Stocks pushed higher again on Friday as confidence builds on the belief that the Federal Reserve will soon take additional steps to keep the U.S. economy from slipping back into recession. The Fed meets Tuesday and Wednesday to review trends and, if necessary, take stimulative actions. Many observers believe this is the last chance for the Bernanke Bunch to act before the November election without risking criticism any move would have political consequences.
******
The Dow Industrials rose 155 points yesterday to 12,652. In three of the four trading sessions so far this week the Dow has closed with a triple digit move -- fortunately, two of the three have been big gains. Early trading today has prices higher again with the attention focusing now on Sunday's vote in Greece on proposed austerity plans. It seems they vote about once a month on this stuff over there and will probably keep holding elections until they get the results they want.
******
Stocks are holding on to decent gains this morning despite a disappointing report on consumer confidence. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell in the first two weeks of June to the lowest level since December. Stock market volatility and concerns about the job market were blamed for the decline despite the fact gasoline prices have declined sharply. The survey is based on how people feel about their own finances as well as business conditions.
******
Mortgage interest rates did something in the past week they haven't done for nearly two months: go up. The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan ticked up slightly to 3.71 percent and the rate on a one-year adjustable dipped a bit to 2.78 percent. It is amazing to see the difference on the rate for a 30-year and one-year loans to be just 1.0 percent.
******
ARC, the financial arm of the U.S. travel industry, says air ticket sales by U.S. travel agents are running about 7 percent higher this year than in 2011. In the period between January and the end of May ticket sales totaled $39.3 billion, up from $36.6 billion last year. The report also shows passenger segments -- flights from one airport to another -- totaled 150.1 million segment, up just slightly from last year. The message: the cost per flight is up sharply.
******
Don't forget Sunday is Father's Day. The National Retail Federation says folks will spend $12.7 billion on dear old dad this year, with the most popular activity being taking him out for a meal or to a sporting event. Many of us dads would probably prefer a nice home cooked meal so we can stay at home to watch the final round of the U.S. Open. By the way, people spend a lot more on mom than they do on dad on their day of recognition. The NRF estimated Mother's Day spending this year topped $18.6 billion.
******
Speaking of golf, it's been said no one ever wins a golf tournament on Thursday, but lots of players have lost a tournament during the first round. That certainly seems to be the case at this year’s U.S. Open in San Francisco. The scoreboard after the first round is littered with terrible performances by many of the pre-tourney favorites. Last year's champ, Rory McIlroy carded a 77, putting him 11 strokes behind the leader, Michael Thompson. To put McIlroy's round in perspective, he is only two strokes ahead of a 14-year old amateur, Andy Zhang. The dream threesome of Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson resulted in only one good round -- Tiger's solid 69. You can bet there are a lot of guys scared silly Tiger is back. Phil shot a 76 and Bubba, who looked like a spoiled baby, carded a 78, complaining the course didn't fit his game. That might explain why Bubba did his pre-Open practice down here at Torrey Pines. A friend said he was having lunch at the Lodge last week and bumped into Bubba making the turn on the South Course. To be fair, a lot of players had trouble yesterday. Only six of them posted sub-par rounds.
******
It may not be time to break up the Padres. The team swept the Seattle Mariners and put together its first three-game winning streak of the season. Keep it going guys.
Press ESC | Close [X]
