There was late day buying on a report that the G20 is considering a major IMF lending program. Dow was up 46 (with some of that enthusiasm fading in the closing minutes), advancers over decliners 4-3 & NAZ fell pocket change. The Financial Index shot up 2 to 179 on buying in the last ½ hour.
The MLP index was even & the REIT index gained 1 to the 221s. Junk bond funds were higher as were Treasuries but the yield on the 10 year Treasury bond remains above 2%. Oil fell, but held above 100, & gold gained 13 into the mid 1700s..
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Consumers increased borrowing in Oct to buy cars & attend college, & they also charged a little more to credit cards. The 2nd straight monthly gain in overall borrowing suggests consumers are growing more confident in the economy prior the crucial holiday buying season. Consumer borrowing rose $7.3B according to the Federal Reserve. Sep & Oct gains reversed a steep drop in borrowing from Aug, when it fell by the most in 16 months. The Oct increase reflected a 5.3% increase in borrowing in the category that includes car & student loans. The category that covers credit card purchases rose 0.6%, which matched the Sep gain after a revision. Consumers are spending more freely & their confidence is on the rise again. But there are worries that the spending gains are temporary because wages are barely keeping pace with inflation.
Consumers borrow more in Oct. as economy improves. AP
Photo: Bloomberg
JC Penney bought a 17% in Martha Stewart for $38.5M as it seeks to revive sales with new mini stores dedicated to the brand. JCPenney is paying $3.50 for each share & will obtain 2 board seats. The agreement marks the first strategic move since Ron Johnson took over JCP a year ago. MSO will gain more than $200M in revenue from the 10-year agreement & is trying to boost sales growth after 3 years of falling revenue. The mini stores, which will sell home & lifestyle merchandise, are scheduled to open in JCP stores by Feb 2013 & will have trained sales associates who can provide “educational tips.” The 2 companies will also develop an e-commerce site. JCP was up 21¢ & MSO shot up $1.04 (33%) to over $4.
AT&T, a Dow stock, will forge ahead with its deal to buy Deutsche Telekom's US wireless unit despite fierce regulatory opposition. "We continue to move forward with our efforts to complete the T-Mobile transaction...and we will continue to pursue the sale," AT&T CEO John Stephens said. AT&T will use its $10B cash to prepare for the closing of the T-Mobile deal, Stephens said. In addition, the company has a $20B bridge facility & an $8B backup in place. "So we clearly have an ability to close the deal very quickly and have those resources," Stephens said. "That is the plan." The Justice Dept & FCC oppose the merger, saying the combination of AT&T, the 2nd-largest U.S. cellphone company, with T-Mobile USA, the 4th largest, would hurt competition. AT&T was up 15¢ & yields almost 6%.
The MLP index was even & the REIT index gained 1 to the 221s. Junk bond funds were higher as were Treasuries but the yield on the 10 year Treasury bond remains above 2%. Oil fell, but held above 100, & gold gained 13 into the mid 1700s..
AMZ Alerian MLP Index
DJR Dow Jones Equity REIT Index
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Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month | 0.000% | |
U.S. 2-year | 0.232% | |
U.S. 10-year | 2.017% |
| CLF12.NYM | ...Crude Oil Jan 12 | ...100.35 | ... 0.93 | (0.9%) |
Consumers increased borrowing in Oct to buy cars & attend college, & they also charged a little more to credit cards. The 2nd straight monthly gain in overall borrowing suggests consumers are growing more confident in the economy prior the crucial holiday buying season. Consumer borrowing rose $7.3B according to the Federal Reserve. Sep & Oct gains reversed a steep drop in borrowing from Aug, when it fell by the most in 16 months. The Oct increase reflected a 5.3% increase in borrowing in the category that includes car & student loans. The category that covers credit card purchases rose 0.6%, which matched the Sep gain after a revision. Consumers are spending more freely & their confidence is on the rise again. But there are worries that the spending gains are temporary because wages are barely keeping pace with inflation.
Consumers borrow more in Oct. as economy improves. AP
JC Penney bought a 17% in Martha Stewart for $38.5M as it seeks to revive sales with new mini stores dedicated to the brand. JCPenney is paying $3.50 for each share & will obtain 2 board seats. The agreement marks the first strategic move since Ron Johnson took over JCP a year ago. MSO will gain more than $200M in revenue from the 10-year agreement & is trying to boost sales growth after 3 years of falling revenue. The mini stores, which will sell home & lifestyle merchandise, are scheduled to open in JCP stores by Feb 2013 & will have trained sales associates who can provide “educational tips.” The 2 companies will also develop an e-commerce site. JCP was up 21¢ & MSO shot up $1.04 (33%) to over $4.
JCP J.C. Penney
MSO Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
AT&T, a Dow stock, will forge ahead with its deal to buy Deutsche Telekom's US wireless unit despite fierce regulatory opposition. "We continue to move forward with our efforts to complete the T-Mobile transaction...and we will continue to pursue the sale," AT&T CEO John Stephens said. AT&T will use its $10B cash to prepare for the closing of the T-Mobile deal, Stephens said. In addition, the company has a $20B bridge facility & an $8B backup in place. "So we clearly have an ability to close the deal very quickly and have those resources," Stephens said. "That is the plan." The Justice Dept & FCC oppose the merger, saying the combination of AT&T, the 2nd-largest U.S. cellphone company, with T-Mobile USA, the 4th largest, would hurt competition. AT&T was up 15¢ & yields almost 6%.
T AT&T Inc.
Hope springs eternal. Buyers reappeared late in the trading day on more European bailout hopes. The late day surge brought the Dow to its 12.2K ceiling. The rest of the week will show if the bulls are serious about breaking thru to new 5 month highs. Markets may want to go higher even though very little is known where the European debt mess will lead.
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