Stocks turn higher after more housing data
Construction of new US homes rises, and sales and prices of existing homes surge. Japan's central bank expands its stimulus program. Microsoft increases its dividend. General Mills beats earnings expectations.
Updated at 11:32 a.m. ETStocks turned slightly higher Wednesday after U.S. housing data continued to signal improvement. In focus is also the Bank of Japan's decision to add to stimulus measures.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) was up 43 points at 13,607. The S&P 500 ($INX) was up 4 points at 1,463. The Nasdaq Composite ($COMPX) was up 3 points at 3,180.
US housing
New housing data released Wednesday morning showed an improving real-estate market. Construction of new U.S. homes rose 2.3% in August to an annual rate of 750,000 as low mortgage rates and home prices propelled companies to build more. The rise, which was below the 770,000 level economists had expected, according to Briefing.com, was boosted by construction of single-family homes, which jumped 5.5% -- the fastest since April 2010.
Housing starts in July were revised down to 733,000 from an original reading of 746,000, according to Commerce Department data. Compared with August last year, residential construction was up 29.1%.
Permits, meanwhile, fell slightly in August from a multiyear high of 811,000 in July (revised down from 812,000) to an annual rate of 803,000, but not as low as economists had expected. Permits for single-family homes, however, edged up.
The Mortgage Bankers Association also said applications for home mortgages dipped last week, though demand for refinancings rose as mortgage rates fell to a record low.
Sales of existing homes surged 7.8% in August to the best level in a year, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. Sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.82 million from July's 4.47 million, which was better than the 4.58 million economists had expected, according to Briefing.com. The level was the highest since May 2010. The median existing home price gained 9.5% year on year to $187,400.
Bank of Japan announces surprise moves
The Bank of Japan surprised markets when it said it will provide more monetary stimulus in response to a slowing in domestic economic activity. The central bank is increasing the size of its asset purchases by 10 trillion yen ($126.7 billion) to about 80 trillion yen and leaving interest rates unchanged.
The bank's decisions come on the heels of the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement last week of additional quantitative easing, including increasing its own asset-purchase program.
Stocks in Tokyo jumped, with the Nikkei Stock Average rallying 1.2% as the yen weakened. In general, Asian markets closed higher Wednesday as the BOJ's move offset some of the concern over Japan and China territorial dispute.
European stock markets, however, struggled for direction despite the unexpected easing measures from Japan.
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Stocks to watch
Microsoft's (MSFT) board approved a 15% increase in the software giant's quarterly dividend to 23 cents share. The new dividend is payable Dec. 13 to stockholders of record on Nov. 15. Microsoft also announced that Ray Gilmartin will no longer be a member of the board, which will have 10 members, including CEO Steve Ballmer and co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates. (Microsoft owns and publishes Top Stocks, an MSN Money site.)
Samsung Electronics failed to overturn a temporary sales ban on its tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, in the U.S. market. A California court dismissed the South Korean company's appeal against Apple (AAPL).
Groupon (GRPN) shares surged after the online daily deal site launched Groupon Payments, a new mobile payments service for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. The system will give businesses the ability to take all credit card payments at a lower rate than other providers.
Yahoo (YHOO) announced Tuesday that it will return to shareholders most of the proceeds, or about $3 billion, from the sale of a portion of its stake in China's Alibaba.
General Mills (GIS) shares advanced after the food producer reported quarterly earnings of 66 cents per share, slightly beating expectations for 62 cents a share.
AutoZone (AZO) reported better-than-expected earnings, but same-store sales fell below forecasts.
Yea -- Japan is printing fake monies
USA is printing fake monies
ECB is printing fake monies
The Federal Reserve is buying US mortgages freeing up investor capital to buy more new houses which will create another housing asset bubble with no one to buy the houses as 30 million workers have left the labor pool and those that are left have lost 10 percent of their wages.
Yep we are headed towards a complete and total melt down of our economies.
Even the Russians say they don't want our money as it is no good anymore. Putin just said no to about $1 billion in US aid money.
Romney was right, there are many victims in our society today. Probably not 47%, but
a pretty high percentage. It will reach 47% before long and climb much higher if
something isn't done about the root problem. Sadly the roots of this problem already
run very deep and are spread very wide. And over the past 3 decades we have been
watering and fertilizing these root very heavily.
So what are our root problems.
