Dow pulled in the black to gain 31, advancers ahead of decliners 4-3 & NAZ was up 4. Bank stocks also managed to eke out a gain.
The MLP & REIT indices were fractionally lower & junk bond funds inched higher. Treasuries were weak, taking the 10 year yield nearer to 2%. Oil pared an earlier decline as Greek officials worked on a final draft of the financing document required to receive funding for its debt crisis. Gold found buyers because of the chaos in the Greek debt mess.
The number of job openings in the US jumped in Dec to near a 3year high, supporting other data that show a brighter outlook for hiring. The Labor Dept said companies & govs posted 3.38M jobs, up from the 3.12M advertised in the previous month & nearly matches the 3 year high reached in Sep. The report on job openings follows optimistic employment figures last Fri showing employers added 243K net jobs in Jan & the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%. However even with the gains, 13.1M remain unemployed in Dec. That means an average of 3.9 people competed for each open job that month, the first time in 4 years that ratio was below 4 to 1. Better news on the jobs front, but this has been a long, slow & painful recovery.
Job openings jump to near a 3-year high AP
Greek PM
Photo: Bloomberg
The Greek gov & creditors are working on the final draft of an agreement on budget & structural measures needed to free up a 2nd aid package. The document will be discussed by political leaders later today. Greek PM Papademos plans to convene the nation’s political leaders to seek consensus on the cuts required for a bailout, as unions called a strike to protest & European leaders pressed Greece to reach a deal. While the PM & party leaders have agreed to make further cuts equal to 1.5% of GDP, they have yet to close gaps over measures demanded by creditors. Chancellor Merkel said “time is running out” to reach an accord, while unions derided the conditions as “blackmail.” At stake is whether Greece wins the bailout, secures a debt write-off with private creditors & remains in the euro region. A Greek official said that “failure of these talks, failure of the plan, the country’s bankruptcy, means even greater sacrifice.” Everybody is holding their breath, but the outcome does not look good.
Photo: Yahoo
Coca-Cola, a Dow stock & with the expected div increase coming shortly will extend its streak of raising dividends to 50 years, had better-than-expected Q4 results & announced a new cost-savings program on to boost its brands & mitigate higher commodity costs. Its new productivity program is targeting annual savings of $350-400M by the end of 2015. The company also raised its target for savings from the integration of its North American bottling operations by $200-250M. KO plans to reinvest savings into "brand building initiatives," which usually include marketing & advertising. Q4 revenue rose 5% to $11B as it gained market share in several drink categories (slightly ahead of $10.99B expected. Worldwide volume rose 3%, growing 4 % in Latin America & Eurasia & Africa, 5% in the Pacific & 1% in Europe & North America. EPS was 72¢, down from $2.46 per share a year earlier when the company recorded a gain related to the acquisition of its North American bottling operations. Excluding items, EPS was 79¢, beating the average estimate of 77¢. The stock rose 1.10, not far from its yearly highs.
Coca-Cola Profit Tops Analysts’ Estimates
Photo: Yahoo
Swiss bank UBS predicted further weakness in investment banking after a restructuring of the business failed to prevent an earnings hit from the euro zone debt crisis & worries about the global economy. "Traditional improvements in first-quarter activity levels and trading volumes may fail to materialize fully, which would weigh on overall results for the coming quarter, most notably in the investment bank," UBS said. Q4 net profit shrank to 393M Swiss francs from 1.66B in the 2010 period & was below a forecast for 737M. Investment banks had a rough time last year as trading & advisory income was hammered when clients pulled back from markets due to the euro zone debt crisis, & stopped doing deals. The outlook is set to remain tough as tougher regulations & economic slowdown bite. This is a reminder that global banks may have another difficult year.
UBS Posts 76% Drop in Quarterly Profit
Not a lot going on in the markets. Traders are watching for the next move out of Greece. Other countries, such as Iran, Syria & Egypt, are getting a lot of attention, but that has not brought on selling. Starting with the Oct rally, Dow has a a good run with only one setback. Bulls continue to be in command, but even they have to be nervous.
S&P 500 Financials Sector Index
| Value | 197.50 | |
| Change | 0.09 (-0.0%) |
The MLP & REIT indices were fractionally lower & junk bond funds inched higher. Treasuries were weak, taking the 10 year yield nearer to 2%. Oil pared an earlier decline as Greek officials worked on a final draft of the financing document required to receive funding for its debt crisis. Gold found buyers because of the chaos in the Greek debt mess.
