Market News

[James48843]

Both the Dow and the Nasdaq open higher this morning.

In the first minute of trade, we have :

Dow

0.33% Nasdaq

0.16%

Looks like the Santa Rally continues.

 

[weatherweenie]

briefing.com
09:45 am : Stocks open modestly lower on a pair of weaker than expected economic reports and news that Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed by a suicide bomber.
On the economic front, durable goods orders rose by 0.1%, which was lower than the expectation of a 2.0% rise. Separately, weekly initial jobless claims came in at 349K. Economists expected a reading of 340K.
Goldman Sachs said that Citigroup (C) may cut its dividend by 40% and may write-down $18.7 billion in debt, which is higher than previous estimate of $11 billion. Goldman also said it expects a larger write-down at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Merill Lynch (MER). This news did not have much of an effect on the broader market in futures trading, which is a stark contrast to a month ago when it would have slammed the entire market.DJ30 -66.82 NASDAQ -10.72 SP500 -7.42

 

[weatherweenie]

10:00 am : Just hitting the wires, the Conference Board said December consumer confidence rose to 88.6. A reading of 87.0 was expected. The major indices did not react much to the data, as they continue to post a loss.

 

[weatherweenie]

December Chicago PMI will be released at 9:45 ET, and November new home sales will be released at 10:00 ET. Economists expect the PMI reading to dip to 52.0 and 715K new home sales.

 

[weatherweenie]

Chicago PMI, a regional manufacturing survey, came in at 56.6. Economists expected a reading of 52.0. A reading above 50 reflects growth.

 

[weatherweenie]

New-Home Sales Plunge to Lowest Level in More Than 12 Years

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes plunged last month to their lowest level in more than 12 years, a grim testament to the problems plaguing the housing sector.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that new-home sales tumbled by 9 percent in November from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000. That was the worst showing since April 1995, when the pace of sales was 621,000.
The sales pace for November was much weaker than economists were expecting. They were predicting sales in the weakest sector of the economy to drop by around 1.8 percent, to a pace of 715,000.

 

[weatherweenie]

8:00am ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +9.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.5. Stock futures suggest a positive opening, as some investors look for bargains following last week’s sharp decline. Also aiding the positive start, McDonald's Corp. (MCD) is planning to install coffee bars at its U.S. locations beginning this year in a move to capture customers from a weakened Starbucks (SBUX). The Consumer Electronics Show is underway in Las Vegas from January 7-10, and should bring some attention to the tech sector.

 

[weatherweenie]

8:29am ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +9.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +9.3. Early indications continue to point to a higher start. Oil is down 0.1% to $97.76 per barrel, after topping $100 for the first time last week. There were a few brokerage rating changes of note this morning. IBM (IBM) is modestly lower in pre-market trading after being downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS. Best Buy (BBY) is poised for a lower start after being downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Bear Stearns.

 

[weatherweenie]

8:59am ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +10.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.0. The stock market is poised for a positive start to trading. The economic calendar is empty today, but Atlanta Fed President Lockhart will speak on the U.S. economic outlook at 12:40 ET. Also, President Bush and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson are slated to speak about the economy, according to CNN.com.

 

[weatherweenie]

Stocks Move Lower After White House Warns Iran About Provocation in the Strait of Hormuz

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street pulled back Monday after the Bush administration warned Iran following an incident involving that country's forces and three U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080107/wall_street.html

 

[weatherweenie]

Pain Street USA: '08 housing outlook

The forecast is for a longer, deeper home-price slump than previously expected, with double-digit declines in many markets.

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/pain_street_usa_2008_housing_outlook.html

 

[weatherweenie]

NOAA: Sunspot is Harbinger of New Solar Cycle, Increasing Risk for Electrical Systems​

​

A new 11-year cycle of heightened solar activity, bringing with it increased risks for power grids, critical military, civilian and airline communications, GPS signals and even cell phones and ATM transactions, showed signs it was on its way late yesterday when the cycle’s first sunspot appeared in the sun’s Northern Hemisphere, NOAA scientists said.

“This sunspot is like the first robin of spring,” said solar physicist Douglas Biesecker of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. “In this case, it’s an early omen of solar storms that will gradually increase over the next few years.”

