Dow fell 138, decliners over advancers almost 4-1 & NAZ sank a very big 59. The MLP index sank 3+ to the 448s & the REIT index was off 3+ to the 294s. Junk bond funds were lower & Treasuries posted gains. Oil in a very bad month sold off again & gold fell again, as shown in its ugly chart below.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](http://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif)
Photo: Bloomberg
Apple stock fell below $400 for the first time in a year & half, after a supplier hinted at a slowdown in iPhone & iPad production. The decline means AAPL has lost its position as the world's most valuable publicly traded company to Exxon Mobil (XOM), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, with a market cap a few billion dollars above AAPL. Yesterday, Cirrus Logic (CRUS), which supplies audio chips for the iPhone & iPad, said sales of a particular chip are slowing down as an unnamed customer (guess who?) moves to a newer component. It is believed that AAPL is unlikely to launch a new iPad Mini in Q2, & that the next version of the full-size iPad may launch late in Q2 rather than early. In the last 3 years, AAPL has launched a new iPad in Mar or Apr. The stock has plunged 300 from its peak last year on the expectation it may never again create another ground-breaking product of the magnitude of the iPhone or iPad. Additionally, the Galaxy S4 phone from Samsung will go on sale in the US next week. AAPL stock fell $24 to $402.
Apple Falls Below $400 as Supplier Reports IPhone Chip Glut
Photo: Bloomberg
DC went into terrorism alert mode as authorities reported preliminary tests showed a letter sent to the pres contained the poison ricin & suspicious packages triggered a lockdown in parts of 2 Senate office buildings. With the capital already on edge following the Boston Marathon bombing, alarm spread in DC as officials tried to determine the extent & nature of the threats. There is “no indication” the ricin mail is connected to the terrorist bombing in Boston, the FBI said. But the letter addressed to Obama was quarantined at an off-site mail center after an initial test indicated it contained ricin. The sample will require subsequent tests to confirm the preliminary results. That letter was identified at a separate mail facility from the one that sorts congressional mail, where a letter suspected of being tainted with ricin & addressed to Senator Roger Wicker was discovered yesterday. Suspicious mail also was reported in DC offices of Senators Richard Shelby & Joe Manchin. While not directly connected with the stock market, this news has dominated the financial press yesterday & today.
Washington Gripped by Alarm as Ricin Poison Letters Found
Photo: Bloomberg
European car sales are sliding to a 20-year low after German concerns over the debt crisis sent demand plunging last month in the region’s biggest economy & removed the main buffer protecting automakers. Registrations in Mar fell 10% to 1.35M vehicles, the 18th consecutive decline, with Germany's auto market plunging 17%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). Q1 deliveries in the region dropped 9.7% to a record-low 3.1M cars. Volkswagen, BMW & Daimler which last year shrugged off Europe’s decline, are forecasting unchanged 2013 earnings as investor & consumer confidence fall in their home country. A recession stemming from the debt crisis, which reared back up last month with a rescue for Cyprus, has led to 12% unemployment in the 17 countries sharing the €, the highest since records began in 1995. The German car-sales drop was the steepest among Europe’s 5 biggest auto markets, & compared with an 11% decline in Feb. England, where sales increased 5.9%, overtook Germany in deliveries in Mar, according to the ACEA. Spain, Italy & France also posted declines.
Europe Car Sales Drop With Industry Heading for 20-Year Low in Deliveries
The market pendulum has swung back, all news is negative. The aftermath of the bombing in Boston is making investors uncomfortable, a major negative for the market. As bad as that is, earnings are coming out drab to disappointing. Meanwhile commodities are sinking fast. That's not supposed to happen when economies are expanding & need more raw materials. Worse is that AAPL, the darling of many, has lost more than 300 from its peak 7 months ago. More cheerless earnings reports & expectations of an unexciting GDP report next week will keep the stock market on defense. Dow is up only 60 in Apr.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month |
0.053% | |
U.S. 2-year |
0.228% | |
U.S. 10-year |
1.701% |
| CLK13.NYM | ...Crude Oil May 13 | ...86.95 |  ...1.77 | (2.0%) |
Photo: Bloomberg
Apple stock fell below $400 for the first time in a year & half, after a supplier hinted at a slowdown in iPhone & iPad production. The decline means AAPL has lost its position as the world's most valuable publicly traded company to Exxon Mobil (XOM), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, with a market cap a few billion dollars above AAPL. Yesterday, Cirrus Logic (CRUS), which supplies audio chips for the iPhone & iPad, said sales of a particular chip are slowing down as an unnamed customer (guess who?) moves to a newer component. It is believed that AAPL is unlikely to launch a new iPad Mini in Q2, & that the next version of the full-size iPad may launch late in Q2 rather than early. In the last 3 years, AAPL has launched a new iPad in Mar or Apr. The stock has plunged 300 from its peak last year on the expectation it may never again create another ground-breaking product of the magnitude of the iPhone or iPad. Additionally, the Galaxy S4 phone from Samsung will go on sale in the US next week. AAPL stock fell $24 to $402.
Apple Falls Below $400 as Supplier Reports IPhone Chip Glut
Apple (AAPL)
Photo: Bloomberg
DC went into terrorism alert mode as authorities reported preliminary tests showed a letter sent to the pres contained the poison ricin & suspicious packages triggered a lockdown in parts of 2 Senate office buildings. With the capital already on edge following the Boston Marathon bombing, alarm spread in DC as officials tried to determine the extent & nature of the threats. There is “no indication” the ricin mail is connected to the terrorist bombing in Boston, the FBI said. But the letter addressed to Obama was quarantined at an off-site mail center after an initial test indicated it contained ricin. The sample will require subsequent tests to confirm the preliminary results. That letter was identified at a separate mail facility from the one that sorts congressional mail, where a letter suspected of being tainted with ricin & addressed to Senator Roger Wicker was discovered yesterday. Suspicious mail also was reported in DC offices of Senators Richard Shelby & Joe Manchin. While not directly connected with the stock market, this news has dominated the financial press yesterday & today.
Washington Gripped by Alarm as Ricin Poison Letters Found
Photo: Bloomberg
European car sales are sliding to a 20-year low after German concerns over the debt crisis sent demand plunging last month in the region’s biggest economy & removed the main buffer protecting automakers. Registrations in Mar fell 10% to 1.35M vehicles, the 18th consecutive decline, with Germany's auto market plunging 17%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). Q1 deliveries in the region dropped 9.7% to a record-low 3.1M cars. Volkswagen, BMW & Daimler which last year shrugged off Europe’s decline, are forecasting unchanged 2013 earnings as investor & consumer confidence fall in their home country. A recession stemming from the debt crisis, which reared back up last month with a rescue for Cyprus, has led to 12% unemployment in the 17 countries sharing the €, the highest since records began in 1995. The German car-sales drop was the steepest among Europe’s 5 biggest auto markets, & compared with an 11% decline in Feb. England, where sales increased 5.9%, overtook Germany in deliveries in Mar, according to the ACEA. Spain, Italy & France also posted declines.
Europe Car Sales Drop With Industry Heading for 20-Year Low in Deliveries
The market pendulum has swung back, all news is negative. The aftermath of the bombing in Boston is making investors uncomfortable, a major negative for the market. As bad as that is, earnings are coming out drab to disappointing. Meanwhile commodities are sinking fast. That's not supposed to happen when economies are expanding & need more raw materials. Worse is that AAPL, the darling of many, has lost more than 300 from its peak 7 months ago. More cheerless earnings reports & expectations of an unexciting GDP report next week will keep the stock market on defense. Dow is up only 60 in Apr.
Dow Jones Industrials
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