Dow rose 25, advancers over decliners almost 3-2 & NAZ gained 14 with Apple rising to a new record high. The Financial Index rose a fraction, going over 203. The MLP index was up a fraction to 396, near it interim high a month ago, & the REIT index added pennies to 265. Junk bond funds were mixed while Treasuries had a small rebound after recent selling. Oil is having a strong month & kept rising today while gold continued to show little change.
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](http://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif)
Photo: Bloomberg
The jobless rate climbed in 44 states in Jul, showing last month’s increase in unemployment was broad based. Alabama & Alaska registered the worst performance, with joblessness advancing by 0.5% in each according to the Labor Dept. Payrolls grew in 31 states last month, led by California & Michigan. Across the nation, the unemployment rate rose to 8.3%, a 5 month high, even as employment increased by the most since Feb. Unemployment jumped to 8.3% in Alabama from 7.8% in Jun, & climbed to 7.7% in Alaska from 7%. Nevada, where the rate rose to 12% from 11.6%, remained the state with the highest level of joblessness in the country. Rhode Island, at 10.8%, was 2nd, followed by California at 10.7%. Noth Dakota, benefiting from the oil boom, had the lowest unemployment rate, even though it rose to 3% from 2.9% in the prior month. 2 states, Idaho & Rhode Island, showed a drop in their unemployment rates & joblessness was unchanged in 4 states. Unemployment in New York rose to 9.1%, the highest since 1983, as payrolls dropped by 3700 workers, reflecting cutbacks at financial firms, which are trimming jobs as revenue softens.
U.S. Joblessness Rise Broad-Based as 44 States Show Gain
Photo: Bloomberg
Apple stock hit a new high after a 4 month swoon, as investors look ahead to the release of a new iPhone & possibly a smaller iPad. Already the world's most valuable company, during midday trading the stock reached a new record high over $647. The market cap for AAPL is about $605B, almost 50% higher than #2 Exxon Mobil (XOM), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat. AAPL is expected to sell 25M iPads in Q3, up from previous estimates of 16M which did not include the "Mini." Speculation about a smaller iPad has been rife this year. Analysts believe AAPL wants to make a cheaper tablet computer to sell for $199. The cheapest current iPad costs $399. A new iPhone 5 is expected in late Sep & it's widely believed that it will be the biggest phone launch ever. Rumored upgrades include the ability access the latest wireless data networks in the US & a slightly bigger screen. The stock shot up $10.59 to a new record of $647.
Photo: Bloomberg
The Gap reported a 29% increase in Q2 net income as the fashion retailer's moves to liven up its clothing with brightly colored trendy looks are winning over shoppers. It also raised full-year profit guidance for the 2nd time since May, but the forecast fell short of expectations. GPS has stepped up its marketing, & this spring & summer pushed trendy clothing like brightly colored jeans and tops. "There was a lot of bright spots inside the business that we feel good about," CEO Glenn Murphy said. "There's been a lot of effort, a lot of energy, being directed to get us to where we are today." But Murphy cautioned that the chain has to maintain that momentum the rest of the year. One problem that needs to be fixed is that store traffic was down in Q2, he said. EPS was 49¢, sharply ahead of 35¢ last year. Revenue rose 6% to $3.58B. Analysts had expected EPS of 48¢ on revenue of $3.57B. Revenue at stores opened at least a year was up 4% in Q2. By division, the metric rose 7% at Gap & Banana Republic & 3% at Old Navy. Intl same-store sales fell 5%. GPS has been expanding in other countries such as China as it pares back its fleet of US stores by 34% by the end of 2013, compared with 2007, not including Gap Outlets. That will leave 700 Gap stores. Based on strong Q2 performance, GPS expects EPS for the full year to be $1.95-$2.00, upgraded from guidance issued in May of $1.78-$1.83 per share. Analysts had been forecasting $2.09. The stock rose 1.66 (5%).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
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Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month | 0.081% | |
U.S. 2-year | 0.286% | |
U.S. 10-year | 1.816% |
| CLU12.NYM... | Crude Oil Sep 12 | ...96.01 | ... 0.41 | (0.4%) |
The jobless rate climbed in 44 states in Jul, showing last month’s increase in unemployment was broad based. Alabama & Alaska registered the worst performance, with joblessness advancing by 0.5% in each according to the Labor Dept. Payrolls grew in 31 states last month, led by California & Michigan. Across the nation, the unemployment rate rose to 8.3%, a 5 month high, even as employment increased by the most since Feb. Unemployment jumped to 8.3% in Alabama from 7.8% in Jun, & climbed to 7.7% in Alaska from 7%. Nevada, where the rate rose to 12% from 11.6%, remained the state with the highest level of joblessness in the country. Rhode Island, at 10.8%, was 2nd, followed by California at 10.7%. Noth Dakota, benefiting from the oil boom, had the lowest unemployment rate, even though it rose to 3% from 2.9% in the prior month. 2 states, Idaho & Rhode Island, showed a drop in their unemployment rates & joblessness was unchanged in 4 states. Unemployment in New York rose to 9.1%, the highest since 1983, as payrolls dropped by 3700 workers, reflecting cutbacks at financial firms, which are trimming jobs as revenue softens.
