Stocks Fail to Extend Rally; Oil Flat; JP Morgan, Wells Fargo Declare 1Q Earnings

Last week's furious rally failed to extend over into Monday's trading as news flow trended negatively.

Given the number of new cases and deaths worldwide from COVID-19, the pain and suffering of millions around the world out of work and isolated in their homes, it's surprising that Wall Street can even muster enough capital for any kind of rally.

Conditions have not changed from the onset of COVID-19's spread, only the Federal Reserve's commitment to suspend reality and boost stocks through various band-aids and stop gap measures has. The only reason stocks managed to gain any ground last week was due to trillions of dollars pumped into the hands of primary dealers via repos, debt purchases, foreign debt purchases, and promises from various Fed presidents to keep the currency spigots wide open.

The lunacy of these efforts is astounding. Desperate to save face and completely devoid of any tools to bring the economy back to their stated mandates of full employment and no inflation, the Fed has expanded its own balance sheet to the point at which it needed funding from the US treasury, a backhanded bailout of the central bank, using some $400-500 billion from Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund.

Oil prices barely budged after the hurried agreement by OPEC+ and other countries will slash production by as much as 10 million barrels a day, roughly 10 percent of global supply. WTI crude closed Monday at $22.41. Efforts to raise the price of oil worldwide were seen as mostly a publicity stunt, as the problem is more a lack of demand than of oversupply. Producers would be best served to stop pumping as storage facilities are near capacity already and the lockdowns in major countries remain weeks away.

Treasury yields rose on the long end, with the 30-year bond at 1.39% and the 10-year note rising three basis points to 0.76%. The curve steepened slightly to 122 basis points.

JP Morgan Chase (JPM) announced first quarter earnings prior to the opening bell Tuesday that were the lowest since 2013, warned of a fairly severe recession ahead and set aside $8.29 billion for bad loans, the biggest provision in at least a decade and more than double what some analysts expected.

The bank reported EPS of 78 cents on revenue of $29.07 billion. Net interest income was flat at $14.5 billion.

Wells Fargo (WFC) reported EPS of 1 cent per share on revenue of $17.7 billion as a $3.1 billion reserve build accounted for 56 cents per share and a $950 million impairment of securities accounted for 17 cents a share. Net interest income fell 8% to $11.3 billion. This bank is essentially insolvent, as is the Federal Reserve, the ECB, BOJ, PBOC and hundreds of other money center banks.

Other money center banks also report this week. Wednesday Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup release their reports. Morgan Stanley’s announcement is scheduled for Thursday.

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit on higher sales of its cancer drugs and consumer products including Tylenol, while slashing its full-year forecast due to the coronavirus shutdowns.

Shares of the company, which raised its dividend by 6.3% to $1.01 per share, rose 3% to $144 in trading before the bell.

The company now expects 2020 adjusted earnings per share of $7.50 to $7.90, compared with its prior estimate of $8.95 to $9.10.

Gold and silver posted modest gains on the day. In case anyone was skeptical over Money Daily's call for $100 silver and a 16:1 gold:silver ratio in Sunday's Weekend Wrap (below), perhaps a gander at Mike Maloney's call for $700 silver a few years ago at goldsilver.com, may be in order:



At the Close, Monday, April 13, 2020:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 23,390.77, -328.60 (-1.39%)
NASDAQ: 8,192.42, +38.85 (+0.48%)
S&P 500: 2,761.63, -28.19 (-1.01%)
NYSE: 10,949.53, -187.08 (-1.68%)

Many Signs Beginning to Appear That Signal the End of the Bull Run

These times, trying for some, are inscrutable for others.

While a small fraction of the population can see the changes in culture, society and technology clear as day, the majority only gets a grasp of the situation when the changes have taken hold and new trends already developed.

We are currently in a period of great change. Two years from today, one will not recognize America. Other countries will undergo massive upheavals. It is already underway.

Look around. The kinds of people - average, middle class folks - you used to see on a regular basis are gone, replaced by walking zombies on food stamps. Get used to it. The welfare-police state is upon us. Alternately, the people who have seen this coming are preparing to prosper. It will get worse before it improves, but, when the current power structure and domination of mega-corporations ultimately fails, small businesses, which have been under the thumb from competition from larger rivals and government regulations gone wild, will emerge, grow and prosper. It's just a matter of time.

As for today's roller-coaster on Wall Street, the movements were up, down, up, with the Dow closing at the mid-point of its 62-point high of the day and the -142-point lows, but still in the red. The S&P and NASDAQ finished with gains, though small.

Reporting prior to the opening bell, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported better-than-expected earnings, but finished the day lower on poor guidance. A similar scenario played out for insurance giant, Travelers (TRV), and cell carrier, Verizon (VZ).

