It's The Economy Stupid: What? Europe in the headlines again?

Before everyone gets together and sings Kumbaya over Europe solving their sovereign debt problem, let me remind you.  We’ve heard this song before, and the fat lady hasn’t sung yet, so it ain’t over. 

 

For instance, the latest European bailout fund is being characterized as a way for Euro countries to “borrow” from the proposed bailout fund “without increasing debt”.  HUH???   

 

Here’s my best advice:

 

1. Treasuries are the cleanest dirty shirt in the investment closet

2. Chose quality over yield

3. Chose optionality over long term maturities

 

Don’t try to predict what is going to happen in Europe or the U.S.  Vegas bookies have better track records than economists’.  Build liquidity into your investment portfolios so that you can take advantage of opportunities that come along.  We’ve been on a bumpy economic ride and it ain’t over yet.

 

Economic Stuff

 

Economic Event	Period	Economic Survey	Actual Reported	Original Prior	Revised Prior
Personal Income	MAY	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
Personal Spending	MAY	0.0%	0.0%	0.3%	1.0%
PCE Deflator MoM	MAY	-0.2%	-0.2%	0.0%
PCE Deflator YoY	MAY	1.5%	1.5%	1.8%	1.9%
PCE Core MoM	MAY	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
PCE Core YoY	MAY	1.8%	1.8%	1.9%	2.0%

 

Okay, I am not an economist, but I feel safe in saying the Personal Spending neither increased or decreased in May.

 

 

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“The Fed has gone about as if the problem is a shortage of liquidity.  That is not the basic problem.  The basic problem is uncertainty that the balance sheets of financial firms are credible.”

~ 2009, Anna Schwartz, Economist, 1915-2012

-----------------------------------

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

 

It's The Economy Stupid: Housing Surprise

US home prices surprise to the upside

 

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose 0.67% m/m in April, well above our forecast and the consensus (both 0.3%). The March data were also revised significantly higher to show a m/m gain of 0.73% versus the 0.09% initial estimate. The 20-city composite is now down only 1.9% y/y, an improvement from the -2.59% observed in March. 17 of the 20 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) posted gains, which is in line with the March release where 16 of the 20 MSAs posted gains. There has been a steady increase in the number of MSAs with monthly price gains this year; only 8 MSAs posted monthly gains in December 2011. Of the 17 MSAs that posted gains in April, Phoenix (2.32%), San Francisco (1.52%), Washington DC (1.44%), and Tampa (1.38%) led the way.

 

Pretty impressive when cities in Arizona, California and Florida are leaders.

 

-----------------------------------

“The Fed has gone about as if the problem is a shortage of liquidity.  That is not the basic problem.  The basic problem is uncertainty that the balance sheets of financial firms are credible.”

~ 2009, Anna Schwartz, Economist, 1915-2012

-----------------------------------

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

Ph:  225-342-0013

Fx:  225-342-9721

Email:  jbroussard@treasusry.state.la.us

Street Address:

445 North Blvd, 7^th Floor

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 44154 Capitol Station

Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4154

Physical Location:

One City Plaza, 7th Floor

Corner of North Blvd & 4th Street

Exit 1B I-110 Convention Street,

Turn Left to get to North Blvd,

Turn Right on North Blvd

 

Bridgewater Daily Observations - "Be Careful When Betting Against Human Nature"

Be Careful When Betting Against Human Nature

 

Alliances are shifting in a logical manner.  The German-French alliance is breaking down in favor of contributor (higher rated credit) countries aligning against recipient (lower rated credit) countries.  Similarly, the terminology to describe who is reasonable and who is unreasonable reflects these parties' respective interests.  Those who don't have to contribute use terms like "inflexible" and "irresponsible" to describe the contributors' reluctance to "do enough" to prevent collapse by lending more to recipients who can't service their existing debts, while those who have to contribute use terms like "inflexible" and "irresponsible" to describe the recipients' reluctance to "do enough" cutting of their spending and borrowing to service their debts.  Students of human nature and deleveragings know that this is to be expected.  Similarly, talk of a fiscal union to resolve these problems has to be looked at in light of the question of whether it is in the interest of fiscally strong contributors to have a fiscal union with fiscally weak recipients in which the majority rules how the money is divided.  For this reason, we think the popular assumption that the Germans and the ECB (which requires agreement of the key factions within it) will come through with the money to make all these debts good should not be taken for granted.  Said differently, we think there are good reasons to doubt that European bank and sovereign deleveragings will be prevented from progressing to the next stage in a disorderly way, without a Plan B in place.  This "fat tail" event must be considered a significant possibility.

