AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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Congress announces Massive Spending Bill to avoid shutdown
New US home construction slumped again in Nov as high mortgage rates combined with pervasive inflation continued to cool demand and the once red-hot housing market. Housing starts slid 0.5% last month to an annual rate of 1.42M units, according to new Commerce Dept data That is above forecast for a pace of 1.40M units. Applications to build – which measures future construction – fell to an annual rate of 1.34M units, a decrease of 11.2% from Oct. Permits for construction of single-family homes, which account for the biggest share of homebuilding, also dropped 7.1% to the lowest level since May 2020. The data comes one day after the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which measures the pulse of the single-family housing market, fell for the 12th consecutive month to 31, marking the worst stretch for the housing market since the survey launched in 1985. Any reading above 50 is considered positive; prior to this year, the gauge has not entered negative territory since 2012, excluding a brief – but steep – drop in May 2020.
Housing starts fall for third straight month as higher rates sting
Treasury yields rose after Japan unexpectedly raised its cap on 10-year Japanese gov bond yields, sparking a sell-off in global long-duration bond markets. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was up by 10 basis points at 3.69%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond rose by more than 11 basis points to 3.74%. Yields move inversely to prices. The Bank of Japan caught markets off guard by tweaking its yield controls to allow the yield on its 10-year JGB to move 0.5% either side of its 0% target, up from 0.25% previously, in a move aimed at cushioning the effects of protracted monetary stimulus measures. The move prompted the Japanese ¥ & bond yields around the world to rise suddenly, while stocks in Asia-Pacific retreated.
Treasury yields rise as Japan unexpectedly loosens its yield cap
Dow Jones Industrials
