Wall Street Week Ahead: Earnings, money flows to push stocks higher

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With earnings momentum on the rise, the S&P 500 seems to have few hurdles ahead as it continues to power higher, its all-time high a not-so-distant goal.

The U.S. equity benchmark closed the week at a fresh five-year high on strong housing and labor market data and a string of earnings that beat lowered expectations.

Sector indexes in transportation <.djt>, banks <.bkx> and housing <.hgx> this week hit historic or multiyear highs as well.

Michael Yoshikami, chief executive at Destination Wealth Management in Walnut Creek, California, said the key earnings to watch for next week will come from cyclical companies. United Technologies reports on Wednesday while Honeywell is due to report Friday.

"Those kind of numbers will tell you the trajectory the economy is taking," Yoshikami said.

Major technology companies also report next week, but the bar for the sector has been lowered even further.

Chipmakers like Advanced Micro Devices , which is due Tuesday, are expected to underperform as PC sales shrink. AMD shares fell more than 10 percent Friday after disappointing results from its larger competitor, Intel . Still, a chipmaker sector index <.sox> posted its highest weekly close since last April.

Following a recent underperformance, an upside surprise from Apple on Wednesday could trigger a return to the stock from many investors who had abandoned ship.

Other major companies reporting next week include Google , IBM , Johnson & Johnson and DuPont on Tuesday, Microsoft and 3M on Thursday and Procter & Gamble on Friday.

CASH POURING IN, HOUSING DATA COULD HELP

Perhaps the strongest support for equities will come from the flow of cash from fixed income funds to stocks.

The recent piling into stock funds -- $11.3 billion in the past two weeks, the most since 2000 -- indicates a riskier approach to investing from retail investors looking for yield.

"From a yield perspective, a lot of stocks still yield a great deal of money and so it is very easy to see why money is pouring into the stock market," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

"You are just not going to see people put a lot of money to work in a 10-year Treasury that yields 1.8 percent."

Housing stocks <.hgx>, already at a 5-1/2 year high, could get a further bump next week as investors eye data expected to support the market's perception that housing is the sluggish U.S. economy's bright spot.

Home resales are expected to have risen 0.6 percent in December, data is expected to show on Tuesday. Pending home sales contracts, which lead actual sales by a month or two, hit a 2-1/2 year high in November.

The new home sales report on Friday is expected to show a 2.1 percent increase.

The federal debt ceiling negotiations, a nagging worry for investors, seemed to be stuck on the back burner after House Republicans signaled they might support a short-term extension.

Equity markets, which tumbled in 2011 after the last round of talks pushed the United States close to a default, seem not to care much this time around.

The CBOE volatility index <.vix>, a gauge of market anxiety, closed Friday at its lowest since April 2007.

"I think the market is getting somewhat desensitized from political drama given, this seems to be happening over and over," said Destination Wealth Management's Yoshikami.

"It's something to keep in mind, but I don't think it's what you want to base your investing decisions on."

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak and Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Beyond Politics, Food and Fashion at the Presidential Inauguration

Jacqueline Kennedy had Oleg Cassini, Nancy Reagan James Galanos—fashion designers that dressed them for the presidential inauguration and throughout their time in the White House. Michelle Obama also wears designer clothes but she’s probably best known for popularizing the J. Crew label, wearing its sweaters and skirts and, most notably, its moss green leather gloves to accompany the lemongrass yellow outfit she wore at President Obama’s first inauguration.

No one knows yet what Michelle Obama will wear at the second inauguration but many will be watching, not only for its fashion statement but also for its potential business impact.

Michelle Obama is “probably the greatest rainmaker in the history of fashion,” says Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporter Ira Boudway. He tells The Daily Ticker that the J. Crew web site crashed from the extra traffic that followed after shoppers saw the green leather gloves Michelle Obama wore at the inauguration. J. Crew stock surged 25% the week after the event. (The company is now privately held.)

NYU Finance Professor David Yermack has calculated that the first lady’s public appearances has added $ 5 billion to the stock price of various publicly traded clothing companies.

“People will be paying attention” to what the Obamas wear at the inauguration,” says Boudway, including whether it was made in America.

Allen Edmonds is one of the few shoe companies still operating in the U.S. and it has provided shoes for every inauguration since at least Ronald Reagan’s. Boudway says the Wisconsin-based company doesn’t think President Obama wore its shoes at his first inauguration and no word yet if he’ll wear them this time around.

“The president tries to stay out of even the appearance of an endorsement,” says Boudway.

That’s not the case with New York Senator Chuck Schumer. He’s chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies which overseas the inaugural luncheon and he’s stacking the luncheon with many New York-made products, including cheese from the Cooperstown Cheese Company, in Milford, New York; Seaway Trail Honey from Rochester and several wines from the Finger Lakes Region.

