Markets dragged down by jobless claims & big banks

Stocks are making it it 2 days in a row. Dow sank 177, decliners ahead of advancers 3-1 & NAZ fell 21. Economic data continues dreary & earnings reports are not helping. Banks were weak again, The Financial Index keeps hugging the 200 level, today it dipped below. This is a bad sign for the markets, banks are supposed to be leaders.


S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX

Value 199.29

Change -4.08

% Change -2.0%

The Alerian MLP Index dropped 3 to the 296s. But even in just the last 2 weeks it's had a nice run & is roughly double the lows one year ago. The REIT index dipped 3+ bringing it back below 181, that former high it has not been able to break away from. Junk bond funds were flattish to lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond dropped 2 basis points to 3.64%.


Alerian MLP Index --- 2 weeks




Dow Jones REIT Index --- 2 weeks









Oil & gold are weak in sympathy with lower stock markets.

CLH10.NYM

..Crude Oil Mar 10

...77.34

... 0.40 .......(0.5%)

GCF10.CMX

...Gold Jan 10

...1,107.00

... 5.30 .......(0.5%)

Gold, Silver, Platinum...W.T.F.?! Click Here

Photo: Bloomberg



The number of newly-laid off workers unexpectedly rose last week, the economic recovery continues to be choppy. The Labor Dept said initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 36K to 482K, analysts had expected a small drop. The 4-week average rose for the first time since Aug to 448K. The economy is not consistently generating net increases in jobs. Meanwhile, the number continuing to claim regular benefits dropped slightly to just under 4.6M. More than 5.9M are receiving extended benefits, an increase of more than 600K from the previous week.

Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Rise on Backlog


Jobless Claims - 1 year





Goldman Sachs (GS) earned $8.20 per share (beating estimates of $5.20) in Q4. It's odd that the big story for GS is how much it paid to the princely execs. On the business front its trading business again outdistanced the rest of the financial industry. GS rewarded employees with $16B in salaries & bonuses for 2009, up 47% from the previous (depressed) year but still lower than many had expected. They also reported sharply higher fees from underwriting stock & debt offerings. For the full year, GS earned $13B, comparable to the $15B earned by the 5 other big national banks combined. But the stock pulled back $4.59 to $163.20 in a weak market.

•Goldman Sachs Sets Aside $16.2 Billion for Pay, Smallest Share Since 1999



Goldman Sachs --- 1 year





Kinder Morgan (KMP)), one of the largest MLPs, had a good financial report for 2009 & reinstated their distribution to unit holders should be a record $4.40 in 2010. I discuss their report more in my current post at SeekingAlpha. The units sank $1 from the record high at $65.

KMP Distributable Cash Flow up 62% versus 4Q 2008Business Wire


Kinder Morgan --- 1 year








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Dismal economic stories are catching up with the markets. With today's loss, Dow is down YTD. Earnings reports for 2009 will keep coming for another month & it does not look like they will support higher markets.

Dow Jones Industrials --- 2 weeks