Dow fell 56, decliners over advancers 5-4 & NAZ lost 24. The MLP index was off a tad in the 274s & the REIT index retreated 3 to the 358s. Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries were sold again with stock averages near record highs. Oil climbed higher in the 57s & gold was flattish at 1265.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Congressional Reps kicked off the final leg of their 6-week legislative sprint to overhaul the US tax code & deliver a major policy victory for Presi Trump before year end. The House is scheduled to vote today on the tax bill & Senate leaders intend to bring the measure up as soon as they get it. The House is poised to approve GOP tax legislation, with plans to hold a vote around 1:30PM. But Dem challenges could still provide some drama, or at least, a brief delay, after the bill heads to the Senate. Senator Ron Wyden, the top Dem on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, said his members have been scouring the bill for potential provisions that could be challenged on the Senate floor because they don't relate to federal revenue or spending, or because they would add to the deficit after a decade -- violating the Byrd rule. “We’ve been at it for days and I think it’s extremely important,” Wyden said. In practical terms, a successful challenge could force the bill back to the House for reconsideration, without the offending portions. The delay would be only temporary. A provision that would have repealed a prohibition against tax-exempt nonprofits, including churches, supporting or opposing political candidates was dropped from the final bill because of Byrd rule concerns. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn didn't rule out the possibility of other issues involving the rule. “We’re still talking to the parliamentarian about that,” Cornyn said, referring to the Senate adviser on rules & procedures. “So we simply don’t know for sure. But that’s what this process is designed to tell us.” Cornyn predicted that the House would send over the tax bill in a few hours. “We’ll pass it either tomorrow night or Wednesday morning,” Cornyn said. Senate rules require 10 hours of debate on the bill, divided equally between Reps & Dem. But either side can elect to give up some of its time & Reps may do so to speed passage. Longer term, Dems are warning that future legislation will be needed to correct drafting errors or other technical issues in the tax bill. The top Dem on the tax-writing Committee, Richard Neal, said that he would be seeing the Rules Committee frequently because “there are going to be a series of technical corrections.” Neal cited the fast pace of the legislation, which was introduced in the House a little over 6 weeks ago, as one of the reasons for future fixes. Fellow Dems on the Rules Committee spent more than 3 hours picking apart the process that they said shut them out of any real discussion at every legislative step. Ways & Means Chairman Kevin Brady acknowledged future work to be done on the tax code, including changes to retirement savings & tax provisions for start ups. Despite their slim majority in the Senate, GOP leaders appear to have won over enough potential dissenters in their ranks. Rep Senator Susan Collins was one of the last to say she supports the bill, following Senators Bob Corker & Marco Rubio declaring their support last week. Meanwhile in the House, a handful of Reps have said they won't support the final bill, but the “no” forces lack sufficient numbers to sink the bill. Most of the House GOP dissenters are from high-tax states & are concerned that the bill’s $10K limit on individuals' state & local tax deductions will raise taxes on their middle-class constituents. Trump, his advisers & Rep leaders continue to say the tax plan would help the middle class the most.
House Plans Early Tax Vote, Democrats Plan Drama
Equity markets fell as investors waited for lawmakers to vote on tax cuts in the American economy. Treasuries declined while the $ rose. The S&P 500 dropped after rising prospects for the tax plan had sparked a 2-day rally of almost 1.5% that took the benchmark within a whisker of 2700 for the first time. The biggest focus for those still chasing gains is the progress of the US tax overhaul. The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today on the tax bill following a floor debate in the morning. The action then turns to the Senate, where Republican leaders intend to bring the bill up as soon as they get it. The Stoxx Europe 600 fluctuated as gains for airline shares & real estate companies offset a drop in resource stocks. The region's core bonds declined, with German yields seeing their biggest climb in more than a month. Sterling declined as Brexit efforts rumbled on. Oil traded above $57 a barrel before US data forecast to show crude stockpiles in the world's biggest consumer fell for a 5th week. Gold fell & copper rose. It was a mixed picture for equities in Asia, with benchmarks in Japan & South Korea falling earlier as stocks in Sydney, Hong Kong & China climbed.
