- Biden Works To Unify Senate Democrats On Stimulus Bill
- US Warns To Take Hard Line On Chinese Trade Practices
- US Sanctions For Navalny Poisoning Expected Early Today
- NY Covid-19 Variant Expands Reach In US With 735 Cases
- China Mobilises Tech Revolution To Cut West Dependence
- China Worried About Bubbles In Property, Foreign Markets
- RBA Commits To Keep 3-Year Yields Low Amid Bond Rout
- UK To Arm London For Fightback With Listings Shake-Up
- Oil Sinks Toward $60, OPEC+ Meets To Decide On Supplies
- Goldman Looks To Crypto Trading, CBOE Seeks Bitcoin ETF
- US Groups Seek To Break China Grip On Rare Earths Supply
- Pfizer, AstraZeneca Single Dose Cuts Hospitalisations 80%
Stock market optimism among Wall Street strategists has risen close to levels that signalled trouble for equities in the past. A Bank of America measure of their bullishness is near a level that historically has been bearish for stocks.
The gauge assesses the average recommended allocation to equities by sell-side strategists and is very close to triggering a sell signal, a team including Savita Subramanian wrote Monday. Last week’s worries about the impact of higher bond yields on stocks evaporated Monday, with US equities notching their biggest advance since June.
“The last time the indicator was this close to ‘Sell’ was June 2007 after which we generally saw 12-month returns of minus 13%,” the strategists said, adding even current levels signal below-average equity returns over the next year. “We‘ve found Wall Street bullishness to be a reliable contrarian indicator.” (BBG - Continue Reading)
The US Senate will start debating President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday after Democrats backed down from an effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 as part of it.
The backpedalling did not end hopes of addressing the minimum wage issue in Congress. Democrats and some Republicans have voiced support for the idea of raising the federal minimum wage, now at $7.25 an hour, for the first time since 2009, although they disagree on how much.
Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton last week proposed an increase to $10 per hour but said employers should verify the wage is going to workers who are legally in the United States. (RTRS - Continue Reading)

Eurozone consumer price growth is expected to show a slight increase in February, a scenario likely to further fuel inflation concerns about the impact of government and central bank promises of trillions in fiscal and monetary stimuli in Europe and beyond.
The flash reading for headline inflation in the Eurozone is expected grow to 1.0% in February after surging to 0.9% in January from -0.3% in the final month of 2020. Core preliminary inflation is projected to ease to 1.1% for February after jumping to a five-year high of 1.4% at the start of the year from a record low of -0.2% in December, its biggest move ever.
The return of the main inflation measure to positive territory after five months in the red followed sharp rises in food, alcohol, tobacco, and services, with one-offs contributing to the surprisingly strong increase. (LiveSquawk - Continue Reading)
- Japanese Jobless Rate Jan: 2.9% (exp 3.0%; prev 2.9%)
- Japanese Monetary Base (Y/Y) Feb: 19.6% (prev 18.9%)
- Japanese Capital Spending (Y/Y) Q4: -4.8% (exp -2.0%; prev -10.6%)
- South Korean Industrial Production (Y/Y) Jan: 7.5% (exp 5.9%; R prev 2.5%)
- South Korean Markit Manufacturing PMI Feb: 55.3 (prev 53.2)
- Australian Building Approvals (M/M) Jan: -19.4% (exp -2.0%; R prev 12.0%)