Following the trading close, IBM reported an earnings beat (6.13 ex-items vs. 5.99 est.), but a huge miss on revenues. Analysts were looking for $28.25 billion and got only $27.70 billion.

Sadly, for Big Blue, they are trading at roughly an 11 P/E multiple. The company is a dinosaur and headed for extinction, though that reality is still a way off.

Another slow-footed beast, Texas Instruments (TXN) reported 0.46 per share on revenue of $3.03 billion. Both of these tech behemoths were trading lower in after-hours, with IBM down nearly three percent. Dead money. It's what's not for dinner.

Among the more obvious signs that change is permanent and the bull market in stocks is coming ever closer to a crashing climax:

• Sears, JC Penny and Target.
• Analyst on CNBC says stocks will fall 10%, then fumbles targets of 16,000 on the Dow and 1800 on the S&P. Basic math: FAIL.
• Chris Christie
• Hillary
• Mohamed El-Erian steps down as Pimco CEO
• Another former Pimco exec, Neel Kashkari announces he is running for governor of California.
• Complaints that the Dow is down because some stocks are priced too high. (At least there's a solution for that.)

More are certain to follow.

DOW 16,414.44, -44.12 (-0.27%)
NASDAQ 4,225.76, +28.18 (+0.67%)
S&P 1,843.80, +5.10 (+0.28%)
10-Yr Note 99.30, +0.18 (+0.18%) Yield: 2.83%
NASDAQ Volume 1.91 Bil
NYSE Volume 3.75 Bil
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3649-2079
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 466-36
WTI crude oil: 94.99, +0.62
Gold: 1,241.80, -10.10
Silver: 19.87, -0.434
Corn: 425.00, +1.00

Pandit Resigns from CITI; IBM Revenue Miss; Greece Talks Stall; Farm Notes

It was a busy day on Wall Street, with stocks closing at or very near their highs of the day, the two-day rally this week nearly recouping the losses from the prior week on the Dow and S&P, though the NASDAQ, hardest hit last week, has recovered only about 1/2 of its losses.

Stocks got an early boost when Coca-Cola (KO) matched earnings estimates of 50 cents per share and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported third quarter earnings, excluding special items, of $1.25 per share. Analysts, on average, expected $1.21 per share. Both companies are components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Goldman Sachs (GS), the nation's fifth largest bank by assets (though even though hastily granted a commercial bank charter in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, has yet to open a single retail branch), also beat lowered estimates, citing debt investments and underwriting fees as the main profit drivers.

Industrial production grew by 0.4%, capacity utilization increased slightly from 78.2% to 78.3% in September and the CPI ratcheted up 0.6% in September, due mostly to higher food and fuel costs, which explains why the "official" core rate of an 0.1% increase excludes those necessities. On an annual basis, the September CPI translates into 7.2% inflation, which is probably less than it actually is in the new, Fed-funded world of bizarro-finance.

The big news was the abrupt departure of Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit and COO John P. Havens, just a day after the company reported third quarter earnings. According to published reports, Citi's board of directors had been plotting Pandit's retirement for months, though Pandit himself said it was soley his decision.

Pandit's departure sent shock waves through executive offices at Fortune 500 companies and elsewhere, as apparently, there are still some BODs that are not rubber-stamping mechanisms.

Stocks got off to a fast start with most of the gains made in the morning, with small additions in the afternoon.

After the bell, IBM reported earnings in line with expectations, but missed on revenue of $24.7 billion, down from $25.8 billion in Q2, setting up for a testy open on Wednesday. Shares of Big Blue were down five points in after hours trading.

The Euro gained sharply against the dollar, boosting US shares even more as the dollar cheapened, but, in news generally sealed off from the US, Greece's talks with the troika fell apart over further austerity measures with negotiators walking out of meetings.

That late-breaking news, combined with the results from IBM and the scoring of tonight's presidential debate will set the tone for the open on Wednesday.

Farm Notes: Did you know that the agribusiness model that the large corporate farms employ (row planting and harvesting) wastes land, water and valuable resources, besides putting harmful chemicals - through the use of pesticides and fertilizers - to produce crops that are significantly less-protein rich than vegetables grown in the average backyard garden?

Also, using intensive gardening methods such as those used for centuries in France and elsewhere, the same amount of vegetables that an agribusiness farm can produce on one acre can be produced on 1/10th or less of an acre with less fertilizer, water and no pesticides.

Gardening, in America and elsewhere, isn't just about a pasttime or a hobby. It's about reclaiming the economy and moral high ground from corporations and the wasteful practices promoted by the Department of Agriculture.

