The equity markets continued to be in the holiday spirit this past week, as stocks celebrated the Christmas holidays along with some much needed good economic news. Although the gains were somewhat muted and on light volume, stocks managed to keep its winning streak alive and finished at its highest close since September 19, 2008. It marked the third-straight weekly …
Another Puzzling but Bullish Week
It was another sort of puzzling but nonetheless bullish week of equity trading this past week, as the week’s modest gains happened to occur amid a whole lot of economic worries and unsettling economic developments. Whether you took into account the fact that oil hit the $90 level for a barrel, or the fact that interest rates continued to climb …
December Roars in Like a Lion
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. …
A Week of Turkey & Bombs
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, …
Treading Water
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 …
The Bubble Finally Bursts
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 …
Running of the Bulls
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 …
So much for a Spooky October
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, …
Treat or Treat as Stocks are Up for October
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 …
Pop Goes the Nasdaq
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 …