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Materials and industrial companies led the gains. Caterpillar and Alcoa rose the most in the Dow. Stocks drove higher in the last hour and a half of trading after oil prices dropped below $100 a barrel for the first time this year. Oil fell on rumors that Europe would delay an embargo on Iranian oil. Crude oil futures for March delivery settled down $1.78 to $99.31 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Also pushing stocks were strong bond auctions in Italy and Spain. European markets ended mostly higher after Italy and Spain held highly successful bond auctions, easing worries about Europe’s debt crisis. Italy’s benchmark stock index rose 2.1 percent.
In Italy’s first bond auction of the new year, the country was able to sell one-year bonds at a rate of just 2.735 percent, less than half the 5.95 percent rate it had to pay last month. That’s a signal that investors are becoming more confident in Italy’s ability to pay its debts.
Spain was able to raise double the amount of money it had sought to raise in its own bond sale as demand for its debt was strong. Both auctions were seen as important tests of investor sentiment.
Investors have been worried that Italy and Spain, the third- and fourth-largest countries in the euro area, might be dragged into the region’s debt crisis. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have been forced to get relief from their lenders after their borrowing costs spiked to levels the countries could no longer afford.
The euro rose nearly a penny against the dollar, to $1.28, as worries eased about Europe’s financial woes. The currency, which is shared by 17 European Union countries, fell to a 16-month low against the dollar the day before. An auction of 30-year United States Treasury bonds drew meager interest from investors as cash flowed back into European debt.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 21.57 points, or 0.2 percent, to end at 12,471.02. It was down most of the day, losing 64 points in the first hour of trading, following a rise in unemployment claims and a weak report on December retail sales.
The S.& P. 500 finished up 3.02 points, or 0.2 percent, at 1,295.50. The Nasdaq composite rose 13.94 points, 0.5 percent, to 2,724.70.
The Treasury’s 10-year note fell 6/32, to 100 21/32. The yield rose to 1.93 percent, from 1.91 percent late Wednesday.
It was the latest day of quiet trading in the stock market. There have been six consecutive days with moves of less than 1 percent in the S.& P. 500.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html
This is just terrible news Ha Ha!!! QB
This is just terrible news Ha Ha!!! QB
JPMorgan profit falls, but sees hope in economy
(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co's fourth-quarter earnings fell 23 percent, in line with Wall Street expectations, as the European debt crisis depressed trading and corporate deal-making.
But Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said the largest U.S. bank by assets was seeing signs of improvement in loan demand and credit quality as the economy recovers.
The bank's shares fell 2.9 percent in premarket trading. Through Thursday, the shares had climbed 11 percent this year.
JPMorgan is the first major U.S. bank to announce results for the period. Its figures show Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley are in for a tough quarter as investment banking results suffer.
Others such as Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc, which also report results in the coming days, could benefit from the stronger business loan demand that JPMorgan experienced, but they continue to face problems in investment banking and housing loans.
JPMorgan's results "show that there are major headwinds against the banking industry and it requires a strong management team to battle the headwinds," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm Libertyview Capital Management in New York.
"The bigger negatives tend to be the housing and mortgage situation and investors questioning, 'Have we really hit bottom in this sector or is this just a black hole?'"
JPMorgan said fourth-quarter net income was $3.72 billion, or 90 cents a share, down from $4.83 billion, or $1.12 a share, a year earlier.
29 comments:
Mammoth good news on oil as it is now down about 4.00/barrell from last weeks top. My brother is now on the gold train picking up 6 AE. Not sure why, but if you go to KWN you will find plenty of people who will tell you 2000-2500 by 2012. Of course those are the same ones who called 2000 gold by the end of 2011.
The other day I mentioned Kitco's Jim Wyckoff's leveheaded, unbiased PM reports. Here is a snippet from this morning's:
"The weaker crude oil prices Friday are a slightly bearish near-term factor for the precious metals. Crude oil will remain an important “outside market” factor for the precious metals."
And if we assume that it is just a matter of tme before an attempt is made to 'neutralize' iran's bomb-making ambitions - then we can also assume it is just a matter of time before we see a spike in PM prices.
Link: http://tinyurl.com/7x6hf9e
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So, if I am connecting the dots correctly...
