S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX crawled back up 2 to the 83s. The Alerian MLP Index dropped 3 to the 167s as it's flirting with the lows of the year & not far from the Nov lows. REITs & junk bond funds were weak. In the last month, junk bond funds have lost most of their bear market rally gains made in the prior 2 months.
Alerian MLP Index --- YTD
Merck (MRK), Dow stock, will buy Schering-Plough (SGP) for $41B in a stock & cash deal to create the 2nd biggest drug company (behind Pfizer). But some SGP stockholders are complaining, they want a higher price.
•Merck's $41 Billion Schering Buy to Add Experimental Drugs, Speed Research
McDonald's (MCD), Dow stock, reported same store sales were up 5.4% in Feb, in line with expectations. However, they cautioned that Q1 results will be hurt by foreign exchange adjustments & higher commodity costs. They remain optimistic about the long term, stock up 51¢ but down $2 from the earlier high.
Capital One (COF) became the latest bank to slash the div. The quarterly div was cut sharply to a nickel. A nickel or a penny has become the popular div level for most banks.
Warren Buffet in a CBNC interview gave a very gloomy assessment of the economy. He repeated the theme that it fell off a cliff, a popular comment. As usual, he is optimistic about the long run.
Markets look to be stuck in trench warfare. Banks are dead in the water & the auto companies will have to justify their existence to Congress in a couple of weeks.
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