Good morning,

Markets are called higher this morning. This is what's happening today:

  • Leaders from the Group of Seven countries will hold a conference call to discuss the European debt crisis today ahead of the G-20 meeting next week;
  • The Reserve Bank of Australia cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.5% today;
  • China’s insurance regulator said it will allow insurers’ to broaden their investment scope, and four Taiwan government-controlled funds bought stocks yesterday to help pare losses, according to the Taipei-based Commercial Times;
  • Orders to US factories unexpectedly declined 0.6% in April from the previous month, according to the Commerce Department report yesterday;
  • The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index, which covers almost 90% of the economy, probably held at 53.5, matching April’s four-month low, according to median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg before a report from the Tempe, Arizona-based group today;
  • Brent is trading at $99.27/barrel;
  • 10-year Italian debt is trading at 5.662%, 10-year Spanish debt is trading at 6.410% and 10-year Portuguese debt is trading at 11.958%.

G7 meeting

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven countries will hold a call today to discuss the European debt crisis. Leaders from the G-20, which includes the G-7 advanced-economy nations along with major emerging markets, are scheduled to gather in Los Cabos, Mexico June 18-19.

US

U.S. stocks reversed losses as the cheapest price-to-earnings valuation for the S&P's 500 Index in six months overshadowed a drop in factory orders. Amazon.com Inc. and Starbucks Corp. advanced at least 3% to pace gains in consumer discretionary companies.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. rallied 6% on plans to replace almost half its board under pressure from billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Caterpillar Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. retreated more than 2.6%. Facebook Inc. declined 3% to the lowest price since the stock began trading at $38 last month. The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% to 1,278.18 at 4 p.m. New York time, after dropping as much as 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 17.11 points, 0.1%, to 12,101.46. About 7.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, or 5% above the three-month average.

China

China’s stocks fell, dragging the benchmark index down to the lowest level in two months, as materials producers slumped before data this week that will show the economic slowdown is accelerating.

Spain

Spain should seek European money to rescue its failed lenders, said Banco Santander SA Chairman Emilio Botin. “Using the mechanisms for assistance from Europe or the IMF is the best option and more and more the banking industry is taking that view,” said Juan Carlos Ureta, chairman of Renta 4 Banco SA, a Spanish bank and investment services company. “There is the risk of a possible stigma and that is why it’s so important to stress that it’s only some institutions that are in difficulties while the industry as a whole is healthy.”

Spain moved to center stage in Europe’s debt crisis after last month’s nationalization of the Bankia group. The Madrid- based lender’s request for 19 billion euros to mend its balance sheet underlined banks’ mounting losses and the strains on the state’s ability to absorb them. Steen Jakobsen, chief economist at Saxo Bank A/S, said it’s unrealistic for Spain to accept aid for the banks without also seeking a rescue to cover the financing needs of the government and its regions.

Greece

S&P sees at least a one-in-three chance of Greece exiting euro region in the coming months, following national elections on June 17.

Stock to watch: Microsoft (Price $28.55, Price Target $35)

Microsoft will soon let Xbox 360 owners control their console using their iPhone or iPad. In a direct assault on Nintendo's forthcoming Wii U system, which features a tablet-style controller with an embedded 6-inch (15cm) touch-screen, Microsoft has surprisingly embraced Apple devices as well as Android and Windows handhelds.

Also, MSFT announced the availability of Windows Upgrade Offer providing customers who buy qualifying Windows 7 PCs the option to upgrade to Windows 8 for an estimated retail price of $14.99. The promotion, which was announced, last Friday, started on June 2nd, 2012 and runs through January 31st, 2013. The upgrade offer must be redeemed by February 28th, 2013 and limits it to 5 PC's per customer. This will allow any customer who purchases a Windows 7 PC preinstalled with Win 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro upon availability.

For further information on Microsoft or other stocks we follow, contact our offices on 25688688.

Good day and happy trading!

Kristian Camenzuli