The Federal Reserve said in its June 10 Beige Book business survey that "stringent" loan conditions persist even amid signs the recession is moderating.

"This has been a government-induced rally," said Jordan Irving, who helps manage more than $110 billion at Delaware Investments in Philadelphia. "We need to see some real positives coming from internal demand, as opposed to government- related demand, and it’s just not there."

Borrowing costs climbed in the past month, with the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage reaching a six-month high of 5.59 percent on June 11, according to McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac. The rate was 5.42 percent when last reported on June 25. The increase spurred the Mortgage Bankers Association to cut its forecast for mortgage originations in the U.S. by 27 percent on June 22 as fewer people refinance their home.

Marshall & Ilsley Corp., Wisconsin’s largest bank, tumbled 52 percent since May 11, wiping out three-fourths of its rally from March 5. Citigroup Inc. analysts on June 11 predicted loan losses will remain high even after the Milwaukee-based lender raised capital by selling shares.

D.R. Horton Inc., based in Fort Worth, Texas, is down 31 percent since May 4, the steepest decline among rivals in the S&P 500 since then. The largest U.S. homebuilder posted a worse- than-estimated quarterly loss on May 4.

"The average regional bank out there is going to see increasing net charge-offs and loan loss provisions, and people may say, ‘Gee, do I really want to be in banks?’" said Barry Knapp, head of U.S. equity strategy at Barclays Plc in New York. "That could definitely be a catalyst for a sell-off."

FN: Dow Theory requires confirmation from "the transports". There has been no such confirmation. I posted twice on this: Transports Diverge, Update1.

"Lagging transportation stocks are another bad omen for the rally, according to strategists at Bank of America Corp. and Raymond James Financial Inc., who say gains in airlines, truckers and railroads usually precede economic rebounds.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average has fallen 8.6 percent this year, led by a 62 percent drop in Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines parent AMR Corp. The 2009 decline exceeds the 3.8 percent retreat in the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 companies that are "leaders in their industries," according to Dow Jones & Co., a unit of News Corp.

Adherents of a century-old stock-picking strategy called "Dow Theory" say the averages must exceed their Jan. 6 intraday highs of 3,737.01 and 9,088.06, respectively, to send a buy signal for stocks, Bank of America’s Mary Ann Bartels said. The measures are more than 7 percent below those levels.

"For cyclicals in general, it’s hard to imagine that they’re going to have very good earnings in the second quarter," said E. William Stone, who oversees $100 billion as chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia. Because the economy probably shrank for the fourth straight period, "you’re flying against the wind."