Monday, September 10, 2012

Markets decline on nervousness over Greek bailout

Dow fell 52 with most of the selling in the last hour, decliners over advancers 3-2 & NAZ dropped 32 led by Apple (AAPL) falling almost 18.  The Financial Index was down 2 to the 208s.  The MLP index was off 1+ to the 395s & the REIT index fell 2+ to the 267s.  Junk bond funds were a little lower & Treasuries were mixed.  Oil & gold barely moved, but oil is pushing on $100 & gold is well over $1700.

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)

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Treeasury yields:

U.S. 3-month

0.096%

U.S. 2-year

0.246%

U.S. 10-year

1.683%

CLV12.NYM...Crude Oil Oct 12...96.56 ...Up 0.14 (0.2%)

GCU12.CMX...Gold Sep 12....1,732.20 ...Down 5.30  (0.3%)

Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]




Americans cut back on credit card use in Jul for the 2nd straight month, suggesting many remain cautious in the face of high unemployment and slow growth.  The Federal Reserve said total borrowing dipped $3.3B in Jul from Jun, to $2.705T.  A drop in credit card debt offset a small rise in a measure of auto & student loans.  Americans have borrowed much more than previously estimated after consumer borrowing data was revised back to Dec 2010.  The Jun figure was increased to $2.708T, or $130B higher than initially thought.  It's also well above pre-recession borrowing levels.  Consumers have been using credit cards much less since the 2008 credit crisis while student loans have increased dramatically during that time.

US consumers cut credit card use for 2nd month AP

  • <p>               In this  Thursday, July 19, 2012, photo an Apple customer Shayan Hooshmand, 11, uses PhotoBooth on a 21.5-inch iMac at an Apple store in Palo Alto, Calif. Apple Inc. reports quarterly financial results after the market closes on Tuesday, July 24. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Photo:   Yahoo

Hewlett-Packard, a Dow stock, which announced additional job cuts, remains the largest PC maker.  According to IDC, these are the top 5 PC manufacturers in Q2.  But the numbers are estimates & do not reflect figures disclosed by the company after IDC's report came out Jul 11.

Worldwide:
(1) Hewlett-Packard, 13.4M shipped worldwide, 15.5% share
(2) Lenovo, 12.9M, 14.9%
(3) Dell, 9.6M, 11.1%
(4) Acer Group, 9M, 10.4%
(5) AsusTek, 6.1M, 7.1%
(6) Others, 35.6M, 41.1%.
Total: 86.7M

United States:
Hewlett-Packard, 4.1M shipped in US, 25.9%
Dell, 3.6M, 22.5%
Apple, 1.8M, 11.4%
Lenovo, 1.28M, 8%
Acer Group, 1.25M, 7.9%.
Others, 3.9M, 24.4%.
Total: 15.9M

Top 5 manufacturers of personal computers in 2Q AP


Microsoft, a Dow stock, may announce a 15% increase to its quarterly div later this month.  The company’s board typically holds its annual meeting to set the div in Sep & has boosted the payout in each of the previous 2 years, including a 25% increase last year.  Analysts estimate it will raise the div by 3¢ to 23¢ a share.  The company had more than $63B in cash items as of Jun 30.  However, about $54B was held overseas & “would be subject to material repatriation tax effects” if the company were to shift it back to the US for uses such as the div, MSFT said.  Some analysts expect a smaller increase.  It began paying divs in 2003 & has been increasing the annual amounts since then (ignoring special divs).  The stock slipped 23¢ & the expected div would provide a yield of 3%.

Microsoft May Raise Dividend by 15 Percent This Month

Microsoft (MSFT)


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Markets did little, but there was selling into the close.  Foreign stories weighed on the markets led by another indication of a slowdown in China along with worries about extending the Greek bailout.  Bulls are hoping Big Ben will announce that the Federal Reserve will throw more money at the markets later this week.  However, that thought already has been baked into the markets.  Any surprise can bring disappointment.  Dow continues at the high end of its 7 month trading range & most of the time, it has not strayed from the 13K center line.

Dow Jones Industrials


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