Dow jumped 410, advancers over decliners better than 3-1 & NAZ went up 157. The MLP index rose 1 to 250 & the REIT index added 4 to the 342s. Junk bond funds were off slightly & Treasuries saw selling which raised yields (more below). Oil slid back to the 86s & gold dropped 11 to 1929.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the country can “absolutely” afford to financially support both Israel & Ukraine in their respective war efforts. Pres Biden in a post on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday reiterated his “unwavering support” for Israel in its war against Palestinian militant group Hamas,& said he had provided Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an update on both US military support & efforts to protect civilians as the conflict escalates. Though the White House has so far fully endorsed what it terms “Israel’s right to defend itself,” Biden noted that an Israeli re-occupation of Gaza would be a “big mistake” & that although Hamas should be eliminated entirely, there “must be a path to a Palestinian state.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unscheduled return to Israel today, the 10th day of an Israeli aerial bombardment campaign of the Gaza Strip as part of an all-out siege that has seen water, food & electricity cut off to around 2M people. Asked whether the US could afford to be providing military support to Israel & to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia, Yellen said “the answer is absolutely.” “America can certainly afford to stand with Israel and to support Israel’s military needs and we also can and must support Ukraine in its struggle against Russia,” Yellen said, adding that the US economy is doing “extremely well.” “Inflation has been high and it’s been a concern to households, it’s come down considerably. At the same time, we have about the strongest labor market we’ve seen in 50 years with 3.8% unemployment. At the same time, America, the Biden administration, has passed legislation that is strengthening our economy in years to come for the medium-term.” Yellen said the need to release funds for both allies was a “priority” & called for Reps in the House of Representatives to seat a speaker so that legislation can be passed.
U.S. can ‘certainly’ afford military support to both Israel and Ukraine, Janet Yellen says
Treasury yields were higher, with investors assessing the US economic outlook as uncertainty about the path ahead for monetary policy, as well as geopolitical concerns, continued. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was more than 5 basis points higher at 4.681% & the 2-year Treasury yield was around flat at 5.058%. Yields & prices have an inverted relationship & 1 basis point equals 0.01%. Fed officials in recent weeks suggested rates may not need to be hiked further because of the recent sharp rise in Treasury yields leading to tighter financial conditions. Further remarks from Fed officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, are expected throughout the week. On the data front, investors will get fresh insights into the housing sector & retail sales figures are due tomorrow. Concerns about the Israel-Hamas war& its implications, including for financial markets & the energy sector, continued as Israel is expected to begin a ground offensive into Gaza this week. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were aiming to flee northern Gaza over the weekend after Israel's military called for residents to evacuate to the south of the Palestinian territory.
10-year Treasury yield rises as investors consider economic outlook
As Walt Disney (DIS), a Dow stock,
marks its 100th anniversary with events at its theme parks & thru its media channels, efforts by CEO Bob Iger to turn around
the entertainment giant are facing headwinds. Iger, who in Nov 2022 returned to the role of CEO that he
previously held from 2005 to early 2020, is considering options that
could take the company in new strategic directions. The stock is down over 29% in the past 5 years & have traded near 9-year lows this
month. Since returning as the CEO, Iger has sought to "quiet the noise" in culture wars after his predecessor made moves that irked conservatives & sparked a high-profile political showdown. Former
CEO Bob Chapek took a public stand against a Florida bill that bars
teachers from providing instruction on sexual orientation & gender
identity in kindergarten through 3rd-grade classrooms. That escalated
into a battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which resulted in the
Rep-led state legislature revoking Disney World's self-governing
authority in the state. The future of its media assets is under review, with Iger saying that broadcast station ABC & cable channels like
ESPN "may not be core to Disney" & could be offloaded. Following reports in Sep that DIS held initial talks regarding
the sale of ABC, DIS said, "While we are open
to considering a variety of strategic options for our linear businesses,
at this time The Walt Disney Company has made no decision with respect
the divestiture of ABC or any other property and any report to that
effect is unfounded." Last month, DIS announced plans to double its investment in amusement parks & cruises to $60B over the next decade. However, visitors to
its flagship parks are set to see higher prices, with the company
raising the price of tickets & passes to Disneyland as well as
parking, while Disney World will raise prices for annual passes &
parking. "We believe in the future of advertising on our streaming platforms, both Disney+ and Hulu," Iger added.
"And we’re obviously trying with our pricing strategy to migrate more
subs to the advertiser-supported tier. It should be noted… that a
substantial amount of new subscribers are signing up for the
ad-supported tier, which suggests that the pricing is working for us in
that regard." The stock rose 85¢.
If you would like to learn more about DIS, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/DIS_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6aeoso5b6f7
Disney turns 100 as CEO Bob Iger tries to fix media giant
This should be an exciting week for stocks as more earnings are released & the war in Israel continues. Oil will be getting a lot of attention with the potential price rise which would be a negative on the inflation front.
Dow Jones Industrials
No comments:
Post a Comment