The Litany

Looks like it’s gonna be a tough one for stocks today.  Here’s a list of what you can expect to put pressure on the markets this morning…

1.  Germany and the UK are very much interested in the details of how a New York investment bank may or may not have ripped off their local banks.

2.  China (Shanghai Composite Index) sold off almost 5% on news that the government has told the banks to curb all loans for third home purchases.  In and of itself, not a big deal, but a reminder of the tightness to which that country’s rulers aspire.

3.  The Euro weakening against the dollar is a fairly obvious headwind for risk assets – especially commodities and stocks.

4.  Dr Copper, possibly the best leading indicator we’ve got these days, dropping 2.3% in London.  May crude contract down 2.4% this morning (81-ish).

5.  Goldman’s ($GS) earnings conference call is coming up this week (April 20th), there is a hesitancy for any kind of dip buying until The Street gets a better sense of how big the debt derivatives business is for them.

6.  The speed and degree to which all stocks and sectors sold off on Friday on news that was rather company-specific is indicative of a blustery Bull without strong underpinnings.

7.  While we were celebrating the Intel ($INTC) quarterly earnings, we had gotten a handful of initial jobless claims and foreclosure stats that were overlooked.  These stats will now be circled back to – and they looked like Paula Abdul getting off an airplane with no makeup.

8.  Many savvy market participants are anticipating the next phase of the CDO fraud pile-on – who else did this, who’s next to be called out.  In addition, will state attorneys general be joining the fray?  And what will the impact on the financial industry be now that Finance Reform has become more a slam dunk to pass, politically speaking?

Good luck and be careful out there.

all data from Bloomberg