Businesses will play another role in the inauguration besides product placement. Along with individuals, companies for the first time will help finance President Obama’s inauguration activities. He hopes to raise $ 50 million altogether. Among the corporate donors listed on Presidential Inauguration Committee 2013 web site are AT&T (T), Microsoft (MSFT) and Southern Company (SO).

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Earnings, money flows to push stocks higher

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With earnings momentum on the rise, the S&P 500 seems to have few hurdles ahead as it continues to power higher, its all-time high a not-so-distant goal.

The U.S. equity benchmark closed the week at a fresh five-year high on strong housing and labor market data and a string of earnings that beat lowered expectations.

Sector indexes in transportation <.djt>, banks <.bkx> and housing <.hgx> this week hit historic or multiyear highs as well.

Michael Yoshikami, chief executive at Destination Wealth Management in Walnut Creek, California, said the key earnings to watch for next week will come from cyclical companies. United Technologies reports on Wednesday while Honeywell is due to report Friday.

"Those kind of numbers will tell you the trajectory the economy is taking," Yoshikami said.

Major technology companies also report next week, but the bar for the sector has been lowered even further.

Chipmakers like Advanced Micro Devices , which is due Tuesday, are expected to underperform as PC sales shrink. AMD shares fell more than 10 percent Friday after disappointing results from its larger competitor, Intel . Still, a chipmaker sector index <.sox> posted its highest weekly close since last April.

Following a recent underperformance, an upside surprise from Apple on Wednesday could trigger a return to the stock from many investors who had abandoned ship.

Other major companies reporting next week include Google , IBM , Johnson & Johnson and DuPont on Tuesday, Microsoft and 3M on Thursday and Procter & Gamble on Friday.

CASH POURING IN, HOUSING DATA COULD HELP

Perhaps the strongest support for equities will come from the flow of cash from fixed income funds to stocks.

The recent piling into stock funds -- $11.3 billion in the past two weeks, the most since 2000 -- indicates a riskier approach to investing from retail investors looking for yield.

"From a yield perspective, a lot of stocks still yield a great deal of money and so it is very easy to see why money is pouring into the stock market," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

"You are just not going to see people put a lot of money to work in a 10-year Treasury that yields 1.8 percent."

Housing stocks <.hgx>, already at a 5-1/2 year high, could get a further bump next week as investors eye data expected to support the market's perception that housing is the sluggish U.S. economy's bright spot.

Home resales are expected to have risen 0.6 percent in December, data is expected to show on Tuesday. Pending home sales contracts, which lead actual sales by a month or two, hit a 2-1/2 year high in November.

The new home sales report on Friday is expected to show a 2.1 percent increase.

The federal debt ceiling negotiations, a nagging worry for investors, seemed to be stuck on the back burner after House Republicans signaled they might support a short-term extension.

Equity markets, which tumbled in 2011 after the last round of talks pushed the United States close to a default, seem not to care much this time around.

The CBOE volatility index <.vix>, a gauge of market anxiety, closed Friday at its lowest since April 2007.

"I think the market is getting somewhat desensitized from political drama given, this seems to be happening over and over," said Destination Wealth Management's Yoshikami.

"It's something to keep in mind, but I don't think it's what you want to base your investing decisions on."

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak and Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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London Firefighters to Protest Against Savage Cuts

LONDON, ENGLAND–(Marketwire – Jan 18, 2013) – London firefighters will be attending a mass lobby of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) meeting on Monday to protest at plans to close 12 fire stations, remove 18 fire engines and slash 520 firefighter posts. The lobby has been called by the London region of the Fire Brigades Union.

This follows a decision by the mayor of London, Boris Johnson to drive through £45m of cuts in the LFEPA budget.

FBU regional secretary for London, Paul Embery said: ”The proposed cuts are reckless and wrong. You can”t slash 12 fire stations, 18 fire engines and 520 firefighter posts without jeopardising public safety. The helicopter crash that occurred earlier this week showed the importance of having a properly-funded, well-resourced fire service in the capital, and it is worthy of note that the first crew at the scene was mobilised from a station – Clapham – earmarked for closure and arrived within four minutes. The safety of Londoners is playing second fiddle to crude economic considerations. We are calling on the commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, Ron Dobson, and Boris Johnson to think again. If they don”t, we will campaign as vigorously as we can, alongside the public, to defend London”s fire service.”

LOBBY OF LFEPA MEETING – 1.30pm – 21 JANUARY

LONDON BRIGADE HQ – 169 UNION ST – SE1 0LL

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Wall Street edges lower on earnings, China data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell modestly on Friday, a day after the S&P 500 rose to its highest level in five years, as a weak outlook from Intel was weighed against encouraging data out of China and a fourth-quarter profit at Morgan Stanley .

