Dow fell 2276, decliners slightly ahead of advancers & NAZ dropped 381. The MLP index dropped 3 to 195 & the REIT index fluctuated in the 487s. Junk bond funds were of a tad & Treasuries had a little buying. Oil pulled back to the 81s & gold was off 6 to 1820 (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)
Pres Biden announced the deployment of 6 teams of military medical personnel to overwhelmed hospitals in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Michigan & New Mexico. The deployments, which total 120 personnel, come as hospitals grapple with staffing shortages as nurses & other medical personnel call out sick from omicron amid a surge of patients infected with the highly contagious Covid variant. Biden also said the administration plans to buy an additional 500M Covid tests, on top of the 500M it is already procuring, to distribute for free across America. The US has deployed more than 800 military & emergency personnel since Thanksgiving. More than 14K National Guard members have also been activated in 49 states to assist with the response to Covid. Biden said the US has also more than tripled the national stockpile of high-quality N95 masks. “I’ve made sure that our doctors and nurses and first responders have the masks that they need,” he added. “Never again are we’re going to have our nurses using homemade masks and garbage bags over their clothing for hospitals because they don’t have the gowns.” Biden said his administration would also make highly protective masks available for free to Americans who cannot afford them. “I know that for some Americans, the mask is not always affordable or convenient to get,” Biden continued. “So next week we’ll announce how we’re making high-quality masks available to the American people.” Covid-19 hospitalizations are higher than last winter’s peak, before the widespread distribution of vaccines. More than 152K people in the US were hospitalized with Covid as of yesterday, up 18% over the last week.
Pres Biden said the US will give high quality masks to Americans for free, as new infections from the omicron Covid-19 variant soar across the country. The US has more than tripled the national stockpile of highly protective N95 masks to make sure they are widely available to the general public & masks are a crucial tool to help control the spread of omicron. “I know that for some Americans, the mask is not always affordable or convenient to get,” Biden added. “Next week we’ll announce how we’re making high quality masks available to the American people for free.” Sen Bernie Sanders reintroduced legislation yesterday to distribute N95 masks to every person in the US. for free. Everybody would receive a package with 3 highly protective masks. Sanders’ legislation has 50 Dem cosponsors in the House & Senate.
Biden says U.S. to provide high quality masks for free to Americans
Beginning Sat, cruise ships will no longer be required to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19. Instead, the agency will transition to a voluntary coronavirus risk mitigation program for ships when its Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) expires on Jan 15, a spokesperson confirmed. The CDC has sent information about the voluntary program to the cruise industry & anticipates operators will decide on whether to participate in the coming week. Additional information on the program will be released following the CSO's expiration. Ships that operate in US waters & sail on intl itineraries that choose not to participate in the program will be designated as gray under the agency's Cruise Ship Color Status webpage, indicating that the CDC has not reviewed or confirmed the cruise ship operator's health & safety protocols. Those sailing only in US waters will not be listed. Meanwhile, the CDC's maritime unit will continue to work closely with participating cruise ships, monitoring COVID-19 preventive measures & onboard cases thru daily enhanced data collection & inspections.
COVID rules now overboard for cruise lines in new surprising CDC reversal
Ford's market value topped $100B for the first time as the automaker's stock hit a new 52-week high. The shares jumpe, hitting another 20-plus-year high. Its market value was about $102B prior to the close. The gains have been fueled by Ford's plans to increase production of electric vehicles, including the Mustang Mach-E crossover & an upcoming electric version of its bestselling F-150 pickup
that's due out this spring. The efforts are part of a Ford+ turnaround
plan led by CEO Jim Farley, who took over the helm in Oct 2020. Ford’s now worth more than crosstown rival General Motors (GM), at about $90B, as well as electric vehicle start-up Rivian Automotive (RIVN),
at $75B, which has failed to sustain gains following a
blockbuster IPO in Nov. Ford continues to significantly trail Tesla (TSLA), which has a market cap of more than $1T. Ford stock rose 55¢.
