Dow inched up 8, advancers ahead of decliners 5-4 & NAZ added 4. The MLP index was up pocket change in the 459s & the REIT index was up change in the 213s, a new high since 2007. Junk bond funds did little & Treasuries slid back. Oil & gold were lower. Gold continues to have a tough time attracting buying interest.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Photo: Yahoo
Yahoo is buying online blogging forum Tumblr for $1.1B as CEO Marissa Mayer tries to rejuvenate an internet icon. This is her boldest move yet to lead the company's latest comeback attempt with the most expensive acquisition since it bought online search engine Overture a decade ago for $1.3B. Yahoo is paying all cash. While hailing Tumblr as a fount of creativity that attracts 300M visitors per month, YHOO pledged "not to screw it up." Tumblr now figures to play a pivotal role in Mayer's attempt to reshape Yahoo. The stock was up pennies in the $26s today.
Yahoo’s Mayer Buys Tumblr for $1.1 Billion Biggest Deal
Photo: Bloomberg
China’s new-home prices rose last month in 68 of 70 cities tracked by the gov, indicating Premier Li Keqiang will need to maintain efforts to cool the property market even as economic growth slows. Increases in Guangzhou, Beijing & Shanghai were the biggest on a yearly basis since a change in data methodology in Jan. Policy makers are trying to avoid property bubbles & make homes more affordable while bolstering an economy that lost steam in Q1. Expanding a campaign against housing speculation could choke off real-estate development that is helping counter a slowdown in manufacturing investment & supporting demand for steel, cement & household goods. Efforts to cool the property market coincide with rising labor costs that threaten to erode China’s attractiveness as a world manufacturing hub. The average annual wage for urban private company employees jumped 14% in 2012 from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said & economic growth of 7.7% in Q1 trailed estimates. China’s State Council stepped up a 3-year campaign to cool home prices in Mar. Measures included raising down-payment requirements & interest rates for 2nd-home mortgages, ordering stricter enforcement of a 20% capital gains tax on sales & pledging to punish developers found hoarding land. A survey of 20K urban households by the central bank showed 68% found property prices too high, the most since Q4 of 2011.
Photo: Bloomberg
The pres is facing a make-or-break week as he tries to seize control of 3 scandal story lines that could upend one of the top priorities of his 2nd term: revising the nation’s immigration laws. Obama won’t cooperate in a “partisan fishing expedition” over who knew what & when about revelations that the IRS was applying added scrutiny to Rep-leaning groups seeking tax-exempt status, Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to the pres, said yesterday. “We are going to work with Congress, as the president said, in legitimate oversight,” Pfeiffer said. “What we’re not going to participate in is a partisan fishing expedition designed to distract from the real issues at hand.” The success of Obama’s 2nd term may be determined by which side wins over an American public that is only marginally interested in at least 2 of the 3 showdowns. According to a May 14-15 Gallup Poll, 54% of the public is closely watching the IRS investigations & 53% are monitoring the Benghazi investigation. Uncertainty makes investors nervous.
Obama Aims to Take Control of Three Scandals
Stocks are meandering, looking for direction. The political mess in DC is getting very nasty, creating negative sentiment in the markets. But Dow is taking it in very well, looking to reach new record highs. Hard to believe. Maybe more bulls will return from their long weekends & push the averages higher in the PM. Their thinking remains, "What can go wrong?"
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month |
0.04% | |
U.S. 2-year |
0.24% | |
U.S. 10-year |
1.94% |
| CLM13.NYM... | Crude Oil Jun 13 | ...95.67 |  ....0.35 | (0.4%) |
| GCK13.CMX | ...Gold May 13 | ...1,348.00 | ...16.90 | (1.2%) |
Photo: Yahoo
Yahoo is buying online blogging forum Tumblr for $1.1B as CEO Marissa Mayer tries to rejuvenate an internet icon. This is her boldest move yet to lead the company's latest comeback attempt with the most expensive acquisition since it bought online search engine Overture a decade ago for $1.3B. Yahoo is paying all cash. While hailing Tumblr as a fount of creativity that attracts 300M visitors per month, YHOO pledged "not to screw it up." Tumblr now figures to play a pivotal role in Mayer's attempt to reshape Yahoo. The stock was up pennies in the $26s today.
Yahoo’s Mayer Buys Tumblr for $1.1 Billion Biggest Deal
Yahoo! (YHOO)
Photo: Bloomberg
China’s new-home prices rose last month in 68 of 70 cities tracked by the gov, indicating Premier Li Keqiang will need to maintain efforts to cool the property market even as economic growth slows. Increases in Guangzhou, Beijing & Shanghai were the biggest on a yearly basis since a change in data methodology in Jan. Policy makers are trying to avoid property bubbles & make homes more affordable while bolstering an economy that lost steam in Q1. Expanding a campaign against housing speculation could choke off real-estate development that is helping counter a slowdown in manufacturing investment & supporting demand for steel, cement & household goods. Efforts to cool the property market coincide with rising labor costs that threaten to erode China’s attractiveness as a world manufacturing hub. The average annual wage for urban private company employees jumped 14% in 2012 from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said & economic growth of 7.7% in Q1 trailed estimates. China’s State Council stepped up a 3-year campaign to cool home prices in Mar. Measures included raising down-payment requirements & interest rates for 2nd-home mortgages, ordering stricter enforcement of a 20% capital gains tax on sales & pledging to punish developers found hoarding land. A survey of 20K urban households by the central bank showed 68% found property prices too high, the most since Q4 of 2011.
Photo: Bloomberg
The pres is facing a make-or-break week as he tries to seize control of 3 scandal story lines that could upend one of the top priorities of his 2nd term: revising the nation’s immigration laws. Obama won’t cooperate in a “partisan fishing expedition” over who knew what & when about revelations that the IRS was applying added scrutiny to Rep-leaning groups seeking tax-exempt status, Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to the pres, said yesterday. “We are going to work with Congress, as the president said, in legitimate oversight,” Pfeiffer said. “What we’re not going to participate in is a partisan fishing expedition designed to distract from the real issues at hand.” The success of Obama’s 2nd term may be determined by which side wins over an American public that is only marginally interested in at least 2 of the 3 showdowns. According to a May 14-15 Gallup Poll, 54% of the public is closely watching the IRS investigations & 53% are monitoring the Benghazi investigation. Uncertainty makes investors nervous.
Obama Aims to Take Control of Three Scandals
Stocks are meandering, looking for direction. The political mess in DC is getting very nasty, creating negative sentiment in the markets. But Dow is taking it in very well, looking to reach new record highs. Hard to believe. Maybe more bulls will return from their long weekends & push the averages higher in the PM. Their thinking remains, "What can go wrong?"
Dow Jones Industrials
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