Friends
Stocks gave back all of yesterday’s gains and then some today. Worries over Spain and Italy’s bond yields, and the Eurozone in general, sent the Euro tumbling, which sent yields on the 10 year treasury note to an all-time low as investors continue to head for the “safety” of the U. S. dollar denominated securities. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 160 points to close at 12,419. The S&P 500 was down 19 points to finish the day at 1313. Gold was up $15 to trade at $1566 per ounce. Oil was down $3.15 to finish trading at $87.01 per barrel WTI.
One would hope that falling oil and commodity prices should be good for the U.S consumer as summer is almost upon us. As Wall Street struggles with a collapsing Euro and a rising dollar, the beneficiary should be the Main Street consumer here in the U.S. For the last three years, Wall Street has benefited from “easy money” Fed policies and a falling dollar, but the U.S. citizen (if he does not own stocks) has seen little benefit. Perhaps a strong dollar and lower energy prices will help to stimulate confidence in the U.S. Now if we can only get our political house in order.
Interestingly as of today, 60% of the companies in the S&P 500 have dividends that now yield more than the 10 year treasury note. Just food for thought.
We get a lot of economic numbers the next 2 days. We’ll keep you informed.
Have a nice evening everyone.
