Dow was up 19, advancers just ahead of decliners & NAZ fell 5. The MLP index slipped 1+ to the 462s & the REIT index added 1+ to the 286s. Junk bond funds continued strong while Treasuries did little. Oil & gold were also flattish.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Photo: Bloomberg
European leaders struggled to devise a unified response to punish Russian pres Putin for annexing Crimea as tensions rose in the breakaway Black Sea region. With Russian officials shrugging off visa bans & asset freezes, EU leaders meeting tomorrow will seek to overcome differences on how to pressure Putin, who yesterday signed an accord starting Crimea’s accession to Russia. As Ukraine’s grip over the peninsula faded, its Navy chief was held & pro-Russian civilians seized its naval headquarters. Last month’s ousting of Ukraine’s Moscow-backed pres has plunged Russia & the West into their worst crisis in more than 20 years. While US VP Biden warned today that Russia faces growing political & economic isolation, the EU is finding it harder to formulate a retort because of potential risks to trade relationships involving its 28 nations. While British Prime Minister Cameron vowed to push European leaders to agree on additional measures against Russia when they meet tomorrow in Brussels, others were less sure. To date, EU & US measures have included asset freezes & travel bans on members of Putin’s inner circle & Crimean leaders. The EU bloc has also suspended visa & trade talks with Russia, while G-7 nations have halted plans for the G-8 Summit in Jun. As Western leaders consider their next steps, the situation grew more strained in Crimea, where Ukrainian soldiers remain trapped in their barracks by Russian forces. Ukraine’s army will stay in Crimea until a political decision is made, Defense Ministry official Polyakov said today.
EU Struggles for Common Russia Front Amid Crimea Tensions
FedEx cut its full-year profit forecast after winter storms caused fiscal Q3 results to fall below estimates. The company trimmed its EPS forecast for the full year to $6.55-$6.80, from $6.73-$7.10. That falls short of the $6.90 estimate. FDX is joining carmakers, retailers & restaurant chains in reporting weaker results for Q4-2013 because of the inclement weather. The results add to evidence of winter’s strain on the transportation businesses in particular. Snow, ice & record cold grounded thousands of flights, halted passenger & freight train service & slowed truck traffic. “The impact from multiple severe storms and frigid temperatures was significantly more pronounced this year,” CFO Alan Graf said. EPS of $1.23 in the qtr ended Feb 28 trailed the $1.46 projection. Operating income was reduced by an estimated $125M as a result of the winter weather. The setback won’t affect its progress toward a goal of cutting costs by $1.7B by the end of 2016 to counter a shift by customers away from expensive priority air deliveries. The full-year outlook doesn’t include benefits from a record 32M share repurchase plan it authorized in Oct. The stock went up 1.34. If you would like to learn more about FDX, click on this link:
http://club.ino.com/trend/?symb=FDX&a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
FedEx Cuts Full-Year Forecasts as Winter Storms Add Costs
China refined a record amount of crude last month as new plants owned by PetroChina & Sinochem began operations. Processing rose 5.3% from a year earlier to 40M metric tons, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. That’s equivalent to 10.5M barrels a day, exceeding the previous high of 10.2M in Dec 2012. PetroChina’s Sichuan refinery & Sinochem’s Quanzhou plant started production in Jan. The Sichuan facility in southwest China has 12 units, including a refining complex with capacity of 10M tons a year. China’s crude production in Feb was at 16.1M tons & natural gas output at 10.4B cubic meters, according to the statistics bureau. Refiners produced 8.8M tons of gasoline & 14.1M of diesel.
China’s Crude Processing Rises to Record as New Refineries Start
Stocks aren't doing much of anything while traders wait for Janet to give her big announcement. It is widely believed than FOMC tapering will continue but the exact words in the press release will affect trading. Meanwhile, the Ukraine mess drones on with little accomplished in stopping Russia from its aggressive ways..
