…..Dow record in the final seconds. Trump blasts fake news at CPAC. Spicer blocks news media at White House. Oil investors go way long on backwardation. Saudi Aramco overvalued. Exxon calls for carbon tax. Sessions brings back private prisons. JC Penney will shut down more stores. Waymo sues Uber. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 02-24-2017 DOW + 11 = 20,821 SPX + 3 = 2367 NAS + 9 = 5845 RUT – 0.1 = 1394 10 Y – .07 = 2.32% OIL – .42 = 54.03 GOLD + 7.60 = 1257.90 11 days of record breaking closes, the best streak of positive sessions since 1993. The longest streak of record breaking sessions is 14 in a row – back in 1897. For most of the day, the major indices were in negative territory; Dow futures dropped more than 100 points early in the morning, and then, in the final 17 seconds, buyers jumped in again. The Dow Industrial Average is up more than1,000 points since January 1 and almost 3,000 points since the election.  This was the third up week in a row for the Dow, and the fifth straight positive week for the S&P and Nasdaq. The 10-year Treasury note has its best week since last June. Gold is up 8 of the last 9 weeks and at its highest level since October. In economic news, U.S. new home sales rose 3.7 percent in January, below the expected increase of 6.3 percent. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment in the U.S. hit ...

…..Dow hits 10th straight record. Thus spake Mnuchin. How to create jobs. Oil inventories slim down. More jobs in wind than oil. XOM de-books oil reserves. US-Europe flights for $65. McDonald’s soda for one buck. Ghosn gone. Earnings reports. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 02-23-2017 DOW + 34 = 20,810 SPX + 0.99 = 2362 NAS – 25 = 5835 RUT – 9 = 1394 10 Y – .03 = 2.39% OIL + .77 = 54.36 GOLD + 12.10 = 1250.30 The Dow Industrial Average hit another record high close, its 10th record in a row, its longest run of record closes since 1987. Not counting record closes, the last time the Dow logged gains for 10 straight sessions was March 2013. The S&P 500 finished up a fraction of a point and just short of Tuesday’s closing record of 2,365. The benchmark index set an intraday record of 2,368.00 before retreating.   Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said today that he has asked his staff to explore having the U.S. government issue debt maturities as long as 50 years or 100 years. In an interview on CNBC, Mnuchin said he was not ready to make a “formal announcement” of a 50-year or a 100-year bond. Mnuchin repeated it was the Trump administration’s goal to have Congress complete work on a tax-reform package by August. Trump has promised a “phenomenal” tax plan by early March to cut business taxes. Paying for that “phenomenal” tax plan could require an equally phenomenal rate of ...

…..Another Dow record. Fed minutes show rate hike “fairly soon”. Existing home sales jump. Shortage of construction workers. Fannie and Freddie must pay government, not shareholders. Facebook plays ball. First Solar beats. Verizon tests 5G. UPS tests drones. Amazon Bigthanks. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 02-22-2017   DOW + 32 = 20,775 SPX – 2 = 2362 NAS – 5 = 5860 RUT – 6 = 1403 10 Y – .01 = 2.42% OIL – .76 = 53.57 GOLD + 2.50 = 1238.90 Another record high for the Dow. S&P and Nasdaq, not so much.   91 straight trading days — that is how long the S&P has gone without closing lower by 1% or more. The S&P 500 ended 1.2% down on Oct. 11 — more than four months ago — and hasn’t clocked out on such a negative note since then. The result has been a slow, steady slog to record highs. Hardly the stuff of investor euphoria or irrational exuberance; more like climbing a wall of worry. Stocks are expensive by almost any measure, and Mom and Pop investors seem skeptical, but the reality is that they have few good options but to stand on the edge of the cliff.   In mid-December, Bloomberg polled Wall Street analysts for their full-year predictions.  The average forecast for 2017 was calling for growth of 5.2 percent. The S&P 500 is already up 5.5 percent year-to-date. The average estimate was 2,364. The index touched 2,366 yesterday.   The Federal Reserve’s Federal ...

Sinclair Noe interviews Beth Kobliner, author of “Make Your Kid A Money Genius (Even If You’re Not): A Parents’ Guide for Kids 3 to 23”

…..Walmart beats; Amazon counterpunches. Macy’s slips and sells RE. Home Depot beats and buys back. Verizon will buy Yahoo with a cut. Burger King buys Popeyes. Kraft won’t buy Unilever. Sprint-TMobile. International money transfers – there’s an app. Eurozone biz activity best in 6 years. HSBC tanks. BHP profit. China stops buying coal from North Korea. Waiting on the Fed. Oil prices move higher, as OPEC cuts production but US demand drops. Trump starts deportations. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 02-21-2017 DOW + 118 = 20,743 SPX + 14 = 2365 NAS + 27 = 5865 RUT + 10 = 1410 10 Y + .01 = 2.43% OIL + .61 = 54.39 GOLD   Stock prices across the world climbed to record highs. Dow, S&P, Nasdaq, and Russell hit record highs again.   Walmart reports same-store sales in the US rose 1.8% for the quarter, the 10th straight quarterly increase. Meanwhile, e-commerce sales were up 29%, boosted by the purchase of online retailer Jet.com in September as well as online grocery. But profit fell 18% in the fourth quarter as the company invests in its online platforms; still, Walmart beat top and bottom-line estimates.   Amazon just lowered its free-shipping minimum to $35 from $49 for customers who aren’t members of its Prime membership program. The change appears to be a response to Walmart’s recent rollout of free two-day shipping for all customers on orders over $35.   Macy’s reports net income was $475 million, or $1.54 per share, down from $544 million, ...

