Markets rally on hopes for a delay in an interest rate hike

Dow soared 208, advancers over decliners almost 3-1& NAZ added 52.  The MLP index went up 2 to the 315s & the REIT index was off a fraction to the 355s. Junk bond funds rose with stocks & Treasuries did little. Oil gained (see below) & gold pulled back.

Dow Jones Industrials

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Light Sweet Crude Oil Futures,N

48.10

0.27

0.6%

Deutsche Bank is nearing an agreement with US officials to pay $5.4B to settle charges related to its sale of toxic mortgage bonds before the financial crisis, a news agency is reporting.  Germany's largest lender said about 2 weeks ago it would fight a $14B demand from the Dept of Justice to settle claims it missold the securities.  An agreement could be announced in the next couple of days, according to a leaker.  The final amount of the settlement could be slightly different.  The stock jumped up 1.71 (15%).  If you would like to learn more about DB, click on this link:

club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/DB?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

Deutsche Banks Nears Settlement With DOJ

Deutsche Bank (DB)

Oil prices had  their largest weekly advance in more than a month, supported by planned OPEC output cuts, but profit-taking after a 2-day rally kept benchmark crude contracts below the key $50-per-barrel mark.  Brent & US crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures showed gains of 7%+ on the week after OPEC surprised traders & investors on Wed with a preliminary agreement to remove 700K barrels per day (bpd) from the market.  WTI's front-month rose 24¢ today (0.5%), to $48.07 per barrel & it gained 8% on the week (the most in 6 weeks).  While profit-taking had weighed on oil on Fri, the market's downside was also limited by a rise in US stocks & a drop in the $.  OPEC said it has achieved agreement in principle to cut output to 32.5-33.0M bpd from about 33.5M.  Production quotas for each member & other details will be finalized at the group's policy meeting in Nov, OPEC officials said.  A persistent oil supply glut has caused a sharp drop in crude prices from mid-2014 highs above $100, forcing OPEC into the cuts.  Russia, not an OPEC member but a large producer pumping crude at record highs, said it would find a way to freeze production if it manages to reach a deal with OPEC.

Oil Heads for Big Weekly Gain After OPEC-Fueled Rally

US consumer spending fell in Aug for the first time in 7 months while inflation showed signs of accelerating, mixed signals that could keep the Fed cautious about raising interest rates.  The Commerce Dept said that consumer spending, which accounts for more than 2/3 of economic activity, fell 0.1% last month after accounting for inflation.  Analysts had expected a 0.1% gain.  Janet Yellen said last week she expected the central bank would raise rates once later this year to keep the economy from eventually overheating.  Prices for fed funds futures suggest investors see almost no chance of a hike at the Fed's next policy meeting in early Nov & roughly even odds of an increase at its mid-Dec meeting.  Consumer spending, which has been robust in recent months, partially offset the drag from weak business investment & falling inventories in Q2 when the economy expanded at a lackluster 1.4% annual rate.  It is believed that overall economic growth could still accelerate in Q3 even with slight decline in consumer spending in Aug.  The Atlanta Fed said growth appeared on track to accelerate to a 2.4% annual rate in Q3, according to its closely watched GDPNow forecasting model.  It had forecast growth of 2.8% for the period earlier this week.  A tightening labor market appears to be pushing up wages & could fuel higher levels of spending in the future.  Personal income rose 0.2%, in line with expectations.  Consumer prices also rose about as much expected, with the price index excluding food & energy increasing 0.2% from the prior month.  That left inflation excluding food & energy at 1.7% in the 12 months thru Aug, up a tenth of a percentage point from the prior month & closer to the Fed's 2% inflation target.

Drop in U.S. consumer spending clouds Fed rate hike outlook

Stocks had a good week which brought the Dow back to near breakeven on the month.  Longer term,it extended sideways trading zone.  The thought that the fortunes of DB settling its mess with the DOJ is very disturbing.  But traders are always anxious to see a hint that Janet is ready to postpone a rate hike (not that she needed much encouragement).  The bulls are heartened to see the Dow is within striking distance of a new record. 

Dow Jones Industrials