take communion, but the document urges priests to make judgments based on each person’s story. CNN
Vatican to #FeeltheBern. In another interesting twist out of the Vatican, U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has been invited to attend a conference in Rome. Sanders, who is Jewish, says he is a big fan of the pope, explaining that they have the same views on inequality. BBC
By the numbers: U.S. markets end week with a boost. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to close Friday. The Nasdaq grew just less than 0.1%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.3%. U.S. crude oil surged, ending the week oh-so-close to $40/barrel. Asian markets cap the week mixed. Thanks to a rebound in oil prices, the Hang Seng Index and the Nikkei 225 ended the day up 0.51% and 0.46%, respectively. The Shanghai Composite meanwhile slumped 0.78%. For the week, the HSI is down 0.24%, the SHCOMP down 0.77%, and the Nikkei down 0.61%.
Paris terrorism suspect arrested. Mohamed Abrini and two others were arrested Friday in Belgium in relation to the Paris attacks last fall. Authorities are looking to determine if the 31-year-old Belgian-Moroccan can also be tied to the Brussels’ attacks last month. CNN
Najib spared in scathing 1MBD report. Despite allegations of him having transferred over a billion dollars to his personal account from 1MDB, Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was surprisingly not mentioned in the state’s official report on the scandal. “It’s all planned that way; so we could attribute blame on [the board] but exonerate the prime minister. It means nothing.” The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
ICYMI
Yellen: more interest rate hikes this year. Fed Chair Janet Yellen told a New York gathering Thursday night that the U.S. economy is on course with hints of inflation. The U.S. labor market is now “close” to full strength, and the December rate rise was not a mistake, she said. “We continue to see good job performance, some evidence of inflation moving up, so that was our expectation when we raised rates in December,” she said. BBC
British industry not doing too great. Industrial output in the U.K. fell by 0.5% in February, its largest drop since August 2013 and a few ticks short of the 0% reading expected by economists. Manufacturing meanwhile slumped 1.8%, more than twice the decline forcasted by a Bloomberg poll. The Financial Times (paywall)
13 North Koreans defect to the South. The group – which was working abroad – apparently decided to defect after watching South Korean TV shows and movies on the internet. Which country they were working from was not divulged. Bloomberg
You wouldn’t believe this…
Raindrops keep falling on my… tongue? The latest dessert craze to take off in New York is the Raindrop Cake. Inspired by a traditional Japanese dish, the cake is made from spring water and agar, and dipped in a black sugar syrup called Kuromitsu and a roasted soy flour called Kinako. ABC
Sister, can you bless my bong? The spiritual Sisters of the Valley hope to help the suffering through the salves and lotions they make with their home-grown marijuana. The two religious women wear habits and dress modestly, but are not officially tied to the Catholic Church. CNN
Photo: SpaceX Photos