S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX
| Value | 219.01 | |
| Change | -0.70 (-0.3%) |
The MLP index pulled back almost 2 to the 363s after touching a new record yesterday while the REIT index fell 3 to 225. Junk bond funds were mixed. The yield on the 10 year Treasury bond fell 1½ basis points to 3.33%.
Treasury yields:
| U.S. 3-month | 0.12% | |
| U.S. 2-year | 0.59% | |
| U.S. 10-year | 3.33% |
Alerian MLP Index --- 2 weeks
Dow Jones REIT Index --- 2 weeks
10-Year Treasury Yield Index --- 2 weeks
Oil fell from the highest level in 27 months as commodities including precious metals tumbled. Gold dropped the most in 7 weeks on speculation that a global recovery will curb demand for the metal as a haven asset.
| CLG11.NYM | ....Crude Oil Feb 11 | ...89.75 | ..... 1.80 (2.0%) |
| GCF11.CMX | ....Gold Jan 11 | .......1,396.40 | ... 26.20 | (1.8%) |
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Photo: Bloomberg
Sales rose 3.6% last week from the prior week at US retailers. Some shoppers returned to stores to take advantage of post-Christmas discounts, dodging a snowstorm that hit the East Coast. Sales for the week ending Jan 1 rose 0.4% from the previous week, according to a chain-store sales index released by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) & Glodman Sachs (GS) which compares with a 1% gain in the prior week. The holidays can generate up to 40% of annual revenue & the bulk of annual profits for some retailers. With a blizzard covering parts of the Northeast, retailers lured shoppers later in the week. Dec sales probably rose 3.5% or more, the ICSC said. Last week, the group forecast that holiday sales will rise at least 4%, the most in 4 years. Sales were good but came in below great.
Sales at U.S. Retailers Increased 3.6% Last Week
Businesses ordered more factory goods in Nov, responding to stronger demand from consumers. Excluding a drop in demand for airplanes & autos, factory orders jumped by the largest amount in 8 months. The Commerce Dept said total orders rose 0.7%, rebounding from a 0.7% drop in Oct. Excluding transportation, orders were up 2.4%. Orders for capital goods like computers climbed 2.6%. The Nov increase left total orders at $424.5B, considered to be a healthy level for manufacturing activity (20.4% above the recession low, hit in Mar 2009). This is another indicator that the US economy is on the mend.
Orders to U.S. Factories Unexpectedly Increased in November
Photo: Bloomberg
General Motors (GM) sales of cars & trucks in the US rose 6.3% last year as a strong line-up of new models helped the company make a comeback from its bankruptcy. GM sold 2.2M vehicles, even though it got rid of 4 brands to focus on Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac & GMC. Total sales for the industry are expected to rise 10% for the year as consumers are buying again with an economy that is slowly recovering. Dec sales rose 7.5% (beating estimates of 4.3%) because of hot sellers such as the Chevrolet Equinox, a smaller SUV that seats about 5. The stock is up nicely from its 33 IPO price (in a rising stock market). Today it added 35¢.
GM December Total U.S. Sales Up 7.5%, Est. Up 4.3%
General Motors --- 2 months
Markets are back to sloshing around in the absence of major news. MLPs & REITs pulled back, but nothing serious for the bulls. The markets look good for the time being. Dow has had a superb run over the last 4 months with only one pause period in the month of Nov. Angst about the jobs report on Fri may be holding back buyers today.
Dow Jones Industrials --- 2 weeks
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