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 6.68 points, or 0.05 percent, at 13,589.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 2.60 points, or 0.18 percent, at 1,478.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 10.63 points, or 0.34 percent, at 3,125.37.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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Market Ready: Tips on Entrance Halls

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Wall Street hits five-year high at open on data, eBay

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks hit a five-year high at the open on Thursday after better-than-expected results from online marketplace eBay and as data showed first-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a five-year low.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 31.80 points, or 0.24 percent, to 13,543.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> gained 3.67 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,476.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> gained 12.66 points, or 0.41 percent, to 3,130.20.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

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Properly defined dependents can pay off at tax time

Taxes » Tax Deductions » Properly Defined Dependents Can Pay Off At Tax Time

Your son is off at college. Can you still claim him as a dependent? The answer for most parents is “yes.” But, as is often the case with tax questions, determining who can be claimed as a dependent is not always a clear-cut exercise.

Dependent claims aren’t limited to children. An adult relative could qualify as a taxpayer’s dependent as long as he or she meets certain Internal Revenue Service conditions.

Dependency tests that must be met

By a child	By a relative
Relationship Residency Age Support Citizenship Joint return	Not a qualifying child Relationship/Household member Gross income Support Citizenship Joint return

Making sure the requirements are met is critical, because dependents can help reduce your tax bill. In many cases, you can claim certain tax-cutting deductions and credits related to a dependent. The key tax breaks associated with a child are the child tax credit, the child and dependent care credit and the earned income tax credit.

Even if these added tax credits don’t apply to your situation, a dependent named on your return can still trim your taxes. Each dependent directly translates into an exemption, a specific dollar amount, adjusted annually for inflation, that you deduct from your adjusted gross income.

Child dependent tests

In order to claim a child as your dependent, the youngster must now meet four key tests:

• Relationship test: The child must be your child, either by birth, adoption or by being placed in your home as a foster child. Even if the adoption isn’t yet final, if the child is living with you and the process is under way, it counts. A dependent child can also be your brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister or a descendent of one of these relatives.


• Residency test: The child must live with you for more than half of the year. If the youth is away temporarily for special circumstances, such as for school, vacation, medical treatment, military service or detention in a juvenile facility, these particular absences still count as time lived at home. A child who was born or died during the year is considered to have lived with you for the entire year if your home was the child’s home for the entire time he or she was alive during the year.


• Age test: A child must be under a certain age depending on the particular tax benefit. For the dependency exemption, the child must be younger than 19 at the end of the year. However, a youth who was a student at the end of the year can be claimed as long as he or she is younger than age 24. There is no age limit if the individual is permanently and totally disabled.


• Support test: This refers to the youngster’s contributions, not those of adults in the family. To qualify as a dependent, the child cannot provide more than half of his or her own support during the year.

The support issue usually is not a problem. However, if the child is a successful model, for example, he or she could bring in substantial income and therefore might not be able to be claimed as a dependent under this test. Even then, as long as the parents provide more than the youngster is bringing in, then the child would still qualify.

Even after the child meets the four qualifying tests, there are two other considerations before he or she can be claimed as a dependent for exemption purposes.

The youngster generally must also be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or a resident of the United States, Canada or Mexico. An exception applies for certain adopted children.

And if married, the child cannot file a joint return unless the return is filed only as a claim for refund and no tax liability would exist for either spouse if they had filed separate returns.

Other dependent relatives

Other relatives also might be your tax dependent if they meet similar qualifying tests.

The first requirement is, obviously, that the person not be your qualifying child for tax purposes. The person also cannot be considered the dependent child of anyone else.

The person must live with you for the full tax year or be related to you. Relatives who do not have to reside in your home but who can be claimed as tax dependents include parents, siblings, grandparents, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles and in-laws.

Your dependent relative must earn less than the personal exemption amount during the year, and he or she must get more than half of his or her total support for the year from you.

Qualifying relatives also must meet the same citizenship and joint tax filing requirements as do qualifying children.

Tiebreaker guidelines

Sometimes a child can be the qualifying child of more than one person. However, because the IRS only allows one taxpayer to claim the same youngster, all eligible taxpayers must decide who will claim the child and any ensuing tax benefits.

If you can’t agree and both of you list the youth on separate returns, expect the IRS to disallow one or more of the claims using tiebreaker rules.

Tiebreaker rules

• First, the agency looks at whether only one person is the child’s parent. This would be the case, for example, if one credit claimant is a stepparent. The parent would get the credit.


• If both taxpayers are the child’s parents, then the parent with whom the child lived the longest during the tax year would be allowed the credit. If the child lived with both separated parents for an identical amount of time, the credit would go to the parent with the highest adjusted gross income.


• Finally, if neither person is the child’s parent, the IRS would then allow the credit to the filer with the highest eligible AGI.

If several children are involved in a family situation where two taxpayers may claim them, the adults can decide to share the children for tax purposes. For example, you and your three children live with your mother. You can claim one child as a dependent and your mother can claim the other two. Again, if such a sharing agreement cannot be reached, the tiebreaker rules would come into play.

Final exemption factors

A spouse is never considered a dependent. However, you can claim an exemption for your husband or wife as long as you file a joint return.

