S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX
| Value | 199.78 |  |
| Change | 2.82 (1.4%) |
The MLP index rose 1¾ to the 356s (9 below its recent record) & the REIT was also up 1¾ to the 212s, good but not great performances. Junk bond funds were up about 1%, not bad. Treasuries are the biggest under-reported story. Treasuries fell in price although ended off their lows. The yield on the 10 year Treasury bond went up 4 basis points to 2.90% & a good 50+ basis points higher than the recent lows. The Federal Reserve is buying large amounts of debt to put more money in the economy & bring about lower interest rates but prices fell. Hmmm!
Treasury yields:
| U.S. 3-month | 0.13% | |
| U.S. 2-year | 0.50% | |
| U.S. 10-year | 2.90% |
Alerian MLP Index --- 6 months
Dow Jones REIT Index --- 6 months
10-Year Treasury Yield Index --- 6 months
Oil increased the most in 2 weeks as Ireland moved closer to a European Union-led financial bailout, strengthening the € (up a penny to 1.36+) & boosting commodities. Gold benefited from the bailout moves.
| CLZ10.NYM | ...Crude Oil Dec 10 | ...82.02 | .... 1.58 | (2.0%) |
| GCX10.CMX | ...Gold Nov 10 | ....1,353.20 | .... 16.40 | (1.2%) |
+++ Gold Super Cycle +++
General Motors (GM), after raising more than $20B with its IPO, will be more aggressive marketing its brands. There were things we would have tried or done that we did not do during the pre-IPO quiet period, Joel Ewanick, GM’s vice president of US marketing, said . “Now, you’ll start seeing more and more.” GM will be more active in advertising during the NFL’s Super Bowl championship game & Chevrolet is planning monthly marketing efforts for its new Cruze compact car even after the traditional introduction period, he said. Ewanick said last month that GM would spend slightly more on advertising next year than the $2.5B spent in 2008. Chevrolet will spend $40M on clean-energy projects thru the US to reduce carbon dioxide as Chevrolet has a growing lineup of fuel-efficient vehicles, including the electric Chevy Volt. GM slid back $2 from its AM highs to close at 34.19, up only 1.19 from the IPO price.
General Motors Plans Aggressive Marketing Efforts After IPO, Ewanick Says
General Motors --- 1 day
Sears Holdings (SHLD) Q3 loss nearly doubled, dragged down by weak revenue at its long-suffering Sears chain, hurt by poor sales of appliances & clothing. Business at its Kmart discount stores held up better, but a key revenue measure edge was lower. SHLD posted a loss of $1.98 per share, much larger than last year's $1.09 loss. Analysts expected $1.08. Revenue fell 5% to $9.68B, short of expectations of $9.89B. Revenue at stores open at least a year dropped 4.8% in Q3, driven mostly by an 8.2% decline at Sears. The figure fell 0.7% at Kmart stores. "While Kmart improved profitability, our third-quarter results were disappointing, in large part due to lower sales of apparel and appliances at Sears," said interim CEO W. Bruce Johnson. Sears' weakness in home appliances resulted from weak demand, lower prices & a delay in rolling out new Kenmore products during the qtr. The stock lost 2.50 on the disappointing news & has only muddled along after reaching its lows almost 2 years ago.
Sears Holdings --- 2 years
There are reports that Apple (AAPL) is looking to expand its business with a leading mobile carries in China, the world's largest mobile phone market. There is suppossed to be a report that mentions a newly signed "cooperation agreement" between Apple & China Mobile (CHL), the global giant of mobile phone carriers with roughly 815M mobile subscribers. But the nature of this agreement is unclear. Based on this fuzzy information, AAPL shot up 8 to the 308s. That spells speculation for me. Such good news would be welcome because AAPL is facing a ton of new competition for its iPad & iPhone going into the important Xmas season.
Analyst: China catching 'Apple fever'at Fortune
Apple --- 2 years
Markets had a great day, the kind bulls like to see. But enthusiasm faded late in the day, demonstrated by the retreat in GM shares. Officials are flying to Europe to arrange a bailout for Ireland brought relief to the markets although there is a growing awareness that there are just so many times this can be done. The QE2 program to buy Treasuries has been given mixed reviews at best. With fading gusto late in the day, Dow closed only 29 below its session highs. High yielders only had a so-so day, under-performing the averages. GM's decline off its highs could be an ominous sign for trading tomorrow.
Dow Jones Industrials --- 6 months
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