Tuesday’s Market Recap (09/30/2008)
September 30, 2008
The markets recovered somewhat today from its biggest drop off since 2001 as investors anticipate that lawmakers will salvage the proposed $700 billion rescue plan that was turned down by the House yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial average rose 485.21 points, or 4.68% to close at 10,580.66. The Nasdaq rose 98.60 points, or 4.97% to close at 2082.33. The S&P500 rose 5.42%, or 59.97 points to settle at 1,166.36. The 10 year Treasury note rose 537 Read more
Materials, Doom or Boom?
September 30, 2008
With the equity markets trading erratically and sustained volatility making investors reconsider
their strategies its hard to determine what asset class to invest in let alone a specific sector. For those of you still bullish on commodities and looking to add a little exposure through the materials sector I will be writing a seven-part series on the strengths/weaknesses of the materials sector along with my top picks for 2009 and my top stocks to short as well. I will start off with an introduction to the Materials sector and an overview of this year’s performance thus far. Read more
Monday’s Market Recap (09/29/2008)
September 29, 2008
The markets crumbled today when investors panicked after the House rejected the government’s proposed financial bailout plan. 228 representatives rejected the proposal while only 205 voted in favor. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 777.68 points or 6.98%, the single largest one day point drop since 1987, to close at 10365.45. This 777.68 point Read more
Exelon, A Radiant Comeback Story?
September 29, 2008
Plain and simple, there is only one word that describes the decline of Exelon Corp [[EXC]. Wow. The largest utility company in the United States by market cap has seen its stock price depreciate nearly 17% and that includes a 625 basis point jump last Friday. The Wal-Mart of the utility sector, if you will, Exelon was seen as the poster company in the sector. Slow-growth, stable company, comfortable dividend. It had it all. Read more
Friday’s Market Recap (9/26/08)
September 26, 2008
The Bush administration and Congress anxiously revived negotiations today on the $700 billion rescue plan; one day after the largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Bargaining has restarted on the government’s bailout plan on which investors have nervously been awaiting more details. Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank thinks that by Sunday there will be an agreement, ending the Congressional disputes, and sense will be made of the plan. It will be interesting to see the details of the plan and hopefully this will ease everyone’s concerns about our economy and Wall Street’s Read more
Goldman Sachs, A Great Deal for Buffet
September 25, 2008
Warren Buffet, who has been regarded as one of the most powerful men in the world, and also one of the wealthiest, struck again to buy a stake in investment banking giant Goldman Sachs [GS: 173.53, 0.00 (0.00%)]. Buffet has steered away from many Wall Street firms in the past year, but this deal was one that he couldn’t miss. The deal, which has struck a lot of controversy from Goldman Sachs’ shareholders, is a very expensive one for Goldman to do. Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman, was extremely worried that the markets didn’t think their balance sheet Read more
Thursday’s Market Recap (9/25/2008)
September 25, 2008
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 196.86 points or 1.82% to close the day at 11,022.06. The Nasdaq rose 1.43% or 30.89 points to close at 2,186.57. The S&P500 closed at 1,209.18, up 23.31 points or 1.197%. Oil prices rose $2.29 or to settle at $108.02 a barrel, as investors wonder if the world’s largest energy consuming nation can straighten out the details of the $700 billion rescue plan and avoid a recession, which would greatly cut into fuel demand. Read more
Is it time to Embrace the Universal Banking Model?
September 25, 2008
I have been following the markets through this whole credit crunch, but nothing wowed me like the simultaneous fall of both Lehman Brothers [LEH: 0.00, N/A (N/A)] into the abyss of bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch’s [MER: 11.78, 0.00 (0.00%)] marriage with Bank of America [BAC: 16.85, 0.00 (0.00%)]. American International Group [AIG: 34.32, 0.00 (0.00%)] is also following in their footsteps as the insurer struggled to stay afloat and eventually received government backing. It is evident that change is necessary going forward and it is important that businesses become proactive before the government institutes further regulation. Spending the Read more
Wednesday’s Market Recap (9/24/2008)
September 24, 2008
A lot of movement during the session today, but we ended with very little deviation from yesterday’s close. News of Warren buffet’s confidence in Goldman Sachs and the financial sector was countered by investors still nervously waiting for more information on the government’s $700 billion rescue plan and anxiousness over how effective this plan will be at fixing our credit mess. President Bush plans to address the nation tonight in an attempt to ease fears, but is not expected to go into much detail about the government’s plan. Read more
Kroger: Your Local Grocer
September 24, 2008
After what has quite possibly been the craziest week in Wall Street history, many people are trying to figure out where to go in this market. While this may or may not be the bottom, it seems like Wall Street has gotten what it has asked for from the government: a solution for all the banks’ problems with bad debt, as opposed to the government just bailing out one firm at a time. Whether or not this was a good Read more
