Archive for the ‘Economy’ Category

First quarter ends on positive note

Posted by Michael on March 31st, 2009

The first quarter was a strange three months for the stock market. All the major indexes finished in the green to cap off a period that saw massive swings in both directions.

The DOW lost about 25% between the second week of January and early March, but has made up a lot of lost ground over the past couple of weeks, as investors are starting to believe that the worst is behind us. We have been getting a little encouragement in the form of consumer confidence rising a bit, some faith that Obama is going to be able to free up the credit market a little and help boost both the financial and automotive industries.

It is still unclear as to what shape the economy is really in at this time, and how quickly we can break out of the current recession, but investors have been expressing optimism the past couple weeks, and we will see just how strong that momentum is, and if we can carry it into the next quarter.

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Posted in After the Bell, Economy, Recession Tags: , , , No Comments »

Market Update – Markets close the week on a sour note

Posted by Michael on February 13th, 2009

Friday was another sell off for the market, as investors continue to show fear ahead of a plan out of Washington on how to reverse the current recession that seems to be deepening with each passing day.

The DOW was down 1.04% today, the NASDAQ traded 0.5% lower, and the S&P dropped another 1.0% in today’s trading.

For the week, the DOW dropped a total of 5.2%, and is sitting at lows that we have not seen since back in November when fear was running rapid among traders regarding the future of the economy.

One thing that is keeping traders in a selling mode is the waiting game to see what version of the current stimulus package actually gets approved. In today’s news, the House of Representatives passed their version on the stimulus package, a $787 billion plan to boost the economy. The next step is to get the bill pass the Senate, which is expected to cast its vote later today.

President Obama was optimistic that the bill had made it through the House, and now awaits to see if the Senate will send him the bill for his approval next week.

In other news today, two of the big banks, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup announced that they were enacting a moratorium on new foreclosures until they see what sort of plan Obama announces to help ease the huge increases in foreclosures that are hitting the market. Both banks have suspended new foreclosures until the first part of March in hopes of easing the pain that many homeowners are currently dealing with.

The markets will be closed on Monday, so we will have to wait until Tuesday to see if the market can make up some of its recent losses.

Enjoy your Valentines Day, and your long 3 day weekend.

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Posted in After the Bell, Bad News, Congress, Economy, Foreclosures, Housing, Market Updates, Politics, Recession Tags: , , , , , , , No Comments »

Wal-Mart (WMT) puts up strong January sales figures

Posted by Michael on February 5th, 2009

Retail sales figures for January are in, and the picture is not pretty for most retailers out there. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, sales dropped by 1.6% in January, which was actually a little better than the 2 to 3% dip analysts had been expecting, but still marking the fourth straight month sales have shrunk.

While most retailers are facing hard time, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) actually had a sales increase in the month. As consumers tighten up their spending, and look for cheaper products, it doesn’t really come as much of a surprise that shoppers are heading into Wal-Mart stores, which typically have the reputation of lower prices.

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Posted in Competite Strategy, Economy, Recession No Comments »

Premarket look: Market poised for lower start to kick off February

Posted by Michael on February 2nd, 2009

Taking a look at futures trading this morning indicates that the market is going to get off to a tough start for the trading day of February.

Investors continue to express concern that the stimulus package that was recently passed in the House is not going to get passed when the Senate gets its chance to vote on the new plan. There is still a good deal of concern over what the new package is going to do to address the ailing bank industry.

Consumer spending fell again in December, as the Commerce Department announces that personal spending in December fell by another 1%, as incomes dropped by 0.2% in the month as layoffs continue to mount. Analysts had been expecting to see consumer spending off by 0.9% in the month.

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Posted in Before the Bell, Congress, Consumer Experience, Economy, Market Updates Tags: , , , , No Comments »

Federal Reserve lowers key interest rate

Posted by Michael on October 8th, 2008

With the way the market has been moving violently lower the past couple of week, the Federal Reserve announced today it was lowering its key federal funds rate by half of a percentage point, down to 1.5%. It lowered the discount rate by the same amount, down to 1.75%.

The Fed stated that economic growth had slowed “markedly in recent months,” and that the cut was necessary.

Futures are trading higher this morning, and it looks like we should break the five day losing streak on Wall Street, and get some much needed bounces in some pretty beaten up stocks today.

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Posted in Before the Bell, Economy, Federal Reserve, Forecasts, Interest Rates, Recession No Comments »
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