You also are allowed an exemption deduction for yourself. But if you file a return while being claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 1040, the IRS warns that you won’t be able to claim a personal exemption on your own return.

Details and relationship dependency examples are available in IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information.

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Wall Street dips at open, Boeing drags

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell off five-year highs on Wednesday as concerns about global economic growth offset strong bank results and shares of Boeing weighed on the Dow after two Japanese airlines grounded their Dreamliner fleets.

Goldman Sachs shares hit an 18-month high as its earnings nearly tripled on increased revenue from dealmaking and lower compensation expenses, while JPMorgan Chase said fourth-quarter net income jumped 53 percent and earnings for 2012 set a record.

JPMorgan shares were last down 0.8 percent at $46 and Goldman added 2 percent to $138.26.

Concern about global economic growth was weighing on the markets, said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois.

A slow economic recovery in developed nations is holding back the global economy, the World Bank said on Tuesday, as it sharply scaled back its forecast for world growth in 2013 to 2.4 percent from an earlier forecast of 3.0 percent.

Shares of Dow component Boeing fell 3.5 percent to $74.25 on concerns about the safety of its new Dreamliner passenger jets. Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of 787s after an emergency landing, adding to safety concerns triggered by a ream of recent incidents.

"It's certainly going to pull averages down, given Boeing's large market cap, but I don't see it as having broader market implications," Jankovskis said.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> fell 61.79 points or 0.46 percent, to 13,473.1, the S&P 500 <.spx> lost 4.39 points or 0.3 percent, to 1,467.95 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> dropped 2.72 points or 0.09 percent, to 3,108.06.

Losses on Nasdaq were limited by gains in Apple shares, which were up 2 percent at $495.75.

Talks to take Dell Inc private were at an advanced stage, with at least four major banks lined up to provide financing, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Shares fell 3.6 percent to $12.69 after jumping more than 21 percent over the past two sessions.

U.S. consumer prices were flat in December, pointing to muted inflation pressures that should give the Federal Reserve room to prop up the economy by staying on its ultra-easy monetary policy path.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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Retail sales point to firmer consumer spending

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Retail sales rose solidly in December as Americans shrugged off the threat of higher taxes and bought automobiles and a range of other goods, suggesting momentum in consumer spending as the year ended.

Other data on Tuesday showed inflation pressures remained muted, with wholesale prices declining for a third straight month in December. That should allow the Federal Reserve to stay on its very easy monetary policy path to nurse the recovery.

Retail sales increased 0.5 percent after rising 0.4 percent in November, the Commerce Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales to rise only 0.2 percent.

Sales were up 4.7 percent from December 2011 and rose 5.2 percent for the whole of 2012.

“That does suggest a resilient consumer in the face of the fiscal cliff debates. It offers a favorable sign for fourth-quarter growth,” said Joe Manimbo, a senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington.

So-called core sales, which strip out automobiles, gasoline and building materials and correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product, increased 0.6 percent after advancing 0.5 percent in November.

The second straight month of gains in core sales suggested consumer spending picked up in the fourth quarter after rising at a annual pace of 1.6 percent in the July through September period.

While economists did not immediately raise their GDP estimates for the final three months of 2012 in response to the data, they said the risks were tilted to the upside. Last week, analysts slashed their growth forecasts in the wake of a wider trade deficit in November.

Higher taxes are expected to keep consumer spending tepid early this year and a looming fight over raising the country’s debt ceiling could dent consumer sentiment.

Economists estimate that tax increases which kicked in this month could shave as much as 1.2 percentage points off consumer spending in the first quarter.

In a second report, the Labor Department said its seasonally adjusted producer price index slipped 0.2 percent last month. Economists polled by Reuters had expected prices at farms, factories and refineries to drop 0.1 percent last month.

Wholesale prices, excluding volatile food and energy costs, rose a modest 0.1 percent, in line with analysts’ forecasts.

Retail sales last month were up almost across the board, with receipts at auto dealerships rising 1.6 percent after increasing 2.7 percent in November.

Sales at service stations fell 1.6 percent, reflecting a 14 cent drop in gasoline prices at the pump. Receipts at gasoline stations declined 4.5 percent in November.

Sales at building materials and garden equipment suppliers were flat after rising 0.8 percent.

There were gains in furniture sales, while sales at clothing retailers rose by the most since February.

Receipts at sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores rose 0.6 percent. Sales at electronics and appliances shops fell 0.6 percent.

(Additional reporting by Jason Lange in Washington and Wanfeng Zhou in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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Wall Street opens lower on debt limit concern

DEAR ABBY: Recently my husband, "Byron," and I had an argument, and he took off in his truck. He didn't return until after work the following day. He had he spent the night at our friend "Arlene's" house. She is divorced and lives alone. Byron assures me "nothing happened" between them. I want to believe him, but ever since this incident, Arlene will not look me in the eye or speak to me.I love Byron and trusted him until now. It hurts to think that our marriage may be ruined over a stupid argument. ...