Alerian MLP Index
| Value | 397.01 | |
| Change | -0.34 (-0.1%) |
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month | 0.076% | |
U.S. 2-year | 0.242% | |
U.S. 10-year | 1.956% |
| CLH12.NYM | ...Crude Oil Mar 12 | ...96.89 | ... 0.02 | (0.0%) |
| GCG12.CMX | ...Gold Feb 12 | .....1,726.30 | ... 3.50 | (0.2%) |
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The number of job openings in the US jumped in Dec to near a 3year high, supporting other data that show a brighter outlook for hiring. The Labor Dept said companies & govs posted 3.38M jobs, up from the 3.12M advertised in the previous month & nearly matches the 3 year high reached in Sep. The report on job openings follows optimistic employment figures last Fri showing employers added 243K net jobs in Jan & the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%. However even with the gains, 13.1M remain unemployed in Dec. That means an average of 3.9 people competed for each open job that month, the first time in 4 years that ratio was below 4 to 1. Better news on the jobs front, but this has been a long, slow & painful recovery.
Job openings jump to near a 3-year high AP
Photo: Bloomberg
The Greek gov & creditors are working on the final draft of an agreement on budget & structural measures needed to free up a 2nd aid package. The document will be discussed by political leaders later today. Greek PM Papademos plans to convene the nation’s political leaders to seek consensus on the cuts required for a bailout, as unions called a strike to protest & European leaders pressed Greece to reach a deal. While the PM & party leaders have agreed to make further cuts equal to 1.5% of GDP, they have yet to close gaps over measures demanded by creditors. Chancellor Merkel said “time is running out” to reach an accord, while unions derided the conditions as “blackmail.” At stake is whether Greece wins the bailout, secures a debt write-off with private creditors & remains in the euro region. A Greek official said that “failure of these talks, failure of the plan, the country’s bankruptcy, means even greater sacrifice.” Everybody is holding their breath, but the outcome does not look good.
Coca-Cola, a Dow stock & with the expected div increase coming shortly will extend its streak of raising dividends to 50 years, had better-than-expected Q4 results & announced a new cost-savings program on to boost its brands & mitigate higher commodity costs. Its new productivity program is targeting annual savings of $350-400M by the end of 2015. The company also raised its target for savings from the integration of its North American bottling operations by $200-250M. KO plans to reinvest savings into "brand building initiatives," which usually include marketing & advertising. Q4 revenue rose 5% to $11B as it gained market share in several drink categories (slightly ahead of $10.99B expected. Worldwide volume rose 3%, growing 4 % in Latin America & Eurasia & Africa, 5% in the Pacific & 1% in Europe & North America. EPS was 72¢, down from $2.46 per share a year earlier when the company recorded a gain related to the acquisition of its North American bottling operations. Excluding items, EPS was 79¢, beating the average estimate of 77¢. The stock rose 1.10, not far from its yearly highs.
Coca-Cola Profit Tops Analysts’ Estimates
Coca-Cola Company (The) (KO)
Photo: Yahoo
Swiss bank UBS predicted further weakness in investment banking after a restructuring of the business failed to prevent an earnings hit from the euro zone debt crisis & worries about the global economy. "Traditional improvements in first-quarter activity levels and trading volumes may fail to materialize fully, which would weigh on overall results for the coming quarter, most notably in the investment bank," UBS said. Q4 net profit shrank to 393M Swiss francs from 1.66B in the 2010 period & was below a forecast for 737M. Investment banks had a rough time last year as trading & advisory income was hammered when clients pulled back from markets due to the euro zone debt crisis, & stopped doing deals. The outlook is set to remain tough as tougher regulations & economic slowdown bite. This is a reminder that global banks may have another difficult year.
UBS Posts 76% Drop in Quarterly Profit
UBS AG (UBS)
Not a lot going on in the markets. Traders are watching for the next move out of Greece. Other countries, such as Iran, Syria & Egypt, are getting a lot of attention, but that has not brought on selling. Starting with the Oct rally, Dow has a a good run with only one setback. Bulls continue to be in command, but even they have to be nervous.
Dow Industrials
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