The bull is on one heck of a streak in November. Today was another good day for bulls in just about every asset class. How long can everything keep rising? Apparently, as long as there is money sloshing around. The S&P 500 finished the day 0.5% higher to close at 1098.
U.S. Economy
U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner said that he wants a strong U.S. dollar, but of course, the Fed is not raising interest rates so the market isn’t paying much attention. The December U.S. dollar index was up .15 at 75.26.
Due to Veteran’s Day, U.S. government offices are closed. The December U.S. T-bonds closed up 31/32nds at 119.12/32nds, the highest close in a week.
China’s central bank said in a monetary policy statement that they will begin again to allow a gradual increase in their currency, the yuan. A growing chorus of international critics have accused China of an unfair balance of economic activity, due to the artificially low yuan.
Grains and Cotton
Today’s 6 to 10 day forecast from the National Weather Service is still expecting above average temperatures for most of the U.S. The Midwest is enjoying another favorable day of weather for harvesting. December corn closed down a half-cent at $3.94.
Livestock
The USDA announced that it will buy $50 million of pork along with other food products for various food programs (like school lunches). December hogs ended down .02 at 55.60.
Metals
China’s Bureau of Statistics said that industrial production was up 16.1% in October from a year ago, stronger than expected. On the other hand, the Customs Office said that China’s copper and products imports were down 34% in October. December copper closed up .0045 at $2.9660.
December gold finished up $12.10 at a new contract high of $1,114.60 with ongoing support from the Federal Reserve’s policy of low interest rates.
Energies
The weekly U.S. crude oil inventory report will be released tomorrow morning because today is Veteran’s Day. December crude oil was up .23 at $79.28.
Currencies
The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said that the unemployment rate for July to September was 7.8%, down from 7.9% a month ago and better than expected. The December British pound closed down 1.81 cents at $1.6553.
Japan’s Cabinet Office said that machinery orders were up 10.5% in September, more than expected. Some are saying that this may mark the end of the decline in capital spending. The December yen ended down .0018 at 1.1125.
Source: DF
Mr. Roche is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds.Discipline Funds is a low fee financial advisory firm with a focus on helping people be more disciplined with their finances.
He is also the author of Pragmatic Capitalism: What Every Investor Needs to Understand About Money and Finance, Understanding the Modern Monetary System and Understanding Modern Portfolio Construction.
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