Noisia Records

BY KATY BURNE

NEW YORK&—Trading activity on a derivatives index that tracks the cost of protecting debt issued by 15 European sovereigns jumped Monday to its second-highest level ever after investors shunned Italian government bonds, stoking fears of contagion spreading from the still-unresolved Greek debt crisis.

The iTraxx SovX Western Europe index’s 303 trade count was more than four times its daily average since its inception last December, reflecting adjustments by traders of sovereign positions in response to changing market conditions, according to Markit, which administers the index.

…

(RTTNews) – Online recruitment activity in Europe recorded significant gain in June, Monster Worldwide said Friday.

The Monster Employment Index rose 23 percent year-on-year to 140 during the month. In May, the index was at 135 and recorded a 21 percent year-on-year increase.

Germany remained the leading performer with the index rising 41 percent, driving the annual growth in EU countries.

Commenting on the data, Vice President of Sales Readiness and Business Operations for Monster Europe said that the current pace is being driven primarily by the industrial production related sectors, professional services and continued resilience of some economies like Germany.

The Monster Index is a monthly gauge of online job demand based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities selected from career websites and online job listings across Europe.

by RTT Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

eBay Inc. (EBAY – 32.31) enjoyed a nice last-minute rally on Wednesday, fueled by the Federal Reserves decision to cut debit-card fees paid by retailers to a slimmer-than-expected 21 cents. The ruling is ultimately expected to benefit EBAYs PayPal unit, which is the Internet retailers fastest-growing business.

As a result, EBAY caught the attention of call players on Wednesday, with 11,450 of these bullishly oriented options bought to open on the International Securities Exchange (ISE). By comparison, just 4,050 EBAY puts were purchased on this exchange yesterday. In other words, calls were nearly three times more popular than puts on Wednesday.

This call-heavy activity is a sharp deviation from the recent trend on the ISE, as evidenced by the stocks 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.3. Not only does this ratio illustrate that puts have been more popular than calls during the past 10 sessions, but it also ranks above three-fourths of all other readings taken during the past year.

Similarly, EBAYs Schaeffers put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) is currently docked at 1.41, an annual acme. This lofty ratio suggests that short-term option players are more put-heavy on the online auctioneer now than at any other time during the past year.

Turning to Wednesdays activity, it seems that traders showed a distinct preference for front-month calls on EBAY. The equitys July 31- and 32-strike calls each saw volume of around 18,000 contracts, and open interest at these front-month strikes swelled substantially overnight. EBAY closed Wednesdays session at $30.86, leaving these front-month calls just barely out of the money.

Elsewhere on the Street, it seems that analysts have also taken a shine to EBAY. Bright and early this morning, B of A-Merrill upped its rating on EBAY to buy from hold, citing the retailers improving performance in the US market. Meanwhile, Citigroup also had positive thoughts about EBAY, raising its outlook on the shares to buy from hold, while also increasing its price target to $38 from $36.

Two studies released today show that manufacturing activity is beginning to rebound in the Midwest. First, the Chicago Business Barometer from ISM-Chicago rose from 56.6 in May to 61.1 in June.  Measures of production and new orders rose significantly in the month, with the production index up from 56.0 to 66.9 and the new orders growing from 53.5 to 61.2.

While still below the levels reached earlier in the year, these figures are a good sign that the Midwest is recovering from the supply chain disruptions and other factors which cooled production in March, April and May. As further evidence of this, the survey suggests that the average lead time for capital equipment purchases is up to 135 days, its highest point since June 2006.

In addition, manufacturers are seeing prices grow at a slower pace, with the prices paid index falling from 78.6 to 70.5. This is largely consistent with other indicators which show pricing pressures easing somewhat in June. Meanwhile, the index for employment fell somewhat from 60.8 to 58.7; while this still signifies job growth in the sector, it does indicate a slower rate of growth than previous months.

Two downsides from the survey are the backlog of orders and inventories, both of which fell below 50, indicating declines.

The second release today was the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank’s Manufacturing Survey for June, which mirrored the ISM-Chicago’s rebound in activity. The composite index rose from 1 to 14, which was equal to its level in April, erasing the declines from May. Measures for production, shipments, and new orders were up solidly. Highlighting the turnaround was the production index which grew from -2 to 22, with other indicators experiencing similar gains.

