Oh Canada's Cunning Canadian Banks

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Today's Business: GDP, Jobless Claims & Canadian Banks on Tap

In today's business, you will find the first revision of Q2 GDP, the weekly jobless claims data and an interesting spin on Canadian camaraderie.

Oh Canada! Those Cunning Canadian Banks

I'm not sure if it was a sense of nationalistic camaraderie or a phobia that brought it to be, but it seems most of the major Canadian banks are reporting earnings today. The National Bank of Canada, Toronto Dominion (a.k.a. TD Bank NYSE: TD) and Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) are each reporting earnings. I suspect some great white PR team found a good way to win Canadian clientele, by lumping them all together in one big earnings sweep. I'm sure you would have missed most of the reports if not for their congregation, so it worked, but the only reason The Greek is mentioning them is to test the loyalty of our Canadian friends - let's see who is really reading... You know, Canadians are sooooo nice, but maybe it's all a big farce. Perhaps the overwhelming kindness oozing from the North is only so we do not invade the resource rich/cavalry defended emptiness... With so-called friends in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto (or from those places), we'll choose our WSG favorite Canadian town based on their unsolicited feedback! Let's see who is for real!

Weekly Jobless Claims

Weekly jobless claims came in still hot and heavy at 570K in the week ended August 22. The latest shedding was only 10K short of last week's reading, and reflects a still troubled labor market. The sharp dip in this data flow a few weeks back lent much support to stocks. But as it turns out unemployment is still scary, so some second guessing seems certain here. This also continues concern for a double dip recession as hobbled consumer spending may not have enough support to sustain recovery.

The insured unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percentage point, to 4.6%, but that had a lot to do with the long-term jobless having received their last check. Those are the same folks you need to watch out for now, as you walk home from the subway or as you sleep the night away in the suburbs... Your old drinking buddies could soon become your stalkers, since they know best the details of your net worth...

More than a few of you are receiving second and third chances, thanks to extensions of unemployment insurance. Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin during the week ending Aug. 8.

Q2 GDP Revision

Today's GDP revision was a non-starter, as Q2 GDP remained at -1.0%. Still, the mark eased economists' concern, as Bloomberg pegged the consensus opinion at -1.5%. Corporate Earnings data is reported alongside GDP, and showed a 17.7% year-to-year decline. However, the market will like the news that quarterly profits increased 33.8% (annualized basis) over its sequential predecessor.

EIA Natural Gas Report

The weekly natural gas inventory data is due at 10:30 this morning. Last week's report showed natural gas stocks spilling over (assuming a liquefied state of course). For the week ended August 20, gas inventory in storage increased by 52 Bcf. Inventory stood well above both prior year and 5-year average comparable marks. Natural gas futures for the most current contract showed its price at $2.86 per MMBtu.

Federal Reserve News & Gurus

Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard address separate groups today. The Fed will also report on the state of its balance sheet at 4:30 this afternoon (We post this only to egg on Columnist Ferguson).

Corporate EPS Schedule - Oh Canada!

The day's earnings schedule includes a slew of Canadian banks. Look for EPS reports from A-Power Energy Generation (Nasdaq: APWR), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO), Aruba Networks (Nasdaq: ARUN), Bebe Stores (Nasdaq: BEBE), China Sunergy (Nasdaq: CSUN), China Telecom (NYSE: CHA), Conn’s (Nasdaq: CONN), Cost Plus (Nasdaq: CPWM), dELiA*s, Inc. (Nasdaq: DLIA), Dollar Financial (Nasdaq: DLLR), Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq: ENER), Fred’s (Nasdaq: FRED), Genesco (NYSE: GCO), Gerber Scientific (NYSE: GRB), J. Crew (NYSE: JCG), LaBarge (NYSE: LB), Magma Design Automation (Nasdaq: LAVA), Marvell Technology (Nasdaq: MRVL), MICROS System (Nasdaq: MCRS), Net 1 Ueps Technologies (Nasdaq: UEPS), Netezza (NYSE: NZ), Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL), Omnivision (Nasdaq: OVTI), OSI Systems (Nasdaq: OSIS), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), Shoe Carnival (Nasdaq: SCVL), Solera Holdings (NYSE: SLH), Suez SA (NYSE: SZE), Tandy Brands (Nasdaq: TBAC), Telvent (Nasdaq: TLVT), The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Toronto Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD), Vimpel Communications (NYSE: VIP), XETA Technologies (Nasdaq: XETA) and others.


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