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US stock market, economy and companies update (February 11, 2013)

Contributed by Trade The News

- Last week the S&P500 saw its sixth-straight week of gains although today caution has taken hold. After dipping into negative territory in the first hour of trading, all three leading indices are about unchanged in the early going. European indices have given up gains since the US open, although they are off their lows. Note that nearly all Asia markets are closed for the week.

- FX traders are closely watching a flurry of report that the G7 would issue an official statement this week reaffirming their commitment to "market-determined" exchange rates. But with currency war talk becoming more and more common, there are also concerns markets will not get anything but very weak G7 consensus. In the EU, Eurogroup ministers were focusing on Cyprus at their meeting, although comments about euro were unavoidable. The Bundesbank's Weidmann said there is no data showing the euro is overvalued.

- The National Association of Realtors published research showing US home price rose 10% y/y in Q4, for their largest gain since 2006. The NAR also said unsold inventory is at the lowest level in 12 years.

- ADRs of Danish pharma name Novo Nordisk are down more than 13% this morning after disclosing that the FDA has required more data for the ongoing review of cardiovascular drugs Tresiba and Ryzodeg.

- Small biotech name Regeneron soared after the company disclosed that Sanofi intends to buy a chunk of the company's common stock.

- Mortgage insurance name Radian is down 4% or so after reporting a steep quarterly loss in Q4, thanks to one-time items.

- AOL continues to gain ground after reporting Q4 results on Friday morning. Positive analyst commentary is propelling the share up nearly 7% in the early going today.

- Reports that a German solar manufacturer was ending short hours on higher demand levels are helping boost solar stocks across the board this morning. TAN solar ETF is up nearly 2%. Also note that First Solar is up a solid 5% on recirculating takeover rumors

***Looking Ahead***
- (CO) Colombia Central Bank Monetary Policy Minutes
- 11:00 (EU) Euro Area Finance Ministers meet in Brussels
- 11:00 (US) Fed to buy $1.25-1.75B in bonds
- 11:30 (US) Treasury to sell combined $52B in 3-Month and 6-Month Bills
- 13:00 (EU) Euro Area press conference
- 13:00 (US) Fed's Yellon on economy in Washington DC
- 16:00 (CA) Bank of Canada Dep Gov Lane speaks at Harvard

***Economic Data***
- (PT) Portugal Dec Trade Balance: -€934M v -€643M prior
- (PT) Portugal Construction Works Index: 47.7 v 53.5 prior
- (EU) OECD Dec Leading Indicator: 100.4 v 100.3 prior
- (IE) Ireland Jan Consumer Confidence: 64.2 v 49.8 prior
- (MX) Mexico Dec Final Trade Balance: $961.7B v $961.7Me
- (MX) Mexico Dec Industrial Production M/M: -2.1% v -0.1%e; Y/Y: -1.1% v +2.0%e
- (RU) Russia Dec Trade Balance: $17.1B v $18.0Be; Exports: $48.6B v $49.8Be; Imports: $31.4B v $31.4Be
- (PE) Peru Dec Trade Balance: $679.0M v $744.5Be