Worst Factory Production Number Since 2009; Blaming The Weather; Wrapping Up Friday; Deadbeat ObamaCare Enrollees; Apple Sole More Macs/iDevices Than All PCs Combined In 4Q14

Apple sold more Macs and iDevices that all PCs combined in 4Q14:

Apple sold more iPhones, Macs, iPads and iPod Touch devices than the total number of computers sold by the entire Windows PC industry in the holiday quarter, according to research done by analyst Benedict Evans. According to the data, it's the first time that Apple has surpassed the PC market in hardware sales.

The company has long said that it believes the tablet market will eventually be larger than the PC market. If iPhones are considered, Apple's iOS ecosystem alone -- never mind its Mac sales -- is already very close to surpassing the PC market in unit sales, and perhaps even in dollar sales as well.

The article also says that the average Apple device sells for $584 "across the board," vs $544.30 for the average Windows PC. 

Can't wait to read the comments at the link.

 

**********************************

Bloomberg is reporting:

Factory production in the U.S. unexpectedly declined in January by the most since May 2009, adding to evidence severe winter weather weighed on the economy.

The 0.8 percent decrease at manufacturers followed a revised 0.3 percent gain the prior month that was weaker than initially reported, figures from the Federal Reserve showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.1 percent advance.

Total industrial production dropped 0.3 percent even as utility output climbed the most in almost a year.

Assembly lines slowed last month as colder weather tempered production, the Fed said, showing a pause in the momentum of an industry that’s helped bolster the economy. A pickup in capital spending and faster hiring that drives consumer purchases will be needed to spur production gains.

The weather may have been a factor, but December, 2013, I thought was much worse than January, and yet December showed a 0.3 percent gain, while January, 2014, again, a better month, weather-wise, showed a 0.8% decline -- the worst since 2009.

Folks can blame the weather -- why not? It's easy to blame the weather. But I wonder. I would put ObamaCare and the uncertainty surrounding ObamaCare near the top as one of the explanations. 

The stock market showed a slight drop when the numbers were released but the DOW is up almost 100 points and oil is holding its own.

I would consider this very, very bullish. Imagine if US manufacturing had surged.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on anything you read here or anything you think you might have read. 

************************************

Wrapping Up Friday

Oil: Mar crude oil rose $0.01 to $100.29/barrel

Crude oil spent most of today's floor trade in negative territory. It brushed a session low of $99.43 shortly after equity markets opened but buyers stepped in and pushed prices higher for the remainder of the session. The energy component touched a session high of $100.41 moments before settling one penny above the unchanged line, booking a 0.4% gain for the week.

Perhaps it is just semantics, but weren't JOBS the top priority just a month ago? Now, the president's top priorities: immigration (this year, tilting at another windmill); and, the minimum wage (why not?)

***********************

It's been my experience that businessmen and women are optimists. When they discuss the future they try to be as optimistic as possible. So this article on ObamaCare is a bit interesting. From this article, this paragraph: 

The New York Times has discovered that only about 80% of people purchasing health insurance through the federal online marketplace or a similar state-run exchange paid their first month’s premium. There’s no single source of such data, but the Times canvassed insurers participating in the program, such as Aetna, Wellpoint, Humana, and Blue Shield of California. All said that the first-month payment rate ranged from 75% to 80% or so, far lower than for typical plans. If enrollees don't pay the first month's premium, their insurance never goes into effect.

My hunch is that it is worse than 70%. The New York Times would exaggerate the number, and the "or so" suggests that the insurers don't want to say how bad it really is. They also know that just because someone pays the first month's premium, it doesn't mean that person will continue to pay.  

Also, note: if enrollees don't pay the first month's premium, their insurance never goes into effect. Look at the range in premiums, but take a hard look at the deductibles: $12,000/year/couple.

******************************

Breitbart is reporting: Americans are enthusiastic about the promise of science but lack basic knowledge of it, with one in four unaware that the Earth revolves around the Sun, said a poll out Friday. The one in four that were unaware that the Earth revolved around the Sun were concerned about global warming, no doubt. It would have been interesting to see the demographics of the twenty-five percent that did know the earth revolved around the Sun. Some likely data points:

• drink US lite beer on the weekends
• eat Campbell's soup out of the can 
• do not live in my neighborhood (or yours)
• wonder about the source of moonlight
• won't take a Carnival Cruise at risk of going over the edge

*******************************

If the market holds, "we" are going to go into a 3-day weekend with traders willing to bid the market up 150 points. Bullish. Note the disclaimer above.