Dow soared 517, advancers over decliners better than 6-1 & NAZ gained 149. The MLP index rose 4+ to 222 & the REIT index added 6+ to the 374s. Junk bond funds were in demand along with the stock market rally & Treasuries were very heavily purchased, reducing yields. Oil was up 1 to the 74s & gold soared 27 to 1868.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
US hiring cooled in Dec to the lowest pace in 2 years, but
the labor market remained resilient in the face of higher interest
rates, scorching-hot inflation & mounting recession fears. Employers added 223K jobs in Dec, the Labor Dept said in its monthly payroll
report, topping the 200K jobs forecast. Still, it marks a slight deceleration from the downwardly
revised gain of 256K in Nov & is the worst month for job
creation since Dec 2020. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to
3.5%, a 5-decade low. Wage growth also
cooled in Dec, with average hourly earnings rising just 0.3% from a
month earlier & 4.6% from the previous year. That is likely a
reassuring sign for the Federal Reserve
as it tries to wrestle stubbornly high inflation under control with the
most aggressive rate-hike campaign since the 1980s. Policymakers see
wages as a pivotal indicator of inflationary pressures in the economy.
Economy adds 223K new positions as job growth cools
Macys (M) will be closing a handful of locations. The company reported operating just over 720 locations across its Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s & Bluemercury brands at the end of Q3. "As
part of our Polaris transformation strategy, we continue to optimize
and reposition our store fleet to ensure we have the right mix of on-mall and off-mall stores
to better serve our customers and effectively support omnichannel
market sales growth," the Macy’s spokesperson said. The company will offer a "role in nearby locations or severance packages" to those who work at the closing stores. CFO Adrian Mitchell discussed store closures in Macy's earnings call almost 2 months ago. "We
have been aggressive about rightsizing our store base, and we'll
continue to prioritize asset monetization," he said. "However, we continue to see the importance of main locations within the
best malls, particularly as we build out our omnichannel ecosystem. We
expect to announce less than 10 store closures in January, consistent
with our decision to delay the closure of our full-line store base that
we communicated last year." The stock rose 52¢.
If you would like to learn more about Macys, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/M_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Macy's shuttering four locations
After a Dept of Energy report showed thousands of energy industry jobs would've been created with the Keystone XL Pipeline, one oil exec slammed the White House for knowingly creating an "economic boondoggle." "It's an economic boondoggle here," Canary CEO Dan Eberhart said. "What America needs is clean, cheap energy. And I think that the Biden administration keeps throwing these lifelines to the progressive left and trying to give in to their wish list, but they're doing it at the expense of the American consumer." The Biden administration published a congressionally mandated report highlighting the positive economic benefits the Keystone XL Pipeline would have had if Pres Biden didn't revoke its federal permits. The report, which the Dept of Energy (DOE) completed in late Dec without any public announcement, says the Keystone XL project would have created 16-59K jobs & would have had a positive economic impact of $3.4-9.6. A previous report from the federal gov published in 2014 determined 3900 direct jobs & 21K total jobs would be created during construction which was expected to take 2 years. But immediately after taking office in Jan 2021, Biden canceled the pipeline's permits, effectively shutting the project down. "The fact of the matter is, this pipeline not only would have created jobs here, it would have helped our energy security and strengthened our alliance with Canada, and it would have given us the ability to have more plentiful, cheaper energy," Eberhart explained. "What the administration is failing to do here is reduce demand. Affecting supply and reducing supply just pushes energy costs up to consumers."
Oil industry exec rips White House after surprising Keystone admission: Biden created ‘economic boondoggle’
While buyers are bidding stock prices higher, safe haven gold & Treasuries are also in heavy demand. As shown below, Dow is still flattish near 33K where it has been for a few weeks. Stock buyers may pause later today.
Dow Jones Industrials
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