Groundbreaking on single-family homes proceeded in Nov at the strongest pace in a decade, driving US housing starts to a faster-than-estimated rate, gov figures showed. Residential starts rose 3.3% to 1.3M annualized rate (est 1.25M) after 1.26M pace in prior month (revised from 1.29M). Single-family starts jumped 5.3% to 930K, highest in 10 years (South & West regions also were 10-year highs). Permits, a proxy for future construction of all types of homes, fell 1.4% to 1.3M rate (est. 1.27M) from 1.32M pace (single-family permits in US & South both highest since 2007). The latest results make it more likely that residential construction spending, which subtracted from economic growth in Q2 & Q3, will add to the pace of US expansion in Q4, which is already shaping up as a solid qtr. The Nov gains are encouraging because they're driven by single-family home building, which tends to spur economic activity & jobs in a bigger way than apartment construction. Single-family permits have increased for 3 straight months, also indicating a sustained pipeline of work for developers. The figures reflect a boost from rebuilding & recovery efforts following hurricanes Harvey & Irma, as areas in the South had faced the brunt of the damage from flooding & winds. A separate report yesterday showed homebuilders' confidence jumped in Dec to the highest level since 1999, indicating developers expect demand to advance amid steady economic growth, a tightening job market & still-low mortgage costs. At the same time, further gains in homebuilding may run up against hurdles including a shortage of workers, rising costs for materials & a scarcity of ready-to-build lots.
U.S. Single-Family Housing Starts Rise to Highest in a Decade
Stocks are taking a breather after the latest mini rally. The Dems feel they have to bring drama to the tax bill, that's what they get paid to do. But it looks the the bill will be passed. Meanwhile, economic data continues to be strong highlighted by the housing data yesterday & today. The stock market is enjoying a much longer term advance. The Dow is up an impressive 6½K since the election, setting an amazing 70 record highs already in 2017.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 57.36 | +0.20 | +0.4% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,264.00 | -1.50 | -0.1% |
Congressional Reps kicked off the final leg of their 6-week legislative sprint to overhaul the US tax code & deliver a major policy victory for Presi Trump before year end. The House is scheduled to vote today on the tax bill & Senate leaders intend to bring the measure up as soon as they get it. The House is poised to approve GOP tax legislation, with plans to hold a vote around 1:30PM. But Dem challenges could still provide some drama, or at least, a brief delay, after the bill heads to the Senate. Senator Ron Wyden, the top Dem on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, said his members have been scouring the bill for potential provisions that could be challenged on the Senate floor because they don't relate to federal revenue or spending, or because they would add to the deficit after a decade -- violating the Byrd rule. “We’ve been at it for days and I think it’s extremely important,” Wyden said. In practical terms, a successful challenge could force the bill back to the House for reconsideration, without the offending portions. The delay would be only temporary. A provision that would have repealed a prohibition against tax-exempt nonprofits, including churches, supporting or opposing political candidates was dropped from the final bill because of Byrd rule concerns. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn didn't rule out the possibility of other issues involving the rule. “We’re still talking to the parliamentarian about that,” Cornyn said, referring to the Senate adviser on rules & procedures. “So we simply don’t know for sure. But that’s what this process is designed to tell us.” Cornyn predicted that the House would send over the tax bill in a few hours. “We’ll pass it either tomorrow night or Wednesday morning,” Cornyn said. Senate rules require 10 hours of debate on the bill, divided equally between Reps & Dem. But either side can elect to give up some of its time & Reps may do so to speed passage. Longer term, Dems are warning that future legislation will be needed to correct drafting errors or other technical issues in the tax bill. The top Dem on the tax-writing Committee, Richard Neal, said that he would be seeing the Rules Committee frequently because “there are going to be a series of technical corrections.” Neal cited the fast pace of the legislation, which was introduced in the House a little over 6 weeks ago, as one of the reasons for future fixes. Fellow Dems on the Rules Committee spent more than 3 hours picking apart the process that they said shut them out of any real discussion at every legislative step. Ways & Means Chairman Kevin Brady acknowledged future work to be done on the tax code, including changes to retirement savings & tax provisions for start ups. Despite their slim majority in the Senate, GOP leaders appear to have won over enough potential dissenters in their ranks. Rep Senator Susan Collins was one of the last to say she supports the bill, following Senators Bob Corker & Marco Rubio declaring their support last week. Meanwhile in the House, a handful of Reps have said they won't support the final bill, but the “no” forces lack sufficient numbers to sink the bill. Most of the House GOP dissenters are from high-tax states & are concerned that the bill’s $10K limit on individuals' state & local tax deductions will raise taxes on their middle-class constituents. Trump, his advisers & Rep leaders continue to say the tax plan would help the middle class the most.
