Optimism Rife On Wall St, Despite "Inconclusive" Meeting At White House

S&P down modestly.

...But Wall St Is Hearing None of That

The financial markets today are focused on a meeting that Obama and House GOP leadership have a meeting scheduled that is likely to bring another kicking of the debt can, at best. The Dow was up more than 200 points a few minutes ago. The bond market is expecting a six week can kick.

Jobless Claims Spike to Highest In Months

Weekly jobless claims spiked to the highest levels since March this morning.

from the WSJ:

Global PC Sales Plunge 8.6%

from Gartner:
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 80.3 million units in the third quarter of 2013, an 8.6 percent decline from the same period last year, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. This marks the sixth consecutive quarter of declining worldwide shipments.
"The third quarter is often referred to as the 'back-to-school' quarter for PC sales, and sales this quarter dropped to their lowest volume since 2008," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "Consumers' shift from PCs to tablets for daily content consumption continued to decrease the installed base of PCs both in mature as well as in emerging markets. A greater availability of inexpensive Android tablets attracted first-time consumers in emerging markets, and as supplementary devices in mature markets."

But Wall St is oblivious. The focus today is on a meeting between Obama and the House GOP leadership that may resolve the budget and debt impasse. The Dow was up 200+ points a few minutes ago.

Stocks Goosed Higher Despite Ongoing Budget/Debt Impasse

Between the dovish Yellen nomination, and the IMF virtually pleading for more money printing, stocks are now moving modestly higher. Dow up today.

IMF Presses for Even MORE Fed "Unprecedented Measures"

Obama's Gives Yellen the Nod As Fed Chair

from the WSJ:

Even the Wall St Journal recognizes that Yellen is going to push the envelope and risk even greater dislocations. And WE are their guinea pigs in this grand experiment!

Will There Be Treasuries Issued Next Week?

Treasury bills have maturities of anywhere from a few days to 52 weeks. Treasury notes have maturities of between two years and ten years. Treasury bonds have maturities of 30 years. And the Treasury also sells Treasury-Inflation Protected Securites (TIPS), which have terms of 5, 10 or 30 years.

Cotton Prices Crushed As Storm Weakens

via Reuters in Mumbai, India:
Oct 7 (Reuters) - Cotton futures in India, the world's second-largest grower, are expected to fall this week on hopes of higher output as rains lead to better yields and due to approaching supplies from the new season harvest amid sluggish exports.

by Reuters US:

* Dissipating Tropical Storm leaves cotton crops unscathed
* Fiber sinks to one-month low, extends losses on sell stops
* Global stocks slide as investors remain jittery over U.S. gov't shutdown
* USDA will not release World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report on Friday
NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - ICE cotton sank on Monday to post its biggest loss in over six weeks as the weakening of Tropical Storm Karen eased worry over crop damage in the United States, the world's top exporter, and as the U.S. government shutdown and budget impasse kept investors skittish.

Cocoa Continues to Rise Due to Global Long-Term Supply Pressures

from Bloomberg:
Money managers raised bullish bets on cocoa traded in London to a record as global shortages loom for the 2013-14 season that started this month, according to data from NYSE Liffe, the derivatives arm of NYSE Euronext.
Investors were net-long, or betting on higher prices, by 64,759 futures and options in the week ended Oct. 1, the Commitments of Traders report on the exchange’s website showed today. That was the largest bullish bet since publishing of trader holdings began in 2011 and compared with the previous record of 63,419 contracts in the week ended Sept. 24. The beans for December delivery fell 0.5 percent in the latest week.

from  the Business Recorder of Pakistan:

NEW YORK: ICE cocoa climbed to a more than one-year high and London futures rallied to the highest in about two years on Monday as the International Cocoa Organization forecast a deficit in the next four years and as recent rains stoked worry of supply concerns in West Africa, the world's top growing region.

 by the Public Ledger of Agra.net:
Cocoa futures closed significantly higher on Monday, underpinned by reports that global demand will outstrip supply, industry watchers said.
According to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), the global cocoa deficit will be 69,000-70,000 metric tonnes in 2013/14, up from 52,000 tonnes in 2012/13.

Corn Leaps Due to Storm Risk

Wheat and corn futures rose Monday after storms in the Midwest over the weekend threatened both crops.
Wheat for December delivery rose 7.75 cents to $6.9475 a bushel and December corn rose 6 cents to $4.4925 a bushel.
Weekend storms delayed the harvest of the corn crop and also caused delays in planting the winter wheat crop, said Todd Hultman, a grain analyst with DTN/The Progressive Farmer in Omaha, Neb.

Stocks Sink Into the Close

News that a major broker doubled stock futures margins, along with the pressure of the continuing budget impasse in Washington, sank stock markets in the last hour of trading today, with the Dow closing down 136 points.

This was somewhat surprising, given that stocks had rallied out of the starting gate from deep losses, cutting those losses in half by mid-day.

Budget Impasse Doesn't Worry Wall St

Dow opened down more than 130 points, but is rallying sharply at the open. The continuing budget impasse doesn't appear to worry Wall St.

Stocks Decline Sharply Overnight, Rally At Open