Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Economic Journal - Wednesday, 4/10/2013

(As of 7:20 am PST)
 
Stocks are trending higher for the second consecutive day ahead of an early release of the Fed’s most recent FOMC meeting minutes.  The rally has sent the S&P500 to intraday record highs over 1577.  The Federal Reserve confessed to sending out meeting minutes from its most recent March meeting to trade groups and congressional employees.  The report, which was set to come out at 2:00 pm Eastern will be released early.  The meeting minutes show a division among Fed governors regarding exit strategies of the large stimulus program, otherwise known as QE3.  One thing is for certain however, labor market conditions must improve before the Fed discontinues its bond-buying.  In other news around the world, China reported a surprise trade deficit in March after a shocking jump in imports.  Imports into China surged 14.1% while exports rose 10%.  Chinese trade data has been scrutinized lately by analysts who believe China has been overstating their exports.  The rise in imports is a positive sign for investors as it suggests a rise in domestic consumption in China.   The broad Asian markets finished higher, while European stocks also are rallying in late trading.  Gold and oil are both down and interest rates are up slightly.

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