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Dow

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Real consumer spending in the United States rose 0.4% in October following two lukewarm months, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Core inflation rose slightly faster than expected at 0.2%, keeping the year-over-year gain in the core personal consumption expenditure price index at 2.4%, well above the Federal Reserve's implied cap of 2%. Economists had been expecting core prices to rise just 0.1%. Nominal incomes rose 0.4%, the weakest growth since June, and a tenth lower than expected. However, with prices falling 0.2%, real (inflation-adjusted) after-tax incomes rose 0.6%, the second-best growth in more than a year. Nominal spending increased 0.2 in October, a tick higher than the 0.1% expected.   

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Mr Bull is looking for a break tonight.

 

Tonite economic data to be out below in S'pore time:

2130hrs - Jobless claims
2130hrs - Personal income
2130hrs - Consumer spending
2300hrs- Chicago PMI
2300hrs - Help wanted index
0530hrs - Money supply (M2)

 

NEW YORK - Former

Federal Reserve Chairman

Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday that the worst of the housing adjustment was over, and that he was preparing to publish an analysis of the "serious dispute" over the true effect of mortgage wealth on consumer spending.

Housing starts and other data indicated the dampening effect that a slow housing market had on gross domestic product was at its maximum in the third quarter, when growth slowed to a weaker-than-expected 1.6 percent annual rate, he said at an investor conference organized by investment bank Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc.

Greenspan said he expected inventory levels to come down at a "reasonably rapid pace" and that "it looks as though sales figures have stabilized." But he also said there would be actual price declines in housing. "That will have some impact on consumer expenditures," he said. "We haven't seen it yet."

Separately, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that the median price of a home dropped to $221,000 in October, a decline of 3.5 percent from a year ago. It was the biggest year-over-year price decline on record for an asset that many Americans use as a gauge of their financial well-being.

The question over mortgage equity extraction was whether equity that is extracted is "acting as a proxy for all types of financing of goods that would've been bought anyway."

"The debate going on is a very interesting one, but I would say is inconclusive," Greenspan said.

The paper Greenspan is co-writing will include data on gross equity extraction dating to 1968 and a more detailed analysis of data from 1991 to the present. He did not say when the research would be released.

He also spoke on topics ranging from the burden of the Sarbanes-Oxley law, the transfer of workers from centrally controlled economies to market-based ones, the separation of banking from commerce and the appeal of gold.

While he said it was difficult to tell whether Sarbanes-Oxley has affected capital investment, he was critical of the accounting aspects of the landmark 2002 reform law. He said most of the law is a "cost-creator with no benefit I'm aware." Greenspan said the whole process of accounting dictated by the regulation is essentially a diversion that keeps chief executives from doing what they should be, namely thinking through projects, instead of figuring out how to stay out of jail.

He said regulators were examining regulatory adjustments but he believed there should be statutory changes in the law.

"I hope it happens before the whole financial system walks off to London," he said.

Greenspan, who retired as Fed chairman in January, is writing a book and runs Greenspan Associates, a consulting firm in Washington, D.C.

 

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rallied to a sharply higher close Wednesday after third-quarter economic growth was revised higher and inflation was revised lower, while Intel Corp. and Verizon Communications provided support following positive broker comment.

The afternoon release of the Federal Reserve's "beige book' survey of economic conditions also comforted investors about the economy.

A sharp rise in crude oil prices to back above $62 a barrel failed to dent the rally. Energy shares rose with higher oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 90 points at 12,227, a bit below an intraday high of 12,234.

Dow component Intel Corp. rose 1.4% after UBS reiterated a buy on the stock, citing a "positive" meeting with Intel chief executive Paul Otellini.

The S&P 500 gained 12 points to 1,398, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 19 points to 2,432.

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.2% annual pace in the third quarter, faster than the initial estimate of 1.6%, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday in its first revision to the gross domestic product report. Economists expected growth to be revised to 1.8%. See full story.

The report helped support the dollar, which has been a focus of concern for the market recently, amid concerns that a fast-falling housing market may lead to a hard landing for the economy.

Another report showing new home sales fell 3.2% in October was still positive for the market as it helped support the case that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to stave off slowing growth next year, according to Robert Pavlik, chief investment officer at Oaktree Asset Management. See full story.

Finally, the Fed's beige book said economic conditions have improved slightly over the past month, with most districts reporting moderate growth. See full story.

