Stock Indexes
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Popular Stock Indicator Tells Investors to Hit the BRICs
By Jennifer Yousfi Managing Editor Global investors seeking undervalued markets might want to look at Russia, China, India, Malaysia, South Korea or Brazil. And if they want to avoid overvalued markets, they'd be best to eschew Italy, the United States, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, or Germany. What's tipping us off? The so-called Price/Earnings-to- Growth ratio, better […]
By All Indications: A Recap of the Economic Reports of the Week
By Jennifer Yousfi Managing Editor It was another troubling week for the U.S. market, as the latest round of economic indicators continued to paint a downbeat portrait of the outlook for the American economy. Let's take a look at the economic reports released last week: Existing Home Sales: The week got off to a bad […]
Stocks Enjoy Their Biggest Two-Day Rally in Five Years
From Staff Reports U.S. stocks experienced their biggest rally in five years yesterday (Wednesday), as browbeaten investors seized on Federal Reserve Vice Chairman David Kohn's suggestion that another rate cut could be in the offing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 331 points, or 2.56%, to close at 13,289.45 yesterday. Combined with a 213-point rally […]
Why This "Bernanke Put" Could Make for the Scariest Halloween Ever
By Keith Fitz-GeraldContributing Editor The markets are clearly counting on the "Bernanke Put," which is how market insiders refer to the Federal Funds rate cut nearly everyone is hoping for today (Wednesday). I have to say that I'm dumbfounded. I simply can't understand why investors believe that another rate cut will somehow bail out the […]
Soaring Oil Prices, Debt Concerns Send Stocks Skidding Yesterday; Oil Spikes in Asia Today
By Jason Simpkins Staff Writer Stocks tumbled yesterday (Monday) as oil prices soared and three major U.S. banks announced a plan to revive the asset-backed commercial paper market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 108.20 points, or 0.77%, to close at 13,984.80. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed at 1,548.71, down 13.09 points, […]
U.S. Market Update: Earnings Start, Deals Continue, Fed Minutes Upbeat…
The almighty consumer accounts for two-thirds of the economy's growth (or, at least, that's what the "experts" always claim). Well, last week, they received some pretty mixed signals about consumer activity: past, present, and future. While the world's top retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), surprisingly increased its earnings forecast for the third quarter, few others […]
Beware of This Fed-Led Stock Market Rally
By Keith Fitz-Gerald Contributing Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report As a professional trader, I’m never far from my trading screens. But I find that I’ve been watching them even more intently than usual over the past few days. When I take a step back and attempt to assess just why I seem to be […]
U.S. Economy Surges in the Second Quarter, Struggles After That
By Jason Simpkins Staff Writer The U.S. economy made a strong showing in the second quarter, with growth surging at an annual rate of 3.8% — a major improvement over the anemic 0.6% advance of the first quarter, according to The Associated Press. It was the strongest quarterly showing in more than a year, the […]
Stocks Soar Friday on Earnings, Buyback News
From Staff Reports Indexes gained Friday amid encouraging earnings news from Oracle and a big buyback from Texas Instruments U.S. stocks rose Friday, capping off a big week in which the U.S. Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates to stave off a recession. Stronger-than-expected earnings from Oracle (ORCL) and a big share buyback from Texas […]
The '$900 Million Conspiracy' Trade That Wasn't?
By Keith Fitz-Gerald Contributing Editor It's Friday morning, and the $900 million 'Mystery Trade' that I've written to you about several times recently expires today. This trade, which has been cause célèbre on the Internet, especially in chat rooms frequented by conspiracy theorists, will likely expire having served its purpose as a below-market-rate financing mechanism […]Quadruple Witching Day Today
By Jason Simpkins Staff Writer Expect increased trading volume and market volatility today (Friday) as index futures, market index options, stock options, and stock futures all expire on the same day. While index futures and options typically share simultaneous expirations on the third Friday of every month, quadruple witching days usually only come about on […]
U.S. Fed Readies Itself For All the Right Moves
As we await the announced decision of U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers today, there are some very important facts to keep in mind. First and foremost is this: The fears of a recession are highly exaggerated. The U.S. economy has good momentum, the American consumer is still spending, and we believe that central bank will reduce […]
S&P Rates "Most Vulnerable" Nations
From Staff Reports Latvia, Iceland, Bulgaria and Turkey could be among the nations hurt the most if the global credit crunch continues to escalate, said a new Standard & Poor's Inc. ranking of 15 countries from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. S&P's so-called "Liquidity Vulnerability Index" tries to measure the sovereign vulnerability of […]
Low Consumer Confidence Unlikely to Motivate the Fed; Stocks Plunge
By Jason Simpkins Staff Writer Worries about the strength of the U.S. economy coupled with questions about the central bank’s willingness to intercede sent shares into an outright freefall yesterday (Tuesday), with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding more than 280 points. The bellwether 30-stock Dow plunged 280.28 points – or 2.1% – to close […]
Dow Rallies After Early Concerns Subside
By Jason Simpkins Staff Writer U.S. stocks posted moderate gains yesterday (Monday) – rebounding from early setbacks – as still-fretting investors get ready to navigate a stretch that will be largely bereft of corporate earnings reports or critical economic reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 42.27 points, or 0.32%, yesterday to close at 13,125.35, […]