Back In The Black
Although stocks finished in the green on Friday and the DJIA finally made it back into the black for the year, it would appear that the now three-month old rally has been put on hold. While there was some good news to be found – especially Japan’s pronouncement of its support for U.S. Treasuries – it feels like traders are looking for signs of actual improvement in the economy before committing to any additional upside.
As has been the case lately, the day’s outcome was ultimately decided by some last-minute programs, this time to the upside, triggered by the reported upset in the Iranian election. However, with both sides now claiming victory, and by a landslide, of course, this issue isn’t likely to carry forward.
For much of Friday’s session, sentiment was weighed down by several factors including a less-than inspiring number out of the University ...
Don’t Fight the Tape?
When I got started in the business of the stock market back in the early 1980’s, the first two Wall Street-isms I learned were “Don’t fight the Fed” and “Don’t fight the Tape.” The idea behind each of these beloved clichés is that it rarely, if ever, pays to argue with Ms. Market or the folks that control the purse strings.
Perhaps the other big message to be taken out of these two phrases is that when dealing with the stock market, the words ‘could,’ ‘should,’ and ‘would’ should be removed from your vocabulary. You see, as an investor your primary job is to keep your portfolios in line with what the market IS doing instead of what you or someone else thinks it ought to be doing.
In fact, the reason I began penning my morning missive was to make sure that I kept myself ...
Is a Bad Bank a Good Thing?
Stocks rallied strongly yesterday on the buzz that the Obama administration would soon announce a “bad bank” structure as the latest effort to put an end to the banking and credit crisis. Financial stocks soared with many bank stocks blasting higher by 30% or more and the major indices cut through their respective 10-day moving averages like a hot knife through butter. The action pushed the Dow to a gain of +2.46% while the rest of the major indices all enjoyed gains of +3.4% or more.
If you will recall, the original idea of the TARP was to buy up the toxic assets from banks so as to get them off bank balance sheets. The thinking was that banks would undoubtedly start lending money again if they didn’t have to worry about plunging values and illiquid assets. So, the plan was to get ...
All About Redemptions
In looking at Wednesday’s thrashing, there appear to be so many reasons and so little time this morning – so, let’s get right to it. The Dow plunged another 514 points yesterday and in the process, scared the bajeebers out of just about everyone that still happens to own any stock at all. After briefly flirting with some performance anxiety this week during the market’s upside adventure, all of a sudden any exposure to stocks feels wrong again. And with the S&P breaking down to a fresh new low, albeit by just a hair, fear made a triumphant return to the corner of Broad and Wall yesterday.
The good news is that the credit markets continue to, as they are now saying on Wall Street, “thaw.” In short, this means that rates for short-term funding (such as commercial paper) have become a little more reasonable again, which ...
Particle Drilling Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDRT) 85% LOWER; announced today, results from its most recent commercial field trial. The Company's Board of Directors also formed a special committee to evaluate and pursue strategic alternatives, including a strategic industry joint venture, technology licensing arrangement, sale of the company and other available alternatives.
American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) 48.1% LOWER; Fears the company will have to file bankruptcy if it can't raise a $40-$75 billion in capital quickly. S&P and Moodys' downgrades the company's credit ...
