Good morning. Happy Friday.
So last night I logged in and checked yahoo sports to see when the Bears play. Then I realized today was Friday, not Sunday. That ought to tell you where my mind is.
Now until after New Years is considered a journalistic black hole. If you’re trying to hide something, this is the time to make it public because very few will notice. So news out today and next week might be more important than you think.
In Asia/Pacific, several were closed today. India lost 2.5% and Japan gained 1.6%
Europe was closed.
Futures here in the States point towards a gap up open. Nas 100 futures are up 9 (0.76%) to trade at 1189 while SPX futures are up 4.75 (0.55%) to trade at 869.75.
Japan’s contracting economy got a slew of bad news Friday when government figures showed that industrial production plunged by its biggest margin on record in November, the jobless rate jumped and household spending fell.
Not surprising, Americans spent much less on gifts this year than last. According to SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard Advisors, retail sales dropped between 5.5 and 8% overall and 2 – 4% when not including gas and autos. To me, this doesn’t seem like enough of a drop. People are still spending beyond their means. Imagine when they start cutting back? But sales numbers are expected to be salvaged with huge discounts from now until the end of the year.
The annual survey by the Washington, D.C.-based National League of Cities found that city officials are more pessimistic about the economy than at any time in the past 20 years. Some findings of the NLC’s Dec. 19 survey:
- — Six in 10 city officials reported that overall economic conditions have worsened during the last year.
- — Seven in 10 officials reported that overall economic conditions are either a major problem (19 percent) or moderate problem (50 percent) for their city.
- — City officials from all types of metropolitan areas were more likely to say foreclosures have worsened in the past year than to report improvements. Those include major cities (78 percent), inner ring suburbs (68 percent) and newer suburbs (57 percent).
- — One in two city officials say that their ability to finance city services is either a major problem (36 percent) or moderate problem (18 percent).
- — Four in 10 city officials report that the availability of affordable health care and health services has worsened over the past year. Eight in 10 report that health care is either a major or moderate problem for their city.
A push is being made to transition GMAC Financial Services into a bank holding company. This will help GM survive longer, but they lose control of the entity.
FMC Tech (FTI) is buying a 45% stake in Schilling Robotics.
Acacia (ACTG), which develops, acquires and licenses patented technologies, has bought the rights to a patent related to wireless data technology.
Toyota (TM) has recalled more than 120,000 cars in China.
Japanese auto production has marked its worst drop since 1967.
Micron (MU) reported a wider than expected loss for its first quarter.
Gold is up 0.31% and Silver is up 0.58%
Crude oil is up 1.02 to trade at 36.37.
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