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month |
0.05% | |
U.S. 2-year |
0.35% | |
U.S. 10-year |
2.68% |
| CLF15.NYM | ....Crude Oil Jan 15 | ...92.24 |  ...0.01 | (0.0%) |
| GCH14.CMX | ...Gold Mar 14 | ....1,358.00 | ...1.00 | (0.1%) |
European leaders struggled to devise a unified response to punish Russian pres Putin for annexing Crimea as tensions rose in the breakaway Black Sea region. With Russian officials shrugging off visa bans & asset freezes, EU leaders meeting tomorrow will seek to overcome differences on how to pressure Putin, who yesterday signed an accord starting Crimea’s accession to Russia. As Ukraine’s grip over the peninsula faded, its Navy chief was held & pro-Russian civilians seized its naval headquarters. Last month’s ousting of Ukraine’s Moscow-backed pres has plunged Russia & the West into their worst crisis in more than 20 years. While US VP Biden warned today that Russia faces growing political & economic isolation, the EU is finding it harder to formulate a retort because of potential risks to trade relationships involving its 28 nations. While British Prime Minister Cameron vowed to push European leaders to agree on additional measures against Russia when they meet tomorrow in Brussels, others were less sure. To date, EU & US measures have included asset freezes & travel bans on members of Putin’s inner circle & Crimean leaders. The EU bloc has also suspended visa & trade talks with Russia, while G-7 nations have halted plans for the G-8 Summit in Jun. As Western leaders consider their next steps, the situation grew more strained in Crimea, where Ukrainian soldiers remain trapped in their barracks by Russian forces. Ukraine’s army will stay in Crimea until a political decision is made, Defense Ministry official Polyakov said today.
EU Struggles for Common Russia Front Amid Crimea Tensions
FedEx cut its full-year profit forecast after winter storms caused fiscal Q3 results to fall below estimates. The company trimmed its EPS forecast for the full year to $6.55-$6.80, from $6.73-$7.10. That falls short of the $6.90 estimate. FDX is joining carmakers, retailers & restaurant chains in reporting weaker results for Q4-2013 because of the inclement weather. The results add to evidence of winter’s strain on the transportation businesses in particular. Snow, ice & record cold grounded thousands of flights, halted passenger & freight train service & slowed truck traffic. “The impact from multiple severe storms and frigid temperatures was significantly more pronounced this year,” CFO Alan Graf said. EPS of $1.23 in the qtr ended Feb 28 trailed the $1.46 projection. Operating income was reduced by an estimated $125M as a result of the winter weather. The setback won’t affect its progress toward a goal of cutting costs by $1.7B by the end of 2016 to counter a shift by customers away from expensive priority air deliveries. The full-year outlook doesn’t include benefits from a record 32M share repurchase plan it authorized in Oct. The stock went up 1.34. If you would like to learn more about FDX, click on this link:
http://club.ino.com/trend/?symb=FDX&a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
FedEx Cuts Full-Year Forecasts as Winter Storms Add Costs
FedEx (FDX)
China refined a record amount of crude last month as new plants owned by PetroChina & Sinochem began operations. Processing rose 5.3% from a year earlier to 40M metric tons, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. That’s equivalent to 10.5M barrels a day, exceeding the previous high of 10.2M in Dec 2012. PetroChina’s Sichuan refinery & Sinochem’s Quanzhou plant started production in Jan. The Sichuan facility in southwest China has 12 units, including a refining complex with capacity of 10M tons a year. China’s crude production in Feb was at 16.1M tons & natural gas output at 10.4B cubic meters, according to the statistics bureau. Refiners produced 8.8M tons of gasoline & 14.1M of diesel.
China’s Crude Processing Rises to Record as New Refineries Start
Stocks aren't doing much of anything while traders wait for Janet to give her big announcement. It is widely believed than FOMC tapering will continue but the exact words in the press release will affect trading. Meanwhile, the Ukraine mess drones on with little accomplished in stopping Russia from its aggressive ways..
Dow Jones Industrials
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