UPDATE: Regulators Bans some short selling in Belgium, France, Italy and Spain. From European Securities and Markets Authority: ESMA promotes harmonised regulatory action on short-selling in the EU
• From the NY Times: Europe Considers Ban on Short-Selling
The European Securities and Markets Authority, a body that coordinates the European Union’s market policies, has been requesting information from member states about ... short-sales ... “We are discussing with national authorities and together we will decide whether we need coordinated action,” Victoria Powell, a spokeswoman for the authority, said Thursday.Banning short sales always looks like desperation.
• From MarketWatch: Second-quarter GDP view cut after trade data. With the higher than expected trade deficit in June it looks like Q2 real GDP growth might have been below 1% for the 2nd straight quarter. The 2nd estimate of Q2 GDP will be released on August 26th.
• From MasterCard: Total U.S. Retail Sales for July Up 8.7% Year-over-Year
Excluding auto sales retail sales grew by 8.7% year-over-year. Retail sales are on par with the average growth of the previous 3 months, and have held onto their momentum despite concerns from other areas of the economy.Retail sales for July will be released tomorrow.
Michael McNamara, VP of Research and Analysis for MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, noted: “Since March, non seasonally-adjusted retail sales have topped 8% year-over-year. However, much of the 8.7 percent growth is from commodity based inflation in areas such as gasoline, food and cotton prices. While the headline year-over-year increase resembles periods of strong economic growth, when you take a closer look at the comp environment and the year-over-year inflation, it tempers the enthusiasm that would normally accompany this level of year-over-year increase.”
Graph from Doug Short.
Click on graph for larger image.
A crazy week with four straight days of 400+ point swings for the Dow.
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