In its press release, Chad Wilkerson, a vice president and economist at the bank, said, “Factories in the region basically resumed their solid pace of growth from earlier in the year, following some disruptions in May.” He also observed that employment edged higher, with positive production and hiring intentions over the next six months.

In other findings, pricing pressures moderated somewhat in the Kansas City district, but still remain elevated. The index for raw materials inventory rose substantially from 1 to 16, while the inventory for finished goods was the same in June as in May. Capital expenditures and new export orders remained virtually unchanged from the previous month.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

A recent report claims that proposed Medicaid cuts would not
just limit access to health programs but also heavily impact jobs
and business activity.

Families USA, a nonprofit health advocacy organization, released
a report earlier this week listing the economic consequences if
Medicaid funding cuts are approved by Congress.

A budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would call for a 5
percent cut to Medicaid in 2013, a 15 percent cut in 2014 and a 33
percent cut in 2021. It would also alter the way states receive
Medicaid funding. Currently, states receive a federal match for
every dollar spent on Medicaid based on a formula. Ryan’s budget
would change the funding to a block grant system where only a
certain amount of money is given to each state.

“We have to think about how this will affect not just children
and families, but the nursing home community and health care
professionals,” said Ron Pollack, executive director for Families
USA. “The unseen consequences could be huge.”

The report, “Jobs at Risk,” analyzed the economic impact of a 5
percent, 15 percent and 33 percent cut to the Medicaid funding all
50 states currently use.

According to the report, Idaho could lose up to $47.8 million in
Medicaid funding with a 5 percent cut. This would then cost the
state almost $84.2 million in business activity and 870 jobs.

A 15 percent cut would result in a loss of $143.6 million in
Medicaid dollars and $252.6 million in business activity. The cut’s
potential national impact could be $41.25 billion in lost business
activity.

Idaho would lose up to $316.1 million of Medicaid funding with a
33 percent cut, eliminating 5,700 jobs and $555.7 million in
business activity. Nationally, the US would lose $90.8 billion of
business activity.

How this might affect Idaho’s job economy is difficult to
estimate, said Bob Fick, an Idaho Department of Labor spokesman.
But the potential loss of 5,700 jobs would be a significant.

“That number is scary,” Fick said. “But it’s hard to say how
that would affect the unemployment rate or the job field without
knowing what types of jobs would be lost or how many at one
time.”

A drop in Medicaid payments to pharmacies and nursing homes
would have large ramifications for those businesses.

“Any reduction of Medicaid payments would greatly influence my
business and many others in this area,” said Kurt Hefner, owner of
Kurt’s Pharmacy in Twin Falls.

Medicaid is one of Hefner’s largest providers, with 40 percent
of his payments coming from the federal program.

“I know that the state would need to figure out its budget but
it puts pharmacies in a tight place,” he said. “Patients will still
need prescriptions and are we just supposed to stop helping
people?”

In the meantime, Pollack is not confident that Ryan’s plan will
pass. However, he said most of the budget proposals being
considered have some sort of Medicaid funding reduction.

“Medicaid is good medicine for seniors and people with
disabilities needing nursing home and other long-term care,” said
Pollack. “It is also good medicine for state economies and job
growth. This is exactly the wrong time for Congress to cut a
program that boosts the economy while also providing a boost to
individuals and families facing hard economic times.”

* YTD US ECM activity up nearly 80 percent year on year

* Macroeconomic concerns could trigger slowdown -bankers

* Goldman is No. 1 bank in US-listed ECM activity YTD

By Clare Baldwin

NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters) – Nearly 80 percent more has
been raised on US equity capital markets this year than in the
same period in 2010, but macroeconomic concerns could trigger a
slowdown through the rest of the year, bankers say.

So far this year 409 US equity capital markets deals have
raised $136.8 billion, up from the 378 deals that raised $76.5
billion a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. The data
includes all initial public offerings, follow-on share sales and
convertible issuance in the United States as of June 29.

But the sharply-higher amount raised — which included a
flurry of big private equity-backed IPOs earlier this year, and,
more recently, American International Group Incs $8.7
billion share sale — could fall off.

Recently, a number of US IPOs have traded down, priced
below the expected range or been postponed.

Ally Financials planned $6 billion IPO was among those put
off earlier this month due to bad market conditions, sources
told Reuters.