 

The passing of an under recognized giant.

All too often it is the woman in a relationship that gets shortchanged when recognition for success is dispensed.

 

So it was with the collaboration between economists Anna Schwartz and Nobel laureate Milton Friedman.

 

Anna J. Schwartz, a research economist who wrote monumental works on US financial history in collaboration with Nobel laureate Milton Friedman while remaining largely in his shadow, died Thursday at her home in New York City. She was 96.

 

Dr. Schwartz earned her undergraduate degree from Barnard College at 18, and earned her doctorate in economics at age 48.

 

The Friedman-Schwartz collaboration — ‘‘A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960,’’ a book of nearly 900 pages published in 1963 — is considered a classic. Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, called it ‘‘the leading and most persuasive explanation of the worst economic ­disaster in American history.’’  Ironic praise from Bernanke considering Schwartz’s criticism of the Fed’s handling of the 2008 financial crisis.

 

The authors concluded that policy failures by the Fed, which largely controls the money supply, were one of the root causes of the Depression.

 

Bernanke acknowledged as much when he spoke at a 90th birthday celebration for Friedman in 2002.

 

‘‘I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression, you’re right; we did it,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re very sorry, but thanks to you we won’t do it again.’’  Hmmmm.

 

Dr. Schwartz was widely known in the profession as the coauthor of much of the work that led to Friedman’s Nobel in economic science in 1976. Her supporters thought the prize might justly have been awarded jointly.

 

‘‘Anna did all of the work, and I got most of the recognition,’’ Friedman said on one occasion.

 

During the financial collapse that began in 2008, she was one of the few surviving economists with a firsthand recollection of the Depression. After praising early moves by Bernanke, she wrote, at age 93, a bitingly critical Op-Ed article for The New York Times in July 2009 opposing the reappointment of the Fed chairman who had been so influenced by her work.

 

She contended that Bernanke had erred in producing ‘‘extreme ease’’ in monetary policy and in failing to warn investors that new financial instruments were difficult to price.

 

Dr. Schwartz also held that the government had been a bigger contributor to the crisis than had been widely realized. By her measure, the government had oversold the benefits of homeownership, pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage finance giants, to lend increas­ingly to lower-income borrowers and fostering exceptionally low mortgage rates.

 

-----------------------------------

“Firms that made wrong decisions should fail.  You shouldn’t rescue them.  And once that’s established as a principle, I think the market recognizes that it makes sense.  Everything works much better when wrong decisions are punished and good decisions make you rich.  That’s not the way the world has been going in recent years.”

~ 2009, Anna Schwartz, Economist, 1915-2012

-----------------------------------

“The Fed has gone about as if the problem is a shortage of liquidity.  That is not the basic problem.  The basic problem is uncertainty that the balance sheets of financial firms are credible.”

~ 2009, Anna Schwartz, Economist, 1915-2012

-----------------------------------

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

 

Mizuho Comments

Please see important disclaimers and disclosures at the end of the attached document

