Dow jumped 534 to session highs, advancers over decliners 3-1 & NAZ gained 251. The MLP index rose 2+ to the 197s & the REIT index advanced 5+ to the 462s. Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries continued in demand. Oil climbed to go over 81 & gold went up 5 to 1800 (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 producer price index (PPI) for final demand increased 0.5% from the prior month & 8.6% from a year earlier, Labor Dept data showed. Excluding volatile food & energy components, the core PPI rose 0.2%, the smallest advance this year, & was up 6.8% from a year ago. The forecast called for a 0.6% month-over-month advance in the overall PPI & an 8.7% gain in the core figure. The cost of services rose just 0.2%, the smallest gain in 3 months, partly reflecting an almost 17% drop in prices for airline passenger services. Including cheaper car rental prices, the data highlight inflationary cross-currents as the spread of the coronavirus impacted activities like travel. At the same time, goods prices kept rising at a steady pace. Prices paid to producers for goods increased 1.3%, the most in 4 months. 40% of the advance in goods was attributed to energy, the Labor Dept said. The PPI has climbed steadily this year as interruptions in supply networks & constraints that include shortages of materials & labor, drive up production costs. Firms have passed along at least some of those costs to their customers, which explains a recent acceleration in consumer prices.
U.S. Producer Price Growth Slows by More Than Expected
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), a Dividend Aristocrat, profit rose for the recent qtr, with its role in administering COVID-19 vaccines continuing to help lift sales. The drugstore chain has provided
13.5M vaccinations in the qtr. The
company said it has administered more than 40M COVID-19
vaccinations & more than 16M COVID-19 tests to date. The
company posted sales of $34.3B for its fiscal 4th qtr,
up from $30.4B last year & surpassing estimates. Adjusted EPS were $1.17, ahead of the $1.02 expected. The
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said 65.6% of the US
population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. US pharmacy sales increased 6.7% & retail sales in the US rose
6.5%. Health & wellness sales increased 14%, helped
by items like at-home COVID-19 tests & vitamins. The stock jumped 3.51.
If you would like to learn more about WBA, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/WBA?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Walgreens posts higher profit as COVID-19 vaccinations continue to lift sales
Progressive House Dems have put down their marker in the debate over how to cut costs from Pres Biden's sprawling economic plan. Top Congressional Progressive Caucus members urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to keep all of the proposed programs in the package intact. Instead, they proposed cutting the duration of the programs in order to reduce spending. Top Dems are deciding whether to make policies last for fewer years or scrap programs entirely in order to slash the plan's price tag to appease centrists. “If given a choice between legislating narrowly or broadly, we strongly encourage you to choose the latter, and make robust investments over a shorter window,” 27 lawmakers led by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal wrote in a letter to Pelosi. The representatives added that they believe setting up temporary programs will “establish a track record of success that will pave the way for a longterm extension of benefits.” Dems are locked in talks over how to structure their massive investment in the social safety net & climate programs. They aim to pass the plan, along with a bipartisan infrastructure bill already approved by the Senate, before the end of the month.
Progressives urge Pelosi to keep programs in Biden social and climate bill intact
Gold futures stretched their gains into a 3rd consecutive session to settle at the highest highest price in a month, with analysts attributing the metal's strength to concerns about inflation. Dec gold rose $3 to settle at $1797 an ounce, with intraday high at $1801, following a 2% gain yesterday. Prices for the most-active contract settled at the highest since Sep 14. Gold, which has historically been seen as a hedge against inflation, got a boost yester after a US consumer-price index reading showed a climb of 0.4% in Sep. Data today showed the US producer price index jumped 0.5% last month. Gains in bullion & other precious metals today came as the US & Treasury yields staged a modest pullback. However, some analysts believe that gold's ascent will be capped by the likelihood that Treasury yields will eventually resume their climb as the Federal Reserve kicks off its tapering of monthly purchases of gov debt & mortgage-backed securities before year-end.
Gold posts third gain in a row after brief climb above $1,800 an ounce
Oil futures rose, with US & global benchmark prices
notching fresh multiyear highs after the Intl Energy Agency
underlined climbing demand from power generators in the face of soaring
prices for natural gas & coal. Prices finished below the session's best levels, however, as US
gov data revealed a 3rd straight weekly rise in domestic crude
inventories, the largest since Mar. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude inventories rose by 6.1M barrels for last week. The
increase defied expectations for an average 500K barrel decline
expected. The American
Petroleum Institute reported a 5.2M-barrel
climb for last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for Nov rose 87¢ (1.1%) to settle at $81.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange after tapping a high at $81.68. Dec Brent crude,
the global benchmark, added 82¢ (1%) to $84 a barrel, down from an intraday high of $84.50.
The stock market ignored the dreary inflation numbers. And this is the important measure because it gives hints at future inflation trends, & they are not good. The Dow keeps plodding along in a chappy sideways trend despite seeming-less endless problems in growing the economy.
Dow Jones Industrials
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