Dow picked up 28, advancers ahead of decliners 2-1 & NAZ was up 22. Bank stocks led the the way higher, taking the Financial Index up 2½ to 201 for a new 7 month high.
The MLP index rose 2 to the 410s & the REIT index was up a fraction to 244. Junk bond funds gained but Treasuries pulled back, primarily related to the report on jobless claims. Oil was had a good day as it nears $110 & gold recovered some of yesterday's big loss.
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](http://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif)
Photo: Yahoo
Feb auto sales rose to their highest annual sales rate in nearly 4 years as consumer confidence improved & drivers gave in to the need to replace their aging cars & trucks. The annual sales rate was on track to reach 14.7M, the best monthly showing since Mar 2008 (before the financial crisis). GM sales rose 1.1% to 209K vehicles, versus a forecasted decline, as the #1 automaker offered fewer incentives compared with a year earlier. Ford sold 179K, up 14% from last year's levels. Chrysler, sold 133K, up 40% from last Feb. Volkswagen sold 30, up 42%. New vehicle sales at Nissan rose 15% at 106K. GM predicted the annual sales pace in Feb would be 14.5-14.9M vehicles. The average forecast was for an annualized pace of 14M with the high estimate at 14.4M, up from 13.3M a year earlier. The car business is strong.
February auto sales rise; GM posts surprise gain
Photo: Bloomberg
Homes in or nearing foreclosure accounted for almost a fourth of residential purchases in Q4 as lenders approved more short sales (where the price is less than the amount owed). Deals for bank-owned & distressed properties rose to 24% of total home sales from 20% in Q3, according to RealtyTrac. Transactions fell 26% from a year earlier. “We expect to see foreclosure-related sales increase in 2012, particularly pre-foreclosure sales,” CEO Bandon Moore said. Banks may “aggressively” resume unloading distressed property after an 18-month delay brought on by federal & state legal probes into flawed foreclosure paperwork & documentation, Moore said. Q4 showed lenders turning to short sales as a “better option” than holding a house whose borrower doesn’t make any payments, he said. The number of short sales jumped 15% from Q4 of 2010 while purchases of bank-owned houses fell 12%. A total of 89K pre-foreclosure properties sold in Q4, making up 10% of all transactions. More supply (of houses) has been a major factor in limiting a recovery in housing.
Foreclosures Rise to 24% of U.S. Home Purchases as Short Sales Increase
A judge decided against blocking Kinder Morgan's $23B acquisition of El Paso despite claims by some investors that EP executives had undervalued the company to make it more attractive, saying that it should be left to EP shareholders to approve the deal. "El Paso stockholders should not be deprived of the chance to decide for themselves about the merger, despite the disturbing nature of some of the behavior leading to its terms," judge Strine said. Last Oct, KMP said it planned to take over EP & spin off the production business while keeping its pipelines to become America's largest natural gas pipeline operator. It would control over 80K miles of pipelines, allowing the company to negotiate more lucrative supply deals around the country. A group of EP investors opposed the takeover, arguing that EP didn't negotiate the best price for the company. In addition, the EP board was being advised by Goldman Sachs (GS) which the critics said had a conflict of interest because it owns 19% of KMP. KMP was up 93¢ & EP rose 29¢.
Judge allows El Paso Corp. takeover to proceed AP
The economic news was reasonably good. Auto sales, early returns from retailers & the jobless claims reports were encouraging, that that was not good enough to bring out buyers in force. Banks & techs led the way up, but other stocks did not follow. The € slipped another fraction of a penny to $1.33, signalling that all is not well there (especially with the Greek debt refinancing). Gas at the pump went up to $3.74 yesterday & will be headed much higher with the price of crude oil near $110. The inability of the Dow to cross over 13K has to be upsetting, even for the most bullish of bulls.
