- Tone of Bernanke’s remarks yesterday didn’t deviate much from minutes of June FOMC meeting — surprising considering weak economic data that’s come out since then, Derek Tang writes at the Macroadvisers blog. Bernanke sounded “a bit out of touch,” he adds.
- Bernanke’s testimony lacked a sense of urgency, Paul Krugman says. “We really have to bear in mind that the Fed is failing in fulfilling its dual mandate, price stability and full employment…Bernanke’s answer to all this seems to be that the Fed is doing a lot. But it’s obviously not enough — the central bank is supposed to deliver results, not get an A for effort. And those results aren’t coming.”
- Financial Armageddon blogger Michael Panzner offers a harsh take on the earnings expectations game. “During ordinary times, a racket like this is simply a source of amusement,” he says. “Now, though, when it’s more important than ever for people to have an accurate read on where things stand, the beat-the-number scam is a pathetically cynical joke.”
- Netflix’s outlook calls for weaker revenue growth, especially as consumers shift toward cheaper plans, Dan Frommer notes at Silicon Alley Insider. Ultimately, NFLX may have to raise streaming fees, “or just deal with lower revenue per subscriber.”
- The fact that Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips are forming a JV to create a rapid-response force to deal with future oil spills is a great development, Barry Ritholtz writes at The Big Picture. “It gives a face-saving resolution to everyone, lets the White House declare victory and lets the oil keep on flowing,” he says. “This is an excellent announcement — now let’s see if they follow through on it.”
- Existing home inventory increased 4.7% from a year earlier, the third straight monthly rise and largest year-over-year increase since early 2008, Bill McBride notes at Calculated Risk. “This increase in inventory is especially bad news because the reported inventory is already historically very high, and the 8.9 months of supply in June is well above normal,” McBride says. “This was another a weak report…If months-of-supply increases sharply as I expect, then there will be additional downward pressure on house prices.”
- The Daily Beast’s Peter Lauria says there is “growing resentment” among some executives that Microsoft’s (MSFT) stagnant stock price is CEO Steve Ballmer’s fault. “Sources say the talk around Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters — which has grown increasingly louder ever since Apple surpassed Microsoft in market capitalization — is that the company’s stock suffers from a ‘Ballmer discount’ and that the CEO is on the clock to significantly move the needle on its share price over the next two or three quarters or face a potential move to oust him,” Lauria says.
- Apple (AAPL) Operations VP Jeff Williams has been promoted to SVP and will oversee the company’s supply chain and ensure product quality. The move prompts speculation by the AppleInsider blog that AAPL was readying a succession plan for CEO Steve Jobs, who the blog says could be replaced by operations chief Tim Cook.
- If Microsoft’s Ballmer plans to send an email to employees about Thursday’s earnings announcement, he may want help from ToneCheck. The beta version of this new plug-in for MSFT’s Outlook mail program checks outgoing emails for emotional displays of, say, elation, humiliation, excitement and even fear, according to a blog post at PC World. Given Ballmer’s penchant for emotional outbursts and mounting criticism about his leadership of the software giant, he might be well-advised to test drive ToneCheck.
- “Tack on another month of no progress with weekly unemployment claims,” Mish says. “The 4-Week moving average is still hovering around the 450,000 to 460,000 level where it was in mid-December 2009.”
