Dow finished up 99 (in early trading was down more than 1K), decliners over advancers 3-2 & NAZ finished finished up 86. The MLP index fell 1 to 190 & the REIT index inched up chump change in the 465s. Junk bond funds continued weak & Treasuries saw modest buying. Oil pulled back 1+ to the 83s & gold rose 7 to 1839 (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)
One year since Boeing's (BA). a Dow stock, embattled 737 Max returned to service — following the largest grounding in aviation history — there appears
to be a broad consensus in the industry that the plane is as safe as any
flying today. Much
less clear, however, is whether, in its next generation of aircraft,
BA can avoid the cascade of errors, shortcuts & management
failures that led to 346 deaths in 2 Max crashes in 2018 & 2019 —
blamed in part on the plane's flight control system. “I had hoped
that this would be a major reckoning. They would bring in someone new
and they would say, ‘No, we’re going to go back to being what we were —
the best aerospace engineering company in the world and we’re not going
to watch the daily stock price.’ But that didn’t happen,” House
Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio said. After all, many of the forces within BA that inestigators have linked to the crashes — including fierce competition with rival
Airbus, as well as pressures to cut costs & speed up production — have
only gotten more intense as the company tries to regain lost ground. The crisis has cost BA $2B, not to mention a
significant share of the crucial, single-aisle market now dominated by
the Airbus A320. Even after the return of the Max, BA's commercial airliner deliveries lagged Airbus in 2021. Last year, BA agreed to pay $2.5B
in fines in a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice
Dept to settle charges the company hid critical information about
the Max from regulators and the public. But DeFazio called the penalty a
“slap on the wrist,” & has decried what he calls an ongoing “culture
of concealment” at BA. “Since the accidents, BA has made significant changes as a company & to the design of the 737 Max, to ensure that accidents like those
never happen again,” the statement said. The stock fell 1.29.
If you would like to learn more about BA click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/BAa_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f
A year after the 737 Max’s return, Boeing is still trying to get back on course
6 in 10 voters would back someone other than Pres Biden if the 2024 presidential election were today, according to a Fox News
national survey. That makes his current reelection
prospects dimmer than they ever were for his most recent predecessors. At the end of Biden’s first year in office, economic
anxiety is higher than a year ago & many feel the pandemic is not at
all under control. His job rating in both these areas is down in recent
months & ½ of voters disapprove of Biden's performance
overall. His job rating has been underwater since Oct & that still holds true: 47% approve & 52% disapprove. Overall,
54% approved of Biden at his 100-day mark in Apr. The 7-point decline
since can be attributed almost solely to a drop among Dems (from 95% in Apr to 85% today). Approval among Reps & independents has changed by only a point or 2 over the same period. Approval of Biden reached as high as 56% (Jun) & fell as low as 44% (Nov). Biden's
current job ratings are nearly identical to former Pres
Trump's at this point in his presidency, when 45% approved & 53%
disapproved in Jan 2018. VP Kamala Harris's job rating is a bit worse than Biden's: 43% approve, 54%
disapprove. 78%t of Dems & 11% of Reps
approve. Biden's ratings are also negative on top issues. A record
52% disapprove of his handling of the pandemic, up from 34% in early
2021. Even larger numbers disapprove on foreign policy (54%), the
economy (58%) & border security (59%). 73% of voters say economic conditions are only fair or poor, up from 66% last Dec. Even more, 85%, are worried about inflation & that sentiment is
bipartisan: 81% of Dems & 91% of Reps are concerned. Voters
don't agree on what's causing inflation. By 48-42%, more blame
gov policies than the pandemic. Dems (66%) point to the
pandemic, while Reps (73%) cite federal policies. The percentage saying the pandemic is "not at all" under control jumped
13 points since last month, from 28 to 41%. Nearly ¾ (72%)
remain concerned about coronavirus.
