Dow went up 98, decliners over advancers 2-1 & NAZ lost 79. The MLP index was off 1+ to 165s & the REIT fell 1+ to the 404s. Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries were heavily sold, bringing higher yields. Oil rose over 61 & gold sold off 22 to 1709 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
The Federal Reserve is not keeping monetary policy easy to enable the gov to rung up debts & deficits, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said. Defending the Fed's independence from the fiscal authorities in Congress, Waller rejected notions that the central bank is holding borrowing costs low to help service the debt or that it is conducting asset purchases to finance the debt-laden federal gov. “My goal today is to definitively put that narrative to rest. It is simply wrong,” Waller said. “Monetary policy has not and will not be conducted for these purposes.” As part of its Covid-19 crisis response, the Fed cut short-term borrowing rates to near zero & has been buying at least $80B of Treasuries each month, along with $40B of mortgage-backed securities. At the same time, total gov debt has soared by $4.5T (nearly 20%) since early Mar 2020, & the deficit for fiscal 2020 was more than $3.1T. The Congressional Budget Office has projected the fiscal 2021 shortfall to be $2.3T & that doesn't include the nearly $1.9T stimulus package approved recently. He further stressed the importance of Fed independence from Congress so monetary policy is not designed with political objectives in mind. “There are sizable costs if cooperation turns into fiscal control,” Waller added. “The Congress was fully aware of the potential misuse of monetary policy for political reasons, and it purposefully created the Federal Reserve as an independent central bank,” he said. “The design features of the Federal Reserve minimize political influence over monetary policy while still maintaining accountability to the Congress and to the electorate for its policy actions.” Waller is the most recent addition to the board of governors, gaining confirmation in Dec after having been nominated by former Pres Trump & these are his first public remarks.
Fed’s Waller says the central bank isn’t keeping rates low to run up the deficit
Gold futures posted their lowest settlement in 3 weeks,
pressured by strength in the $ & Treasury yields. The $ edged up 0.2% to 92.91. A stronger $ can weigh on $-priced assets, making them
more expensive for overseas buyers. The 10-year Treasury note was yielding 1.688%, up from 1.658% at the end of last Fri. Bond prices rise as yields fall. Gold for Apr delivery lost $20 (1.2%) to settle at $1712 an ounce, following a
0.5% weekly slump. Prices based on the most-active contract saw their
lowest finish since Mar 8. Broad declines in the stock market had prompted some investors to
sell the precious metal to generate cash to cover margin calls, some
analysts said, though benchmark US stock indexes saw mixed trading as gold futures settled for the session.
Gold prices post lowest settlement in 3 weeks
The US is facing “impending doom” as daily Covid-19 cases begin to rebound once again, threatening to send more people to the hospital even as vaccinations accelerate nationwide, the head of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said. “When I first started at CDC about two months ago I made a promise to you: I would tell you the truth even if it was not the news we wanted to hear. Now is one of those times when I have to share the truth, and I have to hope and trust you will listen,” CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky said. “I’m going to pause here, I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom,” Walensky said. “We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I’m scared.” The US is recording a weekly average of 63K new Covid-19 cases per day, a 16% increase compared with a week ago, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Daily cases are now growing by at least 5% in 30 states and the DC. Coronavirus hospitalizations are also climbing. The US is reporting a seven-day average of 4816 Covid-19 hospital admissions as of Fri, a 4.2% increase compared with the week prior, according to CDC data. Walensky urged Americans to “just hold on a little longer” & to get vaccinated against the virus once it’s their turn. When cases rise as they have over the last week or so, Walensky said, they often “surge and surge big” shortly thereafter. “I’m speaking today not necessarily as your CDC director and not only as your CDC director, but as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter, to ask you to just please hold on a little while longer,” Walensky added. Leading public health experts have warned since late Feb that infections could pick back up again amid the rise of virus variants threatening to sweep across the US much like they did in Europe. One of those variants first identified in the UK, known as B.1.1.7, has now been detected in every state except Oklahoma, according to the CDC's most recent data. The agency is also carefully watching another variant found in New York City, known as B.1.526, which is also thought to be more transmissible compared with previous strains, Walensky said last week.
CDC chief warns U.S. headed for ‘impending doom’ as Covid cases rise again
Oil futures ended higher, shaking off earlier gains, with traders expecting shipping delays to persist, even as one of the world's largest container vessels has been freed in the Suez Canal. The ship had run aground nearly a week ago, blocking the flow of global trade goods, including crude oil, thru the crucial waterway. The Suez Canal Authority announced that the container ship, known as the Ever Given, was successfully refloated. The vessel was moving north to an anchor point & shipping traffic began to move. There were over 360 vessels were waiting to pass through the canal. West Texas Intermediate crude for May, the US benchmark, rose 59¢ (1%) to settle at $61.56 a barrel. That was the highest front-month contract finish since Mar 17. May Brent crude added 41¢ (0.6%) to settle at $64.98 a barrel. Prices for both crude benchmarks had spent part of today's session trading lower as news that the ship had been cleared from the canal emerged. On Fri, WTI posted a 0.8% weekly drop & Brent ended little changed for the week. The contracts had marked an entrance into correction territory last week, typically defined as a drop of at least 10% from a recent peak. Traders looked to shift their attention away from the Suez Canal this week. Reports that Russia would support a rollover of oil output curbs to May contributed to strength in oil prices today.
Oil ends higher as traders expect shipping delays to persist, even as the Suez Canal is cleared
Very little was decided today in the stock market. Traders are anxious to see the jobs data, but it comes out Fri when the markets will be closed. Meanwhile the Dow is above 33K, close to its record while NAZ is 1K under its record made in Feb..
Dow Jones Industrials
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