Morning Market Report

The markets were up in anticipation of the Fed statement and that euphoria continued after the statement came out. The Dow was up 1.3%. All major indices are up a bit over 1% this morning before the market as well. There's some breaking economic data. Retail sales fell .1%, more than expected. Weekly jobless claims increased slightly to 558,000 up 4,000. Though, that number is now solidly below 600,000. Walmart's earnings beat estimates at $3.44 billion for the quarter and the stock was up nearly 2% in pre market trading. Finally, foreclosures continued their climb in the month of July.

U.S. home loans failed at a record pace in July despite ongoing federal and state programs to avoid foreclosures, which have severely strained housing and the economy.

Foreclosure activity jumped 7 percent in July from June and 32 percent from a year earlier as one in every 355 households with a loan got a foreclosure filing, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Filings — including notices of default, auction and bank repossession — have escalated with unemployment.

The markets in both the Far East and in Europe were up across the board. The Hang Seng in China was 2.08%, the NIKKEI in Japan was up .79%, and the Straits Time Index in Singapore was up 1.67%. In Europe, the FTSE in London was up .61%, the DAX in Germany was up .58%, and the Spanish Index was up 1.23%.

Treasury bonds have recently reversed their trend. Rates were trending up until about fifteen minutes ago when they reversed. The ten year U.S. Treasury bond is now trading at 3.68%. The yield spread between the 2 and 10 year U.S. Treasury bond is now at 2.55%. It's gained about 5 basis points (five hundredth of a percent) in the last week., indicating an increased chance of future inflation. Meanwhile, crude oil is back above $70 a barrel. It's now trading at $71.15 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar is losing against most major indices this morning. It's down .75% against the Euro, down .72% against the Pound, and down .42% against the Yen.