Morning MoneyBeat Europe: Mixed Start in Focus, ECB QE Looms

        By David Cottle
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        Good Morning Europe
        A mixed start is expected for European stocks Monday, in a week where central banks are likely to be in focus.
        They already are to some extent with China's surprise weekend interest rate cut suggesting that Beijing is getting more aggressive in attempts to stimulate growth. A survey showing that China's manufacturing sector continues to struggle with weak export orders and pricing power, despite an increase in overall activity has markets pretty sure more cuts will be needed.
        Monday will bring the manufacturing sectors of Europe into the spotlight, although the week's main event is likely to be the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting, in Cyprus, on Thursday and the start of its Quantitative Easing program.
        Market Snapshot: U.S. markets (Friday close) DJIA down 0.5%, Nasdaq down 0.5%, S&P 500 down 0.3%. Nikkei (Monday close) up 0.2%. Brent crude down 39 cents at $49.37. Gold down up$8.80 at $1221.90. EUR/USD at $1.1181, USD/JPY at Yen119.83. 10 year Treasury yield 2.01%, Bund 0.28%, Gilt 1.80%..
        Watch For: Manufacturing PMI numbers from around Europe and the U.S., along with personal income and spending data. The European Union's jobless rate is also due for release.
        ECB to Face Scrutiny Over Greece at March Meeting: European Central Bank policymakers are in Cyrpus next week for their latest rate-setting meeting. Don't expect the drama of Jan. 22, when the bank unveiled quantitative easing, but given the location, watch the Q&A for questions about bailouts and specifically about how it tackled the Greek debt negotiations.
        On Hedge Funds and Other Tory Donors: A U.K. general election looms large, and it's no secret that hedge funds donate to the U.K.'s governing Conservative Party,which is generally seen as pro-business. But how much do they actually give?
        Giant Pension Fund Drives Japan's Stock Rally: Japan's giant public pension fund was a major force behind a rally in the nation's stock market during the October-December quarter as it shifted its $1.2 trillion portfolio toward riskier assets and away from Japanese government bonds.
        Lloyds Earnings: The Key Takeaways: Lloyds Banking Group announced its full year results on Friday. The big news was that the bank, which is 24% owned by the U.K. government after a GBP20 billion ($30.8 billion) bailout, is paying dividends again. Lloyds also made a healthy underlying profit for the year. Here are the big things to know.
        From The Wall Street Journal:
        European Banks Draw Scrutiny Over Reciprocity : Banks dole out work to competitors partly based on how much business the lenders will receive in return.
        RWE to Proceed With North Sea Gas Deal : German utility RWE and an energy-investment fund led by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman signaled that they would proceed with a $5.6 billion deal for oil-and-gas fields over the U.K. government's objections.
        NXP, Freescale Agree to Merger : NXP Semiconductors and Freescale Semiconductor have agreed to merge in a deal that values Freescale at $11.8 billion and would create a combined company with a market value of more than $30 billion.
        China Rate Cut Renews Economic Concerns : Beijing's stimulus efforts are getting more aggressive.
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        March 02, 2015 01:45 ET (06:45 GMT)

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