Market Wrap: Draghi Missing the 'Hole'; Monster Energy Sapped; U.S. Confidence Wanes as Home Prices Gain

Market wrap-up for August 28th

End of the Day: Dow Jones down 21.7 to 13,102.99; S&P 500 down 1.1 to 1,409.30; Nasdaq up 4.0 to 3,077.14

The following is a brief summary of events moving markets today:

• More like Mario 'Wet Blanket'-hi: ECB President Mario Draghi isn't going to be attending the Jackson Hole event this week in Wyoming. Some speculate that its because he's laded down with euro-zone debt and banking crisis issues.
  
  Others believe it might have something to do with his uncontrollable, enduring charisma.
  
  Anyway, who else is going to win the annual "Bernanke Egg Carry"?
  
  
• Positive housing data: Data from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed a 1.2 percent gain in second-quarter 2012 housing prices. Furthermore, the Case-Shiller 20-City Index reported a 0.5 percent increase in home prices during June, with the index up 2.3 percent from May.
  
  
• Like liquid defibrillators: Monster Beverage (Nasdaq: MNST) ended the session a little lower Tuesday, following reports that the New York Attorney General was opening up a probe on the marketing and advertising tactics for energy drinks. Others included in the investigation include PepsiCo. (NYSE: PEP), which manufactures Amp Energy, and 5-Hour Energy Shot maker Living Essentials.
  
  NY AG Eric Schneiderman will look into whether or not advertising for the benefits provided by the energy drinks is misleading and if all potential health issues have been properly disclosed. If not, the companies could face fines, penalties, and new labeling requirements.
  
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• Confidence, is not high. Repeat, confidence..is not high: Data from the Conference Board on Tuesday showed its confidence index fell to 60.6, from a revised lower 65.4 in July and expectations calling for a 65.7 reading. The 4.8 point drop was the largest since last October.
  
  Other data from the Conference Board had the measure of present conditions at 45.8 in August, from 45.9. Expectations for the next six-months fell from 78.4 down to 70.5 in August.
  
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• Going to bat with an expensive deal: Who doesn't love baseball? No one, that's who. Disney (NYSE: DIS) knows this, so they smartly hammered out an eight-year deal with Major League Baseball (MLB) which expands broadcast, online coverage, and studio programming rights for its ESPN unit. In total, the deal is valued at $5.6 billion, which is double what it currently pays for TV rights, digital programming, and radio coverage.
  
  According to MLB.com: " The contract includes a record-setting increase in annual rights fees, as ESPN's $700 million per year marks an increase of 100 percent over its current deal...The pact grants ESPN a significant increase in studio and game content, including the right to broadcast up to 90 regular-season MLB games per year across the ESPN networks beginning in 2014 and running through the 2021 season.
  
  Starting in 2014, ESPN will be back in the business of televising postseason action, with one of the two Wild Card Games presented by Budweiser. ESPN will alternate airing the American League and National League Wild Card Games each year. Also starting in 2014, ESPN will have the rights to all potential regular-season tiebreaker games."
  
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• Just be prepared for 55 mph highway speeds and coasting to a stop: Gasoline prices are still near four-month highs as crude popped 79 cents on the trading session Tuesday, closing at $96.26 per barrel on the Comex for the October 2012 contacts. Hurricane Isaac is expected to reach landfall, bolstering prices as damage remains uncertain.
  
  In addition, AAA released data Monday that gasoline prices will reach record-high prices for Labor Day weekend. Still, AAA sees no ebbing of travel plans for the holiday, with 33 million Americans to venture out during the weekend, up 2.9 percent from the same period last year.
  
  Despite the higher gas prices, averaging $3.75 per gallon nationwide, it is not expected that the Obama administration will release stockpiles to ease prices for U.S. consumers.

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