Piling On:  The risks confronting the domestic recovery continue to accumulate. The lack of leadership in Washington DC and Europe is starting to become a real concern. The conventional wisdom that gridlock is good is starting to wear thin. Europe continues to kick the can down the road rather than grapple with important fundamental issues. The same can be said for the leadership vacuum in Washington. The budget deficit is out of control and government can’t seem to avoid the pending fiscal cliff and debt limit without it coming down to the wire. Moreover, recent political polls seem to suggest that the election may not solve the partisan problems confronting legislators. Even the cautious approach of monetary policy makers is becoming a source of additional concern. With the economy confronted by a global economic slowdown, concerns over possible cross border banking linkages, and the rapidly approaching fiscal cliff; market participants are starting to question whether monetary policy is being implemented effectively. The low level of long-term interest rates orchestrated by the Fed’s “Operation Twist” is failing to provide support to the housing market. It also the doubled the rate being paid on 2-year Treasury notes. Would the economy be better served by a third round of quantitative easing?  Should the FOMC exploit the mortgage market directly to cut the cost of financing and increase the availability of funding? Evidence that the domestic economy has downshifted from 2.5- 3% growth to an estimated 1.5% in the current quarter undercuts the value of “Operation Twist”. The FOMC should not have extended this program.
In reality, the underlying balance sheet problems which surfaced in 2007-200 are still exerting a powerful drag on the economy. The household sector’s balance sheet may be improving but only at the expense of that of the public sector’s credit rating and the banking industry’s balance sheet. The Fed’s near-zero real interest rates, repeated rounds of quantitative easing and its portfolio duration extension initiative have distorted the financial markets and slowed the necessary adjustment process. Going forward, we expect the FOMC extend its short-term rate guidance and then a third round of quantitative easing. In fact, if the economy remains stuck, the late 2014 guidance may be pushed out by a year at next month’s deliberations.
Disappointing Data: The latest round of macro-economic data confirms that the economy is establishing a new, shallower growth trajectory. Specifically, labor market data suggest that the economy is struggling to create new jobs. The monthly JOLT’s data show that both new hiring and job openings have reversed the gains of the prior four months. New hiring, in fact, dropped 0.2% in April, pulling this index back down to it April 2011-level, while job openings fell to its lowest level of the year. None of the housing data this week show any signs of renewed vigor. New housing starts fell by 4.8% in May; also completely reversing the prior months gain Existing home sale fell by 1.5% for the month. Even manufacturing looks to be slowing. The regional Philadelphia output measure tumbled to -16.6 in June, after dropping below its boom/bust line in May. Back-to-back negative readings on the Philadelphia build on the already weak Empire State index. It suggests that auto assemblies are staring to lose their ability to boost the underlying economy.

--- Original Sender: MICHAEL REISMAN, MIZUHO SECURITIES US ---


Piling On: The risks confronting the domestic recovery continue to accumulate. The lack of leadership in Washington DC and Europe is starting to become a real concern. The conventional wisdom that gridlock is good is starting to wear thin. Europe continues to kick the can down the road rather than grapple with important fundamental issues. The same can be said for the leadership vacuum in Washington. The budget deficit is out of control and government can't seem to avoid the pending fiscal cliff and debt limit without it coming down to the wire. Moreover, recent political polls seem to suggest that the election may not solve the partisan problems confronting legislators. Even the cautious approach of monetary policy makers is becoming a source of additional concern. With the economy confronted by a global economic slowdown, concerns over possible cross border banking linkages, and the rapidly approaching fiscal cliff; market participants are starting to question whether monetary policy is being implemented effectively. The low level of long-term interest rates orchestrated by the Fed's "Operation Twist" is failing to provide support to the housing market. It also the doubled the rate being paid on 2-year Treasury notes. Would the economy be better served by a third round of quantitative easing? Should the FOMC exploit the mortgage market directly to cut the cost of financing and increase the availability of funding? Evidence that the domestic economy has downshifted from 2.5- 3% growth to an estimated 1.5% in the current quarter undercuts the value of "Operation Twist". The FOMC should not have extended this program.


In reality, the underlying balance sheet problems which surfaced in 2007-200 are still exerting a powerful drag on the economy. The household sector's balance sheet may be improving but only at the expense of that of the public sector's credit rating and the banking industry's balance sheet. The Fed's near-zero real interest rates, repeated rounds of quantitative easing and its portfolio duration extension initiative have distorted the financial markets and slowed the necessary adjustment process. Going forward, we expect the FOMC extend its short-term rate guidance and then a third round of quantitative easing. In fact, if the economy remains stuck, the late 2014 guidance may be pushed out by a year at next month's deliberations.


