What a better way to start the new month of December, as stocks started out the new month with a 3.7% three-day pop that already has some breathlessly hailing December as the new January, and which also wiped out November’s 0.2% decline.  And while this past Friday’s employment report disappointed sharply, the bulls were definitely in charge of spin control.  …

The holiday-shortened trading week of Thanksgiving had most Americans giving thanks for their many blessings over the past year.  Unfortunately, for those living in say South Korea had to deal with bombs being lobbed over by their fellow North Korean neighbors.  This past week on a global front we also saw the country of Ireland fall to its financial knees, …

It was another see-saw week with respect to the equity markets, as the biggest news on the five-day trading week was General Motor’s initial public offering on Thursday, which raised over $18.1 billion in shares.  The other action surrounded the Federal Reserve as Ben Bernanke & Co. continued their quantitative easing program, and actually went before Congress to politely defend …

Stocks continued to sag throughout this past week, with traders once again taking their cues from overseas. On Friday, speculation began heating up that Chinese officials will soon begin to raise interest rates, after the country reported on Thursday that inflation surged to its highest level in more than two years in the month of October. Additionally, news hit the …

The stock market went on a rampage this past week as equities surged northward due to several important events including the mid-term elections, the Fed’s policy announcement, and an improving employment report for the month of October.  All the major equity indexes moved higher, partly due to the Republicans winning back control of the U.S. House, which is seen as …

The stock market had its best October since 2003 due largely in fact to strong earnings reports, a growing economy and an improving report on jobless claims. October had loads of thrills for the bulls with big upside moves, and not many downside chills for the bears could be found. The S&P 500 closed out the past week virtually flat, …

Stocks are up with Halloween fast approaching. Investors should certainly be content that the month of October has been nothing short of a financial ‘treat’ thus far.  The broad equity indexes were higher for the seventh week out of the past eight, with earnings reports helping drive prices higher. Bulls continue to feel that the economy is beginning to improve …

There certainly was a huge dichotomy when it came to the equity markets this past week, as on the one hand we had outstanding results for some of the big technology names, while on the other hand, we had the stagnation of the big banks thanks to new worries surrounding the mortgage foreclosure proceedings.  Strong earnings from Google gave a …

Even with the disappointing jobs report this past Friday, the good times just keeps on coming for equity investors, as all the major indexes finished in the black for the first full trading week of October.  It was a week where we saw declines in both government jobs and private sector jobs, yet a week where we also witnessed the …

The temperatures in Alabama weren’t the only thing that was hot during the notoriously scary month of September, as equities posted their best September in nearly 71 years. Much of the strength came during the second half of the month on better-than-expected economic news which beat back worries about a double dip recession. With an unexpected drop in initial jobless …