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MetLife, GE close deal for $6.4 billion in bank deposits

(Reuters) – MetLife Inc (MET) said on Monday it had closed the sale of its deposit business to General Electric Co (GE), a move that allows the U.S. insurer to drop its registration as a bank holding company and provides GE Capital with an alternative source of funding for its lending business.

The deal, for $ 6.4 billion in bank deposits, had been in the works for more than a year with regulatory review the main reason for the delay.

The two companies in September tweaked the deal structure to make it subject to the approval of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, rather than the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, and won approval in mid-December.

Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE reached the deal to buy the deposit-taking unit in December 2011, with an eye toward making its GE Capital finance unit less dependent on borrowing.

New York-based MetLife said the deal reflected its desire to focus on its insurance and employee benefit operations.

(Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston; Editing by Dale Hudson)

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Wall Street edges lower at open as Apple drags

MELBOURNE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A nervous Sam Stosur survived the first test of her annual battle with stage-fright at the Australian Open, but the spotlight is set to focus on the ninth seed after all of her compatriots were dumped from the first round on Monday. Australia's hopes of a home-bred champion at the year's first grand slam have gone unfulfilled for 34 years and, with Lleyton Hewitt crashing out against eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic late in the evening, appeared set for further frustration. ...

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Qatar Airways sells stake in Cargolux carrier

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The head of Qatar Airways says the carrier has sold its entire 35 percent stake on the freight hauler Cargolux back to authorities in Luxembourg.

The move comes just months after Qatar Airways boosted cargo services to the U.S. via Cargolux’s base. Qatar Airways bought the 35 percent stake in Cargolux in June.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker says the deal was finalized Jan. 1 to sell the share back to the Luxembourg state. He told reporters Sunday that Luxembourg viewed Cargolux as a national carrier that should be fully owned by the state.

Al-Baker said the Doha-based airline is not actively seeking any new alliances or purchases, but is carefully studying reforms that could open the Indian market.

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Attention turns to financial earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After over a month of watching Capitol Hill and Pennsylvania Avenue, Wall Street can get back to what it knows best: Wall Street.

The first full week of earnings season is dominated by the financial sector - big investment banks and commercial banks - just as retail investors, free from the "fiscal cliff" worries, have started to get back into the markets.

Equities have risen in the new year, rallying after the initial resolution of the fiscal cliff in Washington on January 2. The S&P 500 on Friday closed its second straight week of gains, leaving it just fractionally off a five-year closing high hit on Thursday.

An array of financial companies - including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase - will report on Wednesday. Bank of America and Citigroup will join on Thursday.

"The banks have a read on the economy, on the health of consumers, on the health of demand," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.

"What we're looking for is demand. Demand from small business owners, from consumers."

EARNINGS AND ECONOMIC EXPECTATIONS

Investors were greeted with a slightly better-than-anticipated first week of earnings, but expectations were low and just a few companies reported results.

Fourth quarter earnings and revenues for S&P 500 companies are both expected to have grown by 1.9 percent in the past quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Few large corporations have reported, with Wells Fargo the first bank out of the gate on Friday, posting a record profit. The bank, however, made fewer mortgage loans than in the third quarter and its shares were down 0.8 percent for the day.

The KBW bank index <.bkx>, a gauge of U.S. bank stocks, is up about 30 percent from a low hit in June, rising in six of the last eight months, including January.

Investors will continue to watch earnings on Friday, as General Electric will round out the week after Intel's report on Thursday.

HOUSING, INDUSTRIAL DATA ON TAP

Next week will also feature the release of a wide range of economic data.

Tuesday will see the release of retail sales numbers and the Empire State manufacturing index, followed by CPI data on Wednesday.

Investors and analysts will also focus on the housing starts numbers and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve factory activity index on Thursday. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment numbers are due on Friday.

Jim Paulsen, chief investment officer at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis, said he expected to see housing numbers continue to climb.

"They won't be that surprising if they're good, they'll be rather eye-catching if they're not good," he said. "The underlying drive of the markets, I think, is economic data. That's been the catalyst."

POLITICAL ANXIETY

Worries about the protracted fiscal cliff negotiations drove the markets in the weeks before the ultimate January 2 resolution, but fear of the debt ceiling fight has yet to command investors' attention to the same extent.

The agreement was likely part of the reason for a rebound in flows to stocks. U.S.-based stock mutual funds gained $7.53 billion after the cliff resolution in the week ending January 9, the most in a week since May 2001, according to Thomson Reuters' Lipper.

Markets are unlikely to move on debt ceiling news unless prominent lawmakers signal that they are taking a surprising position in the debate.

The deal in Washington to avert the cliff set up another debt battle, which will play out in coming months alongside spending debates. But this alarm has been sounded before.