Fox News Poll: Voters reluctant to give president a second term
Covid lockdowns, quarantines & restrictions are causing a backlog in some of China's major ports, resulting in chaos & pushing up air freights by as much as 50% in some cases. Ahead of the extended Lunar New Year holiday in China, air freight rates have spiked & some shipping firms have suspended services, putting the spotlight on overwhelmed supply chains again. It comes as China pushes ahead with its zero-Covid strategy — which means a recent spike in infections has resulted in lockdowns & curbs in the largest port hubs & major cities across the country. China's key priority right now is to limit the spread of Covid cases ahead of next month's Winter Olympics & the upcoming Lunar New Year. However, the ensuing curbs at ports have also let to some chaos. Cases have been reported in the key port cities of Shenzhen, Tianjin & Ningbo, as well as the industrial hub of Xi’an, sparking lockdowns & other curbs. Infections have also been reported in other cities such as Anyang. The capital of Beijing reported its first locally transmitted omicron infection on Jan 15. Yesterday, less than 2 weeks before the Winter Olympics, Beijing's authorities introduced new restrictions to contain a recent outbreak after nine locally transmitted cases were found in Beijing a day earlier. The Lunar New Year is China's largest holiday & hundreds of Ms of people traditionally travel back to their home towns from the cities they work in.
No respite for China’s stressed out supply chains as Covid-zero takes a toll
Gold futures ended higher, as brewing intl tensions & a downturn in risk assets supported buying in the precious metal that is perceived as a haven. As gold futures settled, US benchmark stock indexes dropped, with the NAZ down 1.9% & the Dow losing 1.7%. Against that backdrop, Feb gold climbed $9 (0.5%) to settle at $1841 an ounce, following a 1.1% weekly advance for the precious metal. The State Dept over the weekend ordered the families of US personnel to leave Ukraine, as concerns grow about an imminent Russian invasion, with the US threatening sanctions if Moscow invades its neighbor. On top of that, the UAE said it intercepted 2 ballistic missiles targeting its capital, Abu Dhabi, with Houthi rebels blamed for brewing conflict in the region. The move for gold also comes as the Federal Reserve was slated to kick off an important gathering beginning tomorrow to lay out the framework for tightening monetary policy to combat rising inflation pressures. Expectations are that the Fed this week will set the stage for raising interest rates, which currently stand at 0-0.25%, as many as 3 times in 2022 to rein in inflation. Lofty valuations in stocks & uncertainty about the effectiveness of central bank tactics to combat inflation also have been dragging substantially lower appetite for risk. In the minutes immediately following US data from IHS Markit showing an index of service-oriented companies tumbled to an 18-month low of 50.9 from 57.6 in the final month of 2021, gold prices briefly added to earlier gains before paring back that rise.
Gold settles higher as U.S. stock market drops ahead of Fed meeting
Oil futures declined, caught up in a selloff among risky assets as prices extended a pullback after rising last week to their highest levels in more than 7 years. Oil remained underpinned, however, by worries over potential disruptions as traders monitored rising tensions over Ukraine & the interception of missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on the UAE. Oil's declinecame as US stock benchmarks declined sharply ahead of Wed's FOMC decision on monetary policy & a wave of earnings reports. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for Mar fell $1.90 (2.3%) to $83.23 a barrel & Mar Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down $1.70 (1.9%) at $86.19 a barrel. Both Brent & WTI lost ground Fri, but logged a 5th straight weekly gain after closing at 7-year highs on Wed. The US State Dept over the weekend ordered the families of diplomatic personnel to leave Ukraine, as concerns grow about an imminent Russian invasion, with the US threatening sanctions if Moscow invades its neighbor. NATO is putting extra forces on standby & sending ships & jets to Eastern Europe. And the UAE said it intercepted 2 ballistic missiles targeting its capital, Abu Dhabi, with Houthi rebels blamed for brewing conflict in the region. Oil prices were lifted last week after the Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack that targeted a key oil facility in Abu Dhabi, killing 3 people.
This wild a day that will be long remembered by the traders. In the AM, war fears drove Dow down more than 1K. Then the major part of the final gain came in the last hour when The Dow shot up 1000. That's called a major WOW!!! Obviously war fears have eased, what ever that means. In the meantime, earnings & the FOMC meeting are coming this week.
Dow Jones Industrials
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