US markets closed up on Wednesday — their best three-day
run in the past three months after the Greek parliament approved
a plan to avoid defaulting on its debt — but concerns about the
US debt ceiling and US economic data continue to weigh on
investors and markets.

The Federal Reserve earlier this month cut its forecasts for
US economic growth but offered no hint of further monetary
support, saying the recovery should gradually pick up heading
into 2012.

Meanwhile, the United States risks defaulting on its debt if
the Obama administration is not able to negotiate with Congress
for a new budget and debt ceiling.

US unemployment also remains high.

Because of macroeconomic uncertainty, the general investor
sentiment for deals is worse than what weve seen in a while,
said Frank Maturo, co-head of cash equity capital markets at
Bank of America Merrill Lynch .

We believe that issuers may need to get more defensive in
this current market. That could mean lower valuations and
smaller transactions, or waiting for macroeconomic clarity,
Maturo said.

So far this year, 34 companies pursuing US listings have
postponed or withdrawn their IPO plans and it is clear US
investors are becoming increasingly cautious.

Social media IPOs like LinkedIn Corp have come
under scrutiny for their bubble-like trading in the aftermarket
and an increasing number of US-listed Chinese companies have
suffered amid a rush of alleged accounting fraud, stock halts
and de-listings and regulatory probes.

Theres issuance that you have to do versus whats
opportunistic, said Larry Wieseneck, Barclays Capitals
head of global finance amp; risk solutions. As long as
the volatility continues whats opportunistic will likely be
delayed.

Bankers broadly expect companies hoping to tap US capital
markets in the coming months will have to either accept lower
valuations or delay their capital raising.

TECH BUBBLE WORRIES

One of the hottest market sectors in the US right now is
social media. Any company able to tap an individuals friends
and acquaintances is almost guaranteed to attract outsized
investor demand.

But those companies are also evoking memories of the lofty
valuations of the dot-com boom of the late 1990s and are raising
questions about whether they are really worth as much as some
investors thinks they are.

LinkedIns shares more than doubled on their first day of
trading on the New York Stock Exchange in May. Soon after, three
academics said there was a bubble in the stocks early days of
trading and that they had a model to prove it.

LinkedIns shares remain far above their IPO price, but have
come off their early highs.

Pandora Media Inc is another example of a stock that
the market has struggled to value. Two days after the Web radio
company debuted it had handed back its early gains and was
nearly 20 percent below its IPO price.

It has since recovered to trade 9.4 percent above where its
shares had first been sold.

Meanwhile Chinas Renren Inc , another social
networking company, also reversed course after a strong debut.
Hit with a double-whammy of investor uncertainty over internet
valuations and fears about China-based companies, its shares are
now almost 40 percent below their IPO price.

There is some pretty fine-tuned nervousness around
valuations … for some of the higher growth companies coming
into the market people are having a difficult time trying to
assess what an appropriate value is, said Tom Fox, head of
global capital markets at UBS AG .

While it is not yet clear whether these companies will be
real winners, what is clear is that investors will soon have
more practice at valuing them.

Daily deals site Groupon Inc earlier this month filed with
US regulators for an IPO of up to $750 million. In a letter to
potential stockholders Chief Executive Andrew Mason said the
company does not measure itself in conventional ways and
suggested other ways of looking at the companys worth.

Online social game company Zynga is expected to file
paperwork with US regulators on Thursday for an IPO that would
value it at as much as $20 billion, while Groupon competitor
LivingSocial met with banks this week to discuss an IPO that
would value it at up to $15 billion.

Facebook, whose estimated market valuation has surged into
the tens of billions, is expected to become publicly-traded by
April 2012.

Goldman Sachs is the No. 1-ranked bank for
US-listed equity capital markets deals so far this year,
according to Thomson Reuters data.

The bank had raised $17.2 billion in 70 deals as of June 29,
according to the data. That is up from the $7.4 billion it had
raised in 56 deals at this time last year.

JPMorgan is second, having raised $15.1 billion in
95 deals. Morgan Stanley is third ($13.6 billion, 93
deals), Citi is fourth ($13.5 billion, 83 deals), and Bank
of America Merrill Lynch is fifth ($13.4 billion, 100 deals).
(Editing by David Holmes)

  As the Souris River begins to rise in the western Manitoba town of Melita, flood-fighting efforts are racing downstream.Photograph by: Shaun Best, Reuters

SOURIS, Man. — As the Souris River begins to rise in the western Manitoba town of Melita, flood-fighting efforts are racing downstream.