Disappointing Data: The latest round of macro-economic data confirms that the economy is establishing a new, shallower growth trajectory. Specifically, labor market data suggest that the economy is struggling to create new jobs. The monthly JOLT's data show that both new hiring and job openings have reversed the gains of the prior four months. New hiring, in fact, dropped 0.2% in April, pulling this index back down to it April 2011-level, while job openings fell to its lowest level of the year. None of the housing data this week show any signs of renewed vigor. New housing starts fell by 4.8% in May; also completely reversing the prior months gain Existing home sale fell by 1.5% for the month. Even manufacturing looks to be slowing. The regional Philadelphia output measure tumbled to -16.6 in June, after dropping below its boom/bust line in May. Back-to-back negative readings on the Philadelphia build on the already weak Empire State index. It suggests that auto assemblies are staring to lose their ability to boost the underlying economy.

It's The Economy Stupid: Moody's Bank Downgrades

Moody’s finally pulled the trigger on releasing their bank downgrades.  Perhaps Moody’s had so much trouble releasing the info because they are always trying to drive the bus by looking in the rear view mirror.  Moody's just took a hatchet to the credit ratings of the biggest global banks.  In particular they seemed to have ignored the changes that the U.S. banks have made to their balance sheets since 2008.  They have an excellent record of warning you today about what happened last week.  Forecasting?  Not so much.

 

Bank Name – Holding Co Rating/Operating Co Rating

 

MOODY’S 1 NOTCH DOWNGRADE EXPECTED vs ACTUAL:

Bank of America -  Baa1/A2 down to Baa2/A3, -1 notch, as expected

Nomura -  Baa2/Baa1 down to Baa3/Baa2, -1 notch, announced in March

RBS - A3/A2 down to Baa1/A3, -1 notch, as expected

Societe Generale - NR/A1 down to NR/A2, -1 notch, as expected

 

MOODY’S 2 NOTCH DOWNGRADE EXPECTED vs ACTUAL:

Barclays -   A1/Aa3 down to A3/A2,  -2 notches,   as expected

BNP Paribas - NR/Aa3 down to NR/A2,  -2 notches,   as expected

Citigroup - A3/A1 down to Baa2/A3,  -2 notches,  as expected

Credit Agricole - NR/Aa3 down to NR/A2,  -2 notches,   as expected

Deutsche Bank - NR/Aa3 down to NR/A2,  -2 notches,   as expected

Goldman Sachs - A1/Aa3 down to A3/A2,  -2 notches,   as expected

HSBC Holdings - Aa2/NR down to Aa3/NR, -1 notch, ***BETTER THAN EXPECTED***

JPM - Aa3/Aa1 down to A2/Aa3,  -2 notches,  as expected

Macquarie - A2/A1 down to A3/A2, ONLY -1 notch,] announced in March

RBC - NR/Aa1 down to NR/Aa3,  -2 notches,  as expected

 

MOODY’S 3 NOTCH DOWNGRADE EXPECTED vs ACTUAL:

Credit Suisse - Aa2/Aa1 down to A2/A1,  -3 notches,  as expected

MS - A2/A1 down to Baa2/Baa1,  -2 notches,  ***BETTER THAN EXPECTED***

UBS - NR/Aa3 down to NR/A2,  -2 notches,  ***BETTER THAN EXPECTED***

 

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

 

FW: It's The Economy Stupid: More bad news

The Philly Fed Manufacturing index in the Philadelphia region shrank in June at the fastest pace in almost a year, showing the global economic slowdown is holding factories back.  The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index fell to MINUS 16.6 in June, from minus 5.8 the previous month. Economists forecast the gauge would improve to zero (Missed it by just a little bit!), the dividing line between growth and contraction.  So, -16.6 is safely in the realm of contraction.

 

And just to add to the bad news, the June Bloomberg Economic Expectations Index fell to -11, versus -1 in May.  And the U.S. Weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to -37.9 from -36.4.  Clearly the American consumer’s psyche is heading downward, which bodes badly for consumer spending.

 

 

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

Ph:  225-342-0013

 

From: John Broussard
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 7:38 AM
Subject: It's The Economy Stupid: Jobless Claims

 

 

 

Economic Event	Period	Economic Survey	Actual Reported	Original Prior	Revised Prior
Initial Jobless Claims	JUN 16	383K	387K	386K	389K
Continuing Claims	JUN 9	3278K	3299K	3278K	3299K

 

More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, indicating the labor market is continuing to struggle.