If you would like to learn more about Ford click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/Fa_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f
Ford’s market cap tops $100 billion for first time
Oil declined,
falling back a day after settling at the highest price in 2 months.
Prices fell despite continued weakness in the $, signaling
that the move higher in oil futures over the past month may have once
again gotten too far ahead of the physical market reality. Hopes of omicron burning thru
the population quickly has caused many to overlook the impact the
current global wave of the virus is having on demand. Yesterday's Energy Information Administration report emphasized just
how hard it is denting gasoline demand despite the lack of new US
lockdowns. Feb West Texas Intermediate crude declined by 52¢ (0.6%) to settle at $82.12 a barrel.
Oil prices end lower, a day after climbing to a 2-month high
Gold futures was lower, with prices posting their first loss in 5 sessions, after a rise in the US producer price index reading for Dec came in below market expectations. US wholesale prices rose 0.2% in Dec, marking the smallest increase in 13 months, perhaps a sign that high inflation is finally starting to ease after the biggest runup in nearly 40 years. The increase in the producer price index fell below the 0.4% forecast. The advance in wholesale prices over the past year slipped to 9.7% from 9.8% in the prior month. It was the first decline in the yearly rate since early in the pandemic. Data released a day earlier revealed US consumer prices rose 0.5% in Dec to push the increase in the cost of living last year to a nearly 40-year high of 7%, underscoring the belief that high inflation is likely to persist in 2022. Gold is traditionally viewed as a hedge against inflation, but the surge in prices for goods & services, caused by supply-chain bottlenecks & a revival in consumer demand in the wake of the COVID pandemic, is also likely to compel the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates at a faster than expected pace this year & may weigh on precious metal prices. Against that backdrop, Feb gold fell $5 to settle at $1821 an ounce, after climbing 0.5% in the previous session. Prices for the most-active contract ended yesterday at their highest since Dec 31 & notched a 5th straight session gain, marking the longest string of gains since a 7-session stretch ended Nov 1. That said, gold has been relatively resilient in the face of volatile financial markets that are looking at the prospect of higher borrowing costs & inflation.
Gold prices post first loss in 5 sessions, with U.S. producer price index lower than expected
Oil futures ended lower, with a significant rise in US gasoline stockpiles last week raising concern over the omicron coronavirus variant's impact on demand for fuel, even as domestic crude supplies stand at their lowest since 2018. The EIA reported a larger-than-expected rise in gasoline supplies of 8M barrels & a 2.5M-barrel increase in distillate inventories. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for Feb fell 5¢ (0.6%), to settle at $82.12 a barrel. Mar Brent crude, the global benchmark, lost 20¢ at $84.47 a barrel. WTI & Brent both finished yesterday at their highest since Nov 9. Crude got a boost yesterday after the EIA reported a larger-than-expected 4.6M fall in US crude supplies last week. Supplies, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, stood at 413M barrels, the lowest since 2018. WTI remains up more than 9% since the start of the new year, while Brent is up more than 8% over the same stretch. A record number of patients are currently in US hospitals with COVID-19, but scientists see signs that the infection wave driven by the highly contagious omicron variant may be nearing a peak. Meanwhile, natural-gas futures declined by 12.1% to $4.27 per M British thermal units. Prices gave up most of the 14% climb prices saw on yesterday, when forecasts were cited for colder weather for the Northeast & Midwest thru late Jan for the rise
Oil futures end lower, retreat from a 2-month high
Late in the trading day, the Supreme Court blocked the vaccine mandate except for health care workers. Tech shares were hit hard. Dow began the day higher, but slid back to even at midday & were hit with selling in the last hour. Once again, the main stories were about inflation & the war with Covid & they weren't pretty. Tomorrow the first earnings are coming. The big banks report & they are expected to be good.
Dow Jones Industrials
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