Dow 13,551.78, +127.55 (0.95%)
NASDAQ 3,101.17, +36.99 (1.21%)
S&P 500 1,454.92, +14.79 (1.03%)
NYSE Composite 8,386.47, +92.97 (1.12%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,735,765,375.00
NYSE Volume 3,539,692,250
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3861-1630
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 278-40
WTI crude oil: 92.09, +0.24
Gold: 1,746.30, +8.70
Silver: 32.96, +0.216

Dow, S-P, NYSE All Hit New 2009 Highs

On the day Americans celebrate the man who discovered our continent - Christopher Columbus - investors were discovering new 2009 highs on three of the four major indices. The Dow Jones Industrials, S&P 500 and NYSE Composite all closed at highs of the year, with the Dow eclipsing an intra-day high with the new mark now 9931.82, just 69 points shy of the enormously psychological 10,000 mark.

Stocks were up sharply in the opening hour, but weakened into the afternoon, and sold off sharply between 2:00 and 2:30 pm, sending the Dow and NASDAQ into negative territory. The Dow recovered to close modestly positive, but the NASDAQ, surprisingly weak on the session, finished fractionally lower. It was the only major index to close in the red. The sudden drop on the indices, though very sharp, was probably due to options expiration this week, as a major trader likely closed a large number of positions. The general market didn't seem to make much of it, as all of the indices recovered nicely with strong buying into the close.

Interestingly, the Dow Jones Transports sported solid gains on the day. The transports have been something of a laggard in recent sessions, but showed remarkable strength into the close, led by Ryder Systems (R) nearly 10% one-day move.

The act that the Transportation Index also closed at a new 2009 high is a bullish signal, inferring that rail and truck transport - the things that move goods across the nation and to the ports - are showing signs of recovery. Those issues are at the bottom of the economy, with shipping of energy - coal, natural gas, oil - and goods of all manner on the rise.

Dow 9,885.80, +20.86 (0.21%)
NASDAQ 2,139.14, -0.14 (0.01%)
S&P 500 1,076.18, +4.69 (0.44%)
NYSE Composite 7,051.16, +35.62 (0.51%)

Market internals were positive, in line with the headline numbers. Advancing issues beat decliners, 3386-3002, though there were quite a few more losers than gainers on the NASDAQ. There were 731 new highs to 67 new lows, a bullish sign. The new high-new low indicator has been the most reliable metric for market movement, though there is some fear that stocks may be getting to an overbought condition as earnings begin rolling out. Companies will have to show top-line growth this quarter in order to keep pace with their high valuations.

Volume was low due to the observance of Columbus Day.

NYSE Volume 4,169,401,250
NASDAQ Volume 1,758,818,250

Commodities were a big story on the day. Oil sipped past the $73.00 mark, gaining $1.50, to close at $73.27. Gold caught a bid higher, by $8.90, to finish at $1,057.50. Silver also gained 13 cents, to $17.82. The resumption of the rally in the precious metals seems to have been re-ignited by oil's gains.

The only notable earnings-related news was from Black & Decker, which pre-announced better-than-expected results. Market direction for Tuesday may be guided by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), which is supposed to released 3rd quarter earnings prior to the bell. There will be some anticipation concerning Intel (INTC), which reports after the close.

More Reality Checks

US equity markets suffered through a second straight losing session on Tuesday, amid skyrocketing oil prices and mixed earnings reports.

Dow 13,912.94 -71.86; NASDAQ 2,763.91 -16.14; S&P 500 1,538.53 -10.18; NYSE Composite 10,125.40 -90.89

It was another dose of reality for the largely-overpriced markets. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson both jawboned about the continuing housing and credit crises. Bernanke chided bankers from expecting a "bailout" from the Fed on Monday night, while Paulson encouraged the same bankers to figure out ways to save strapped homeowners from falling into foreclosure.

In effect, they both told the banking segment that they were on their own, as it should be. The actual condition is that Fed and Treasury have both been supplying assistance to the banks. These men aren't stupid. They know a banking failure could be catastrophic, however, reading into their words, one wonders what they really know, and whether they actually believe the situation to be much worse than it appears.

Obviously, the bankers know the fix they're in, but they're not telling either. The best they can come up with is a joint fund to repurchase their own lousy paper, which they are unable to unload at this time. I don't know the technical term for their off-the-books repurchasing of faulty investment paper, but it certainly smells a lot like Enron. It's entirely possible that a very big name or two in the financial business could find itself in deep, deep water as early as the first quarter of '08.

As the markets churned in negative territory all day long, declining issues outdistanced advancers by better than a 2-1 margin and the new highs-lows finally rolled over, with 221 new lows appearing against 168 new highs. That particular indicator has been trending lower over the past week and finally is giving a clear signal that more losing sessions are ahead for stocks.

In other words, in a series of shouting headlines I'd like to see, SELL! EVERYTHING! NOW!

Commodity prices continued to dog stocks. Oil was up to another record high, up $1.48 to $87.61. Experts are now calling for 20-30% higher heating bills throughout the winter. God bless Al Gore for giving us GLOBAL WARMING!

