The productivity report, also posted this morning, showed nonfarm productivity down -0.5% while
unit labor costs were up 2.0%. This is for data from the first quarter of 2012. The productivity report
measures the labor efficiency in producing goods and services in the economy.
Not a Gaffe but the latest word on IPO offerings will be that of Graff Diamonds, a high end jeweler based
in London. They will be seeking approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today for an IPO of as
much as $1 Billion dollars according to Thomson Reuters. This would be the largest listing in the Asian
Pacific so far this year. Also of note the Carlyle group, a private equity group, priced its IPO at $22 per
share, which is lower than it expected range of $23-$25.
Factory orders, which came in yesterday, were at a -1.5, a better result than the market expected of
-1.8.
In other action is that of the treasury department delaying their decision on the offering of an 18 month
floating note, which would replace the securities maturing on May 15 th. This FRN is the latest tool in the
department’s monetary policy arsenal.