Good morning. Here's what you need to know.
- Markets in Asia were higher in overnight trading. The Japanese Nikkei rose 3.5%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng advanced 1.8%, and the Shanghai Composite rose 1.5%. European markets are mostly lower, with Italy leading the way, down 0.9%. In the United States, futures point to a positive open.
- Treasuries continue to rise after a major sell-off that has shaken the market over the past several weeks. This morning, yields are down another 2 basis points to 2.5%. Meanwhile, after another mini-crash through $1200 yesterday, gold is now trading around $1203 an ounce (0.7% below yesterday's close).
- The annual rate of deflation in Japanese consumer prices slowed to 0.3% in May from 0.7% in April, exceeding consensus estimates for 0.4% year-over-year deflation. CPI excluding food and energy came in at -0.4% year over year, up from -0.6% in April but below expectations for a rise to -0.3%.
- German retail sales rose 0.8% in May after contracting 0.1% in April, exceeding consensus estimates for a 0.4% advance. Greek retail sales, on the other hand, fell 14.2% in April after decreasing 5.8% in March, indicating worsening conditions there.
- Handset maker Blackberry reported a loss of $0.13 per share in the first quarter of 2013, well below analysts' estimates for earnings of $0.08 per share. Revenues for the quarter came in at $3.07 billion, below estimates for $3.37 billion. The company attributed $0.10 of the loss per share to currency restrictions in Venezuela. Shares are down 17% in pre-market trading.
- China National Petroleum Corp will pay around $5 billion for a stake in Kazakhstan's biggest oil field, Bloomberg reports. The 8.33% stake in a project run by the state oil company in Kazakhstan will represent CNPC's largest overseas acquisition ever.
- During the week ended June 26, investors pulled $23.3 billion from bond funds, the largest weekly redemption ever. Equity funds recorded $13.1 billion in outflows, while precious metals funds saw $2.8 billion in outflows.
- "Fedpalooza" wraps up Friday with three speeches from Federal Reserve governors and regional bank presidents: Governor Jeremy Stein on monetary policy in New York at 8 AM, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker on the economic outlook in West Virginia at 9:15, and San Francisco Fed President John Williams on monetary policy in California at 3:30 PM. Investors will be listening closely for any thoughts related to the timeline for tapering back quantitative easing introduced by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke at last week's FOMC press conference.
- Chicago PMI survey results for the month of June are due out at 9:45 AM ET. Economists expect the headline index from the survey to fall to 55.0 from 58.7 in May, indicating a slowing yet still moderate pace of expansion in Midwest manufacturing activity.
- The final results of the University of Michigan's June Consumer Confidence survey are released at 9:55. Economists predict the index fell to 83.0 in June from last month's 84.5 reading. However, 83.0 represents an increase from the 82.7 flash June reading published by U of M two weeks ago. Follow the data LIVE on Business Insider >
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