Dow roared out of the gate & kept charging forward. Dow shot up 168, advancers ahead of decliners 5-1 & NAZ jumped 43. Bank stocks had only modest gains, taking the Financial Index up 2 to the 207s. MLPs rebounded, taking the index up 3+ to the 389s & the REIT index added 1 to the 252s. Junk bond funds edged higher while Treasuries were weak, taking the yield on the 10 year Treasury back up to 2%. Oil had a good day along with higher stock markets & gold was little changed.
Photo: Bloomberg
The IMF is more optimistic about the global economy after seeing faster US growth & a co-ordinated effort in Europe to address its debt crisis. It forecasts the US economy should expand 2.1% this year. Europe will likely shrink 0.3% & the world economy should grow 3.5%. All 3 estimates are slightly better than the Jan forecast. The IMF praised European leaders for bulking up its bailout fund & taking other steps to address the crisis. But it said the crisis continues to loom as the biggest threat to the global economy. The report comes as the 187-nation IMF & its sister lending institution, the World Bank, prepare to hold their spring meetings in DC this week.
IMF Raises Global Economic Growth Forecast to 3.5% From 3.3%
Photo: Yahoo
Groundbreaking on homes fell unexpectedly in Mar, but permits for future construction rose to their highest level in 3½ years according to the Commerce Dept. Housing starts slipped 5.8% to an annual rate of 654K units (under the forecasted rate of 705K). Feb starts were revised down to a 694K-unit pace from a previously reported 698K unit rate. The Mar decline was the biggest percentage drop in a year, although most of the fall was in the volatile multi-unit category, which declined 16.9%. Starts for single-family homes eased only 0.2%. Brightening the report's message on the economy, new permits for home construction surged. Permits rose 4.5% to a 747K-unit pace last month, the highest since Sep 2008 (Lehman collapse) & beat expectations for a 710K-unit pace. Depressed housing has showed signs of an recovery in recent months, & homebuilding could add to economic growth this year for the first time since 2005. However, an oversupply of unsold homes, which is depressing prices, remains a major hurdle. Sentiment among home builders ebbed in Apr for the first time in 7 months. Housing is on the mend but returning to the good old days remains a distant goal.
U.S. Housing Starts Unexpectedly Drop to Five-Month Low
Coca Cola, a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, net income rose 8% in Q1 as it sold more drinks around the world. EPS was 89¢, above 82¢ last year & was slightly ahead the 88¢ forecast. Higher profit was driven by a 5% increase in global volume, with growth across all regions. Smaller packages were introduced to attract price-conscious consumers as part of an effort to spur sales in North America, where the soft drink industry is in a 7-year decline. Beverage sales volume for the unit climbed 2%, driven by demand for Powerade energy drinks & Dasani water. The stock rose $1.78 to the $74s, not seen since the late 1990s.
Coca-Cola First-Quarter Profit Beats Estimates as North America Sales Jump
The stock markets are feeling better after earnings reports brought out buyers. Dow is back over 13K but the S&P 500 is under 1400. The European debt mess is back on the back burners, getting little attention even though Spain has become shaky. The € is a proxy for the European economy & sovereign debt problems. It's above $1.31 & has not changed much in 5 months. Even with today's rise, Dow has returned to where it was 2 months ago. But the bulls want to take over again. Maybe they'll succeed this time.
JPMorgan Chase Capital XVI (AMJ)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month | 0.076% | |
U.S. 2-year | 0.270% | |
U.S. 10-year | 1.996% |
| CLK12.NYM | ...Crude Oil May 12 | ...104.78 | ... 1.85 | (1.8%) |
| GCJ12.CMX.... | Gold Apr 12 | .........1,652.40 | .... 3.70 | (0.2%) |
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The IMF is more optimistic about the global economy after seeing faster US growth & a co-ordinated effort in Europe to address its debt crisis. It forecasts the US economy should expand 2.1% this year. Europe will likely shrink 0.3% & the world economy should grow 3.5%. All 3 estimates are slightly better than the Jan forecast. The IMF praised European leaders for bulking up its bailout fund & taking other steps to address the crisis. But it said the crisis continues to loom as the biggest threat to the global economy. The report comes as the 187-nation IMF & its sister lending institution, the World Bank, prepare to hold their spring meetings in DC this week.
IMF Raises Global Economic Growth Forecast to 3.5% From 3.3%
Groundbreaking on homes fell unexpectedly in Mar, but permits for future construction rose to their highest level in 3½ years according to the Commerce Dept. Housing starts slipped 5.8% to an annual rate of 654K units (under the forecasted rate of 705K). Feb starts were revised down to a 694K-unit pace from a previously reported 698K unit rate. The Mar decline was the biggest percentage drop in a year, although most of the fall was in the volatile multi-unit category, which declined 16.9%. Starts for single-family homes eased only 0.2%. Brightening the report's message on the economy, new permits for home construction surged. Permits rose 4.5% to a 747K-unit pace last month, the highest since Sep 2008 (Lehman collapse) & beat expectations for a 710K-unit pace. Depressed housing has showed signs of an recovery in recent months, & homebuilding could add to economic growth this year for the first time since 2005. However, an oversupply of unsold homes, which is depressing prices, remains a major hurdle. Sentiment among home builders ebbed in Apr for the first time in 7 months. Housing is on the mend but returning to the good old days remains a distant goal.
U.S. Housing Starts Unexpectedly Drop to Five-Month Low
Photo: Bloomberg
Coca Cola, a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, net income rose 8% in Q1 as it sold more drinks around the world. EPS was 89¢, above 82¢ last year & was slightly ahead the 88¢ forecast. Higher profit was driven by a 5% increase in global volume, with growth across all regions. Smaller packages were introduced to attract price-conscious consumers as part of an effort to spur sales in North America, where the soft drink industry is in a 7-year decline. Beverage sales volume for the unit climbed 2%, driven by demand for Powerade energy drinks & Dasani water. The stock rose $1.78 to the $74s, not seen since the late 1990s.
Coca-Cola First-Quarter Profit Beats Estimates as North America Sales Jump
Coca-Cola Company (The) (KO)
The stock markets are feeling better after earnings reports brought out buyers. Dow is back over 13K but the S&P 500 is under 1400. The European debt mess is back on the back burners, getting little attention even though Spain has become shaky. The € is a proxy for the European economy & sovereign debt problems. It's above $1.31 & has not changed much in 5 months. Even with today's rise, Dow has returned to where it was 2 months ago. But the bulls want to take over again. Maybe they'll succeed this time.
Dow Industrials (INDU)
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