"The market will turn the corner on it when the debate heats up," Prudential Financial's Krosby said.

The CBOE Volatility index <.vix> a gauge of traders' anxiety, is off more than 25 percent so far this month and it recently hit its lowest since June 2007, before the recession began.

"The market doesn't react to the same news twice. It will have to be more brutal than the fiscal cliff," Krosby said. "The market has been conditioned that, at the end, they come up with an agreement."

(Reporting by Gabriel Debenedetti; editing by Rodrigo Campos)

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RAPPEL-Sondage de BMO : La date limite de cotisation au REER est source de stress pour les Canadiens

MONTREAL, QUEBEC–(Marketwire – Jan 12, 2013) – Alors que le 1^er mars, date limite de cotisation à un régime enregistré d”épargne-retraite (REER), arrive à grands pas, un sondage de BMO Groupe financier révèle que cette date butoir cause du souci à nombre de Canadiens qui ont du mal à trouver l”argent nécessaire pour faire une cotisation. Le sondage démontre toutefois que la majorité des Canadiens se sentiraient moins anxieux s”ils pouvaient changer d”approche et cotiser de plus petits montants tout au long de l”année.

Selon le sondage, alors que les trois quarts des Canadiens qui détiennent un REER ont déjà fait ou prévoient de faire une cotisation avant la date limite, 60 pour cent admettent que la date butoir est pour eux une source de stress.

Cette source de stress peut être liée au fait que presque la moitié (49 pour cent) des épargnants font une cotisation unique à leur REER en fin d”année plutôt que de cotiser de petites sommes régulièrement tout au long de l”année.

Les avantages d”un programme d”épargne continue

Lorsqu”on les sonde sur les cotisations de REER, plus de la moitié (54 pour cent) des Canadiens affirment qu”ils se sentiraient moins stressés s”ils se servaient d”un programme d”épargne continue (PEC) pour cotiser de plus petites sommes à leur REER, plus régulièrement, tout au long de l”année.

Le PEC retire automatiquement un montant déterminé d”argent du compte bancaire d”un particulier sur une base régulière et l”investit directement dans son REER. Grâce au PEC, vous permettez à votre épargne de fructifier rapidement, sans pour autant devoir fournir un effort budgétaire important chaque année. À titre d”exemple, comme la valeur des fonds d”investissement fluctue selon les conditions du marché, en investissant le même montant dans un fonds chaque mois, l”investisseur peut acheter plus d”unités de fonds lorsque le coût d”acquisition est en baisse. Le coût unitaire moyen des unités que l”investisseur paie peut ainsi s”en trouver réduit à long terme.

Une fois qu”ils se sont familiarisés avec les avantages d”un PEC, les deux tiers des Canadiens avouent qu”il est fort probable qu”ils utiliseront ce mode d”épargne à l”avenir.

« Le malaise qu”ils ressentent à l”égard de la date limite de cotisation au REER est compréhensible puisque les Canadiens ont d”autres priorités financières à gérer, comme le remboursement de leur hypothèque », indique Marlena Pospiech, directrice principale, Planification du patrimoine, BMO Groupe financier. « Mais il est possible de gérer et d”atténuer ce stress. Par exemple, en établissant un programme d”épargne continue, on peut atténuer les craintes de devoir amasser d”un coup une somme substantielle pour pouvoir cotiser à son REER avant la date limite ».

BMO offre les conseils suivants aux Canadiens pour dissiper le stress de la campagne des REER :

Profitez des offres spéciales : Recherchez les offres spéciales conçues pour vous inciter à établir un PEC. Par exemple, si vous établissez un nouveau programme d”épargne continue BMO pour les fonds d”investissement d”ici au 1^er mars 2013 et que vous le conservez pendant 12 mois, votre première cotisation mensuelle sera bonifiée de 15 pour cent (jusqu”à concurrence de 150 $ ). 

Investissez vos « surplus » d”argent : Si, par bonheur, vous touchez un supplément d”argent sous forme de remboursement d”impôt, de prime au travail ou d”héritage, envisagez d”investir ce revenu ou cette manne financière imprévue directement dans votre REER à titre de placement dans votre avenir.

Prévalez-vous des avantages fiscaux : L”argent que vous cotisez à un REER est déductible de votre revenu total (dans certaines limites). Pour la plupart des gens, cotiser à un REER peut se traduire par une réduction, voire un remboursement d”impôt.

Demandez de l”aide : Adressez-vous à un professionnel financier qui pourra vous aider à élaborer un plan financier comprenant une composante retraite, dont un PEC, et à revoir vos placements régulièrement. Il pourra en outre vous indiquer si vous pourriez avoir avantage à demander un prêt REER, notamment par le biais d”une marge de crédit MargExpress REER de BMO.

Pour de plus amples renseignements sur le programme dӎpargne continue, visitez le site www.bmo.com/pec.

