US stocks rise, after jobless claims and retails sales reports give the bulls a little fuel, and an auction of 30-year bonds goes off well. But there’s a big fade late from the session highs, the kind of move that’s been evident in recent sessions, albeit in the other direction.
DJIA rises 32 to 8771, after rising as much as 139. S&P 500 gains 6 to 944.88, inching ahead to a fresh 2009 high; the previous high was 944.74 set June 2. Nasdaq Comp rises 9 to 1862. Big Board volume’s still low.
There’s no denying the buzz surrounding Microsoft’s (MSFT) new Bing search engine. But whether the buzz actually translates into long-term search market share gains is the real question.
At this point, it’s hard to say whether share gains by Bing are sustainable or a result of initial consumer curiosity, Jefferies says. But the firm adds MSFT’s ongoing branding campaign along with Bing’s cleaner interface and vertical focus could potentially boost Microsoft’s search share to double digits from the current 8% to 9% range.
And while that’s far from making a dent in Google’s (GOOG) domination, Microsoft’s (MSFT) commitment to search R&D and marketing should at least appeal to advertisers and agencies.
How much is that doggie in the window?
Crude oil sets another year high, passing $73 a barrel, causing doubts about a potential economic recovery.
As WSJ notes, retail gas prices rose about 19% in May alone after being flat in April. For the year, gas has gone up about $1 a gallon to $2.67.
Drivers consume roughly $140 billion gallons of gas a year, according to University of California, San Diego, economist James Hamilton, so a lasting $1 price increase could divert some $140 billion in consumer spending power away from “discretionary” purchases like dresses and dinners out.
Can I pay with a credit default swap?
Round and round she goes, where she stops, nobody knows.
There’s a wide consensus in financial circles that the worst of the recession’s been seen, September was the nadir and March was the market bottom. Since then, the government’s come in with every conceivable device to arrest the slide, cushion the blow, and give the economy the breathing room to recover.
But has the worst been seen?
We point you this morning to California, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threatened to shut down the state government rather than accept emergency loans and the high interest rates they’d come with. California is 50 days away from a “meltdown,” state controller John Chiang said.
Think the failure of the world’s eighth largest economy would represent a new low?
Overall, trading in US stocks has been relatively dull this week, spiced up here and there with a few fragile rally attempts and unconvincing selloffs. Beyond the data, there could be some drama down in Washington today.
Stocks futures spiked up after the jobs and retail sales reports, but have since moderated. S&P futures down 1.50; DJ futures down 5. Ten-year yield spiked up to the highly anticipated and worrisome 4% level, but has since moved back down to 3.96%. Crude rose above the $72/barrel level, but has since come back down into the $71 range.
Randomly Noted – A Newswires Blog Tell It To Al – A Newswires Blog
© 2013 Dow Jones Newswires. All Rights Reserved.