Oddly enough, gold lost 20 cents while silver declined by the same amount, closing at $13.36. BUY PRECIOUS METALS

Stocks are offering a mixed picture.

Before the open: Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported better than expected third quarter earnings of $0.56 per share, compared with the consensus estimate of $0.41.

Wells Fargo missed by $0.02, misses on earnings of $0.68 per share, $0.02 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.70. Shares of the bank's stock were hammered down to 34.55, -1.40 by the close.

Johnson and Johnson earned 88 cents per share, compared with 94 cents per share during the same period a year ago. Analysts sought .90 cents per share. The stock fell 58 cents to 65.07.

After the market closed on Wednesday, IBM beat estimates by a penny. Apparently, this was not good enough for investors, as the stock was being punished - down nearly 2% - in after-hours trading.

Holders of Yahoo (YHOO) were treated to the first quarterly results with co-founder Jerry Wang as CEO and they were pleasantly surprised when the company announced earnings of 11 cents per share, beating the street estimate by 3 cents. The stock price was down 1.17 prior to the announcement. Shares traded nearly 10% higher in after-hours activity, up 2.59 to 29.28.

Intel (INTC) reported a 43% rise in profits after the close and investors sent it soaring after hours, up more than 5%.

BUY TECHS!

Actually, I've been recommending techs over financials and just about everything else for most of 2007. This market, as a whole, however, is headed lower.

CIT Group (CIT), Coca-Cola (KO) and United Technologies (UT) report before the market open on Wednesday, and their reports should influence early trading.

NYSE Volume 3,181,638,250
NASDAQ Volume 2,093,682,500

Earnings, Politics Swing Markets

For the nest two weeks, market movements are likely to be a function of 2nd quarter earnings reports, though Tuesday may have been an exception.

Of the major reports flowing from corporate offices, the following:

• Forest Labs (FRX): Net income rose to $268.2 million, or 83 cents per share, in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, from $200.6 million, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected 77 cents per share.


• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Net income, $3.1 billion, $1.05 a share, up from $2.8 billion, or 95 cents, earned in the second quarter last year. Analysts were calling for $1 a share.


• Merrill Lynch (MER): Net earnings rose to $2.14 billion, or $2.24 a diluted share, compared with $1.63 billion, or $1.63 a share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts sought 2.02 per share.


• Coca-Cola (KO): Profits, on a continuing operations basis, were $1.98 billion, or 85 cents a share, cleanly beating Wall Street's call of 82 cents a share.


• Wells Fargo & Company (WFC): Net revenue of $2.28 billion, or 67 cents per share for the 2nd quarter, compared with net income of $2.09 billion, or 61 cents per share, a year earlier. The numbers were in line with expectations of 0.67 per share.


• CSX Corporation (CSX): Reported earnings of $324 million, or 71 cents per share. Last year the company reported second quarter earnings of $390 million, or 83 cents per share which included a one-time 25 cent gain, so analysts were only looking for 64 cents and the company delivered handily.


• Intel Corporation (INTC): The company reported revenue of $8.7 billion and earnings per share of 22 cents in the second quarter including a tax item that boosted EPS by 3 cents. The resulting 19-cent-per-share profit figure was in line with analyst expectations.


• Yahoo, Inc. (YHOO): Net income for the second quarter fell to $161 million, or 11 cents per diluted share, from the year-earlier quarter's $164 million (0.11). Results were in line with lowered expectations of 11 cents per share.

Note that all of the companies listed above either beat or met expectations, but the overall market barely budged.

Dow 13,971.55 +20.57; NASDAQ 2,712.29 +14.96; S&P 500 1,549.37 -0.15; NYSE Composite 10,170.36 -17.82

Why? Could it be the price of crude oil, which hit a high of $75.35 earlier in the day before being hammered down to $74.02, a loss of 13 cents? Or the shifting political tides in Washington, which look to put Bush & Co. out of business in a matter of months? There's a storm brewing, and impeachment and military failure in the field (which has already occurred) are not likely to aid the mood on Wall Street.

Oil will slide to less than $60 per barrel if an end to the Iraq situation is found soon and it's looking more and more like that will be the case, but Wall Street isn't so sure, plus, the finality of the Bush administration may mean closer scrutiny of corporate governance and possibly even an SEC with real investigative and subpoena powers.

So, politics are moving the markets, even while corporate earnings are about as solid as one would like.

Decliners beat out advancing issues by an 11-9 margin and the gap narrowed again, with new highs checking in at 430 to 211 new lows.

On tap for tomorrow (company, ticker, expectations):

• CIT Group (CIT) 1.35


• eBay (EBAY) 0.32


• Gannett (GCI) 1.21


• Pfizer (PFE) 0.50


• Piper Jaffray (PJC) 0.74


• Southwest Airlines (LUV) 0.22


• United Technologies (UTX) 1.15

Gold and silver were both marginally lower. No surprise there.