Dow went up 59, advancers slightly ahead of decliners & NAZ slild back 19. The MLP index fell 1+ to the 132s & the REIT index rose 4+ to the 347s (although flat in the last month). Junk bond funds were in demand again & Treasuries rose in price. Oil was lower, but kept above 41, & gold jumped 14 to 1854, nearing its record highs made in 2011.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
The US gov has reached a $1.95B deal with Pfizer (PFE), a Dow stock, & BioNTech (BNTX) for 100M doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine once it obtains FDA approval. An additional 500M doses can be acquired & US citizens would receive the vaccine for free, according to the agreement. A Phase 2b/3 trial of the vaccine, with human subjects, is scheduled to start later this month & will be subject to regulatory review as early as Oct. If successful, 100M doses would be manufactured by the end of this year & possibly more than 1.3B would be produced in 2021. "Adding a vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech" to the gov's Operation Warp Speed inoculation-development program "increases the odds that we will have a safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year,” Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. Operation Warp Speed aims to deliver 300M doses of a safe & effective COVID-19 vaccine by Jan 2021. The initiative accelerates the development, production & distribution of tests, treatments & vaccines for the disease, which has reached pandemic proportions worldwide, infecting more than 3M people in the US & killing 142K. PFE & BNTX are currently evaluating four possible COVID-19 vaccines, 2 of which have received Fast Track designation by the FDA, allowing for an expedited development process. PFE stock rose 99¢ & BNTX stock shot up 6.72.
If you would like to learn more about PFE, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/PFE?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
If you would like to learn more about BNTX, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/BNTX?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Sales of existing homes jumped nearly 21% in Jun compared with May, according to the National Association of Realtors. It was the largest monthly gain since the Realtors began tracking the data in 1968 & came after sharp declines over the previous 3 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sales were still 11.3% lower annually. This count is based on closings, so it represents contracts signed in late Apr & May, before much of the national economy began to reopen & before the most recent surge in coronavirus cases. “The housing market is hot, red hot, based on the data and the anecdotal prevalence of multiple offers,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors “The urban area is less hot. We are clearly seeing trends for smaller towns or suburbs.” Home sales could have been more robust, had there simply been more homes for sale. The supply of existing homes available fell a remarkable 18.2% annually to just 1.57M homes for sale at the end of Jun. Based on the current sales pace, that represents a four-month supply. Last Jun 350K more homes were on the market. “We are facing an acute inventory shortage especially at the lower price points,” said Yun. “The inventory levels are shrinking and shrinking, which could create a bottleneck for further home sales later.” Mortgage rates are hovering near record lows & have been for several weeks. That is giving buyers more purchasing power but also helping to keep home prices elevated. The median price of an existing home sold in Jun rose 3.5% annually to $295K, the highest price on record. Much of the gains are likely from pent-up spring demand, but there are signs that it will continue at least thru the summer. Mortgage applications to purchase a home were up 19% annually just last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. First-time buyers are also gaining strength, making up 35% of Jun buyers. That figure had been as low as 30% in recent months.
Existing home sales surge nearly 21% in June – the highest monthly gain on record
State Department orders China to close consulate in Houston — China vows retaliation
The vaccine deal was a major step forward in fighting off coronavirus. But there are numerous companies also working on promising vaccines & a final product is still months away. Today US-China tensions are on the rise & they are getting more attention by traders. While stocks hesitate, safe have gold (& now silver) are in heavy demand.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 41.55 | -0.37 | -0.9% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,852.80 | +8.90 | +0.5% |
The US gov has reached a $1.95B deal with Pfizer (PFE), a Dow stock, & BioNTech (BNTX) for 100M doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine once it obtains FDA approval. An additional 500M doses can be acquired & US citizens would receive the vaccine for free, according to the agreement. A Phase 2b/3 trial of the vaccine, with human subjects, is scheduled to start later this month & will be subject to regulatory review as early as Oct. If successful, 100M doses would be manufactured by the end of this year & possibly more than 1.3B would be produced in 2021. "Adding a vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech" to the gov's Operation Warp Speed inoculation-development program "increases the odds that we will have a safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year,” Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. Operation Warp Speed aims to deliver 300M doses of a safe & effective COVID-19 vaccine by Jan 2021. The initiative accelerates the development, production & distribution of tests, treatments & vaccines for the disease, which has reached pandemic proportions worldwide, infecting more than 3M people in the US & killing 142K. PFE & BNTX are currently evaluating four possible COVID-19 vaccines, 2 of which have received Fast Track designation by the FDA, allowing for an expedited development process. PFE stock rose 99¢ & BNTX stock shot up 6.72.
