Dow went up 143, advancers over decliners 5-2 & NAZ gained 138. The MLP index crawled up to 228 & the REIT index fell 1 to the 386s. Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries were sold, raising yields. Oil was off pennies although still above 80 following its recent run & gold rose another 5 to 1929.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
US existing home sales slowed for the 11th consecutive month in Dec as higher mortgage rates, surging inflation & steep home prices sapped consumer demand from the housing market. Sales
of previously owned homes tumbled 1.5% in Dec from the prior month
to an annual rate of 4.02M units, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). On an annual
basis, existing home sales are down 34% when compared to Dec 2021. It
is the slowest pace since 2010, when the US was still in the
throes of the housing crisis triggered by subprime mortgage defaults. "December was another difficult month for buyers, who continue to
face limited inventory and high mortgage rates," NAR chief economist
Lawrence Yun said. "However, expect sales to pick up
again soon since mortgage rates have markedly declined after peaking
late last year." There were about 970K homes for sale at the
end of Dec, a decline of 13.4% from
Nov but up about 10.2% from one year ago. Homes sold on average in
just 26 days, up from 24 days in Nov & 19 days one year ago. Before the pandemic, homes typically sat on the market for about a month
before being sold. At
the current pace of sales, it would take roughly 2.9 months to exhaust
the inventory of existing homes. Experts view a pace of 6-7
months as a healthy level. The interest rate-sensitive housing market has borne the brunt of the Federal Reserve's aggressive campaign to tighten policy & slow the economy.
Existing home sales tumble to lowest level since 2010
Mortgage rates continued to fall this week to their lowest levels since Sep as the latest round of economic data showed signs that inflation is starting to cool. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.15% from 6.33% last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A year ago, the average rate was 3.56%. "As inflation continues to moderate, mortgage rates declined again this week," Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said. "Rates are at their lowest level since September of last year, boosting both homebuyer demand and homebuilder sentiment." "Declining rates are providing a much-needed boost to the housing market, but the supply of homes remains a persistent concern," Khater added. Meanwhile, the average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.28% from 5.52% last week. A year ago, it averaged 2.79%. The big rise in mortgage rates during the past year has throttled the housing market, with sales of existing homes falling for 10 straight months to the lowest level in more than a decade. Though inflation at the consumer level has declined for 6 straight months, Fed officials have signaled that they may raise the central bank's main borrowing rate another 3-qtrs of a point in 2023, which would be 5 - 5.25%.
Mortgage rates fall to lowest levels in months
Google (GOOG) will lay off 12K from its workforce, adding to the slew of
major US tech companies cutting jobs amid fears of an oncoming
recession. CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email sent to
the company's staff that the firm will begin making layoffs in
the US immediately. In other countries, the process “will take longer
due to local laws and practices,” he said. It was reported in Nov
that GOOG employees had been fearing layoffs as its counterparts made cuts & as employees saw changes to the company's performance ratings system. The
web search & video sharing giant will offer US-based employees 16
weeks of severance pay plus 2 weeks for each additional year they've
worked at Google, Pichai added. The stock rose 4.
If you would like to learn more about GOOG, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GOOG_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Google to lay off 12,000 people — read the memo CEO Sundar Pichai sent to staff
Dow began the trading day with a modest loss, but buyers have returned in the last hour. News keeps coming in mixed & it fells like this is a recession even if its only a mild one. Layoffs at some of the biggest companies is disturbing for investors to digest. YTD Dow is barely in the black. Not good!!
Dow Jones Industrials
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