Les résultats indiqués proviennent d”entrevues en ligne effectuées auprès d”un échantillon aléatoire de 1 000 Canadiens âgés de 18 ans ou plus, du 23 au 27 novembre 2012. Un échantillon probabiliste de cette taille produirait une marge d”erreur de ±3,1 pour cent, 19 fois sur 20.

Marketwire News Archive – Yahoo! Finance

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Attention turns to financial earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After over a month of watching Capitol Hill and Pennsylvania Avenue, Wall Street can get back to what it knows best: Wall Street.

The first full week of earnings season is dominated by the financial sector - big investment banks and commercial banks - just as retail investors, free from the "fiscal cliff" worries, have started to get back into the markets.

Equities have risen in the new year, rallying after the initial resolution of the fiscal cliff in Washington on January 2. The S&P 500 on Friday closed its second straight week of gains, leaving it just fractionally off a five-year closing high hit on Thursday.

An array of financial companies - including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase - will report on Wednesday. Bank of America and Citigroup will join on Thursday.

"The banks have a read on the economy, on the health of consumers, on the health of demand," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.

"What we're looking for is demand. Demand from small business owners, from consumers."

EARNINGS AND ECONOMIC EXPECTATIONS

Investors were greeted with a slightly better-than-anticipated first week of earnings, but expectations were low and just a few companies reported results.

Fourth quarter earnings and revenues for S&P 500 companies are both expected to have grown by 1.9 percent in the past quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Few large corporations have reported, with Wells Fargo the first bank out of the gate on Friday, posting a record profit. The bank, however, made fewer mortgage loans than in the third quarter and its shares were down 0.8 percent for the day.

The KBW bank index <.bkx>, a gauge of U.S. bank stocks, is up about 30 percent from a low hit in June, rising in six of the last eight months, including January.

Investors will continue to watch earnings on Friday, as General Electric will round out the week after Intel's report on Thursday.

HOUSING, INDUSTRIAL DATA ON TAP

Next week will also feature the release of a wide range of economic data.

Tuesday will see the release of retail sales numbers and the Empire State manufacturing index, followed by CPI data on Wednesday.

Investors and analysts will also focus on the housing starts numbers and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve factory activity index on Thursday. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment numbers are due on Friday.

Jim Paulsen, chief investment officer at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis, said he expected to see housing numbers continue to climb.

"They won't be that surprising if they're good, they'll be rather eye-catching if they're not good," he said. "The underlying drive of the markets, I think, is economic data. That's been the catalyst."

POLITICAL ANXIETY

Worries about the protracted fiscal cliff negotiations drove the markets in the weeks before the ultimate January 2 resolution, but fear of the debt ceiling fight has yet to command investors' attention to the same extent.

The agreement was likely part of the reason for a rebound in flows to stocks. U.S.-based stock mutual funds gained $7.53 billion after the cliff resolution in the week ending January 9, the most in a week since May 2001, according to Thomson Reuters' Lipper.

Markets are unlikely to move on debt ceiling news unless prominent lawmakers signal that they are taking a surprising position in the debate.

The deal in Washington to avert the cliff set up another debt battle, which will play out in coming months alongside spending debates. But this alarm has been sounded before.

"The market will turn the corner on it when the debate heats up," Prudential Financial's Krosby said.

The CBOE Volatility index <.vix> a gauge of traders' anxiety, is off more than 25 percent so far this month and it recently hit its lowest since June 2007, before the recession began.

"The market doesn't react to the same news twice. It will have to be more brutal than the fiscal cliff," Krosby said. "The market has been conditioned that, at the end, they come up with an agreement."

(Reporting by Gabriel Debenedetti; editing by Rodrigo Campos)

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Silver Falcon Mining, Inc. (SFMI) Provides Bullish Outlook on Its 2013 Mining Operations

BRADENTON, FL–(Marketwire – Jan 11, 2013) – Silver Falcon Mining, Inc. ( OTCBB : SFMI ) reports on its mining and milling operations, as management remains bullish on anticipated 2013 activities.

Diamond Creek Mill

The Company’s Diamond Creek Mill’s designed gravity feed circuit has been temporarily shut-down for its yearly heavy maintenance and component recalibrations. At the same time, the integration of the new floatation cell circuit is being added as a new component to the existing mill circuitry. Early testing of tailings material, from the floatation cells, reveals a significant improvement in recovery values of ALL precious metals. Management feels that once the flotation circuit is fully operational in the ensuing weeks, this will greatly improve bottom-line for the 2013 operational year.

The “Conditional Use” application for full implementation of the permitted closed-loop leaching system remains on-going and on scheduled without delays.

Further, management reports that work on the permanent storage of mill tailings will begin in earnest.

Diamond Creek Metallurgical Lab

The Company’s metallurgical laboratory building which contains, the Bullion Dore facility, the lab facility and the secured vault, has been fully erected. Company workers are finishing the remaining interior architectural components, allowing this facility to be fully operational.