Tensions in 'the Sand Box' = Oil prices increase = PM's increase. Also, $USD increases = PM's decrease.
Queenbee, the local prices at the gas pump jumped $0.06/gallon at the beginning of this week, and have yet to go back down.
Funny how they are always quick to raise gas prices, but loathe to lower them back down.
Just to rub it in I don't remember the last time I went to the pump so I looked it up. It was November 1, 2011. The day after Yvonne got out of the nursing home.
I'm not banking on Iran and war. I am expect more financial issues and inflation in the US and the Euro. Then let the domino's fall.
Gold's fall from grace really hit the gold bugs by surprise and I think we will see a lot of volatility in 2012 so hold on to your hats.
On the previous thread there were a few comments about younger people and their lack of a solid work ethic.
Well, this week I had a long conversation with a contractor whose firm does specialized welding. He complained that – even in today’s rotten economy – he has a difficult time finding reliable, skilled workers. And he also said it is not easy to find good American-born welders; nearly half of his are from other countries.
This led into a discussion about education in general, and how a relatively high proportion of the students in technical studies like Engineering, chemistry, etc…as well as people learning highly-skilled vocational trades, are foreign-born.
What is it about the American culture that induces young people to shun learning the practical, productive skills & trades, and instead take up (apologies to Bukko) USELESS FLUFF like religion & anthropology???
As for myself, I ‘fell into’ the printing trade at age 19, and after ten years I left that behind to study Mechanical Engineering. Believe me – I am living proof that a person does not need to be smart to obtain an education in something that provides a living wage.
But it does take persistence & determination.
This is what it is about the American culture these days. These qualities are missing due to the way children are raised here.
I think that I just nailed it; if not, then free free to provide some enlightenment.
"and the vanishing pensions when you come to collect it."
Airlines Game Their Pensions by Imitating Governments
Looking back in time I have a lot of regrets when I was a kid. I think these young ones will have similar regrets when they grow up. I think in today's world it is better to have a vocational skill than a degree in business. Medicine and engineering will be highly sought after in upcoming years. There will be no degrees on text messaging or social networking.
I spent 20 years with one company and all I walked away with a 401k. Then I fell into call center life and those kept on closing or getting bought out. Finally the last buy out devastated with me being 55 and an invalid partner I believe it is too late to start over. On the other hand I might be able to create a small home business so all is not lost.
Queenbee, you are intelligent and for smart people there are still plenty of opportunities. No matter how discouraged you may feel, don't dismiss your capabilities.
Having a vocation keeps you from hunger. I don't care if it's electric, dog grooming, hair dressing, etc. You can do side jobs or BARTER your services.
No one wants to barter a writer.....unless they call me wanting me to write a 'nice' nasty letter. (I'm rather good at that).
See the downgrade news hit the wire. Wonder what (if) repercussions we will see....
Minera Andes has recently announced that it has agreed to be acquired by US Gold Corporation (UXG) pursuant to a Plan of Arrangement.
Would you buy Minera Andes at 1.90 or US Gold at 4.14?
This litigation is also involved
Minera Andes rejects TNR Gold's $125 mln Los Azules settlement offer
Would you rather buy physical gold that you can hold in your hand, or a piece of paper that says you own a piece of a hole in the ground?
/sarcasm off
As of late I would rather have the phyzz. Everything in my mind and charts tell me that the miners are due, but I also know the whole market could take a dive at any time.
No apologies needed for the religion/anthro mention, Mammoth. My daughter herself mentioned in her last talk that she's now wondering why she took religion. All those useless credits...
Well I can't say all were like that or anything, I was generalizing a bit. I would say at my work the best workers are women, for the most part, in my Dept, at least. Though the majority are male by far.
We have 1 young guy who is always falling asleep in the break room, which is frowned upon. He says he parties every night and averages about 2 hours sleep. I just shake my head.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-13/france-to-lose-aaa-from-s-p-afp-says-citing-state-official.html
"Nine Euro Nations’ Ratings Cut, Seven Affirmed by S&P
France and Austria lost their top credit ratings at Standard & Poor’s in a string of downgrades that left Germany with the euro area’s only stable AAA grade, hindering leaders’ efforts to stem the region’s fiscal crisis.