…..Another Dow record, barely. What’s sparking the rally. It’s a mess, except it isn’t. Optimism abounds. Fed sees strengthening economy. Philly Fed Mfg Survey at 33 year high. Housing starts down but permits up. Jobless claims still look strong. $16 billion for an app – Snap. Oil higher. OPEC is cutting but US is exporting. Biggest coal plant in the west slated to close.   Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 02-16-2017 DOW + 7 = 20,619 SPX – 2 = 2347 NAS – 4 = 5814 RUT – 5 = 1399 10 Y – .05 = 2.45% OIL + .19 = 53.79 GOLD + 5.40 = 1239.60   Asian markets moved higher this morning but European exchanges were slightly lower. World stocks hit an all-time high this morning, as the MSCI’s All Country World index, which spans 46 countries, notched a record. The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have all closed at record highs for five consecutive days, something investors haven’t seen since 1992. And today the Dow, pulled out another record high close but couldn’t drag the other indices higher.   Yesterday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen was delivering her Humphrey-Hawkins testimony before the House Finance Committee and she answered a question about the market’s melt-up. She said: “I think market participants likely are anticipating shifts in fiscal policy that will stimulate growth and perhaps raise earnings.”   Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer confirmed Fed chief Janet Yellen’s message to the markets this week that the ...

…..Record highs, again for Dow, S&P, Nasdaq, and Russell.  CPI up on higher gas; + 2.5% over past year. Strong retail sales in January. Empire State MFG report strong. Yellen goes before the House. Retailers meet Trump, oppose border adjustment tax. Humana pulls out of ACA. Puzder pulls out of labor bid. Bebe won’t pull out of settlements. Time Warner votes “yes”. SoftBank buys FIG. Verizon wants a new deal. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 02-15-2017 DOW + 107 = 20,611 SPX + 11 = 2349 NAS + 36 = 5819 RUT + 7 = 1404 10 Y + .03 = 2.50% OIL – .23 = 53.48 GOLD + 5.40 = 1234.20   The consumer price index, or cost of living, rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in January. The prices Americans pay for goods and services jumped in January by the largest amount in four years, mostly because we paid more for gasoline. Also, rents and medical costs have increased. Food costs rose slightly in January but are down 2% in the past year. Headline inflation rose 2.5% over the prior year. Stripping out the volatile food and energy categories, Core consumer prices advanced a slower 0.3% in January. The core rate has moved up 2.3% in the past year. Real hourly wages fell by 0.5% in January, reflecting the squeeze put on consumers by higher gasoline prices. Real or inflation-adjusted wages are flat over the past 12 months.   Most US retailers posted strong sales in January. Retail ...

…..Four consecutive sessions with record highs. Yellen delivers Humphrey-Hawkins testimony. Labor market good, inflation warming; rate hikes are live; Dodd-Frank did not destroy lending. PPI jumps in January and 1.6% past 12 months. Flynn resigns. Mnuchin confirmed. Damn Oroville Dam. Aetna-Humana and Cigna-Anthem prove breaking up is hard to do, and costly. Hologic buys Cynosure.Burger King-Tim Hortons-Popeyes. PSA-Opel. Samsung’s Jay Y. Lee arrest warrant. Apple is really big and a 10th anniversary iPhone 8 is right around the corner. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 02-14-2017   DOW + 92 = 20,504 SPX + 9 = 2337 NAS + 18 = 5782 RUT + 4 = 1396 10 Y + .04 = 2.47% OIL + .28 = 53.71 GOLD + 3.30 = 1229.00 Four consecutive trading sessions with record highs.   Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testified before the Senate Banking Committee this morning, part of her semi-annual two-day testimony to Congress. Yellen said the labor market is basically where the Fed wants it to be, and inflation is just a little lower than their target. She said, “Waiting too long to remove accommodation would be unwise, potentially requiring [the Fed] to eventually raise rates rapidly, which could risk disrupting financial markets and pushing the economy into recession.   “At our upcoming meetings [we] will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with [the Fed’s] expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate.”   She said the Fed expected ...

Sinclair Noe interview Friedrike Fabritius, coauthor of “The Leading Brain: Powerful Science-Based Strategies for Achieving Peak Performance”

….Dow, S&P, Nasdaq, Russell all hit record high close. Markets price in best-case scenario. Yellen testimony this week in Washington. Trudeau-Trump tete a tete. Japan and China sell off US Treasuries. Oil down despite OPEC. Oroville Dam, damn. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 02-13-2017 DOW + 142 = 20412 SPX + 12 = 2328 NAS + 29 = 5763 RUT + 3 = 1392 10Y + .02 = 2.43% OIL – .98 = 52.88 GOLD + 8.20 = 1225.70   Wall Street hit record highs again. Stock markets around the world were higher this morning. The S&P 500’s market value topped $20 trillion. The markets appear to be pricing in a best-case scenario for Trump tax cuts, deregulation, plus infrastructure spending. The problem is that Washington is unlikely to deliver best-case. There are differing opinions on where to cut taxes, by how much, and when. Some of the proponents of tax cuts are also strong deficit hawks who will need to reconcile the books with more than blind faith and dynamic scoring. Even if you think you have the right economic theory, there are always unintended consequences. Don’t hold your breath waiting for tax action this year. The budget is not agile, and even if unanimity is possible (highly doubtful), it will take time. Assuming of course that there are no distractions. Good luck. Infrastructure spending is not exactly shovel ready and there will be sharp disagreements. So far, Trump’s plan largely means privatizing infrastructure development with tax credits. ...