Dow gave up early gains to settle for a loss of 32 (near the lows), declines just ahead of advancers & NAZ lost 19. The Financial Index dropped 1 to the 197s from selling into the close. The MLP index was up almost 1 to the 395s while the REIT index hardly changed. Junk bond funds inched higher & Treasuries sold off, bringing higher yields. Oil rose to above 90 & gold pulled back, remaining above 1600.
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](http://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif)
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The Federal Reserve (FED) said that the US economy is losing strength & repeated a pledge to take further steps to stimulate growth if the job market doesn't show sustained improvement. But the FED took no new action after a 2-day meeting. It acknowledged that economic activity had slowed over H1 & also said unemployment remains elevated & consumer spending is rising at a somewhat slower pace. The statement was nearly identical to the one issued after the Jun meeting, expect for language noting slower growth. The FED repeated that strains in the global market pose a significant risk to the US economy, the housing market is improving but remains depressed & inflation remains tame. Policymakers also repeated their plan to hold short-term interest rates at record-low levels until at least late 2014. The statement was approved on an 11-1 vote.
Photo: Bloomberg
IMF chief Christine Lagarde urged the ECB to take further steps to stabilize the eurozone's economy. Lagarde said that the world economy is experiencing a decline in confidence, driven by doubts about the ability of European & US leaders to manage financial problems. She also said European leaders should maintain a "crisis management mode" as they seek to address the debt crisis. Lagarde noted recent comments by the ECB bank president, Mario Draghi, to do "whatever it takes" to save the €. More can be done," Lagarde said, adding that low inflation allows for more aggressive steps to strengthen the €. She has said the ECB could intervene in bond markets & push down high borrowing rates that are threatening heavily indebted govs such as Spain & Italy with financial collapse. Aside from monetary policy, Lagarde said the eurozone needs structural reform to bolster investor confidence in the € & called for more centralized supervision of the eurozone banking system & a unitary fiscal policy. The IMF will keep working with Greece, in talks over further austerity measures needed for Greece to remain in the intl loan program that is protecting it from bankruptcy.
Enterprise Products Partners, a prominent MLP, net income rose 31% in Q2, boosted by an increase in the amount of crude oil & natural gas its pipelines transported. Earnings per unit were 64¢, above the 51¢ last year. A 4.5% increase in the number of units reduced the per-unit results. Revenue fell 13% to $9.79B, as commodity prices dropped & lowered sales for petroleum products. Analysts were expecting earnings of 58¢ on revenue of $11.75B. Profit rose as EPD transported more crude, natural gas & other commodities thru its pipelines. The company also made investments to offset the drop in price of natural gas & natural gas liquids. Its pipelines transported an average of 4M barrels per day of natural gas liquids, crude oil, refined products & petrochemical in Q2, 3% higher than in 2011. Natural gas pipeline volume increased 14% in Q2. Results were also helped by a 14% decline in total costs & expenses, influenced largely by the drop in energy commodity prices. The units gained 61¢, near the record highs reached last week.
Enterprise Products 2nd-qtr profit rises 31 pct AP
The outcome of the FOMC meeting should not have been a surprise to investors. Just about everybody said that if a change was coming, it would have to wait until the Sep meeting. However, comments by the FED that the economy was "weaker" contributed to late day selling. The ECB meeting tomorrow has the potential to move markets. Now that Draghi said that the ECB will do whatever is necessary to support the €, all eyes will be on him & expectations are running high. Dow is trying to hold above 13K. It represented an important ceiling in Feb. Then it became a floor in Mar-Apr before selling in May. It closed at 12,976.
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Teasury yields:
U.S. 3-month | 0.091% | |
U.S. 2-year | 0.231% | |
U.S. 10-year | 1.527% |
| CLU12.NYM | Crude Oil Sep 12 | 88.57 |  0.51 (0.6%) |
Photo: Yahoo
The Federal Reserve (FED) said that the US economy is losing strength & repeated a pledge to take further steps to stimulate growth if the job market doesn't show sustained improvement. But the FED took no new action after a 2-day meeting. It acknowledged that economic activity had slowed over H1 & also said unemployment remains elevated & consumer spending is rising at a somewhat slower pace. The statement was nearly identical to the one issued after the Jun meeting, expect for language noting slower growth. The FED repeated that strains in the global market pose a significant risk to the US economy, the housing market is improving but remains depressed & inflation remains tame. Policymakers also repeated their plan to hold short-term interest rates at record-low levels until at least late 2014. The statement was approved on an 11-1 vote.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde urged the ECB to take further steps to stabilize the eurozone's economy. Lagarde said that the world economy is experiencing a decline in confidence, driven by doubts about the ability of European & US leaders to manage financial problems. She also said European leaders should maintain a "crisis management mode" as they seek to address the debt crisis. Lagarde noted recent comments by the ECB bank president, Mario Draghi, to do "whatever it takes" to save the €. More can be done," Lagarde said, adding that low inflation allows for more aggressive steps to strengthen the €. She has said the ECB could intervene in bond markets & push down high borrowing rates that are threatening heavily indebted govs such as Spain & Italy with financial collapse. Aside from monetary policy, Lagarde said the eurozone needs structural reform to bolster investor confidence in the € & called for more centralized supervision of the eurozone banking system & a unitary fiscal policy. The IMF will keep working with Greece, in talks over further austerity measures needed for Greece to remain in the intl loan program that is protecting it from bankruptcy.
Enterprise Products Partners, a prominent MLP, net income rose 31% in Q2, boosted by an increase in the amount of crude oil & natural gas its pipelines transported. Earnings per unit were 64¢, above the 51¢ last year. A 4.5% increase in the number of units reduced the per-unit results. Revenue fell 13% to $9.79B, as commodity prices dropped & lowered sales for petroleum products. Analysts were expecting earnings of 58¢ on revenue of $11.75B. Profit rose as EPD transported more crude, natural gas & other commodities thru its pipelines. The company also made investments to offset the drop in price of natural gas & natural gas liquids. Its pipelines transported an average of 4M barrels per day of natural gas liquids, crude oil, refined products & petrochemical in Q2, 3% higher than in 2011. Natural gas pipeline volume increased 14% in Q2. Results were also helped by a 14% decline in total costs & expenses, influenced largely by the drop in energy commodity prices. The units gained 61¢, near the record highs reached last week.
Enterprise Products 2nd-qtr profit rises 31 pct AP
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD)
The outcome of the FOMC meeting should not have been a surprise to investors. Just about everybody said that if a change was coming, it would have to wait until the Sep meeting. However, comments by the FED that the economy was "weaker" contributed to late day selling. The ECB meeting tomorrow has the potential to move markets. Now that Draghi said that the ECB will do whatever is necessary to support the €, all eyes will be on him & expectations are running high. Dow is trying to hold above 13K. It represented an important ceiling in Feb. Then it became a floor in Mar-Apr before selling in May. It closed at 12,976.
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