France and Austria were cut one level to AA+ from AAA and face the risk of further reductions, the rating company said in Frankfurt today. While Finland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg kept their AAA ratings, they were put on negative watch. Spain and Italy were also downgraded."
"“In our view, the policy initiatives taken by European policy makers in recent weeks may be insufficient to fully address ongoing systemic stresses in the euro zone,” S&P said in a statement."
"“It’s not a catastrophe,” French Finance Minister Francois Baroin told France 2 television, noting his country now has the same rating as the U.S."
LOL
Italy to BBB+, Portugal to junk.
But France and Austria downgrade reduces the size of any possible bailout packages now, as they were assumed to be backing emergency rescue Funds with their 'good' credit rating. Oops.
A fine stew. Greek final default possible in March I read.
So a volatile market is assured, for daytraders. And I'm thinking a larger downtrend could still be in play. Will gold and silver and/or the miners react well to all this? Maybe.
We are about to get a slow motion oil shock courtesy of the US embargo of Iran, if oil goes to $200+ a barrel, the global economy will have a severe recession at best.
Iran pumps 3.65 million barrels of oil per day. There production is not really replaceable, and refineries in Europe that can use oil from Iran will have to switch over to a new supplier. Which is, I dunno, none. In the short term at least.
Iran will sell all of it to China, and do it's trade with Russia and China, ignoring the boycott.
We'll pay enormous prices at the pumps, and that will kill the economy.
It's what you call a boomerang strategy.
mugabe - funny, that cat is wiser than the other 2 for sure, but he looks like he really knows how to eat for sure, rather fat
chicken little - I would say Sally should buy the mattress now, as that will allow her to get a good night's sleep and go to work refreshed, which is worth the price vs the alternatives. But I like a good night
s sleep. Zzzzz.
"We are about to get a slow motion oil shock courtesy of the US embargo of Iran..."
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Didn't they just kick that can down the road for a few months?
Pretty soon they will be kicking the whole planet down the solar system at the rate they are going.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-10-most-hated-companies-in-america.html?l=1
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/fabers-latest-rant-ecbs-back-door-monetization
"The infamous boomer (and doomer) believes (as we do) that today's downgrades are less significant for stocks (at least until the realization that banks and more importantly insurance companies are about to be cut as well - keep a close eye out on Allianz and Generali (of ASSGEN fame) - it is not incidental that they are abbreviated to A&G, just one letter away from our own AIG)..."
Somebodies ASSGEN is on the line here.
Mammoth - The oil embargo will only get tighter over time, for Western countries. So rather than a massive spike over a few days, we will most likely see small increases more frequently, as the oil price spirals upwards.
This will happen without any hostilities breaking out, over the next year or two and beyond. Unless Iran comes in out of the cold and becomes friendly - unlikely. Or it will happen very fast, with a war breaking out.
Either way, if you though gas was expensive now, it isn't.
Lwt's just say the economic outlook is, err, not overly positive.
But that does not mean that all is doom and gloom. There are always some kinds of businesses doing well, even in a recession.
I have several ideas for home operated businesses that may be of interest to you, I will e-mail you in the next few days when I have time.
Right now, it's Friday night, and after a long 13th, and week, time to relax.
It was an unlucky day for 1 guy at work, who apparently slipped on the ice and whacked his head on the pavement, and was taken to hospital, injuries unknown.
So if you thought you had a bad day, probably not that bad.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9007294/Obsessive-smart-phone-users-hear-phantom-vibrations.html
"Obsessive smart phone users hear 'phantom vibrations'
Smartphones are so addictive many users now hear "phantom vibrations" because they are desperate to receive new messages, a study has found..."
That study was about presumably somewhat older business users. The younger ones are more affected, I think, having grown up with the technology they think it is something they can't live without.
But it is not like they really know the technology, for the majority. They know how to use it, now how it works, and they seem little interested in other than that. I know far more about computers etc than just about anyone I meet. iPhone users are bad that way, as "it just works" so they never bother to look deeper. I help them navigate their settings menus, and showed them how to properly back up their data from a website I found - and I don't even own an iPhone.
"Phantom vibrations." I am not surprised. I hear my name called even when I am not being called for assistance. Ergo I have insisted on a home monitor or at least learn how to call from her phone. She is doing better.
GAW great list of most hated companies. I hate all of them.
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