- Australian BoP Current Account Balance (AUD) Q4: 14.5B (exp 13.0B; prev 10.0B)
- Australian ANZ Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index Feb-28: 110.3 (prev 109.2)
- New Zealand Terms Of Trade Index (Q/Q) Q4: 1.3% (exp 1.0%; prev -4.7%)
- China’s Xi Mobilises Tech Revolution To Cut Western Dependence - BBG
- As Economy Rebounds, China Parliament To Address Future Pitfalls - RTRS
- China ‘Worried’ About Bubbles In Property, Foreign Markets - BBG
- Japan Jobless Rate Edges Down Despite Pandemic Emergency - Nikkei
- South Korea Unveils KRW15Tln Extra Budget To Aid Small Businesses - RTRS
- RBA Commits To Keep 3-Year Yields Low Amid Bond Rout - RTRS
- RBNZ’s Hawkesby Tamps Down Market Talk Of Quicker End To Stimulus - RTRS
- President Biden Works To Unify Senate Democrats On $1.9Tln Relief Bill - WP
- Senate Parliamentarian Approves Pension, Health Items In Relief Bill - BBG
- Senator Sanders Pushes For $15 Minimum Wage Included In Relief Bill - Axios
- US To Take Hard Line On Chinese Trade Practices, Administration Says - WSJ
- US Sanctions For Navalny Poisoning Expected As Early As Tuesday - RTRS
- New York Covid-19 Variant Expands Reach In US With 735 Cases - BBG
- UK To Arm City Of London For Fightback With Listings Shake-Up - FT
- France Lifts Restrictions On Giving AstraZeneca Jab To Over-65s - FT
- Dollar Holds Advantage Over Low-Yielders On Recovery Optimism - RTRS
- EUR/USD: Tests 100-Day SMA Support Amid Continued Sell-Off In Gold - FXStreet
- GBP/USD: Offered Below 1.39 As Covid Variants Threaten Progress - FXStreet
- AUD/USD: Trims Early Losses To Eye 0.7800 After RBA’s Status-Quo - FXStreet
- Goldman Sachs Set To Jump Back Into Cryptocurrency Trading - BBG
- CBOE Seeks Approval For Bitcoin ETF As Price Rises - RTRS
- Troublesome Trio In Emerging Markets Face Yield Spike Scare - BBG
- Japan Sold JPY2.12Tln Of 10-Year Bonds At An Average Yield Of 0.13% BTC 3.14
- Oil Sinks Toward $60 Before OPEC+ Meets To Decide On Supplies - BBG
- Oil Trade Group Considers Endorsing Carbon Pricing - WSJ
- Firm Dollar, Elevated Yields Push Gold Prices To 8-Month Low - RTRS
- Copper On Track For 3rd Straight Fall As Weak China Data Weighs - RTRS
- Mining Deals To Pick Up As World Reopens, Leading Adviser Says - BBG
- Asia Shares Fall As China Bank Regulator Warns Of Foreign ‘Bubble’ - FT
- Ant Group Tries To Quell Discontent With Promise Of Eventual IPO - WSJ
- Ant Shelves Share Buyback Programme For Current, Departing Staff - BBG
- Jack Ma’s Ant Defies Pressure From Beijing To Share More Customer Data - FT
- China’s Nio Misses Profit Forecast Even As Vehicles Sales Grow - BBG
- Nomura Targets Private Equity In Biggest Shakeup Since 2010 - Nikkei
- South Korean Battery Makers Pitch WH About Georgia Factory - WSJ
- South Korea’s Coupang Seeks Up to $3.6 Billion in New York IP - BBG
- Moody's: Covid Measures Have Mixed Credit Effects On Australian Companies
- US Futures Fall After S&P 500 Notches Best Day Since June - CNBC
- US Groups Seek To Break China’s Grip On Rare Earths Supply - FT
- Amazon Sued For Alleged Race, Gender Bias In Corporate Hires - BBG
- Boeing Tests Pilotless Combat Jet In Australia’s Outback - BBG
- Pfizer, AstraZeneca Single Dose Cuts Hospitalizations By 80% - BBG
- Novavax Expects FDA Clearance For Covid Vaccine As Early As May - CNBC
- Zoom Predicts Business Boom Will Extend Beyond Pandemic - FT
- Danone Begins Search For New Chief In Effort To Placate Activists - FT
- Volvo Cars To Go All Electric By 2030 As It Shifts Sales Online - FT