A sunspot is an area of highly organized magnetic activity on the surface of the sun. The new 11-year cycle, called Solar Cycle 24, is expected to build gradually, with the number of sunspots and solar storms reaching a maximum by 2011 or 2012, though devastating storms can occur at any time.

During a solar storm, highly charged material ejected from the sun may head toward Earth, where it can bring down power grids, disrupt critical communications, and threaten astronauts with harmful radiation. Storms can also knock out commercial communications satellites and swamp Global Positioning System signals. Routine activities such as talking on a cell phone or getting money from an ATM machine could suddenly halt over a large part of the globe.

“Our growing dependence on highly sophisticated, space-based technologies means we are far more vulnerable to space weather today than in the past,” said Vice AdmiralConrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA’s space weather monitoring and forecasts are critical for the nation’s ability to function smoothly during solar disturbances.”

Last April, in coordination with an international panel of solar experts, NOAA issued a forecast that Solar Cycle 24 would start in March 2008, plus or minus six months. The panel was evenly split between those predicting a strong or weak cycle. Both camps agree that the sooner the new cycle takes over the waning previous cycle, the more likely that it will be a strong season with many sunspots and major storms, said Biesecker. Many more sunspots with Solar Cycle 24 traits must emerge before scientists consider the new cycle dominant, with the potential for more frequent storms.

The new sunspot, identified as #10,981, is the latest visible spot to appear since NOAA began numbering them on January 5, 1972. Its high-latitude location at 27 degrees North, and its negative polarity leading to the right in the Northern Hemisphere are clear-cut signs of a new solar cycle, according to NOAA experts. The first active regions and sunspots of a new solar cycle can emerge at high latitudes while those from the previous cycle continue to form closer to the equator.

SWPC is the nation’s first alert for solar activity and its affects on Earth. The center’s space weather forecasters issue outlooks for the next 11-year solar “season” and warn of individual storms occurring on the Sun that could impact Earth. SWPC is one of NOAA’s nine National Centers for Environmental Prediction and is also the warning agency of the International Space Environment Service (ISES), a consortium of 11 member nations.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

On the Web:
SWPC: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov
Solar Cycle forecast: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2847.htm

​

 

[weatherweenie]

Pending Home Sales Plunge Nearly 20% in November From Year Earlier and Fall 2.6% From October.

 

[weatherweenie]

Briefing.com
10:05 am : Stocks extend their gains with all ten economic sectors in positive territory. Just reported, November pending home sales fell 2.6%, compared to the expected decline of 0.7%. The prior reading was revised up to 3.7% from a gain of 0.6%, which is offsetting some of the disappointment in November's weaker than expected sales.

 

[weatherweenie]

Boston Fed President Rosengren said if forecasts are correct, the U.S. will have the longest housing investment decline in 50 years.

 

[weatherweenie]

Briefing.com
The small-cap Russell 2000 Index was outperforming its large-cap counterparts earlier in the day, but is now underperforming after renewed credit concerns took a toll. Mid-cap stocks are also underperforming.

 

[weatherweenie]

Goldman Sachs said the U.S. is probably slipping into recession, according to Bloomberg.

 

[weatherweenie]

08:59 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -2.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.0. Futures shed a few points and now point to a slightly lower open. Fitch Ratings said it would affirm MBIA’s credit rating if its $1 billion offering is successful, according to Dow Jones, the stock is set to open higher. Dow Component Alcoa (AA) marks the start of earnings season with its report after the close. Crude (-0.2% to $96.12) is trading slightly lower ahead of the government’s weekly energy inventory report at 10:30 ET.

 

[weatherweenie]

Briefing.com:
St. Louis Fed President Poole painted a more positive picture after he said U.S. economic fundamentals remain strong and 2008 looks to be a year of rising growth. He also noted it is too early to tell if housing problems will push the economy into a recession. He said low inflation expectations give the Fed "breathing room," indicating the Fed may cut interest rates further. He believes it would be a mistake to say that a recession is clearly at hand. Poole is not a voting FOMC member in 2008, but was in 2007.

 

[presskh]

Kass says Fed will cut rates "momentarily"

Doug Kass (The Street) says that the Fed will be easing rates "momentarily".

http://www.thestreet.com/s/kass-fed-is-cutting-soon/newsanalysis/investing/10397800.html?puc=_tsccom