Dow climbed 105 (although off the highs), advancers over decliners 2-1 & NAZ went up 39. The MLP index rose fractionally to the 457s & the REIT index added 1 to the 268s. Junk bond funds were higher as were Treasuries. Oil rose on increased energy consumption during the national cold spell & gold declined.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](http://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif)
German unemployment fell for the first time in 5 months in Dec, signaling increased confidence by the nation’s companies even as pricing power in the euro area remained subdued. The number out of work in Europe's largest economy decreased by 15K to 2.96M, according to the Federal Labor Agency. Also the Euro-area inflation slowed to 0.8%, in a separate report from the EU statistics office. Germany is relying on its home market for growth as the euro region struggles to sustain a recovery. While the Bundesbank predicts that German GDP will rise “strongly” in the coming months, the ECB has warned that the currency bloc faces a “subdued” outlook for inflation & “weakness” in the economy. The drop in German unemployment compared with a forecast for a decline of 1K. The number out of work fell 5K in west Germany & 10K in the eastern part. The adjusted jobless rate remained unchanged at 6.9%. The country’s retail sales climbed 1.5% in Nov from the prior month, according to the Federal Statistics Office, & sales gained 1.6% from a year earlier. Euro-area inflation slowed from 0.9% in the prior month & matched the forecast. It has been below the ECB’s 2% ceiling for 11 months. The Frankfurt-based central bank, which cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.25% in Nov, is expected to leave its main refinancing rate unchanged on Thurs.
German Unemployment Drops as Euro-Area Inflation Slows
Frigid air set records across the Midwest, stopped trains & planes & drove up energy use. It's expected to deliver the coldest day across the US in almost 20 years by a measure of heating demand. Yesterday’s low in Chicago reached a record for the date of minus 16 degrees, beating the mark of minus 14 set in 1884 & 1988. Today, New York's high will struggle to reach 10 degrees, a day after it reached 50. The cold is part of a pattern of extreme weather that occurs every decade or so, according to forecasters. It extends across the upper Midwest into the South & eastward to the Atlantic. The frigid weather strangled transportation routes around the country including interstate highways, airlines & rails. It also led to a surge in energy demand that pushed power in Texas to more than $5K a megawatt-hour for the first time & caused disruptions at oil refineries in Tennessee & Illinois. A pool of warm water just south of the Gulf of Alaska has contributed to the creation of a ridge of high pressure over that part of the Pacific which set off a chain of events resulting in cold air being pumped into the US.
Frigid Air Threatens Coldest U.S. Weather in Two Decades
JPMorgan, a Dow stock, will pay $2.6B to resolve criminal & civil allegations that it failed to stop Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, putting banks on notice that they may be punished for client misdeeds. The company avoided prosecution by acknowledging that it ignored red flags for almost 2 decades that Madoff used his account there to run a fraud. The bank will pay $1.7B to settle gov allegations, $350M in a related case by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, plus $543M to cover separate private claims. The agreement includes the “largest ever bank forfeiture and also the largest ever DOJ penalty” for a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, the DOJ said. The actions take JPM one step closer to resolving a slate of probes that have engulfed the bank since the 2008 financial crisis. JPM also agreed in 2013 to pay $15.7B to resolve other US regulatory probes & still faces investigations of its hiring practices in China & the possible manipulation of interest rates & currency benchmarks in Europe. JPM stock has gotten used to these penalties & lost only 68¢.
JPMorgan to Pay $2.6 Billion Over Madoff Lapses
Today's rally may have more to do with bargain hunting than improved economic data. The cold spell over much of the country will slow business activity, especially retail sales. Look for more store sales. Dow remains negative YTD & still needs a gain of 47 to break in the black for the new year. Then the big jobs report comes on Fri. Unlike the Dow, yield securities have shown modest rises in 2014.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month |
0.04% | |
U.S. 2-year |
0.39% | |
U.S. 10-year |
2.94% |
| CLG14.NYM | ....Crude Oil Feb 14 | ....93.71 |  ...0.28 (0.3%) |
German unemployment fell for the first time in 5 months in Dec, signaling increased confidence by the nation’s companies even as pricing power in the euro area remained subdued. The number out of work in Europe's largest economy decreased by 15K to 2.96M, according to the Federal Labor Agency. Also the Euro-area inflation slowed to 0.8%, in a separate report from the EU statistics office. Germany is relying on its home market for growth as the euro region struggles to sustain a recovery. While the Bundesbank predicts that German GDP will rise “strongly” in the coming months, the ECB has warned that the currency bloc faces a “subdued” outlook for inflation & “weakness” in the economy. The drop in German unemployment compared with a forecast for a decline of 1K. The number out of work fell 5K in west Germany & 10K in the eastern part. The adjusted jobless rate remained unchanged at 6.9%. The country’s retail sales climbed 1.5% in Nov from the prior month, according to the Federal Statistics Office, & sales gained 1.6% from a year earlier. Euro-area inflation slowed from 0.9% in the prior month & matched the forecast. It has been below the ECB’s 2% ceiling for 11 months. The Frankfurt-based central bank, which cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.25% in Nov, is expected to leave its main refinancing rate unchanged on Thurs.
German Unemployment Drops as Euro-Area Inflation Slows
Frigid air set records across the Midwest, stopped trains & planes & drove up energy use. It's expected to deliver the coldest day across the US in almost 20 years by a measure of heating demand. Yesterday’s low in Chicago reached a record for the date of minus 16 degrees, beating the mark of minus 14 set in 1884 & 1988. Today, New York's high will struggle to reach 10 degrees, a day after it reached 50. The cold is part of a pattern of extreme weather that occurs every decade or so, according to forecasters. It extends across the upper Midwest into the South & eastward to the Atlantic. The frigid weather strangled transportation routes around the country including interstate highways, airlines & rails. It also led to a surge in energy demand that pushed power in Texas to more than $5K a megawatt-hour for the first time & caused disruptions at oil refineries in Tennessee & Illinois. A pool of warm water just south of the Gulf of Alaska has contributed to the creation of a ridge of high pressure over that part of the Pacific which set off a chain of events resulting in cold air being pumped into the US.
Frigid Air Threatens Coldest U.S. Weather in Two Decades
JPMorgan, a Dow stock, will pay $2.6B to resolve criminal & civil allegations that it failed to stop Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, putting banks on notice that they may be punished for client misdeeds. The company avoided prosecution by acknowledging that it ignored red flags for almost 2 decades that Madoff used his account there to run a fraud. The bank will pay $1.7B to settle gov allegations, $350M in a related case by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, plus $543M to cover separate private claims. The agreement includes the “largest ever bank forfeiture and also the largest ever DOJ penalty” for a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, the DOJ said. The actions take JPM one step closer to resolving a slate of probes that have engulfed the bank since the 2008 financial crisis. JPM also agreed in 2013 to pay $15.7B to resolve other US regulatory probes & still faces investigations of its hiring practices in China & the possible manipulation of interest rates & currency benchmarks in Europe. JPM stock has gotten used to these penalties & lost only 68¢.
JPMorgan to Pay $2.6 Billion Over Madoff Lapses
J P Morgan (JPM)
Today's rally may have more to do with bargain hunting than improved economic data. The cold spell over much of the country will slow business activity, especially retail sales. Look for more store sales. Dow remains negative YTD & still needs a gain of 47 to break in the black for the new year. Then the big jobs report comes on Fri. Unlike the Dow, yield securities have shown modest rises in 2014.
Dow Jones Industrials
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