The MLP index rose 2 to the 410s & the REIT index was up a fraction to 244. Junk bond funds gained but Treasuries pulled back, primarily related to the report on jobless claims. Oil was had a good day as it nears $110 & gold recovered some of yesterday's big loss.
JPMorgan Chase Capital XVI (AMJ)
Click below for the latest market update:
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month | 0.071% | |
U.S. 2-year | 0.289% | |
U.S. 10-year | 2.035% |
| CLJ12.NYM | .....Crude Oil Apr 12 | ...109.20 | .... 2.13 | (2.0%) |
Feb auto sales rose to their highest annual sales rate in nearly 4 years as consumer confidence improved & drivers gave in to the need to replace their aging cars & trucks. The annual sales rate was on track to reach 14.7M, the best monthly showing since Mar 2008 (before the financial crisis). GM sales rose 1.1% to 209K vehicles, versus a forecasted decline, as the #1 automaker offered fewer incentives compared with a year earlier. Ford sold 179K, up 14% from last year's levels. Chrysler, sold 133K, up 40% from last Feb. Volkswagen sold 30, up 42%. New vehicle sales at Nissan rose 15% at 106K. GM predicted the annual sales pace in Feb would be 14.5-14.9M vehicles. The average forecast was for an annualized pace of 14M with the high estimate at 14.4M, up from 13.3M a year earlier. The car business is strong.
February auto sales rise; GM posts surprise gain
Photo: Bloomberg
Homes in or nearing foreclosure accounted for almost a fourth of residential purchases in Q4 as lenders approved more short sales (where the price is less than the amount owed). Deals for bank-owned & distressed properties rose to 24% of total home sales from 20% in Q3, according to RealtyTrac. Transactions fell 26% from a year earlier. “We expect to see foreclosure-related sales increase in 2012, particularly pre-foreclosure sales,” CEO Bandon Moore said. Banks may “aggressively” resume unloading distressed property after an 18-month delay brought on by federal & state legal probes into flawed foreclosure paperwork & documentation, Moore said. Q4 showed lenders turning to short sales as a “better option” than holding a house whose borrower doesn’t make any payments, he said. The number of short sales jumped 15% from Q4 of 2010 while purchases of bank-owned houses fell 12%. A total of 89K pre-foreclosure properties sold in Q4, making up 10% of all transactions. More supply (of houses) has been a major factor in limiting a recovery in housing.
Foreclosures Rise to 24% of U.S. Home Purchases as Short Sales Increase
A judge decided against blocking Kinder Morgan's $23B acquisition of El Paso despite claims by some investors that EP executives had undervalued the company to make it more attractive, saying that it should be left to EP shareholders to approve the deal. "El Paso stockholders should not be deprived of the chance to decide for themselves about the merger, despite the disturbing nature of some of the behavior leading to its terms," judge Strine said. Last Oct, KMP said it planned to take over EP & spin off the production business while keeping its pipelines to become America's largest natural gas pipeline operator. It would control over 80K miles of pipelines, allowing the company to negotiate more lucrative supply deals around the country. A group of EP investors opposed the takeover, arguing that EP didn't negotiate the best price for the company. In addition, the EP board was being advised by Goldman Sachs (GS) which the critics said had a conflict of interest because it owns 19% of KMP. KMP was up 93¢ & EP rose 29¢.
Judge allows El Paso Corp. takeover to proceed AP
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP)
El Paso Corporation (EP)
The economic news was reasonably good. Auto sales, early returns from retailers & the jobless claims reports were encouraging, that that was not good enough to bring out buyers in force. Banks & techs led the way up, but other stocks did not follow. The € slipped another fraction of a penny to $1.33, signalling that all is not well there (especially with the Greek debt refinancing). Gas at the pump went up to $3.74 yesterday & will be headed much higher with the price of crude oil near $110. The inability of the Dow to cross over 13K has to be upsetting, even for the most bullish of bulls.
Dow Industrials
Get your favorite symbols' Trend Analysis TODAY!
No comments:
Post a Comment