Drill baby, drill pledge sends oil prices down today
Oil slid as U..S President Donald Trump promised to boost U.S. crude production. Brent crude retreated almost 1% to near $80 a barrel.
KMI
Jobs surprise–economy delivers stronger than expected performance in December
In December U.S. economy in December added the most jobs since March and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell. Nonfarm payrolls increased 256,000, exceeding all but one forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, while average hourly earnings rose 0.3% from November, a Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed Friday. For 2024 as a whole, the economy added 2.2 million jobs—-below the 3 million increase in 2023 but above the 2 million created in 2019. The data almost certainly assured that the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates at its January 29 meeting. As of 11 a.m. New York time, the yield on the 10-year Treasury had climbed another 5 basis points to 4.74%.
China’s deflation problem got worse in December
China’s consumer price index rose 0.1% in December from a year earlier, in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Factory deflation extended into a 27th month, though the producer price index recorded a slower drop of 2.3%, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. For the full year, consumer prices only inched up 0.2% from 2023, well short of the 1.1% gain economists had predicted at the beginning of 2024.
Fed’s December minutes another nail in the coffin for early interest rate cuts
In minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December 17-18 meeting released on Wednesday, January 8, Federal Reserve officials clearly decided to move more slowly on cutting interest rates in the quarters ahead. “Participants indicated that the committee was at or near the point at which it would be appropriate to slow the pace of policy easing,” minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee showed. “Many participants suggested that a variety of factors underlined the need for a careful approach to monetary policy decisions over coming quarters.” Please note the reference to “quarters” and not “months.”
More bad news for stocks from the bond market today
The 20-year Treasury bond, a laggard on the government debt curve since its re-introduction in 2020, topped 5% Wednesday for the first time since 2023. The move looks to be fueled by concern that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies on tariffs and tax cuts will lead to wider deficits and rekindle inflation.
Stocks fall as they begin to price in no rate cut until July
The Institute for Supply Management’s index of services advanced 2 points to 54.1 last month. That show of strength in the economy–readings above 50 indicate expansion–was enough to push stocks lower as the markets began to price in a delay in the next interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve until July The measure of prices paid for materials and services rose more than 6 points to 64.4, suggesting that the drop in the inflation rate in the service sector–about 70% of the U.S. economy–might be over.
Special Report: 5 Safe Dividend Stocks Paying 6% or More–Part 1, the strategy of my picks, and Part 2, the first fiery of my picks VZ, KMI, CWSRF, BHP
It’s time to use this Bear Market to give any long-term dividend income strategy a big boost. This Special Report will tell you why and how and give you five stock picks that you can use to deliver that extra income.
I’m selling Kinder Morgan out of my Dividend Portfolio
Like many oil-related stocks Kinder Morgan (KMI), the operator of 70,000 miles of natural gas pipelines, has moved up strongly during the recent rally in the price of oil. The stock, a member of my Dividend Portfolio since February 24, 2016, has gained 38.13% in 2021 to date as of the May 26 close. The stock has gained 26.67% in the last three months and 10.11% in the last month. The dividend, which produces a yield of 5.89% isn’t in danger. And I’m not selling because I’m worried about that potential. But growth at Kinder Morgan depends on the company’s ability to buy or build new pipeline capacity and earn a high rate of return on that investment.
2020 was a great year for Dividend investing: my Dividend Portfolio showed a total return of 15.71% for 2020
It’s unusual, to say the least, to have a dividend portfolio match the returns on the Standard & Poor’s 500–especially in a year when the S&P 500 was setting an all time high–but that’s what happened in 2020. My Dividend Portfolio showed a price gain of 12.28% for 2020. Add in the 3.43% dividend yield and the total return for the portfolio for the year was 15.71.% For the year the S&P 500 returned 16% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average returned 7%.
A summary of the changes to my Dividend Portfolio in my Special Report 3 Ways to Higher Income in a Low Yield Desert
Just to put all the changes in my Dividend Portfolio in one list after my Special Report 3 Ways to Higher Income in a Low Yield Desert Here are the sells: Bank of America (BAC) as of November 1 ING Group (ING) as of November 1 Tapestry (TPR) as of November 1 Westpac...
Kinder Morgan, a Dividend Portfolio pick, raises quarterly payout by 25%
On April 17, Kinder Morgan (KMI) reported first quarter 2019 results that were a penny below Wall Street estimates (at 24 cents a share) and that missed revenue projections at $3.43 billion versus the $3.63 billion consensus. (That amounted to a 0.3% year over year...
Canadian government buys Trans Mountain Pipeline and removes huge albatross from neck of Kinder Morgan
Yesterday the Canadian government announced that it will buy the Trans Mountain Pipeline from Kinder Morgan Canada for CAD$ 4.5 billion. Kinder Morgan (KMI), a member of my Dividend Portfolio, owns a 70% stake in Kinder Morgan Canada. The sale, which certainly isn't...Jim’s Stock Alerts
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