House Plans Early Tax Vote, Democrats Plan Drama
Equity markets fell as investors waited for lawmakers to vote on tax cuts in the American economy. Treasuries declined while the $ rose. The S&P 500 dropped after rising prospects for the tax plan had sparked a 2-day rally of almost 1.5% that took the benchmark within a whisker of 2700 for the first time. The biggest focus for those still chasing gains is the progress of the US tax overhaul. The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today on the tax bill following a floor debate in the morning. The action then turns to the Senate, where Republican leaders intend to bring the bill up as soon as they get it. The Stoxx Europe 600 fluctuated as gains for airline shares & real estate companies offset a drop in resource stocks. The region's core bonds declined, with German yields seeing their biggest climb in more than a month. Sterling declined as Brexit efforts rumbled on. Oil traded above $57 a barrel before US data forecast to show crude stockpiles in the world's biggest consumer fell for a 5th week. Gold fell & copper rose. It was a mixed picture for equities in Asia, with benchmarks in Japan & South Korea falling earlier as stocks in Sydney, Hong Kong & China climbed.
U.S. Stocks Drop as Investors Await Tax-Cut Vote: Markets Wrap
Groundbreaking on single-family homes proceeded in Nov at the strongest pace in a decade, driving US housing starts to a faster-than-estimated rate, gov figures showed. Residential starts rose 3.3% to 1.3M annualized rate (est 1.25M) after 1.26M pace in prior month (revised from 1.29M). Single-family starts jumped 5.3% to 930K, highest in 10 years (South & West regions also were 10-year highs). Permits, a proxy for future construction of all types of homes, fell 1.4% to 1.3M rate (est. 1.27M) from 1.32M pace (single-family permits in US & South both highest since 2007). The latest results make it more likely that residential construction spending, which subtracted from economic growth in Q2 & Q3, will add to the pace of US expansion in Q4, which is already shaping up as a solid qtr. The Nov gains are encouraging because they're driven by single-family home building, which tends to spur economic activity & jobs in a bigger way than apartment construction. Single-family permits have increased for 3 straight months, also indicating a sustained pipeline of work for developers. The figures reflect a boost from rebuilding & recovery efforts following hurricanes Harvey & Irma, as areas in the South had faced the brunt of the damage from flooding & winds. A separate report yesterday showed homebuilders' confidence jumped in Dec to the highest level since 1999, indicating developers expect demand to advance amid steady economic growth, a tightening job market & still-low mortgage costs. At the same time, further gains in homebuilding may run up against hurdles including a shortage of workers, rising costs for materials & a scarcity of ready-to-build lots.
U.S. Single-Family Housing Starts Rise to Highest in a Decade
Stocks are taking a breather after the latest mini rally. The Dems feel they have to bring drama to the tax bill, that's what they get paid to do. But it looks the the bill will be passed. Meanwhile, economic data continues to be strong highlighted by the housing data yesterday & today. The stock market is enjoying a much longer term advance. The Dow is up an impressive 6½K since the election, setting an amazing 70 record highs already in 2017.
Dow Jones Industrials
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