Archives for December 2012

December 2012 - Page 16 of 17 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

Stock Market Today Stalled on Fiscal Cliffhanger

The stock market today was down slightly as concerns over the fiscal cliff continued to weigh on markets.

Shortly after 1 p.m. on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 10 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down about 3 points and the Nasdaq slipped nearly 14.

Of note in the ongoing fiscal cliff saga was U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden's 10 a.m. meeting with six state governors on how to avoid the looming double whammy of higher taxes and government spending cuts.

The White House guests included three Republican governors: Gov. Gary Herbert, R-UT; National Governors Association (NGA) Vice Chair Gov. Mary Fallin, R-OH; and Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Brown, who is best known for his battles with public employee unions during the election season.

Representing Democrats were Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware, chairman of the NGA; Arkansas's Gov. Mike Beebe and Gov. Mark Dayton of Minnesota.

Following the meeting, President Obama will engage in his first television interview since the election at 12:30 p.m. with Bloomberg News.

Market participants continue to sit on the sidelines as the GOP and Obama administration butt heads over how to avert falling off the cliff.

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Willis Widens Canadian Presence - Analyst Blog

In an effort to consolidate its footprint in Canada, Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings plc (WSH), inked a deal to buy Montreal-based Avalon Actuarial Inc. Alongside, the acquisition marks Willis’ foray into the Canadian employee benefits market. Though the terms of the purchase were not disclosed, it is expected to close […]

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2013 Tech Stock Forecast: The "Buzz-Worthy" Stocks The Market Will Love Next Year

The best way to score tech stock gains in 2013 is simple: tap into the areas where there is "constant buzz."

But before we get to the three areas that are the most buzz-worthy, let's start by clearing up one big myth. There really is no such thing as one tech industry.

High-tech now sweeps throughout the entire economy. We're talking everything from robot welders, to laser surgery, to hum-drum database management.

So, even if the economy remains flat or declines, there will still be buzz-driven tech stock winners, companies involved in fields that are so vital that customers simply must have their products.

That's why I tell investors to look for huge global trends that will continue no matter what happens with the fiscal cliff or the Eurozone debt crisis.

Ditto for the expected battles over Obamacare this year. Two years after its passage, we still don't know exactly how many states will set up the exchanges needed to put the law into practice.

Either way, it doesn't really matter…

There's so much going on in high tech that some specific tech stocks are bound to yield big gains in 2013.

I've narrowed it all down to three vital areas that should power through next year– no matter what the economy or the politicians throw at them.

It starts with the biggest of them all, the mobile wave…

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For Prepaid Cards Like Wal-Mart's Bluebird, Regulation Isn't Always a Dirty Word

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how prepaid cards are proliferating, that American Express and Walmart had come out with a no-fee card called Bluebird, and not everything is as it seems.

You all chimed in with lots of great comments, including some that questioned what I really had against prepaid cards, especially if they are "no-fee" cards and serve those with less-than-average wherewithal (wherever that descending measure is these days) who rely on them for everything from consumer transactions to bill paying and ATM access.

First of all, let me say that I think prepaid cards are good. They're not great, but I hope they get there.

But I want to talk about what's not great, and how to make prepaid cards better.

I told you about the interchange fees that are charged to merchants and how those end up being passed along to consumers. Maybe that's not such a big deal if we can quantify their additional cost on a per-item basis. All I'll say about that is, it adds up.

My problem with prepaid cards is what we can't see about them.

What's going on behind the scenes? Do they offer adequate protection to their users? Is the proliferation of them going to present some systemic risk? How should they be regulated?

Regulation? I know what some of you are thinking. We have too many regulations as it is, and the regulators are all asleep at the wheel anyway, so regulation is the problem not the answer.

I agree with you, but not exactly. You'll see what I mean.

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Stocks to Buy Now: Don't Miss This Looming M&A Wave

As investors hunting for the best stocks to buy, we often get so caught up in the big names of the day that we miss a powerful opportunity right in our community.

I'm talking about community bank stocks, and they're about to offer you one of the biggest profit opportunities of the next few years.

In fact, patient long-term investors could see profits similar to those enjoyed in the 1990s as banks recovered and consolidated.

Stocks to Buy: Why It's Time for Small Banks

Community banks usually have just a few branches and less than $1 billion in deposits. They have seen their stock prices fall dramatically over the past few years from the peaks reached in the 2006 boom days.

