Stocks Rise on Manufacturing Data
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Posted: 4:42 PM Feb 1, 2012
Stocks Rise on Manufacturing Data
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 84 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 12,716.
Reporter: Associated Press
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New York, NY (AP) - U.S. stocks are finishing higher after strong manufacturing data and encouraging reports from Greece. Stronger gains earlier in the day faded by the closing bell, though.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 84 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 12,716. The broader Standard & Poors 500 index rose almost 12 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 1,324. The Nasdaq rose 34 points, or 1.2 percent, to 2,848.

Rising stocks outnumbered decliners almost 5-to-1 on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the Dow was up 151 points.

Factories raised output in January by the most in seven months. And the Commerce Department said construction spending rose 1.5 percent in December, the fifth straight monthly gain.

Stocks also got help from progress on debt negotiations in Greece.

Latest Comments

Posted by: Gerry on Feb 3, 2012 at 03:20 AM

treasurydirect says intragovernmental holdings as of 2/1/12 amount to $4.763 trillion. If you add $1.65 trillion, not billion, to the intragovernmental you end up with $6.413 trillion. So the Fed holds $1.65 trillion of US debt. The Fed is the largest holder of US debt, but only holds $1.65 trillion, not $6.328 trillion. China holds $1 trillion of US debt. Japan holds $1 trillion of US debt. The Fed hasn't bought Treasury debt in the last 6 months. The Fed buys in the secondary market, not directly from the Treasury. What do you mean "continues to expand"? Stunning to whom? The $6.328 trillion is included in the $15.3 trillion total national debt.
Posted by: Gerry.not fed system of banks on Feb 2, 2012 at 08:52 PM

1. Federal Reserve and Intragovernmental Holdings U.S. debt holdings: $6.328 trillion That’s right, the biggest single holder of U.S. government debt is inside the United States and includes the Federal Reserve system and other intragovernmental holdings. Of this number, The Fed's system of banks owns approximately $1.65 billion in U.S. Treasury securities (as of January 2012), while other U.S. intragovernmental holdings - which include large funds such as the Medicare Trust Fund and the Social Security Trust Fund - hold the rest. In the monthly Treasury bulletin, both are combined into one category and the total accounts for a stunning $6.328 trillion in holdings as of September 2011 (the most recent number available). The amount is an all-time high as the Federal Reserve continues to expand its balance sheet, partially to purchase U.S. government debt securities. The Social Security Trust fund is required by law to invest in securities where the principal and interest is guaranteed by the Federal government. About a decade ago, the total government holdings were "only" $2.5 trillion.
Posted by: Gerry on Feb 2, 2012 at 06:23 PM

The Feds system of banks hold $1.65 billion. That's a direct quote from CNBC and I think is a mistake, should probably be $1.65 trillion. You don't know what you're talking about. You're posting with a handle never seen before exactly in order to be unaccountable. You're a simpleton.
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