Along Plum Creek, which has surged from a trickle to a torrent as it backs up against the Souris, crews will now start to haul dike material throughout the night.

The dike there must hastily rise to protect a popular greenhouse and nine homes before the time the Souris crests between July 7 and 10.

&"We need to get in there as fast as possible,&" Sven Kreusch, the Souris emergency officer, whose own home is threatened by the creek, said Wednesday.

The 24-7 diking is expected to last for several days to catch up to the river’s deadline.

So far, flood fighters here have made good on their need for haste. In a matter of days, the town has changed: last week, residents were tense, waiting.

Now everyone is in motion: flatbeds rumble over idyllic country roads, piled high with loads of dirt and sandbags. Teens in orange vests and hardhats scurry out of the town’s firehall and disperse into trucks.

Along the banks of the Souris, a nearly four-metre-high fortress of super sandbags now surrounds the water treatment plant: only six days earlier, it was guarded only by an earth and metal dike that could not cope with the river’s new predicted crest.

As work at the treatment plant nears its close, the town can breathe a little easier. &"It went faster than we expected,&" Kreusch said. &"It’s crucial — because if that goes, then the town goes.&"

As of Wednesday evening, 2,979 Manitobans are evacuated.

The U.S. National Weather Service on Wednesday increased the forecast peak flow upstream at Westhope, North Dakota, to 842 cubic metres per second (cms) on July 4, which is an increase of approximately 8.5 cms since its June 27 forecast.

The Assiniboine upstream of the Souris River is forecast to experience another peak in the beginning of July. Inflow upstream of Portage la Prairie is forecast to remain at or near the current flow of 38,000 cfs for the few couple days before it starts to rise in response to the large flows from the Souris River basin.

In Saskatchewan meanwhile, water levels are slowly starting to recede, leaving some flooded residents with a decision about what to do with their homes once the water is gone.

Several homes in the Souris River Valley were nearly covered by water and will almost surely be written off, leaving owners with the option to rebuild on the same, low-lying spot or somewhere new.

&"There’s four that have said, ‘No way, no how’ and there’s probably six I have talked to that would love to be able to go back there,&" said Sharon Wells, deputy mayor of Roche Percee, a village southeast of Estevan that had nearly 40 homes severely flooded.

While much of the valley is still underwater, the Souris’ level is starting to go down. The flow of the river at Estevan was down to 260 cms on Wednesday, down from a high of 770 last week. There is not yet an estimate of when the river might get back to 60 cms when it would once again be flowing within its banks.

The biggest issue facing the area right now is roads.

&"Every RM in the area has more roads with water on them than are dry — each and every one of our neighbours and ourselves it’s a constant struggle to keep the roads open,&" Rural Municipality of Estevan administrator Greg Hoffort said Wednesday.

&"We have water running in ways and places it never has before. It’s a tough thing for councils to deal with. Each and everyone one of the municipalities’ crews are stretched to the limit trying to keep things going.&"

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca

– with files from Tim Switzer, Regina Leader-Post

June 30 (Bloomberg) — David Speer, chairman and chief executive officer of Illinois Tool Works Inc., and Greg Brown, CEO of Motorola Solutions Inc., talk about the US economy and tax policy.
They speak with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Televisions In the Loop. (Source: Bloomberg)

MACAU, Jun 30, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
Today,
www.EquityMarketsInc.com announced its research report
highlighting Abraxas Petroleum Corporation

/quotes/zigman/67526/quotes/nls/axas AXAS
-1.57%

and SM
Energy Company

/quotes/zigman/598269/quotes/nls/sm SM
+0.46%

. Full content and research is available at

www.EquityMarketsInc.com/research.php .

As it is expected to see rising oil prices, production growth,
improved global economic growth and geopolitical tensions placing
pressure on E&P stocks, the growth of this sector is optimistic. S&P
believe the EPS are expected to see growth of about 26% in 2011 and
29% in 2012. As of June, the U.S. Energy Information Administration
(EIA) estimated that global oil demand expanded 2.4 million b/d in
2010, to 86.7 million b/d, and sees demand growth of 1.75 MMb/d in
2011, to 88.43 MMb/d. Earlier in 2011, crude oil prices reached highs
not seen since 2008, reflecting the disruption of exports from Libya
and unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.

