Dow shot up 114, advancers over decliners 4-1 & NAZ rose 30. The Financial Index added 1+ to 212. The MLP index continued strong, gaining 1+ to the 393s & the REIT index rose 2 to the 258s. Junk bond funds were higher & Treasuries. Oil was higher & gold was also strong.
Photo: Bloomberg
EU leaders deadlocked over the bloc’s next 7-year budget, adding to the quarrels between rich & poor countries that have stymied the response to the € debt crisis. France defended its farm sbsiddies. Britain clung to a rebate & Denmark demanded its own cash-back guarantee, while eastern & southern countries said reduced financing for public-works projects would condemn them to lag behind the wealthier north. The conflicts at a Brussels summit offered a 27-nation re- enactment of the fury & acrimony that has marked the fiscal crisis in the euro region, & predictions abounded that it would take another summit next year to clinch a deal. “The positions are still quite far apart,” Angela Merkel said as the meeting resumed today. “And if we need a second stage, then we will take the time for it.” At stake is a spending plan for the years 2014-2020 that would total about 1% of EU-wide GDP. While that sum is small compared to the average 50% of GDP that each country spends inside its borders, the political resonance is far larger. Wealthier countries such as Germany, the UK, Denmark, Sweden & the Netherlands have banded together to cut what they pay in to the budget, pounding away at the original proposal of €1.033T ($1.3T) that came out in mid-2011. By the time the summit started yesterday, the figure on the table was €973B. Overnight talks shaved the number to the neighborhood of €950B & triggered a battle to allocate the cuts among the host of subsidy programs. This is the same group that is supposed to solve the euro debt mess? I don't know!
EU Deadlocks Over Budget in Echo of Debt-Crisis Stalemate
Photo: Bloomberg
Some shoppers began standing in line before 4:30 PM (Thurs) at Macy's (M) flagship store in Manhattan for its midnight opening. Millions of shoppers who went to stores last night & this morning (I was one) as the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season got under way. With consumers facing a sluggish economy & the threat of tax increases over the fiscal cliff, this weekend will serve as a barometer of what’s to come for retailers in the next 5 weeks. To get shoppers to spend more than last year, retailers have continued to turn Black Friday, originally a 1-day event after Thanksgiving, into a week’s worth of deals & discounts. Some opened at 8PM. on Thanksgiving. Other chains began offering Black Friday deals online as early as last weekend. Success is measured in same store sales increase & gross margin.
Black Friday Draws Millions to Stores in Holiday Season Kickoff
The strength in the markets overstates reality. This is a semi-holiday & trading ends at lunchtime. Many traders are away, enjoying their profits earned this year. But rising stock prices feel good to all investors owning stocks & Dow is within striking distance of 13K which has become its new ceiling..
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CLF13.NYM | ...Crude Oil Jan 13 | ...87.66 | ... 0.28 (0.3%) |
| GCX12.CMX | ...Gold Nov 12 | ...1,735.00 | ... 7.10 | (0.4%) |
Photo: Bloomberg
EU leaders deadlocked over the bloc’s next 7-year budget, adding to the quarrels between rich & poor countries that have stymied the response to the € debt crisis. France defended its farm sbsiddies. Britain clung to a rebate & Denmark demanded its own cash-back guarantee, while eastern & southern countries said reduced financing for public-works projects would condemn them to lag behind the wealthier north. The conflicts at a Brussels summit offered a 27-nation re- enactment of the fury & acrimony that has marked the fiscal crisis in the euro region, & predictions abounded that it would take another summit next year to clinch a deal. “The positions are still quite far apart,” Angela Merkel said as the meeting resumed today. “And if we need a second stage, then we will take the time for it.” At stake is a spending plan for the years 2014-2020 that would total about 1% of EU-wide GDP. While that sum is small compared to the average 50% of GDP that each country spends inside its borders, the political resonance is far larger. Wealthier countries such as Germany, the UK, Denmark, Sweden & the Netherlands have banded together to cut what they pay in to the budget, pounding away at the original proposal of €1.033T ($1.3T) that came out in mid-2011. By the time the summit started yesterday, the figure on the table was €973B. Overnight talks shaved the number to the neighborhood of €950B & triggered a battle to allocate the cuts among the host of subsidy programs. This is the same group that is supposed to solve the euro debt mess? I don't know!
EU Deadlocks Over Budget in Echo of Debt-Crisis Stalemate
Photo: Bloomberg
Some shoppers began standing in line before 4:30 PM (Thurs) at Macy's (M) flagship store in Manhattan for its midnight opening. Millions of shoppers who went to stores last night & this morning (I was one) as the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season got under way. With consumers facing a sluggish economy & the threat of tax increases over the fiscal cliff, this weekend will serve as a barometer of what’s to come for retailers in the next 5 weeks. To get shoppers to spend more than last year, retailers have continued to turn Black Friday, originally a 1-day event after Thanksgiving, into a week’s worth of deals & discounts. Some opened at 8PM. on Thanksgiving. Other chains began offering Black Friday deals online as early as last weekend. Success is measured in same store sales increase & gross margin.
Black Friday Draws Millions to Stores in Holiday Season Kickoff
The strength in the markets overstates reality. This is a semi-holiday & trading ends at lunchtime. Many traders are away, enjoying their profits earned this year. But rising stock prices feel good to all investors owning stocks & Dow is within striking distance of 13K which has become its new ceiling..
Dow Jones Industrials
No comments:
Post a Comment