• Iranian oil production fell to late 2002 levels in February, as sanctions begin to take hold. Output decreased by 50,000 barrels a day to 3.38M b/d, according to the International Energy Agency. International patience over the nations pursuit of it nuclear program is about spent. From the Financial Times.
• JP Morgan’s chief Asian analyst, Adrian Mowat, said yesterday that the Chinese economy is already in a “hard landing”. Data surfacing this month shows slowing retail sales, factory output, and inflation. Chinese officials took down their growth target. There are widespread concerns China’s managing an overheated real estate market will dramatically reduce the construction sector. The Shanghai market was off 2.6% Wednesday and and 3/4% today. From Bloomberg News.
• In acknowledgement of just how bad 2011 was for UBS, the bank announced that it slashed its bonus pool by 40%. At the investment bank the pool was cut by 60%. Hangover from its trading scandal last year and very slow trading markets plagued the bank. From the Wall Street Journal.