CARTEL CAPITULATION WATCH
The DOW had no oomph at all, closing at 10,471, down 68. The DOG was hammered again, dropping 28 to 2046. A break below 2,000 would be psychologically devastating to Wall Street bulls. Efforts to keep the US stock market buoyant going into and out of Inauguration time failed.
US economic news:
10:00 Dec. LEI reported 0.2% vs. consensus 0.2%
Prior reading revised to 0.3% from 0.2%.
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NEW YORK, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board reports today that the Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.2% in December, following a 0.3% increase in November and a 0.3% decline in October.
Says Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein: "After five straight declines, the leading economic indicators turned around in November and December. The coincident index remained positive. So too has the so-called shadow index -- the ratio of coincident to lagging indicators. This reflects a positive shift in the balance of forces -- a more positive picture in the last two months than in the prior five months. Although retail sales were modest in December, investment in equipment and homebuilding remain strong segments of the economy."…
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12:00 Philadelphia Fed Index reported 13.2 vs. consensus 25
Prior reading revised to 25.4 from 29.6.
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12:01 Follow-up: Philadelphia Fed prices paid index 66.1 vs. 53.8
New orders index 9.8 vs. 20.9
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