Equity Markets has reviewed Abraxas Petroleum Corporation as an
independent energy company primarily engaged in the development and
production of oil and gas. As of December 31, 2009, its properties
were located in the Rocky Mountain, Mid-Continent, Permian Basin and
Gulf Coast regions of the United States. On October 5, 2009, Abraxas
Petroleum Corporation acquired 100% ownership of Abraxas Energy
Partners, L.P. The full research report on Abraxas Petroleum
Corporation

/quotes/zigman/67526/quotes/nls/axas AXAS
-1.57%

is available here:

www.EquityMarketsInc.com/researchfile4634.php .

Equity Markets is covering SM Energy Company, as an independent
energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation,
development and production of natural gas and crude oil in North
America, with a focus on oil- and liquids-rich resource plays. The
Company has approximately 250,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford shale
play in South Texas, two-thirds of which it operates with an
approximate 100 % working interest. In the North Dakota portion of
the Williston Basin, it has approximately 81,000 net acres that are
prospective in the Bakken/Three Forks formations. The full research
report on SM Energy Company

/quotes/zigman/598269/quotes/nls/sm SM
+0.46%

is available here:

www.EquityMarketsInc.com/researchfile4891.php .

About Equity Markets
Our mission at Equity Markets is to be the best
source of content and research, while educating, enlightening and
informing investors. Equity Markets combines street smart analysts
and professional market researchers to provide investors with
detailed company profiles and market coverage.

Contact:

Samuel Littman
Email Contact

www.EquityMarketsInc.com

SOURCE: Equity Markets Inc

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=9F7887528F5BD815

http://www.equitymarketsinc.com/

Copyright 2011 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

/quotes/zigman/67526/quotes/nls/axas

Add AXAS to portfolio

AXAS

Abraxas Petroleum Corp.

$
3.77

-0.06
-1.57%

Volume: 1.97M
July 1, 2011 4:00p

/quotes/zigman/598269/quotes/nls/sm

Add SM to portfolio

SM

SM Energy Co.

$
73.82

+0.34
+0.46%

Volume: 880,957
July 1, 2011 4:03p

/quotes/zigman/67526/quotes/nls/axas

Add AXAS to portfolio

AXAS

Abraxas Petroleum Corp.

$
3.77

-0.06
-1.57%

Volume: 1.97M
July 1, 2011 4:00p

/quotes/zigman/598269/quotes/nls/sm

Add SM to portfolio

SM

SM Energy Co.

$
73.82

+0.34
+0.46%

Volume: 880,957
July 1, 2011 4:03p

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported on mortgage activity Wednesday for the week ending June 24, 2011. The news was surprising, as activity declined despite improved interest rates. The MBAs Market Composite Index, which reflects mortgage application activity, fell by 2.7% in the period. However, the movement was hard to justify, given that contracted rates on 30-year and 15-year mortgages averaged 4.46% (down from 4.57%) and 3.64% (from 3.7%).

Refinancing activity was also down despite the improvement in rates, with the MBAs Refinance Index dropping 2.6%. Yet the refinance share of overall activity still managed to gain ground to 69.5% from 69.2% of total mortgage activity. This was due to the pitiful fact that Purchase Activity declined as well. The MBAs Purchase Index fell 3.0% against the week before.

The four-week moving averages for the Market Composite Index and the Purchase Index are both a bit disconcerting. The four-week average of the Market Composite Index was up only 0.7% against the prior week, while the Purchase Index average was down 1.5%. Refinancing activity, however, was up 1.5% over the latest four-week span.

Its hard to say what the cause of the decline was last week. Weather can impact week-to-week comparisons, and another wave of tornadoes did blow through the Midwest and into the East last week. We just heard Bloomberg Radio host Pimm Fox relay the comments of a housing executive; he apparently noted that home shopping drops off sharply if a weekend is rainy versus dry. The start to summer also brings with it slower business activity generally, as well as a less active housing market (versus spring). Its also possible that global uncertainty froze Americans last week, given all the trouble with Greece. Domestically, the possibility of the government finding empty coffers on August 2nd, without a debt ceiling hike, could mean trouble for many, if not all of us. Perhaps public sector employees are shaking in their work-boots instead of home shopping.

What do you think?

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.