U.S. housing starts in May rose to 974,000, more than expected, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday. “Starts rebounded in May, as we and everyone else expected, on the strength of more multifamily starts (306,000 vs 245,000 in April). What we didn’t expect, but can’t really say we are surprised, is the downward revision in single family starts to below 600,000,” commented Steve Blitz, Chief Economist at ITG. Continue Reading
ITG, the execution and research broker, has launched ITG Algorithms Prism, a web-based tool offering clients comprehensive transparency into the behavior of ITG Algorithms. Continue Reading
U.S. employers created 175,00 jobs in May, the Labor Department said Friday, sharply higher than April’s revised employment numbers and many analysts expected. Still, the number means the nation faces years before employment returns to pre-recession levels and focuses attention on the possibility the Federal Reserve will taper its unprecedented bond-buying program. Steve Blitz, chief economist for ITG, offered a somewhat more upbeat assessment. “I think it puts to rest the notion that the economy is going into a swoon as it did last year this time,” Blitz said. Continue Reading
While the oil sands grab all the headlines, conventional oil from Alberta is also likely to emerge as a strong contributor, cementing the province’s position as an energy – albeit landlocked – superpower, leaving other provinces in the dust. “CAPP’s views are in the unconstrained world, with some risk adjustments made with respect to oil sands projects to take account of the differing degrees of success that specific companies have had in terms of delivering their projects,” said Judith Dwarkin, chief energy economist at ITG Investment Research, whose own estimates are largely aligned with CAPP’s forecast. Continue Reading
Agency broker ITG has been rolling out its FX transaction cost analysis product for Asia, developed with Eastspring as its primary beta client. In a bid to cut its currency trading costs, Eastspring Investments has been working with ITG on the agency broker’s transaction cost analysis (TCA) product for foreign exchange. Continue Reading
The second major fire on a cruise ship in four months once again has the industry facing questions about safety, even as it braces for another downturn in bookings. The quick resolution to the crisis for passengers is one reason leisure analyst Matthew Jacob of ITG Investment Research expects the fallout on cruise bookings in coming days to be far less severe than what was seen in the wake of the February fire on the Carnival Triumph. Continue Reading
Big business is minding its money. Heavy industry is stuck in a rut. And even the federal government has turned down the knob on the spending spigot. “It’s the same old story. We are getting growth but no acceleration,” said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG Investment Research. Continue Reading
The central bank dropped more hints Wednesday it could taper monetary stimulus in the not-too-distant future but remained vague about the timing, giving it more policy flexibility for now. Central bankers are sending mixed signals because the economy is still mixed, said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG Investment Research. Continue Reading
ITG has added Singapore trading to the POSIT crossing network. “The Singapore market can present challenges for institutional traders given the relatively concentrated equity market and high spreads,” said Ofir Gefen, Head of Electronic Brokerage for ITG in Asia Pacific. Continue Reading
The mediocre pace of hiring in the U.S. has not changed much in May, according to a review of Internet job postings. ITG Investment Research monitors the latest hiring trends partly by looking at the average of job listings on four popular Internet job sites: Monster, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn and Dice. Continue Reading