According to Stephen Sachs, head of trading at Rydex investments, the market is still rebounding from its big drop on Monday, when investors used "dollar weakness as an excuse" to sell.

"It had been a while since we'd had a day like [Monday], so today it's still a rebound," Sachs said.

"I still believe it's a coin toss whether or not we go into recession next year, but trading institutions are still plowing money into U.S. equities, so we should continue [seeing gains] until at least year end."

Investor sentiment had already returned to positive on Tuesday, as the market didn't succumb to the heavy selling pressure seen on Monday, said Oaktree's Pavlik.

"The smart money knows that's there are a lot of under-invested portfolio managers who need to get their positions up, and this smart money still sees more upside potential," Pavlik said.

"The lack of continuation of a slide made people come back with even more interest," he said. "While we're still trying to gauge at which stage of the economic cycle we're in, [investors] will focus on asset allocation."

Trading volume was 1.6 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.91 billion on the Nasdaq.

Gaining issues outpaced decliners 13 to 3 on the Big Board and 20 to 9 on the Nasdaq.

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Yes, 93pts. very close to my prediction.

Another 30 pts for STI, 180 pts for nikkei.

HSI ??? pts

Cheers to those who vested in index call warrants.

 

Ya ya ya...

THE BULL IS STILL CHARGING!!!  confirmed... Dow UP 95 pts!

This is good news, man.

 

http://money.cnn.com/data/markets/index.html, still climbing, my take :)) tonite DOW will end GreeN. Nikkei to follow Dow, Hang Seng to follow Nikkei, STI will follow behind, follow by big blue sti index stocks (which claim among top traded in today (Wed) top 20 sgx list), last but not the least follow by small boys to cheongg...liao, some small flavourable stocks this time will to claim d top 10 among top 20 sgx listed in volume been trade...Hemm...Let see how my intuitive work it out on it perspective STI, same goes to Ou...  

 

Must close with volume to confirm the bull is back. still early..

 

don't worry, predict to close between 75 and 90 pts or at least above 12,200pts.

 

Oil above 61 liao .....

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Energy Department said crude supplies fell for the first time in five weeks, down 300,000 barrels at 340.8 million for the week ended Nov. 24. Motor gasoline supplies fell 600,000 barrels to 201.1 million. Distillate inventories stocks fell for an eighth-straight week, down 1 million barrels to total 132.8 million barrels. Following the news, January crude rose 56 cents to $61.55 a barrel. December unleaded gas added 1.09 cents to $1.6375 a gallon and December heating oil traded at $1.755 a gallon, up 2.67 cents.  
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Energy dept oil stock data just out .... Cruel oil supply down 300,000 barrels last week. No wonder US market dipped now.

 

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of new homes fell 3.2% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.004 million, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday.

New-home sales are now down 25.4% in the past year. Measured out over the first 10 months of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005, sales are down 17.9%.

Economists had been expecting a decline to an annualized rate of about 1.04 million new homes sold for October.

Meanwhile, the volume of new homes on the market dropped 0.7% to 558,000, marking the third straight decline. The inventory represents a seven-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 6.7 months in September; it peaked at 7.2 months in July.

Sales are reported when a contract is signed, not at the closing of the sale. Home builders have reported a large increase in cancellations in recent months. Cancellations are not reflected in the government data, so the reported sales are likely overstated.

The government cautions that its housing data are subject to large sampling and other statistical errors. Large revisions are common, and it can take up to six months for a trend in sales to emerge.

The standard error of 11.2% is so high, in fact, that the government cannot be sure sales decreased at all in October. The 3.2% decline is statistically meaningless.

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New home sales fell and US market still strong .... Strange, but shiok! Think analysts were expecting a higher dip? Or investors are buying into the market on the better Q3 GDP data?

Dow up 73 points and Nasdaq up 20 points now.

 

after the correction, bull continue to cheong!

 

New home sales data just out .... Fell by 3.2% in October. Watch Dow and Nasdaq reaction below:

    

      DOW                      NASDAQ

 

Yea, but that 'long tail' hanging down from the top on yesterdays Dow chart is so frightening even now.

Doesn't that odd long tail (28 Nov) jutting out from the neat well-formed columns of many months make the Dow look precarious?

 

Tomorrow is last day of November .... A pretty good rally month this! :)

 

Let's hope this is not  a a retracement, then tomorrow all can still party :)

 

Opening bells liao .... Dow up 38 points and Nasdaq up 15 points now. Let's see what happens at 2300hrs. :O