Between 2006 and the depths of the credit crisis, the NASDAQ Bank Index plunged by more than 60% and has not really recovered. Some of the poorly managed ones lost it all and were liquidated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

Those that are left should benefit from the eventual recovery of the real estate markets – but the truth is most of these banks won't be around that long.

That's because as the credit crisis unfolded legislators and regulators were quick to react – or overreact. They applied new rules and regulation not just to the large institutions that caused most of the problems, but also to the smaller community banks.

With literally hundreds of new banking regulations on the way, many smaller banks simply will not be able to comply and still operate profitably. It will also be difficult for smaller banks to access the capital markets to raise the money needed to grow.

The most logical course of action will be to sell out to a larger institution.

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These Signs Point to Higher Oil Prices in 2013

On Monday, oil prices climbed above $90 for the first time in over a month, as encouraging data from China subdued concerns about going off the fiscal cliff.

Those worries have helped keep oil prices mired in the $85-$90 range after flirting with $100 in mid-September.

But positive manufacturing data from China, the hopes for a fiscal cliff resolution and a subsequent market rally, along with the ever-present risk of violence and chaos in the Middle East, are all sending oil prices higher today.

Those factors, as well as several others, should keep the pressure on for higher oil prices.

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Stock Market Today: Gauging the Fiscal Cliff Effect

U.S. markets were mixed and relatively quiet Monday as investors digested the weekend news that fiscal cliff talks had failed to lead to a deal – possibly even derailing earlier progress.

Just before 2 p.m. on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 26 points, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and Nasdaq were both treading slightly lower.

On the economic calendar to kick-off the busy week were reports on October construction spending, November manufacturing and auto sales.

What's Moving the Stock Market Today

  • Manufacturing Data

Data released Monday from the Institute for Supply Management revealed the U.S. manufacturing sector dipped back into contraction in November. Businesses reined in spending and curbed expansion projects while they anxiously await the looming blows from the fiscal cliff.

The ISM's manufacturing purchasers' index fell unexpectedly last month to 49.5 from 51.7 in October, marking the lowest reading since July 2009. Forecasts were for a reading of 51.5. A reading above 50 suggests expanding activity. Monday's reports gave no such hints.

According to economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswire, demand has slowed in the second half of 2012. The culprit is the imminent fiscal cliff.

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Don't Bet on a Fiscal Cliff Deal

Fresh reports reveal that fiscal cliff talks have not resolved a thing as Democrats and Republicans continue to haggle over a deal ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline.

"Right now, I would say we're nowhere, period. We're nowhere," House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH, stressed on Fox News.

Last week it wasn't clear if a deal would be reached. This weekend the chances looked downright dismal.

Boehner, who is spearheading negotiations with U.S. President Barack Obama, told reporters last week that "no substantive progress has been made in the talks between the White House and the House over the last two weeks."

The Speaker's meetings last Wednesday with the president and Thursday's with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner were also fruitless, Boehner acknowledged. By Friday, Boehner said both sides were at a stalemate.

"I've got to tell you that I'm disappointed in where we are and disappointed in what's happened over the last couple of weeks," Boehner admitted.

He detailed on Fox News, "They won the election, (but) they must have forgotten that Republicans continue to hold the majority in the House. But the president's idea of a negotiation is, "Roll over and do what I ask.'"

The two sides, just rows apart on Capitol Hill, might as well be thousands of miles away.

Congressional aides, tracking the back-and-forth negotiations, shared with the Washington Post that it is growing increasingly more likely that no deal will be inked in time to avoid the fiscal cliff.

Or, as Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., said on CBS's "Face the Nation," "I think we're going over the cliff."

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Another Sign the U.S. Economy is Headed Down the Same Road as Japan

Thirty years of negative stock market returns and multiple "lost decades" are failures the U.S. economy does not want to experience. Yet, unprecedented amounts of quantitative easing and skyrocketing debt in the United States are starting to cause concern that America could follow that path – the same one traveled by Japan. Money Morning Chief […]

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Massive Breakthrough For Graphene Investors

A radical new material made from a single carbon atom will soon have a pervasive impact on the U.S. economy – and the entire human race.

Stronger than steel and lighter than a feather, this high-tech medium will shape virtually every part of our daily lives by the end of this decade.

The possible uses are limitless.

No wonder the two scientists who discovered this substance won the Nobel Prize in physics last year. That alone should tell you something.

It often takes decades for scientific breakthroughs like this to bag the world's biggest award. But these two Russians won it for a substance discovered just seven years ago.

The material that I'm talking about is called "graphene." And you might have guessed, graphene is related to the graphite used in pencils.