Dow was off 39, decliners ahead of advancers 4-3 & NAZ lost 10. The Financial Index rose a fraction in the 248s. The MLP index was off 1+ to the 432s & the REIT index fell a fraction in the 283s. Junk bond funds slid lower & Treasuries found buyers, finally. Oil & gold were flattish although oil has bounced off its 90 floor at the start of the month.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Photo: Yahoo
A strong increase in auto output boosted US factory production last month, another sign that manufacturing is helping drive economic growth after lagging for much of 2012. Factory output rose 0.8% in Feb from Jan, after falling 0.3% in the previous month, according to the Federal Reserve. The biggest gain was in autos & auto parts, where production increased 3.6% after falling 4.9% in Jan. Car sales have risen steadily this year after reaching a 5 year high in 2012. Overall industrial production, which includes mining & utilities, rose 0.7%, the most in 3 months. Utility output jumped 1.6% while mining output, which covers oil & gas drilling, fell 0.3%, the 3rd straight decline. The recovery in home construction & increased business investment in machinery & other goods are also boosting output. Production of construction supplies, including steel, cement & wood products, rose 1.5%. That was the 4th straight solid gain. Factories also turned out more industrial machinery, appliances & furniture.
Photo: Bloomberg
Confidence among American consumers unexpectedly slumped in Mar, which may signal a cooling in spending. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary sentiment index for Mar fell to 71.8, the lowest level since Dec 2011, from 77.6 in Feb. The gauge was projected to increase to 78. Concern may be starting to mount over the damage that automatic across-the-board federal spending cuts will cause the economy & hiring. That may keep tempering optimism created by record stock prices, a hiring pickup & a housing rebound that have so far helped propel bigger-than-forecast gains in spending. The Michigan survey’s current conditions index, which measures whether Americans think it’s a good time to make big investments & gauges consumers’ view of their personal finances, dropped to a preliminary 87.5 from 89 in Feb. The preliminary index of expectations 6 months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, slumped to 61.7 in Mar, the lowest since Nov 2011, from 70.2 the month before. Consumers in today’s confidence report said they expect an inflation rate of 3.3% over the next 12 months, the same as in the prior 2 months. Over the next 5 years, Americans expected a 2.9% rate of inflation.
Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Falls to Lowest Since December 2011
Photo: Bloomberg
Microsoft, a Dow stock, has sold about 1½M Surface devices, a slow start in its bid to crack the fast-growing tablet market to make up for slumping PC demand. It sold little more than 1M of the Surface RT version & about 0.4M Surface Pros since their debuts. The poor reception for Surface, unveiled last year, adds to challenges facing the Windows unit, which brings in ¼ of revenue. The devices are its first direct attempt to grab a slice of the surging market for tablets, seeking to take on Google (GOOG) & Apple (AAPL) & prove that Windows has a place in a world of touch screens & smartphone applications. By contrast, almost 23M iPads were sold in Q4 & worldwide tablet shipments reached 128M units in 2012 (the iPad accounted for 51% of the market). The stock lost a few pennies.
Microsoft’s Surface Tablet Sales Are Said to Fall Short of Predictions
After a 10 day rise without missing a beat, a few traders are taking profits. Market psychology has not changed, but after a 1.4K gain YTD even the bulls have to pause. The economy is turning out good numbers although the consumer confidence data was disappointing. Huge macro challenges remain. The debt mess in DC drones on with no end in sight. And the quiet times in Europe may not last if it's in the middle of a recession. However, I have to admit that higher portfolio values feel good.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month |
0.089% | |
U.S. 2-year |
0.256% | |
U.S. 10-year |
2.004% |
| CLJ13.NYM | ....Crude Oil Apr 13 | ...93.45 | ... 0.42 | (0.5%) |
| GCH13.CMX | ...Gold Mar 13 | .....1,591.20 | ... 0.60 | (0.0%) |
Photo: Yahoo
A strong increase in auto output boosted US factory production last month, another sign that manufacturing is helping drive economic growth after lagging for much of 2012. Factory output rose 0.8% in Feb from Jan, after falling 0.3% in the previous month, according to the Federal Reserve. The biggest gain was in autos & auto parts, where production increased 3.6% after falling 4.9% in Jan. Car sales have risen steadily this year after reaching a 5 year high in 2012. Overall industrial production, which includes mining & utilities, rose 0.7%, the most in 3 months. Utility output jumped 1.6% while mining output, which covers oil & gas drilling, fell 0.3%, the 3rd straight decline. The recovery in home construction & increased business investment in machinery & other goods are also boosting output. Production of construction supplies, including steel, cement & wood products, rose 1.5%. That was the 4th straight solid gain. Factories also turned out more industrial machinery, appliances & furniture.
Photo: Bloomberg
Confidence among American consumers unexpectedly slumped in Mar, which may signal a cooling in spending. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary sentiment index for Mar fell to 71.8, the lowest level since Dec 2011, from 77.6 in Feb. The gauge was projected to increase to 78. Concern may be starting to mount over the damage that automatic across-the-board federal spending cuts will cause the economy & hiring. That may keep tempering optimism created by record stock prices, a hiring pickup & a housing rebound that have so far helped propel bigger-than-forecast gains in spending. The Michigan survey’s current conditions index, which measures whether Americans think it’s a good time to make big investments & gauges consumers’ view of their personal finances, dropped to a preliminary 87.5 from 89 in Feb. The preliminary index of expectations 6 months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, slumped to 61.7 in Mar, the lowest since Nov 2011, from 70.2 the month before. Consumers in today’s confidence report said they expect an inflation rate of 3.3% over the next 12 months, the same as in the prior 2 months. Over the next 5 years, Americans expected a 2.9% rate of inflation.
Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Falls to Lowest Since December 2011
Photo: Bloomberg
Microsoft, a Dow stock, has sold about 1½M Surface devices, a slow start in its bid to crack the fast-growing tablet market to make up for slumping PC demand. It sold little more than 1M of the Surface RT version & about 0.4M Surface Pros since their debuts. The poor reception for Surface, unveiled last year, adds to challenges facing the Windows unit, which brings in ¼ of revenue. The devices are its first direct attempt to grab a slice of the surging market for tablets, seeking to take on Google (GOOG) & Apple (AAPL) & prove that Windows has a place in a world of touch screens & smartphone applications. By contrast, almost 23M iPads were sold in Q4 & worldwide tablet shipments reached 128M units in 2012 (the iPad accounted for 51% of the market). The stock lost a few pennies.
Microsoft’s Surface Tablet Sales Are Said to Fall Short of Predictions
Microsoft (MSFT)
After a 10 day rise without missing a beat, a few traders are taking profits. Market psychology has not changed, but after a 1.4K gain YTD even the bulls have to pause. The economy is turning out good numbers although the consumer confidence data was disappointing. Huge macro challenges remain. The debt mess in DC drones on with no end in sight. And the quiet times in Europe may not last if it's in the middle of a recession. However, I have to admit that higher portfolio values feel good.
Dow Jones Industrials
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