First and foremost is politics and the politicans that attempt to operate our political system.
Waste, Fraud, greed and corruption have finally taken over the system almost completely and made a mockery of what used to be at least a semi functional system of government.
Second is the constant struggle between the political system and the private sector to
control our economy and society. Unfortunately neither is winning. The private sector
has its failing as well. Fraud, greed, and corruption flurish in that sector to. Of course they want
to blame the government for thier failures and congatulate themselves on their
successes. The private sector can no longer generate enough jobs, especially living
wage jobs. Why, because the have moved the good job base, manufacturing, overseas.
We are no a retail and service economy and those jobs are low pay with few benefits.
It is imperative that the two sectors work together to right the economic and social ship.
This cooperation must start soon or the ship is going to sink. We have assumed that
our ship was unsinkable, buy they thought that about the Titanic and look where it ended up.
The waste, fraud, and corruption iceberg that permeates both sectors is growing and
is now directly in the path of our ship of state and the lookouts have seemed to turn a blind
eye to the peril ahead and the radar is broken.
The main problem is that the last economic bust has left us with far to few lifeboats to save
the millions of people that will be thrust into sea when the ship hits the iceberg.
In the meantime, we all overlook the below , right commies ?
just sweep it right under the rug
I don't think so
When the pink smoke clears , look below we will STILL have all these things failing and falling down
The Arab "Spring" - Middle East STILL ON FIRE
Jobs - WHERE . LOL? 45 months in a row 8% +
Housing - yes , it's UP , someone sold a house last week in Carmel Ind, to a cretin. A short sale
Gas - ONLY up $2.00 since day one of Obuma reign !
Deficit ? Only doubled it - STILL PRINTING QE 5 -10 right around the corner
Fast N Furious - Who cares !
Food Pricing going through the roof - Who cares !
Home Heating Oil going Crazy high ? - Who cares !
Many new taxes kicking in on Obuma "care" - Who cares !
Class warfare - Who cares !
Shovel ready "green jobs" - LOL Where
Solyndra = Corruption - who cares !
Failures of QE 1-3 ? Who cares !
Here's a news flash , I care and millions of other , normal , taxpaying Americans care and we will show up i Nov .
It's going to be an epic a$$ whipping .
MARK MY WORDS .
forget the polls
you have the Barry Soetoro Poll , the only one that counts !
NTU wrote: I contend if we initiated trade restriction, duties, and enforced present immigration laws we would see factories, manufacturing, and small businesses spring up on every block. The tax base would immediately be envigorated and we would once again reignite the AMERICAN dream. Why tell me why do our elected officials hate America so much?
They don't hate America, NTU, they look upon their time in office as their opportunity to enrich themselves to the point of gluttony. This is their American Dream; get elected, get rich, get powerful and live the life of a Mafia Don forevermore. Workable solutions for the betterment of our country have no appeal to these pirranahs.
The prize for the World's Most Stupid Person goes to V L who has the intelligence of a squirrel. Every day he treats us to his utopian view of the universe with his fatuous comments that have no logical basis in reality. He seems to think someone can wave a magic wand and presto change-o! Even if someone could, his ideas are those of a raving lunatic.
I hope this idiot is close to death, or he steps in front of a truck with poor brakes. For sure, he is a member of the 47% of dumbos who lurk under bridges or wander around at night in a daze probably thinking they are zombies!
Go Mitt & Paul go! We can't let the 47 percenters ruin the world!
Mirrage Guy
I had the same proposal last week, I posted it and many Repubs Sh!t on it saying it wouldn't help. I said take tarp, QE 1 & 2, the auto bailout and Obamas stimulis (2.1 trillion total) and had they given it to everyone over the last 4 years it would have been around the same amount you had per month. Continuing giving it to Americans for the deration of QE 4 ever would also be a better idea. Better then letting the banks sit on it I say. Funny how companies have 2 trillion on the sides which is the same number as all the "stimulus and bailouts" combined.....
So many people, led by the trusty news outlets, miss Romney's point about the 47%. His comment was not that he does not care about them, but rather they were going to vote Obama and could not be swayed. So his idea was not to worry about their vote. That he woule spend his energies on those whose mind was not already made up.
For a little red meat for that particular audience, he noted that many of piece of the country do not pay income taxes and have given up looking for work.
The counrty can do better!
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