POSITIVES & NEGATIVES OF THE WEEK

Positives:

1. Initial jobless claims fell to 315k, 6th lowest claim in ~7 years.
2. Despite all the noise, the S&P 500 is 2% off ALL-TIME HIGHS.
3. Gold is at its highest level since September, perhaps a sign of inflation pressures.
4. Retail sales ex-auto & gas rose 0.3% v 0.2% expected.
5. Inventories ex-autos rose 0.7% in January, the largest gain since July.
6. Australia had a huge jobs beat in February, adding 80,500 full-time workers, the second largest monthly increase on record.
7. U.S. PPI fell o.1% in February, the first decline in 3 months. Inflation is well contained.
8. Central banks in Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea leave rates unchanged. Thailand cuts, while New Zealand hikes due to inflation concerns.

Negatives:

1. Chinese exports collapsed 18.1% from a year earlier to its lowest level since 2009.
2.  The German DAX fell 4% this week and is down 8% in March.
3. Fears over a Russian invasion of Crimea has amplified stock market volatility.
4. Business sales fell 0.9% in January, the largest drop since March (cold weather blamed).
5. Nasdaq had its largest weekly loss in over 6 months, down a whopping 1.7%
5. January retail sales were revised down to -0.6% from -0.4%.
7. Consumer confidence fell to 79.9 v 82 expected.
8. NFIB small business optimism fell to the lowest reading since March ’13
9. European stocks slid to a one-month low.
10. Chinese Yuan saw its biggest daily decline since 2008 thanks to a string of bad data.