Dow dropped 15, decliners barely ahead of advancers & NAZ fell 14 led by Apple (AAPL) going below 500 again. The Financial Index lost a fraction to 230, still near its high since 2008. The MLP index is up 1+ to the 419s & up a massive 40 in just 3 weeks. But the REIT index inched up pocket change. Junk bond funds rose & Treasuries also gained. Oil & gold are doing little although oil is at its 4 month high.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Italy's recession will be worse than previously expected, according to the country’s central bank. The estimate is for lower GDP on weakness in the global economy & disappointing internal demand. Italian GDP will probably contract 1% this year, according to the Bank of Italy, worse with a Jul estimate for a 0.2% reduction. “In our country, internal demand still hasn’t reached an inflection point,” the Bank of Italy said. The lower GDP forecast was “due to the worsening of the international scenario and the continuation of the weakness in business activity in recent months.” Italians are mired in their 4th recession since 2001 as they prepare to vote next month in parliamentary elections. The tax increases & budget cuts imposed by Prime Minister Monti's caretaker gov have pushed joblessness to 11.1%, the highest in more than 13 years, & household confidence was near a record low last month.
Italy’s Recession to Be Deeper Than Expected, Central Bank Says
Consumer confidence in the US unexpectedly fell in Jan to a one-year low as higher payroll taxes began to take hold. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment dropped to 71.3, the lowest since Dec 2011, from 72.9 in the prior month. The gauge was projected to rise to 75. The measure of current conditions, which reflects Americans’ perceptions of their financial situation & whether it is a good time to buy big-ticket items like cars, fell to a 6-month low of 84.8, from 87 in Dec.
Photo: Yahoo
Net income for General Electric, a Dow stock, rose 8% in Q4 as earnings at all of the industrial segments improved due to growth in developing economies. EPS was 38¢, up from 35¢ in the prior year, on revenue of $39.3B, higher than $38B in the prior year. Operating EPS was 44¢, a penny higher than expectations. CEO Jeff Immelt said the outlook for developed markets remained uncertain, but China & other emerging markets, along with regions that are exploiting natural resources, are growing. The company has been shrinking its banking division & trimming other non-industrial operations like commercial real estate. GE is also making a push to streamline the company's operations to better integrate recent acquisitions & reduce costs. In recent qtrs GE revenue has slipped slightly after it sold non-industrial assets like NBC Universal. For all of 2012 EPS was $1.39 on revenue of $147.4B, up from $1.24 on revenue of $147.3B in 2011. The company expects revenue & profit growth to continue this year. Its backlog of new business reached $210B, the highest ever. During Q4 the company announced new contracts with Petrobras in Brazil & with Chevron (CVX), another Dow stock, in Angola to help those oil companies extract oil from deep waters off shore. The stock gained 66¢.
GE Profit Better Than Estimated as Industrial Units Gain a Second Quarter
General Electric (GE)
After rising all year, Dow is taking breather. The index is up 480 already this year. The only significant news was the US didn't go over the fiscal cliff, even though that wasn't resolved until early in the new year. Earnings are giving a mixed picture which is to be expected after arguing about resolving fiscal cliff issues in Q4. Because of the holiday, markets have a long weekend & ahead of that, little should happen. Dow continues close to its multi year high, still looking to break thru it.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month |
0.074% | |
U.S. 2-year |
0.256% | |
U.S. 10-year |
1.855% |
| CLH13.NYM | ...Crude Oil Mar 13 | ...,95.97 | ... 0.03 | (0.0%) |
| GCF13.CMX | ...Gold Jan 13 | ........1,688.00 | ... 2.40 | (0.1%) |
Italy's recession will be worse than previously expected, according to the country’s central bank. The estimate is for lower GDP on weakness in the global economy & disappointing internal demand. Italian GDP will probably contract 1% this year, according to the Bank of Italy, worse with a Jul estimate for a 0.2% reduction. “In our country, internal demand still hasn’t reached an inflection point,” the Bank of Italy said. The lower GDP forecast was “due to the worsening of the international scenario and the continuation of the weakness in business activity in recent months.” Italians are mired in their 4th recession since 2001 as they prepare to vote next month in parliamentary elections. The tax increases & budget cuts imposed by Prime Minister Monti's caretaker gov have pushed joblessness to 11.1%, the highest in more than 13 years, & household confidence was near a record low last month.
Italy’s Recession to Be Deeper Than Expected, Central Bank Says
Consumer confidence in the US unexpectedly fell in Jan to a one-year low as higher payroll taxes began to take hold. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment dropped to 71.3, the lowest since Dec 2011, from 72.9 in the prior month. The gauge was projected to rise to 75. The measure of current conditions, which reflects Americans’ perceptions of their financial situation & whether it is a good time to buy big-ticket items like cars, fell to a 6-month low of 84.8, from 87 in Dec.
Photo: Yahoo
Net income for General Electric, a Dow stock, rose 8% in Q4 as earnings at all of the industrial segments improved due to growth in developing economies. EPS was 38¢, up from 35¢ in the prior year, on revenue of $39.3B, higher than $38B in the prior year. Operating EPS was 44¢, a penny higher than expectations. CEO Jeff Immelt said the outlook for developed markets remained uncertain, but China & other emerging markets, along with regions that are exploiting natural resources, are growing. The company has been shrinking its banking division & trimming other non-industrial operations like commercial real estate. GE is also making a push to streamline the company's operations to better integrate recent acquisitions & reduce costs. In recent qtrs GE revenue has slipped slightly after it sold non-industrial assets like NBC Universal. For all of 2012 EPS was $1.39 on revenue of $147.4B, up from $1.24 on revenue of $147.3B in 2011. The company expects revenue & profit growth to continue this year. Its backlog of new business reached $210B, the highest ever. During Q4 the company announced new contracts with Petrobras in Brazil & with Chevron (CVX), another Dow stock, in Angola to help those oil companies extract oil from deep waters off shore. The stock gained 66¢.
GE Profit Better Than Estimated as Industrial Units Gain a Second Quarter
General Electric (GE)
After rising all year, Dow is taking breather. The index is up 480 already this year. The only significant news was the US didn't go over the fiscal cliff, even though that wasn't resolved until early in the new year. Earnings are giving a mixed picture which is to be expected after arguing about resolving fiscal cliff issues in Q4. Because of the holiday, markets have a long weekend & ahead of that, little should happen. Dow continues close to its multi year high, still looking to break thru it.
Dow Jones Industrials
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