Things I'm Hearing…

I talk to everyone, here’s some of the stuff I’m hearing…

1.  Investment banking deals are flourishing at the Tier 3 broker-dealers.  The (last remaining) small brokerages in Manhattan with saleforces are seeing all kinds of dealflow.  A little bird tells me that a big, multi-firm Chinese PIPE is about to be used to bludgeon their clients any day now.  There are China deals, coal deals, nat gas deals and more.  It feels very 2006-ish when we’re talking about retail PIPE (PIPE – Private Investment in a Public Equity) offerings again…

2.  Speaking of China, tonight we get the GDP number for the 1st quarter and traders I talk to are hearing that this report will be the world’s greatest work of fiction since Homer wrote the Iliad.  There will probably be some short-covering in EM stocks and materials names if the rumor spreads far and wide enough that China’s going to “put up a huge number.”  Allow me to remind you that China is in the driver’s seat in terms of US stocks directionally speaking – it is way more influential in 2012 than any headlines out of Europe.  A big number from China will almost definitely mean a rally stateside – and China can essentially report whatever they’d like.  The other thing to keep in mind is that if the number is punk, there is still the possibility of a lending rate cut – also short-term bullish.

3.  My friend Nancy Miller has a crucial ebook out today that’s extremely timely – it is a primer to the Facebook IPO that will answer many of the key questions investors and pros might have.  I love that she was able to get something like this out in such an auspicious fashion, a win-win for her and the readers, check it out here:

The Facebook IPO Primer

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