If you would like to learn more about PFE, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/PFE?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
If you would like to learn more about BNTX, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/BNTX?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
US secures 100 million doses of Pfizer, BioNTech experimental coronavirus vaccine
Sales of existing homes jumped nearly 21% in Jun compared with May, according to the National Association of Realtors. It was the largest monthly gain since the Realtors began tracking the data in 1968 & came after sharp declines over the previous 3 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sales were still 11.3% lower annually. This count is based on closings, so it represents contracts signed in late Apr & May, before much of the national economy began to reopen & before the most recent surge in coronavirus cases. “The housing market is hot, red hot, based on the data and the anecdotal prevalence of multiple offers,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors “The urban area is less hot. We are clearly seeing trends for smaller towns or suburbs.” Home sales could have been more robust, had there simply been more homes for sale. The supply of existing homes available fell a remarkable 18.2% annually to just 1.57M homes for sale at the end of Jun. Based on the current sales pace, that represents a four-month supply. Last Jun 350K more homes were on the market. “We are facing an acute inventory shortage especially at the lower price points,” said Yun. “The inventory levels are shrinking and shrinking, which could create a bottleneck for further home sales later.” Mortgage rates are hovering near record lows & have been for several weeks. That is giving buyers more purchasing power but also helping to keep home prices elevated. The median price of an existing home sold in Jun rose 3.5% annually to $295K, the highest price on record. Much of the gains are likely from pent-up spring demand, but there are signs that it will continue at least thru the summer. Mortgage applications to purchase a home were up 19% annually just last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. First-time buyers are also gaining strength, making up 35% of Jun buyers. That figure had been as low as 30% in recent months.
Existing home sales surge nearly 21% in June – the highest monthly gain on record
The State Dept confirmed the
US has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, prompting
Beijing to insist on firm countermeasures unless the US immediately
reverses its decision. The move is an escalation of political tensions between the world's 2 largest economies. State
Dept spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said the directive to close
China's consulate general Houston was made to protect American
intellectual property & the private information of its citizens. The
Vienna Convention says diplomats must “respect the laws and regulations
of the receiving State” and “have a duty not to interfere in the
internal affairs of that State,” Ortagus continued. She added that the US would not tolerate the People's Republic of China's
(PRC) violations of US sovereignty & intimidation of our people, just as
we have not tolerated the PRC's unfair trade practices, theft of
American jobs & other egregious behavior. China condemned the decision, warning of firm countermeasures if the US fails to urgently rescind the order. “The
unilateral closure of China’s consulate general in Houston within a
short period of time is an unprecedented escalation of its recent
actions against China,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said
at a daily briefing. The US
has given China 3 days to close the consulate in the 4th largest
US city, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Alongside
the embassy in Beijing, the US has 5 consulates in mainland China, in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang &
Wuhan, where the coronavirus pandemic started. A possible closure of
the Wuhan consulate could complicate efforts to share information about
the virus.
State Department orders China to close consulate in Houston — China vows retaliation
The vaccine deal was a major step forward in fighting off coronavirus. But there are numerous companies also working on promising vaccines & a final product is still months away. Today US-China tensions are on the rise & they are getting more attention by traders. While stocks hesitate, safe have gold (& now silver) are in heavy demand.
Dow Jones Industrials
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