Friday, March 30, 2012

Markets conclude best Q1 since 1998

Dow gained 66, advancers over decliners a mild 3-2 & NAZ slid 3 as Apple fell 10 (going below 600) on concerns about its Chinese worker issues.  The Financial Index went up 1 to 212, near its recent highs.

The MLP index rose 3 to 392 & the REIT index was up 2 to 254, a new yearly high.  Junk bond funds were soft while Treasuries sold off in what has been a bad Q1 following a stellar 2011.  Oil climbed, capping a 2nd quarterly gain, after reports showed consumer sentiment & spending rose & the way was cleared for new sanctions targeting Iran.  Gold was up $15, but having a choppy time of it in the last 6 months (see chart below).

JPMorgan Chase Capital XVI (AMJ)


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Click below for the latest market update:


Treasury yields:

U.S. 3-month

0.066%

U.S. 2-year

0.333%

U.S. 10-year

2.214%

CLK12.NYM...Crude Oil May 12...103.09...Up 0.31  (0.3%)

Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]



Exxon Mobil, a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, ConocoPhillips (COP) & BP (BP) will produce natural gas condensate from Alaska’s Point Thomson field for delivery over the TransAlaska Pipeline System under an agreement resolving a lawsuit against the state over leases to develop an oil-and gas-rich field.  A new facility will produce 200M cubic feet of gas a day & 10K barrels of condensate a day.  Its completion is scheduled for 2016.  A liquid hydrocarbon pipeline that can move 70K barrels a day is also being designed.  The companies sued Alaska 6 years ago after it revoked their leases, which date back to 1977, for failing to submit an acceptable development plan but a court reversed that decision in 2010.  XOM was up 61¢.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)


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Foxconn Audit Finds ‘Serious’ Violations of China Labor Laws

Photo:   Bloomberg

An audit of Foxconn Tech, an Apple (AAPL) supplier, found “serious and pressing” violations of Chinese labor laws, prompting it to pledge to cut working hours & give employees more oversight.   Inspectors found at least 50 breaches of Chinese regulations as well as the code of conduct Apple signed after deaths of workers at suppliers.  Foxconn will bring hours in line with legal limits by Jul 2013 (huh?) & compensate more than 1.2M employees for overtime lost due to the shorter work week.  Assessors found cases of employees working longer hours & more days in a row than allowed.  They uncovered inconsistent health & safety policies & instances of unfair pay for overtime work.  To meet its commitments, Foxconn must hire, train & house tens of thousands of workers to assemble products for AAPL, Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ & a Dow stock) & other customers.  “We are committed to work with Apple to carry out the remediation program, developed by both our companies,” Foxconn said.  “Our success will be judged by future FLA audits and the monitoring of the implementation of the remediation program, by reviews carried out by Apple and other customers and by future employee surveys.”  AAPL said, “We fully support their recommendations.”  “Empowering workers and helping them understand their rights is essential.” 

Apple Supplier Foxconn Found to ‘Seriously’ Violate Labor Law, Audit Says

Apple Inc. (AAPL)


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After an excellent Q1, it will be difficult to top that in Q2.  Dow gained just over 1K!!  Because of recent weakness, the Alerian MLP Index lost 1.  That's hardly serious, but MLPs have lost their market leadership role.  The yield on the 10 year Treasury bond rose about 25 basis points from its unbelievability low under 2%.  I am still of the view that the stock markets are every tired & if weakness in AAPL continues, there may be more selling pressure coming to the markets.

Dow Industrials


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