Dow dropped 26, advancers slightly ahead of decliners & NAZ added 1. The MLP index fell 2+ to the 442s & the REIT index was up fractionally in the 323s. Junk bond funds were lower & Treasuries rose. US crude inventories fell prompting a rise in oil prices & gold inched higher.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](http://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.5029690142105473)
Federal Reserve officials last month didn’t expect to raise rates at their next meeting in Jun even as they concluded that a Q1 economic slowdown was unlikely to persist, according to minutes of the meeting. Many “thought it unlikely that the data available in June would provide sufficient confirmation that the conditions for raising the target range for the federal funds rate had been satisfied.” That sentiment outweighed the opinion of “a few” members, who said they anticipated the economy would be ready for a Jun liftoff. At the same time, officials didn’t rule out the option of tightening at that time. The minutes also confirmed the FOMC statement in Apr that it expects the economy to return to a “moderate pace” of growth after a Q1 slowdown. Since the meeting, payrolls figures have improved, while weaker-than-forecast data on manufacturing and retail sales prompted economists to mark down projections for Q2 economic growth. Most officials expect to tighten later this year & have said they could move at any meeting from Jun onward, depending on the outlook for jobs & higher inflation. The minutes revealed details of the committee’s discussion about how much of the slowdown resulted from causes that are likely to fade. Those included severe winter weather, a labor dispute at West Coast ports, & a “pattern” of weak first quarter economic data over a number of years. Still, officials were surprised Americans weren’t spending the windfall from lower gasoline prices, “highlighting the possibility of less underlying momentum in consumer expenditures than participants had previously judged.” Some participants “expressed particular concern about this prospect” because their forecast for a moderate expansion depended on a scenario where household spending grows “robustly despite softness in other components of aggregate demand.” A strong dollar, which makes US goods more expensive in overseas markets, was one reason a number of officials thought recent weakness in economic growth could persist.
The ECB consented to a €200M ($222M) increase in the cap on Emergency Liquidity Assistance for Greek
banks, according to leakers. The ECB Governing Council approved
a new limit of €80.2B, marking the smallest increase since
policy makers tightened the reins on Greek lenders in Feb. No
decision was taken on the level of discounts applied to collateral that
lenders pledge for the Bank of Greece emergency loans, according to the leakers. Before the meeting, some members of the ECB Governing Council took the view that the previous €80B buffer was sufficient
to meet Greek banks’ needs, as deposit outflows stabilized in the past
week.
General Electric, a Dow stock, expects to unload about $100B in GE Capital assets this year, up from its target of $90B previously, according to a presentation made today. GE also expects to be largely done with its finance asset sales by 2016 after previously saying it was planning to be finished by 2017. GE last month announced plans to largely exit its finance businesses. The stock rose 29¢. If you would like to learn more about GE, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GE?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
As expected, no great surprises came from the Fed minutes. They are weighing options & it looks like they will pass at the Jun meeting, then see what happens in Sep. The Greece debt mess is going nowhere fast. More earnings are coming from retailers & they can be expected to be drab at best. Meanwhile, the popular averages are hovering near record highs, unable to surge into new high territory.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CLN15.NYM | ....Crude Oil Jul 15 | ....58.91 |  ...0.92 | (1.6%) |
Federal Reserve officials last month didn’t expect to raise rates at their next meeting in Jun even as they concluded that a Q1 economic slowdown was unlikely to persist, according to minutes of the meeting. Many “thought it unlikely that the data available in June would provide sufficient confirmation that the conditions for raising the target range for the federal funds rate had been satisfied.” That sentiment outweighed the opinion of “a few” members, who said they anticipated the economy would be ready for a Jun liftoff. At the same time, officials didn’t rule out the option of tightening at that time. The minutes also confirmed the FOMC statement in Apr that it expects the economy to return to a “moderate pace” of growth after a Q1 slowdown. Since the meeting, payrolls figures have improved, while weaker-than-forecast data on manufacturing and retail sales prompted economists to mark down projections for Q2 economic growth. Most officials expect to tighten later this year & have said they could move at any meeting from Jun onward, depending on the outlook for jobs & higher inflation. The minutes revealed details of the committee’s discussion about how much of the slowdown resulted from causes that are likely to fade. Those included severe winter weather, a labor dispute at West Coast ports, & a “pattern” of weak first quarter economic data over a number of years. Still, officials were surprised Americans weren’t spending the windfall from lower gasoline prices, “highlighting the possibility of less underlying momentum in consumer expenditures than participants had previously judged.” Some participants “expressed particular concern about this prospect” because their forecast for a moderate expansion depended on a scenario where household spending grows “robustly despite softness in other components of aggregate demand.” A strong dollar, which makes US goods more expensive in overseas markets, was one reason a number of officials thought recent weakness in economic growth could persist.
Many Fed Officials Saw June Rate Rise as Unlikely
ECB Said to Raise Greek Bank Emergency Cash by 200 Million Euros
General Electric, a Dow stock, expects to unload about $100B in GE Capital assets this year, up from its target of $90B previously, according to a presentation made today. GE also expects to be largely done with its finance asset sales by 2016 after previously saying it was planning to be finished by 2017. GE last month announced plans to largely exit its finance businesses. The stock rose 29¢. If you would like to learn more about GE, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GE?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
GE Speeds Up Target for GE Capital Finance Asset Sales
General Electric (GE)
As expected, no great surprises came from the Fed minutes. They are weighing options & it looks like they will pass at the Jun meeting, then see what happens in Sep. The Greece debt mess is going nowhere fast. More earnings are coming from retailers & they can be expected to be drab at best. Meanwhile, the popular averages are hovering near record highs, unable to surge into new high territory.
Dow Jones Industrials
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