No need to get into details here. We all know the routine by now. Stocks rallied off a morning low, finished higher and everyone is prepared for a Monday Melt-up. You can buy just about anything in this market and make money.
From Daily Futures:
U.S. Economy – New Home Sales Jump Higher
The U.S. Census Bureau said that new home sales were at an annual rate of 411,000 units in March, up 26.9% on the month and up 23.8% from a year ago. The figures were boosted by the government’s homebuyer tax credit. The June U.S. T-bonds are steady to lower. July lumber closed down $7.90 at $325.60. The U.S. Commerce Department said that durable goods orders were down 1.3% in March. Excluding transportation, orders were up 2.8% in March. The June 2011 eurodollars are trading lower.
Grains and Cotton
Yesterday’s 6 to 10 day forecast from the National Weather Service expects normal to above normal precipitation for most of the Midwest. July corn dropped 10.5 cents to $3.61.
Livestock
After the close, the USDA said that there were 10.769 million head of cattle on feed as of April 1st, down 3.5% from a year ago and less than expected. Placements in March were up 2.7% and marketings were up 4.3% from a year ago. June cattle were down .77 at 94.82.
After yesterday’s close, the USDA said that, as of March 31st, there were 510.5 million pounds of frozen pork in storage, down 14% from a year ago and less than expected. June hogs closed down 1.77 at 85.17, blamed on fund selling.
The USDA said that 2.21 billion pounds of beef were produced in March, up 3% from a year ago. Pork production totaled 2.04 billion pounds, up 4% from a year ago.
Cocoa
According to Bloomberg news, Fortis Bank Nederland and VM Group said that world cocoa production will fall short of consumption by 124,000 tons in 2009-2010. July cocoa closed up $59 at $3,198, the highest close in eleven weeks.
Sugar
May sugar fell .39 to 15.75, the lowest close in eleven months as the sell-off from February’s high continues.
Currencies
The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said that real GDP was up .2% in the first quarter and down .3% from a year ago, less than expected. The June British pound is steady to lower.
Eurostat said that its index of industrial new orders in the EU-27 was up 1.1% in February and up 12.7% from a year ago, a little more than expected. The June euro started the day lower, but is now trading higher.
Statistics Canada said that its consumer price index was up 1.4% in March from a year ago, down from an annual gain of 1.6% in February. Also, retail sales were up .5% in February to C$36.0 billion.
The June Japanese yen is trading lower with concerns that Japan’s economy cannot keep up with the rest of the world’s pace of growth.
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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