The markets are in a mini losing streak. The three major indices have lost for three straight days, and we'd better have an up day soon or the pundits and analysts may panic. Futures are pointing marginally this morning. All three indices are currently up slightly more than half a percent. They are riding a "wave of merger and acquisition activity" to higher opening this morning. Xerox is buying Affiliated Computer Services, Belgian drug manufacturer Solvay is buying a unit of Abbott, Johnson and Johnson is buying an 18% stake in Crucell a Dutch biotech firm, and there are reports that Kraft will launch a hostile bid for Cadbury.
Treasuries are taking a breather this morning but they are still in the midst of a rally. The ten year U.S. Treasury bond is currently at 3.33% up two basis point but that's up off lows over the last two months. Meanwhile, the spread between the two and ten year has also tightened significantly to 2.33%, as the two year bond has stayed relatively flat while the ten year has rallied. Oil continues to hover around $66 a barrel and it's currently at $66.27 a barrel.
Around the world, we had near mirror images of each other. In the Far East, stocks indices were universally down. The Hang Seng in China was down 2.37%, the NIKKEI in Japan was down 2.5%, and the Straits Time Index was down 1.26%. In Europe, the FTSE in London was up .88%, the DAX in Germany was up 1.52%, and the Spanish Index was up .89%.
The Dollar is mixed this morning. It's up by .27% against the Euro, up .6% against the British Pound but down .17% against the Japanese Yen.
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