Strong stock markets close at their highs

Stocks started higher & never looked back. Dow rose 100 closing at its highs, advancers over decliners better than 3-1 & NAZ was up 26. Banks also had a very good day. The Financial Index closed at its high & is closer to the 200 level which has not proven magical in the last year.


S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX

Value	198.98
Change	3.04 (1.6%)

The Alerian MLP Index remained strong, rising 1¼ to the 334s. 343 is the level everybody is watching out for. The REIT index jumped 5¼ to the 207s. Junk bond funds were higher & the VIX fell a fraction to the 22s, a 3 month low. But the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond was flat at 2.99%. This nagging worry (low rates on Treasuries) is not going away anytime soon. The € continues strong at a shade under $1.30.


Alerian MLP Index -- YTD




Dow Jones REIT Index -- YTD





VIX -- YTD




10-Year Treasury Yld Index - YTD





There was not much happening with these 2 commodities.

CLU10.NYM

..Crude Oil Sep 10

..78.93

.. 0.05 ......(0.1%)

GCN10.CMX

..Gold Jul 10

..1,183.00

.. 4.70 ......(0.4%)

***Gold Super Cycle***
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The Apple (AAPL) iPhone 4 went on sale in France, Germany, Japan, the UK & the US in late Jun. It will be sold in an additional 17 countries on Fri, Jul 30. The iPhone is main growth driver at AAPL & is expected to become its biggest source of revenue. It will be in 88 countries by Sep, the company's fastest-ever global product roll-out. Last week, AAPL noted that the handset is not rolling out on time in South Korea, home turf for 2 top rivals, Samsung & LG where it will take a little longer to get gov approval. The stock fell a fraction in the 259s.

• Apple to expand iPhone sales on July 30- Reuters

Apple --- YTD






Tony Hayward, who became the face of BP, will step down as CEO in Oct & be offered a job with the company's joint venture in Russia, a company once run by American Bob Dudley, now the favorite to replace Hayward as the CEO of BP. The stock rose 1.79 to 38.65 & is up more than 10 from its recent lows.

Dudley Faces Challenge to Ensure U.S. Future for BP

BP --- YTD






Earnings season should produce more reports tomorrow. European banking problems are fading as the € is up a good 10¢ off its recent lows. Now there is more talk about dealing with the expiration of the tax cuts made early in this decade (they expire in just 5 months). The general idea is to keep them in place for the bottom 98% & the very rich will lose out, but Congress has to come up with a plan very soon. Any changes (or no changes) in the tax laws will have a major impact on the stock markets. The chart shows that Dow is at a 10 week high.

Dow Jones Industrials -- YTD

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