Stock Market Blog -Jan 30th

The market dropped on Friday, with increased volume, triggered maybe by the unrest in Egypt.
AMZN, F, PMCS, and MWW sold off after reporting earnings.



New unemployment claims were up to 454,000! (chart).
This week, four more banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Next week we get more earnings reports, to include:

Mon: BIDU
Tue:
Wed:
Thu:
Fri:

Market commentary: The market took a tumble on Friday, and we could see a continuation to the down-side, just based on an overdue correction.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices spiked on Friday, closing just under $90 per barrel.
Natural Gas was down, closing near $4.30.
Gold dropped, closing around $1339.
The 30 year Bond is still in a range, closing near $121.
The US Dollar was little changed, closing around 78.30.

News:
U.S. Markets Hit With Sharp Declines on Earnings, Middle East Turmoil
U.S. Stocks Sell Off On Egypt And Ford, Amazon Earnings
Bond Fund Outflow Surged Last Month

Stock Market Blog -Jan 23rd

The market began to show some signs of weakness this week as some of the high fliers lost some ground (AAPL, AMZN, FFIV, GOOG, CREE, CRM, etc.).

IBM on the other hand continued to hit all time highs, and ORCL is hitting highs not seen in 10 years. ISRG popped on earnings; also GE.

Gold and Silver dropped this week too, while Bonds have been in a trading range for the past month.

The Year's Best Stocks (2010)

Meanwhile, the Small Caps and the Nasdaq 100 are showing some weakness...

New unemployment claims dropped to 404,000! (chart).
This week, four more banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Next week we get lots of earnings reports, to include:

Mon: AXP, HAL, MCD, TXN, VMW
Tue: DD, JNJ, MMM, TRV, JNPR, YHOO, VZ
Wed: BA, COP, NFLX
Thu: T, CAT, MO, AMZN, MSFT, POT
Fri: CVX, F

Market commentary: Earnings reports will continue to drive the market next week. So far, we have seen some of the high fliers losing ground, and the market starting to weaken. If I were to pick a direction, it would be to the down side.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices were lower, closing around $89 per barrel.
Natural Gas was up, closing near $4.75.
Gold saw a large drop, closing around $1341.
The 30 year Bond dropped a bit, closing near $120.
The US Dollar index dropped, closing around 78.25.

News:
U.S. Stocks Decline, S&P 500 Ends Longest Weekly Winning Streak Since 2007
Economy Probably Sped Up as U.S. Consumer Spending Rose Most in Four Years
Bank of America Posts $1.6 Billion Earnings Loss
U.S. debt crosses $14 trillion mark for first time
Gold, silver settle lower on optimism about economy
Rising commodities prices loom

Will the Economic Recovery Slide on $90 Oil?
A Path Is Sought for States to Escape Their Debt Burdens
Facebook raises $1.5 billion
Big tech is beautiful
There Are No Pros in Financial Planning

Stock Market Blog -Jan 16th

The market continued to power-up this week, with Energy and Financials leading the way again. Oil prices were back over the $90 level, while Gold saw some more losses. Bonds were mostly unchanged.

New all time highs: APC, AAPL, AMZN, CY, CSX, FFIV, IBM, RAX, SINA, TCK, PCLN
...mostly 'tech' -it's 1999 again!

Also: MDY Mid-cap ETF! interesting...

New all time lows: QID, SDS, TZA (same story -all the inverse index ETFs!)


New unemployment claims rose again, this time to 445,000! (chart).
This week, another bank was shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Next week kicks off earnings season, Big week -earnings and option expiration.

Market commentary: Most likely we'll see the market begin to react to earnings reports next week. I still maintain that there is more risk in being 'long' at this level. The market has rallied almost non-stop since September. Bond prices may be seeing a bottom in this area too, while the US Dollar might be seeing a short term double top.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices were slightly lower, closing around $88 per barrel.
Natural Gas was up then down, closing unchanged near $4.40.
Gold dropped, closing around $1370.
The 30 year Bond dropped, closing near $121.
The US Dollar index rallied, closing around 81.40.

News:
U.S. stocks post seventh week of gains
Gas prices head for $4 a gallon

Stock Market Blog -Jan 9th

We started off the new year with a nice rally on Monday. The much anticipated jobs report on Friday was somewhat disappointing, but the market didn't show much reaction. The unemployment rate also fell to 9.4%, which is encouraging.

New unemployment claims were back over the 400,000 level at 409,000! (chart).
This week, two banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). Next week kicks off earnings season, with AA reporting on Monday, INTC on Thursday, and JPM on Friday.

Market commentary: Most likely we'll see the market begin to react to earnings reports next week. I still maintain that there is more risk in being 'long' at this level. The market has rallied almost non-stop since September. Bond prices may be seeing a bottom in this area too, while the US Dollar might be seeing a short term triple top.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices were slightly lower, closing around $88 per barrel.
Natural Gas was up then down, closing unchanged near $4.40.
Gold dropped, closing around $1370.
The 30 year Bond dropped, closing near $121.
The US Dollar index rallied, closing around 81.40.

News:
The job market: a lost decade
3 Trades for Solar Rebound

Stock Market Blog -Jan 2nd

Happy New Year to everyone, as I write my first post for 2011. The market was flat this week as expected, though some of the recent leaders started to show signs of weakness.

For 2011, I think one of the trades will be to short Bonds (TBT, TBF..), as long term interest rates start creeping up.

Another trade might be to look at some of the commodity ETFs as prices continue to increase (DBA, DBB, DBC, RJA, etc. see: 123etfs.com).

Energy and alternative energy might be worth considering too (XLE, TAN, etc.).

Of course, the S&P500 (or any other US index: SPY, QQQQ, IWM...) will be in play as well. With all the money printing to stimulate the economy, we could see a boost in the overall stock market.

Gold was up for the 10th year in a row!

Meanwhile, we start off the new year with $14 trillion in debt, and climbing...

Market snapshot

New unemployment claims for the week fell below 400k to 388,000! (chart).
This week, no banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). The first significant report for the year will be the monthly jobs report on Friday.

Market commentary: We start off the new year eagerly awaiting the next batch of earnings reports due to begin in about a week. The jobs report on Friday could be a market mover as well.
We could see some selling this week as the technical indicators on the charts seem to suggest.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices were mostly unchanged, closing just over $91 per barrel.
Natural Gas was up, closing near $4.40.
Gold rallied to close the year at an all time high, around $1421.
The 30 year Bond may have turned up, closing near $122'04.
The US Dollar index dropped, closing around 79.28.

Commodities

News:
U.S. stocks extend gains into second year
Commodities Beat Stocks, Bonds, Dollar in 2010
The Top-Performing ETFs of 2010
Oil Surges to Highest Year-End Price Since 2007 on Dollar
Inflation Scorecard: Gold Wraps Up Year With Record Gains
Bond fund investors face tough new era
Home foreclosures jump in 3rd quarter: regulators
Home Prices Fall; Declines Expected to Continue
Slide show: Review the year 2010 in 10 pictures

Busch: Top 5 Problems for 2011
Tom Lydon Makes the Case for Small Caps, Corporate Debt
Brazil’s new president promises more economic growth
2011 poses challenges for India markets
Chinese stock market posts 15% fall for 2010