Dow is down 6 (after a big gain at the open), advancers ahead of decliners 5-4 but NAZ added 6. The Financial Index lost 1 to the 237s. The MLP index rose 1+ to almost 430 & the REIT index fell fractionally to 280 (where it has been for more than a month). Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries are flattish. Oil & gold had modest gains.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Photo: Bloomberg
The administration released a state-by-state report on how $85B in automatic spending cuts will degrade programs from defense to education to public health as White House officials said they don’t expect to avert reductions to start Mar 1. “Our hope is that we’ll be able to come to a solution,” said a senior Obama adviser. “But there seems to be nothing the Republicans are saying right now on Sunday to suggest that by Friday they’re going to change their position.” John Boehner’s spokesman slapped the blame back, “The White House needs to spend less time explaining to the press how bad the sequester will be and more time actually working to stop it.” But the threat of the federal cutbacks, which would total $1.2T over 9 years, hasn’t fazed financial markets so far. The sequestration cuts amount to $85B for FY2013, which ends Sep 30, out of a $4T budget & GDP of about $16T.
White House Says Stalemate Means Automatic Cuts Will Hit
Democratic party (PD) leader Pierluigi Bersani
Photo: Yahoo
Italian shares & bonds rallied sharply, lifting the €, after the first polls from a crucial election showed the pro-reform center-left was well ahead of former premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservative bloc. The center-left was ahead by 5.5 percentage points in the lower house & by 6% in the Senate, helped to lift European shares. The € was up nearly 1%. Yet, results looked tied in the key swing region of Lombardy which the center-left will need to be sure of control of both houses of parliament. Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment party appeared to be a distant 3rd. Italy's main FTSE MIB stock market index extended gains & was up 3.9%, while the bond yield spread between 10-year Italian & German bonds dipped below 255 basis points, its lowest since mid-Jan. PD leader Pierluigi Bersani appears to have won the election, though there's doubt surrounding the outcome in the swing Lombardy region." Italy's complex electoral law could deliver a hung parliament if the winning coalition does not manage to secure enough seats in the Senate (upper house).
Italian Election: Investors Cheer Centre-Left Lead in Polls Reuters
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the US jumped 20¢ over the past 2 weeks. The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sun says the price of a gallon of regular is $3.80, midgrade costs $3.95 a gallon & premium is $4.09. Diesel was up a dime to $4.17 gallon. Of the cities surveyed in the lower 48 states, Billings, Mont., has the nation's lowest average price for gas at $3.23 & Los Angeles has the highest at $4.29. In Cal (an important state for gas consumption), the lowest average price was $4.02 in Sacramento. The average statewide for a gallon of regular was $4.18, up 20¢. This data is similar to the daily report from AAA.
Source: AAA
Buyers came out when the markets opened, following strong markets in Europe. Early word about the Italian was considered "good" for stocks. Then enthusiasm faded. The budget cut mess in DC is too hard to ignore. Nobody has a clue where this will lead, but every whim of news will move stocks up or down. Consumers have been asked to accept a tax increase this year & higher priced gas is squeezing their budgets more. But markets have not been disturbed. Dow continues close to the 14K trend line where it has been for a month.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month |
0.124% | |
U.S. 2-year |
0.256% | |
U.S. 10-year |
1.987% |
| CLJ13.NYM | ....Crude Oil Apr 13 | ...93.45 | ... 0.32 | (0.3%) |
| GCH13.CMX | ...Gold Mar 13 | ...1,585.00 | ... 12.70 | (0.8%) |
Photo: Bloomberg
The administration released a state-by-state report on how $85B in automatic spending cuts will degrade programs from defense to education to public health as White House officials said they don’t expect to avert reductions to start Mar 1. “Our hope is that we’ll be able to come to a solution,” said a senior Obama adviser. “But there seems to be nothing the Republicans are saying right now on Sunday to suggest that by Friday they’re going to change their position.” John Boehner’s spokesman slapped the blame back, “The White House needs to spend less time explaining to the press how bad the sequester will be and more time actually working to stop it.” But the threat of the federal cutbacks, which would total $1.2T over 9 years, hasn’t fazed financial markets so far. The sequestration cuts amount to $85B for FY2013, which ends Sep 30, out of a $4T budget & GDP of about $16T.
White House Says Stalemate Means Automatic Cuts Will Hit
Democratic party (PD) leader Pierluigi Bersani
Photo: Yahoo
Italian shares & bonds rallied sharply, lifting the €, after the first polls from a crucial election showed the pro-reform center-left was well ahead of former premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservative bloc. The center-left was ahead by 5.5 percentage points in the lower house & by 6% in the Senate, helped to lift European shares. The € was up nearly 1%. Yet, results looked tied in the key swing region of Lombardy which the center-left will need to be sure of control of both houses of parliament. Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment party appeared to be a distant 3rd. Italy's main FTSE MIB stock market index extended gains & was up 3.9%, while the bond yield spread between 10-year Italian & German bonds dipped below 255 basis points, its lowest since mid-Jan. PD leader Pierluigi Bersani appears to have won the election, though there's doubt surrounding the outcome in the swing Lombardy region." Italy's complex electoral law could deliver a hung parliament if the winning coalition does not manage to secure enough seats in the Senate (upper house).
Italian Election: Investors Cheer Centre-Left Lead in Polls Reuters
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the US jumped 20¢ over the past 2 weeks. The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sun says the price of a gallon of regular is $3.80, midgrade costs $3.95 a gallon & premium is $4.09. Diesel was up a dime to $4.17 gallon. Of the cities surveyed in the lower 48 states, Billings, Mont., has the nation's lowest average price for gas at $3.23 & Los Angeles has the highest at $4.29. In Cal (an important state for gas consumption), the lowest average price was $4.02 in Sacramento. The average statewide for a gallon of regular was $4.18, up 20¢. This data is similar to the daily report from AAA.
| Regular | Mid | Premium | Diesel | E85 | **E85 MPG/BTU adjusted price |
|
| Current Avg. | $3.777 | $3.933 | $4.082 | $4.144 | $3.340 | $4.396 |
| Yesterday Avg. | $3.777 | $3.932 | $4.081 | $4.145 | $3.338 | $4.393 |
| Week Ago Avg. | $3.730 | $3.885 | $4.034 | $4.128 | $3.328 | $4.380 |
| Month Ago Avg. | $3.341 | $3.495 | $3.650 | $3.906 | $3.072 | $4.042 |
| Year Ago Avg. | $3.688 | $3.829 | $3.962 | $4.019 | $3.161 | $4.160 |
Source: AAA
Buyers came out when the markets opened, following strong markets in Europe. Early word about the Italian was considered "good" for stocks. Then enthusiasm faded. The budget cut mess in DC is too hard to ignore. Nobody has a clue where this will lead, but every whim of news will move stocks up or down. Consumers have been asked to accept a tax increase this year & higher priced gas is squeezing their budgets more. But markets have not been disturbed. Dow continues close to the 14K trend line where it has been for a month.
Dow Jones Industrials
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