Catalysts to Watch; Gulf of Mexico; The big UK election

· Thurs May 6 - Spain bond auction on Thurs – this occurred this morning – see below 

· Thurs May 6 - Thurs morning - ECB meeting - see our preview -  

· Options for the ECB: 1) waiving more rating rules (a la Greece on Mon); 2) bring back long-term funding facilities; 3) buy sovereign debt in secondary market; 4) bring back USD swap lines w/Fed - all of these would be neg. for the euro (except for #4)

· Thurs May 6 – retailers report same-store-sales

· Thurs May 6 - JPMC Conference Call: Sovereign Risk vs Growth Acceleration - TODAY @ 15:30 UK / 10:30 ET 

· Fri May 7 - EU summit Fri May 7.  Spain this morning said that European fin mins will discuss ways to help the euro at this event

· Fri May 7 - German parliament to discuss Greek aid Fri (expected to approve)

· Fri May 7 – BLS NFP report; Bloomberg consensus looking for 189K total adds

· Fri May 7 – Goldman shareholder meeting Fri morning 9:30amET. 

· Fri May 7 - German Group To File Lawsuit Against German Aid To Greece Friday (DJ) - this was expected to happen but prob. won't help sentiment around the euro

· Sun May 9 - IMF to vote on Greece assistance Sun (expected to approve)

Other Catalysts to Watch

· Gulf of Mexico - BP hopes to install a 70-ton dome that will funnel the oil up to a drilling rig. The containment dome could be lowered as soon as Thurs (WSJ)  

· Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission – hearings scheduled for Wed May 5 and Thurs May 6.  On Thurs May 6, we will hear from former TSY Sec Paulson and current TSY Sec Geithner.  Also on Thurs, we will hear from several execs at GE Capital.  http://fcic.gov/news/pdfs/2010-0429-Advisory.pdf

· Elections - The big UK election takes place on May 6 (an important German election is due May 9). 

· Bernanke speaking @ 9:30amET today

Economics Calendar – daily view

· Thursday, May. 6th: US (Jobless Claims, Non-Farm Productivity, Retail Sales); Eurozone (UK Services PMI, German Factory Orders, ECB Interest Rate Decisions); Other (Australia Trade Balance, Swiss PMI, Canada PMI).

· Friday, May. 7th: US (Monthly non-farm payrolls, Unemployment rate, consumer credit); Eurozone (UK PPI, German IP); Other (Swiss Unemployment Rate, Canada Unemployment Rate, Reserve Bank of Australia Quarterly Monetary Policy Statement).

Corporate Events Calendar – Week Mon May 3

· Wed May 5: Earnings after the close (QSFT, MCHP, CBS, SYMC, PL, BMC, HAIN, VALE, SLF, TS, RIG, CNW, JDSU, MUR, THQI, ONNN, PRA, PRU, GDP, UNTD, BBBB, CECO, EXPD, ADCT, CLWR, PRI).  Analyst meetings (NKE, IHS, ERIC)

· Thurs May 6: earnings before the open (Swiss Re, PCP, SNI, TDC, LAMR, GLG, ATK, RYN, MGM, PCS, DPS, TKLC, CBB, FIG, THS, KLIC, ARG, SLE, PPL, CMA, ARIA, SMA, OCR, OMG, H, FUN, LVLT, DTV, BCE, MFC, BNP Paribas, ALU, Cap Gemini, Commerzbank, CI, INCY, CCOI).  Earnings after the close (AZPN, SAPE, MAA, HLIT, RNWK, NVTL, ATVI, LEAP, STEC, ROVI).  Sales (retailers will be reporting sales for the month of Apr before the market opens).  Analyst meetings (ERIC, RAX, SNX, GENZ)

· Fri May 7: earnings before the open (RBS, POM, HUN, EIX, ARNA, LINTA, LBTYA, BECN, CF, MIR, GFI, HSBC).  Analyst meetings (NUVA, MSPD, D)