ice climber
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Another all-time high for the Dow.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 14,296, +42.4 pts, +0.3 percent

S&P 500: 1,541, +1.6 pts, +0.1 percent

NASDAQ: 3,222, -1.7 pts, -0.0 percent

And now the top stories:

  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at another all-time high today.  It's worth noting, however, that the S&P 500 lagged.  It'll have to climb to 1,565 to hit its all-time high.

  • According to ADP, U.S. companies added 198k new jobs in February.  This was much higher than the 172k expected by economists.  Also, last month's number was revised up to 215k from a previous reading of 192k.  Some consider this to be a good preview of what to expect when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its official jobs report on Friday.

  • Factory orders fell by just 2.0 percent in January.  This decline was less than the 2.2 percent drop forecast by economists.

  • The Federal Reserve's Beige Book — a collection of economic anecdotes from around the country — showed that the economy was growing at a "modest to moderate" pace in February. Most districts reported growth in consumer spending, although retail sales slowed in several districts.

  • The Beige Book also included some interesting anecdotes about Obamacare.  From the Richmond Fed: "Employers across the District continued to cite the Affordable Care Act and its unknown impacts as reasons for planned layoffs and reluctance to hire more staff."  From the Dallas Fed: "Some contacts noted concern that client companies are hiring the absolute minimum to get by due to uncertainty about the Affordable Care Act."

  • ECRI's Lakshman Achuthan is likely to disagree with the message of the Beige Book. In a new note, Achuthan vigorously defends his call that the U.S. economy went into recession in mid-2012.  He believes that recent negative trends in GDP, GDI, and earnings all support his view. 

  • In a note to clients today, BofA Merrill Lynch technical analyst Mary Ann Bartels said NYSE margin debt was sending a sell signal.  "The last time a sell signal was generated was on April 2010 and the S&P 500 subsequently corrected by 16% in two months."