We’re pretty much just treading water here, consolidating the big down moves for last week and waiting for earnings. Stocks were up a bit this morning until Countrywide Financial (CFC) started selling off around 11am EST. The shares lost about…
It was a tale of two different years for Top Gun, as for the stock market: the first half of the year and the second half (Top Gun 2007 Performance Chart). Top Gun underperformed in the first half of the…
Before the open this morning, JP Morgan analysts downgraded semiconductor king Intel (INTC) from “Buy” to “Hold”. They suggested Intel experienced a late quarter slowdown in orders that will hurt the 4th quarter and therefore slightly lowered their 4th quarter…
Spineless adj.: without moral force, resolution or courage Denial n.: a defense mechanism characterized by refusal to acknowledge painful realities, thoughts or feelings It was just brought to my attention that David Lereah, former Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors,…
The selloff is accelerating here in the afternoon and we are rapidly approaching key support levels that need to hold if the bull market is intact. Here is where indexes are now and where key support is (in my opinion):…
“Investors are putting on the recession trade.” – Tony Dwyer, Investment Strategist, FTN Midwest Securities Today’s trading is interesting. You’d think everything would be down big but it isn’t so. Three sectors are holding up well: Consumer Staples (XLP), Health Care…
Yesterday after the close, S&P 500 home furnishings retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY) reported an ugly quarter (BBBY FY 3Q Earnings Release). Revenues were up 11% but same store sales were weak, up only .8%, and Net Income was…
“… the job market is losing momentum. That is critically important because income growth tied to the creation of new jobs has been a key source of support for the household sector….” – David Greenlaw, Morgan Stanley The BLS’s December…
One of the interesting features of the real estate boom was the way that outlying areas from major metros took off. As real estate got more and more expensive in the big metros (Bay Area, LA, etc…), a lot of…
The Wall Street Journal had a fascinating front page article yesterday on the 2008 Presidential Election: “An Epochal Battle: Iowa kicks off the most wide open race since ’80. Looking beyond the Reagan-Bush era” (subscription required). Everybody knows the big…