A day for the history books in US Treasuries: the lowest-ever auction yield for 10-year bonds at 1.459 per cent, and the highest-ever demand from direct bidders for the $21bn debt sale (Financial Times). Stocks faded the Fed minutes: the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.38 per cent (Reuters). The FOMC minutes for June confirmed the Federal Reserve's internal divisions over further monetary easing. "A few officials" said that it "likely would be necessary" to provide stimulus, and "several others" also believed that it "could be warranted" if the recovery slowed down. April's minutes showed that "several" officials considered action if the economic outlook seriously deteriorated (Wall Street Journal). The revised language suggests a stronger bias to easing (Financial Times). Officials also warned that further easing might harm the liquidity of the market for US Treasuries (Bloomberg). The USDA cut estimates for corn crop yields by the most in over 20 years. The production forecast for 2012-2013 fell by 12 per cent to 146 bushels, 20 bushels down from a June estimate - the largest drop since the drought of 1988. High temperatures in the Midwest in recent months have wreaked havoc on planting (Financial Times). The USDA has also declared droughts across 26 states as natural disasters, allowing crop farmers access to emergency loans (Bloomberg). Investigators are probing US Bank's oversight of client funds in the Peregrine scandal. The probe is focused on whether the futures broker's chief executive supplied fake documents on the status of client funds to auditors (Wall Street Journal). Citi announced a "transparency initiative" for its segregation of client funds on Wednesday (Bloomberg). Canada's TMX is in talks to buy Direct Edge, the fourth-largest US stock exchange by volume. TMX itself is in the process of being bought by Canadian banks and pension funds (Wall Street Journal). Watch out for initial jobless claims, import prices, and the US budget statement. All that and a $13bn US 30-year bond auction. Why London's Shard won't be filled with bankers. Hedge funds handing back cash in amounts not seen since Oct 2009. "That's a clown question, bro." Guess the CFTC commissioner! Will shale save US oil production?, Jim Hamilton asks. Felix returns to eminent domain and mortgages. Another take on economists and arrogance. This entry was posted by Joseph Cotterill on Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 at 22:18 and is filed under Uncategorised.