 

Jobless claims decreased by 2,000 to 387,000 in the week ended June 16, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 45 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for 383,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, climbed to the highest of the year.

 

The level of dismissals may raise concern the slowdown in payrolls reported in the past few months will be prolonged, limiting consumer spending. Federal Reserve policy makers yesterday expanded a program to replace short-term bonds with longer-term debt in a bid to spur growth and trim a jobless rate that’s exceeded 8 percent for 40 consecutive months.

 

The four-week moving average increased to 386,250, the highest since the week ended Dec. 3, from 382,750.

 

Today’s report showed the number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits was little changed at 3.3 million in the week ended June 9. The continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs.

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

 

It's The Economy Stupid: Jobless Claims

 

 

Economic Event	Period	Economic Survey	Actual Reported	Original Prior	Revised Prior
Initial Jobless Claims	JUN 16	383K	387K	386K	389K
Continuing Claims	JUN 9	3278K	3299K	3278K	3299K

 

More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, indicating the labor market is continuing to struggle.

 

Jobless claims decreased by 2,000 to 387,000 in the week ended June 16, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 45 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for 383,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, climbed to the highest of the year.

 

The level of dismissals may raise concern the slowdown in payrolls reported in the past few months will be prolonged, limiting consumer spending. Federal Reserve policy makers yesterday expanded a program to replace short-term bonds with longer-term debt in a bid to spur growth and trim a jobless rate that’s exceeded 8 percent for 40 consecutive months.

 

The four-week moving average increased to 386,250, the highest since the week ended Dec. 3, from 382,750.

 

Today’s report showed the number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits was little changed at 3.3 million in the week ended June 9. The continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs.

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

 

It's The Economy Stupid: Let's Twist Again...

Let’s twist again, like we did last summer,

Yeah, let’s twist again, like we did last year.

~ Chubby Checker

 

--------------------------------------------

 

In a clear sign of what’s old is new, the Fed voted to extend Operation Twist through to the end of the year.  Showing a lack of new thought, they left rates unchanged and expanded its existing program to replace short-term bonds with longer-term debt by $267 billion through the end of 2012.  They hope that continued lower rates will reduce unemployment and protect the expansion of the economy.  Extending Operation Twist is probably the least controversial path the Fed could take, but arguably the least effective option they could take.

 

To some extent the U.S. recovery is hobbled by an economic divide that separates Americans not by income or wealth but by their access to credit.

 

The housing bust left behind millions of people with credit records damaged by plunging home prices, lost jobs, past overspending or bad luck. Many are now walled off from the low interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve to spur the economy.

 

Millions with good credit, meanwhile, are taking advantage of the easy money, a windfall in many cases for people who don't especially need it.

 

Shrunken access among credit have-nots is triggering more than personal plight. It has weakened the influence of the Fed—one of the best hopes for spurring stronger economic growth—and raised doubts within the central bank about whether it is doing much to reduce unemployment.

 

So we are going to twist again like we did last summer.  The results of this program so far have been mixed.  Why will we get different results this time???

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

~ Albert Einstein

 

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

 

It's The Economy Stupid: Jobless Claims & Fed Speak

 

Okay, previously we were in a down trend in Jobless Claims, but that downward trend seems to have stalled out, like most of our other economic indicators.  And yet once again the prior periods numbers were revised upward.  The numbers aren’t all that bad, but they are another step in a bad trend.

 

Economic Event	Period	Economic Survey	Actual Reported	Original Prior	Revised Prior
Initial Jobless Claims	JUN 2	378K	377K	383K	389K
Continuing Claims	MAY 26	3250K	3293K	3242K	3259K

 

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen spoke last night to the Boston Economic Club. Yellen got to the point quickly, at the end of the second paragraph of her speech she says:

 

“As always, considerable uncertainty attends the outlook for both growth and inflation; events could prove either more positive or negative than what I see as the most likely outcome. That said, as I will explain, I consider the balance of risks to be tilted toward a weaker economy.”

 

She outlined three headwinds to a sustained recovery - housing, fiscal policy and Europe. She clearly believes that the Feds optimal control structure is the current FRB/US model given its ability to account for non-conventional policy. And then she notes that this optimal control rule implies a Fed Funds rate on hold until late 2015.  She also points out that she believes that this rule achieves more rapid employment gains than other structures, WITHOUT taking inflation above 2 percent. In the end she says language changes won't do the trick when it comes to more accommodation – clearly signaling that she favors balance sheet expansion.

