Dow crawled up 9, advancers over decliners 4-3 & NAZ went up 63. The MLP index was steady in the 151s & the REIT index added 1 to the 391s. Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries were weak. Oil slid lower in the 58s & gold was off 2 to 1840.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose last week as the coronavirus pandemic continues to trigger a high number of layoffs. Figures from the Labor Dept show that 793K Americans filed first-time jobless claims last week, higher than the 757K forecast. The number has remained stubbornly high for months, hovering around 4 times the pre-crisis level, although it's well below the peak of 7M that was reached when stay-at-home orders were first issued in Mar. Almost 70M Americans (40%) of the labor force, have filed for unemployment benefits during the pandemic. Continued claims, or the number of Americans who are consecutively receiving unemployment benefits, fell to 4.5M, a decline of about 145K from the previous week. The report shows that roughly 20.4M Americans were receiving some kind of jobless benefit, an increase of about 2.5M from the previous week. Many more Americans are receiving jobless aid from 2 federal programs that Congress established with the passage of the CARES Act in Mar: One extends aid to self-employed individuals, gig workers & others who typically aren't eligible to receive benefits, & the other provides aid to those who have exhausted their state benefits. The federal gov renewed those programs at the end of Dec with the passage of a $900B relief package, which includes a supplemental $300-a-week jobless benefit, a one-time $600 stimulus check for most adults & new funding for a small business rescue program.
Latest unemployment report worse than expected as 793k more file for benefits
Pepsico (PEP), a Divided Aristocrat, it expects organic revedue to grow in 2021 on hopes that consumers would return to pre-pandemic lifestyles as economies reopen & COVID-19 vaccinations roll out. The snack & beverage giant also topped estimates for Q4 revenue as the 2nd round of lockdowns spurred demand
for its products such as Tostitos, Cheetos & Gatorade that are more
suited to at-home consumption. The company, known for its Lay's chips & Pepsi sodas, expects a
mid-single digit rise in annual organic revenue & a high-single digit
increase in adjusted earnings. Organic revenue from snacks under the company's Frito-Lay North
America unit rose 5% in Q4, while those of sodas &
other beverage rose 5.5% in North America, its biggest market. Net
revenue rose 8.8% to $22.46B, above
expectation of $21.8B. The company also announced a 5% increase in its annual div to be paid in Jun. The stock fell 1.46.
If you would like to learn more about PEP, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/PEP?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
PepsiCo lays out revenue projection for 2021 as vaccines take effect
Shares of Kellogg (K) fell after the cereal &
snacks company reported Q4 profit & sales that missed
expectations, but pointed toward surprise growth in full-year earnings.
Q4 EPS rose to 59¢ from 42¢ in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted EPS slipped to 86¢ from 91¢, but below consensus of 89¢. Sales
rose 7.5% to $3.46B, but came up shy of the $3.51B consensus. Europe showed the strongest growth with sales rising 15%,
led by cereal. North America sales rose 8%, as strength in retail
channel sales helped offset weakness in away-from-home channels. For
2021, the company expects adjusted EPS to rise about 1%, while the
consensus of $3.96 implies a 0.8% decline. The stock was off 37¢.
If you would like to learn more about Kellogg, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/K?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Kellogg’s stock slips after profit and sales miss, but guidance is for surprise earnings growth this year
Stocks are pretty much treading water while traders wait for news on the stimulus package. The bulls are happy to see the popular stock averages are at or close to record highs.
Dow Jones Industrials
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