S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX
| Value | 194.28 | Change | -0.64 | % Change | -0.3% |
In a dull trading day, the Alerian MLP Index is up a fraction in the 241s but the Dow Jones REIT Index slipped 1. Junk bond funds were mixed but at or near 2009 highs (i.e. lowest yields in almost a year). However Treasuries rose, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell 6 basis points to 3.42%.
Alerian MLP Index --- 1 month
Dow Jones REIT Index --- 1 month
10-Year Treasury Yld Index - 1 month
Oil is still aiming at the 75 high reached a couple of weeks ago but gold pulled back a little. The weak dollar is the key driver, it takes fewer than 92 Japanese ¥ to buy a dollar & the € is above $1.45.
| CLV09.NYM | ...Crude Oil Oct 09 | ...71.99 | ... 0.68 (1.0%) |
| GCU09.CMX | ...Gold Sep 09 | ...990.00 | ... 5.30 (0.53%) |
Claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, companies are laying off fewer workers as the economy improves. Initial claims for unemployment fell to 550K from an upwardly revised 576K in the prior week (analysts expected claims of 560,000). The number receiving benefits fell 159K to nearly 6.1M, another low since early Apr. However, last year only 3½M were receiving unemployment aid. The 4-week average of claims fell by 3K to 570K last week, almost 90K below the peak reached in early Apr.
The number of households threatened with losing their homes held steady last month. More than 358K foreclosure-related filings were recorded in Aug (one of 357 homes received a filing) but the number is up 18% from last year. The problem remains the poor economy & there is still an ample supply of properties in the foreclosure pipeline.
US Foreclosure Filings Top 300,000 for Sixth Straight Month
Monsanto warned of lower profits ending an 8 year sterak of higher earnings, the stock fell 4.56 after they used the word Implosion to describe their world. The chart below demonstrates another big company which has been left behind in the 2009 stock market rally. Among other cutbacks, their global workforce will be reduced 8%.
•Monsanto 2010 Profit to Drop on `Implosion' in Sales of Roundup Herbicide
Monsanto --- 1 year
Today should be another quiet day for the markets while they remain near or at roughly 11 month highs. The weak dollar has the potential to cause problems, but not so far. I switched to a new type of updating from Blogger, hoping to improve the appearance of my blog. This takes a little time getting used to, so please be patient.
Dow Jones Industrials --- 1 month
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