S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX
| Value | 221.68 | |
| Change | 1.84 (0.8%) |
The Alerian MLP Index rebounded 2¼ bringing it back to 364, a smidgen above where it began 2011. The REIT index was up ½ in the 224s. Junk bond funds were were flat to up a penny or 2, straying little from recent prices. Treasuries rose. The yield on the 10 year Treasury bond fell 4 basis points to 3.42%.
Treasury yields:
| U.S. 3-month | 0.15% | |
| U.S. 2-year | 0.61% | |
| U.S. 10-year | 3.42% |
Alerain MLP Index --- YTD
Dow Jones REIT Index --- YTD
10-Year Treasury Yield Index --- YTD
Oil fell for a 4th day, the longest negative stretch in 9 weeks, on rising US stockpiles & speculation China will increase interest rates to curb inflation. Gold fell, heading for a 3rd straight weekly loss, on speculation that borrowing costs will rise as the economy recovers. Gold has fallen almost 100 from its recent record highs, but bulls investing for the long term are not disturbed
| CLH11.NYM | ...Crude Oil Mar 11 | ...89.14 | ... 0.45 | (0.5%) |
| GCF11.CMX | ...Gold Jan 11 | ........1,341.00 | ... 5.50 | (0.4%) |
$$$ Gold Super Cycle $$$
The yields on top-rated tax-exempt municipal bonds due in 30 years declined by the most in almost 2 months as demand from institutional overwhelmed the week’s supply even as investors pulled a record $4B from muni mutual funds. Rates on tax-exempts maturing in 2041 fell 12 basis points to 4.96% this week, the biggest slide since late Nov 2010. 30 year Treasury yields fell 2 basis points to 4.59% after touching 4.63% yesterday, the highest since late Apr 2010. Yields on 15-year top-rated munis fell less than 1 basis point to 4.25%, the first decrease in 11 days. Investors withdrew $4B from municipal-bond mutual funds in the week ended Jan 19, the most since Lipper began measuring municipal-bond flows in 1992. The record outflow surpassed the previous mark of $3.1B in mid-Nov. This was the 10th straight week of outflows, totaling $20.6B since the week ended Nov 17, according to Lipper. Of course, recent talk about muni defaults in 2011 may be responsible for the outflows. However, during the same time stocks have been rising. If outflows slow, the stock advance could stall.
Tax-Free Bond Yields Have Biggest Weekly Drop Since November: Muni Credit
All is not well in techland. Google (GOOG) stock shed earlier gains as confidence that CEO Larry Page (co-founder) would rejuvenate the #1 internet search company wavered. Shares gained 2% following Thursday's better-than-expected quarterly results & the news that Page would replace Eric Schmidt as CEO. But the stock finished down 15 to the 611s today. Starting Apr, Page will take over as CEO, a move the company hopes will streamline its decision-making process amid fresh competition from Facebook & Twitter. Despite uncertainties being bandied about, some analysts believe that GOOG stock could gain another 20%.
Speaking of uncertainties, Apple (AAPL) has a very ugly chart short term. At the start of this week, a bunch of analysts (you know, the experts) had target prices of 400-483. It dropped 6, to the 326s today.
Google --- YTD
Apple --- YTD
With fits & spurts, Dow managed to gain 100 (about 1%) this week. MLPs had a very rough week, putting the index back where it was at the start of the year. Its chart has been flattening out during the recent market advance, but that has to be expected after its long run from the lows 2 years ago. I think the muni story is a reflection of investors taking money out of risky (to some degree) munis to reinvest in stocks with better prospects for capital gains. But that money is fickle
Dow Jones Industrials --- YTD
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