 

Of course, Yellen is just one member of the FOMC committee, but an important one. And I think she would be perfectly happy to ease in this environment. So if you combine Yellen’s speech, add in Charlie Evans speech in NYC, Dennis Lockhart’s' recent comments on more accommodation and a well planted press story from the usual sources, we have some pretty strong ‘Fed Speak’ indicating that some nucleus of the Fed is in favor of more accommodation.

 

The voice that really matters is Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Perhaps today we will get to hear what Bernanke thinks when he goes to Capitol Hill.

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

Ph:  225-342-0013

Fx:  225-342-9721

Email:  jbroussard@treasusry.state.la.us

 

Market Close: A good day

Description	Ticker	Last	CHANGE	% Chg Today	Pct Chg 1Yr
STOCK MARKETS
Dow Jones Industrial Average	INDU Index	12414.790	286.8400	2.3651	2.6868
S&P 500 Index	SPX Index	1313.310	27.8100	2.1634	2.1063
NASDAQ Composite Index	CCMP Index	2844.720	66.6100	2.3977	5.2602
Russell 3000 Index	RAY Index	777.070	17.6300	2.3215	1.0796
Russell 2000 Index (Small)	RTY Index	765.170	19.0800	2.5573	-3.7909
S&P 400 Mid Cap Index	MID Index	921.600	18.9300	2.0971	-2.7151
S&P 600 Small Cap Index	SML Index	428.910	9.9800	2.3823	0.6171
TREASURIES	% Yield
3 Month Treasury	0.0862		0.0050	6.6667
6 Month Treasury	0.1370		0.0050	4.0000
2 Year Treasury	0.2579	99.984	-0.0156	-0.0156
5 Year Treasury	0.7290	99.492	-0.2422	-0.2428
10 Year Treasury	1.6592	100.828	-0.7813	-0.7689
30 Year Treasury	2.7373	105.359	-2.0156	-1.8772
ENERGY
Crude Oil, Brent Index	Brent Crude	100.940	2.1000	2.1247	-9.3497
Crude Oil, Louisiana Lt. Sweet	LA Lt Sweet	98.570	1.6800	1.7339	-14.8100
Natural Gas, Henry Hub Index	Nat Gas	2.422	-0.0240	-0.9812	-52.3603
PRECIOUS METALS
Spot Gold $/oz	GOLD	1618.630	1.5800	0.0977	4.7732
Spot Silver $/oz	SILVER	29.406	0.8738	3.0625	-20.1182
CURRENCIES
Euro	EUR Curncy	1.257	0.0122	0.9798	-13.7280
Japanese Yen	JPY Curncy	79.240	0.4900	0.6222	1.0853
British Pound	GBP Curncy	1.550	0.0112	0.7281	-5.2638
Swiss Franc	CHF Curncy	0.955	-0.0095	-0.9851	-12.5786
Canadian Dollar	CAD Curncy	1.028	-0.0103	-0.9921	-4.5724
Chinese Yuan	CNY Curncy	6.365	-0.0034	-0.0534	1.7188
FOREIGN INDICIES
FTSE 100 INDEX	UK	5384.110	123.9200	2.3558	-8.0427
CAC 40 INDEX	FRANCE	3058.440	72.3400	2.4226	-20.8355
DAX INDEX	GERMANY	6093.990	124.5900	2.0871	-13.9822
NIKKEI 225 INDEX	JAPAN	8533.530	151.5300	1.8078	-9.6307
HANG SENG INDEX	HONG KONG	18520.530	261.5000	1.4322	-19.0135

 

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

Ph:  225-342-0013

Fx:  225-342-9721

Email:  jbroussard@treasusry.state.la.us

Street Address:

445 North Blvd, 7^th Floor

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 44154 Capitol Station

Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4154

Physical Location:

One City Plaza, 7th Floor

Corner of North Blvd & 4th Street

Exit 1B I-110 Convention Street,

Turn Left to get to North Blvd,

Turn Right on North Blvd