Sinker Tunnel Gold Project

The Company has been working within the Sinker Tunnel Gold Project as per directives approved by SFMI’s Board of Directors. Due to mining rules, only SFMI personnel will be allowed inside the fenced in parameter of the project. As drilling, bolting, shoring, and exploration proceeds over the upcoming months, management will report as necessary on these operational developments.

Management remains excited about the fact that these are the first mining activities on War Eagle Mountain in over a century.

Pierre Quilliam, CEO, states, “After two years of efforts, both at the mill site and at the Sinker, it is very gratifying to see our efforts maturing. From a barren 20-acre site, the Diamond Creek Mill Facility has risen into an agglomeration of infrastructures, buildings, and equipment. The Company has one objective, to extract and deliver as much precious metals to the world markets as we can produce profitably from our holdings.” He further mentions, “This is the year where production will become the mainstay of SFMI’s objectives and operational motives. This in turn should deliver significant revenue to the Company and growth of shareholder values.”

About Silver Falcon Mining, Inc.

SFMI has mineral rights to approximately 1,200 acres on War Eagle Mountain in southern Idaho; Its Diamond Creek Mill is situated at the foot of War Eagle Mountain and is serviced by 6.2 miles of paved roads from State Highway 78. It maintains year round access to the Sinker Tunnel to facilitate underground mining of the rich veins crisscrossing the mountain and providing the area population with employment and services.

For further information, contact Mr. Richard Kaiser, Investor Relations, 757-306-6090 and/or www.silverfalconmining.com.

Silver Falcon Mining, Inc., SFMI, cautions that the statements made in this press release constitute forward looking statements, and not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from the projections in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management at the time the statements are made.

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Wall Street to open firm after Thursday's gains, Wells Fargo results

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were set to firm at the open on Friday after the S&P 500 climbed to a five-year high a day earlier, as record profit from Wells Fargo failed to excite investors who awaited fresh trading incentives.

"The bigger news lies ahead of us in terms of earnings and also reports on Christmas sales, which seem to be poor so far," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Wells Fargo , the first major U.S. bank to post earnings this season, reported a higher fourth-quarter profit as it set aside less money to cover bad loans and made more fees from mortgages. While shares dropped 1.1 percent to $35 in premarket trading, the stock had climbed 2 percent Thursday ahead of the results, and is up 3.6 percent this month so far.

Best Buy shares were volatile in premarket trading after it reported flat holiday sales at established U.S. stores. Shares were last up 5.7 percent at $12.91.

Basic materials shares could be pressured after China's annual consumer inflation rate picked up to a seven-month high, narrowing the scope for the central bank to boost the economy by easing monetary policy.

Meckler said that in the absence of major news, the market will continue to absorb some of the money that comes in from institutional investors at the start of the year. This could give equities an upside bias.

S&P 500 futures were flat and were slightly above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 3 points and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2 points.

American Express said it would take a $600-million quarterly charge relating to 5,400 job cuts and payment of legal bills, a move likely to halve its net income. Its shares dipped 0.5 percent in premarket trading to $60.51.

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner jet was dogged by further incidents that tested confidence in the new plane. It suffered a cracked cockpit window and an oil leak on separate flights in Japan on Friday. The US Department of Transportation said the jet would be subject to a review of its critical systems by regulators. Boeing shares fell 1.5 percent to $75.90 in premarket trading.

Dendreon Corp shares jumped 14.9 percent to $5.86 after Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "market-perform" and said the drugmaker could be one of the best performers in 2013.

U.S.-traded shares of India's No.2 software services provider Infosys Ltd jumped 15.2 percent premarket after the company raised its revenue forecast.

In a move that could support US equities and boost the global economic outlook, the Japanese government approved a massive $117 billion of spending to revive the world's third-largest economy in the biggest stimulus plan since the financial crisis.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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Zale holiday sales metric up 2.3 pct, backs view

DALLAS (AP) — Zale Corp. said Thursday that a key sales measure rose 2.3 percent during the critical holiday shopping season, and the jewelry chain still expects to post a profit this year.

Zale hasn’t posted an annual profit since 2008. Its fiscal year ends in July.

Its revenue at stores open at least a year rose 2.3 percent during the holiday shopping season. November and December are important for retailers because they often make up a substantial chunk of the year’s revenue. The sales metric, meanwhile, is a key measure of a retailer’s health, because it excludes sales at stores that recently opened and closed.

Total revenue was almost unchanged at $ 567 million in November and December, however, because the company has fewer stores than it did a year ago.

Zale said that revenue at its namesake brand jewelry and outlet stores open at least a year rose 3.1 percent during the holiday shopping season, while its U.S. fine jewelry brands posted a 2.2 percent increase. The same metric rose 2.7 percent at its Canadian fine jewelry brands. At Piercing Pagoda, the company’s kiosk jewelry business, it rose 1.7 percent..

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