U.S. Joblessness Rise Broad-Based as 44 States Show Gain
Apple stock hit a new high after a 4 month swoon, as investors look ahead to the release of a new iPhone & possibly a smaller iPad. Already the world's most valuable company, during midday trading the stock reached a new record high over $647. The market cap for AAPL is about $605B, almost 50% higher than #2 Exxon Mobil (XOM), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat. AAPL is expected to sell 25M iPads in Q3, up from previous estimates of 16M which did not include the "Mini." Speculation about a smaller iPad has been rife this year. Analysts believe AAPL wants to make a cheaper tablet computer to sell for $199. The cheapest current iPad costs $399. A new iPhone 5 is expected in late Sep & it's widely believed that it will be the biggest phone launch ever. Rumored upgrades include the ability access the latest wireless data networks in the US & a slightly bigger screen. The stock shot up $10.59 to a new record of $647.
Apple (AAPL)
Photo: Bloomberg
The Gap reported a 29% increase in Q2 net income as the fashion retailer's moves to liven up its clothing with brightly colored trendy looks are winning over shoppers. It also raised full-year profit guidance for the 2nd time since May, but the forecast fell short of expectations. GPS has stepped up its marketing, & this spring & summer pushed trendy clothing like brightly colored jeans and tops. "There was a lot of bright spots inside the business that we feel good about," CEO Glenn Murphy said. "There's been a lot of effort, a lot of energy, being directed to get us to where we are today." But Murphy cautioned that the chain has to maintain that momentum the rest of the year. One problem that needs to be fixed is that store traffic was down in Q2, he said. EPS was 49¢, sharply ahead of 35¢ last year. Revenue rose 6% to $3.58B. Analysts had expected EPS of 48¢ on revenue of $3.57B. Revenue at stores opened at least a year was up 4% in Q2. By division, the metric rose 7% at Gap & Banana Republic & 3% at Old Navy. Intl same-store sales fell 5%. GPS has been expanding in other countries such as China as it pares back its fleet of US stores by 34% by the end of 2013, compared with 2007, not including Gap Outlets. That will leave 700 Gap stores. Based on strong Q2 performance, GPS expects EPS for the full year to be $1.95-$2.00, upgraded from guidance issued in May of $1.78-$1.83 per share. Analysts had been forecasting $2.09. The stock rose 1.66 (5%).
Gap Lifts Annual Forecast After Quarterly Profit Rises 29%
The Gap (GPS)
AAPL reached new record highs while Facebook (FB), the "hot" IPO this year, sank to $19, another new low. Quite a contrast! Risk appetitie is running high although even they are fussy to some degree. Otherwise, there was not a lot going on with many already off at holiday retreats. Dow keeps edging higher, only 135 away from its record high, but still unable to break thru. Another gain like this week's would finally let it reach a new yearly high. I still have my doubts but the bulls are calling the shots for the time being.
Dow Jones Industrials
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