Breakfast Bites: Investors are sitting on their hands this morning ahead of 4th quarter earnings season that kicks off after the close today with Alcoa’s release. S&P 500 companies are expected to post earnings growth of 2.8 percent for the fourth quarter, up from the barely positive 0.1 percent growth in the third quarter.
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Breakfast Bites: Equities opened up in negative territory this morning after the failure of the “Plan B” vote in the House of Representatives tempered hope that a deal to resolve the fiscal cliff would be reached quickly
Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose to 0.10 for November
Personal Income rose 0.6% in November, the most since February. This despite the fact that superstorm Sandy cut pay by about $182 billion at an annual rate in October
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Breakfast Bites: Optimism that the President and Republicans will reach agreement on a new budget has equities trading marginally in the green this morning
The current account deficit in the US narrowed in the 3rd quarter by 9%, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2010, helped by slowing imports
Confidence among US homebuilders climbed in December to 47, the 8th straight month, reaching its highest level in more than 6 years.
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Breakfast Bites: Better than expected November jobs report and a 4 year low in the unemployment rate have the market advancing following a 2 day rally in the S&P 500 that could potentially lead to positive gains for the week. This is being balanced, however, against a decline in consumer sentiment for December
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Breakfast Bites: Markets are trading in positive territory undeterred by a yet to be completed Greek debt deal and buoyed by a solid jobless claims, consumer comfort and confidence numbers.
Mortgage Applications in the U.S. dropped last week as fewer homeowners sought to refinance their properties
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 41,000 to a seasonally adjusted 410,000, the Labor Department said on Wednesday, exactly in-line with the median forecast
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Breakfast Bites: Equities trading solidly in the green this morning after President Obama expressed optimism over the weekend that a fiscal cliff deal can be reached
Sales of previously owned U.S. Homes climbed in October by 2.1% to a 4.70 million annual rate, indicating gains in the real estate market are being sustained by low borrowing costs
Confidence among U.S. Homebuilders rose in November to a 6 year high propelled by the biggest jump in sales in a decade.
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