Markets

As news broke that the U.S. jobless rate crossed the dreaded 10 percent mark, many investors braced for the market's reaction. The response to word that unemployment reached levels not seen since 1983? The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 17.46 points to 10,023.42 and the S&P 500 ended the day at 1,069.30, up 2.67 points. Not exactly a sell-off.

So did news on Friday of 10.2 percent unemployment represent a buying opportunity? For those who follow market trends, it did.

Comments (56)Permalink

Nomura's Joseph Mezrich sees market rally continuing as profits recover

By Anthony Massucci | Nov 6th 2009, 5:00PM EST Filed Under: Retirement, Company News, Columns, Economy, People, Investing, Earnings

Bears who warn the U.S. stock market has gone too far too fast -- the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 18 percent year to date -- may not get much vindication anytime soon. Investors should see stocks continue to rally as long as corporate profits keep recovering, says market expert Joseph Mezrich (pictured), Nomura Securities International's head of quantitative research.

And the signs look good. The estimated earnings growth rate for the Standard & Poor's 500 during the fourth quarter is 216 percent, according to Thomson Reuters. Even stripping out the volatile financial sector, the other eight out of nine sectors are expected to show a blended growth...

Comments (1)Permalink

What to do about Fannie and Freddie: Restructure -- or terminate?

By Matthew Scott | Nov 6th 2009, 4:00PM EST Filed Under: Company News, Investing, Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae's (FNH) report of a third-quarter loss of $19.76 billion and subsequent plea to the federal government for $15 billion in additional aid is sure to intensify a big question that so far has gone unanswered: What can be done to stem the bleeding at the giant mortgage lender and its sibling Freddie Mac (FRE)? Given this week's bankruptcy filing by CIT, which will probably lead to the loss of $2.3 billion in taxpayer money, Fannie Mae's request for another $15 billion will strike many as throwing more good money after bad.

Fannie Mae had previously posted...

Comments (11)Permalink

The goofy Galleon gang: Wacky hedgies play cops and robbers...with real cash!

By Bruce Watson | Nov 6th 2009, 2:30PM EST Filed Under: Economy, People, Investing, Media

As the full extent of the Galleon Group's insider trading comes to light, its story is starting to resemble something out of the movies. Although Raj Rajaratnam's house has already been compared to the homes in both The Sopranos and Goodfellas, the sad truth is that the real-life criminal ring lacks both the class of Tony Soprano's gang and the gravitas of Joe Pesci's. As details emerge, the whole mess seems to fall closer to the cartoonish excess of Animal House.

The central member of the gang -- the Otter, if you will -- may well be Zvi "The Octopussy" Goffer. Robert Khuzami, director of the Securites and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement, noted...

Comments (18)Permalink

Apple really needs a better iPhone answer to Google Navigation killer app

By Alex Salkever | Nov 6th 2009, 1:30PM EST Filed Under: Technology, Investing, Google , Research In Motion, Apple, AT&T, Verizon

apple-really-needs-better-iphone-answer-to-google-navigation-killer-app

Lots of people claim that Apple's (AAPL) iPhone is the first smartphone to really unleash the potential of the Internet on a handset. And they are right. iPhone users suck up so much more Web time than Blackberry (RIMM) users (even though far more Blackberry units have been sold over time) that Apple partner AT&T (T) has struggled to handle the load and, by many indications, still can't keep up. But let's not forget that the iPhone's Web utility was...

Comments (5)Permalink

TARP has 'no significant flaws', oversight panel finds

By Lita Epstein | Nov 6th 2009, 11:00AM EST Filed Under: Company News, Economy, Investing, Bank of America, Citigroup

tarp-implementation-had-no-significant-flaws-oversight-panel-finds

You may find it hard to believe, but the Congressional Oversight Panel released its monthly report Friday and said that it had found no "significant flaws in Treasury's implementation" of TARP bailout programs. In fact, the panel found that so far, the Treasury Department has collected $17.4 billion in fees and taken only up to $2 million in losses from the Debt Guarantee Program that backs the debt which banks issued.

At the height of the program, the federal government (and ultimately U.S. taxpayers) guaranteed or insured $4.5 trillion in face value assets, with the majority of the guarantees backing money market accounts...

Comments (9)Permalink

Stocks in the news: AIG, Starbucks, Fannie Mae, General Electric

By Melly Alazraki | Nov 6th 2009, 8:55AM EST Filed Under: Company News, Investing, Crocs, Fannie Mae, General Electric , Macy's, American International Group, INC., Starbucks, Amazon.com, Inc.

American International Group Inc. (AIG) posted its second straight profit Friday morning of $455 million, or 68 cents a share, as investment losses narrowed and catastrophe costs declined. But revenue fell at life and property-casualty operations. Shares fell over 10 percent ahead of the bell.

Starbucks (SBUX), late Thursday, reported higher earnings, saying adjusted profit of 24 cents per share, beating the 21-cents-per share estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters mostly due to cost cutting measures. The coffee chain lifted...

Comments (0)Permalink

Stocks ready to retreat after unemployment jumps to 10.2 percent

By Melly Alazraki | Nov 6th 2009, 8:05AM EST Filed Under: Economy, Investing

U.S. stocks are set to start the day on an upbeat note, keeping with the momentum from Thursday's two percent surge. The focus this morning is on government's jobs report to be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. While there have been signs of growth and recovery in the economy, the labor market has been one of the biggest concerns, as the Federal Reserve statement from Wednesday attests. The employment data will also allow investors to gauge how the upcoming shopping season will fare.

[Update 8:33 a.m.: Stock futures changed course after the government reported the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent, above the 9.9 percent expected. Nonfarm payrolls dropped by 190,000 in October, bringing to total number of jobs lost in the recession to 7.3 million.]

Comments (0)Permalink

Daily Blogwatch: The best-performing S&P 500 stock since Obama was elected

By James Altucher | Nov 6th 2009, 8:00AM EST Filed Under: Company News, Technology, Columns, Economy, People, Investing, Earnings, Media

Unbelievable. Guess which is the best-performing S&P 500 stock since Obama was elected.

_________________

Good thing the FTC is protecting us from those monopolistic robber barons in the pretzel industry.

_________________

Hedge fund manager James Matthews really hates me.

_________________

Comments (0)Permalink

In Asia, CNOOC gains on Gulf of Mexico news, NEC surges, Disney-related stocks fall

By Lauren Cooper | Nov 6th 2009, 7:00AM EST Filed Under: Economy, Investing

Asia's major indexes rose Friday, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbing 1.6 percent to close at 21,830, Japan's Nikkei Index increasing 0.7 percent to end the day at 9,789 and China's Shanghai Composite Index adding 0.3 percent to settle at 3,164.

Yet another successful IPO sent shares of Greens Holdings Ltd. up 12.3 percent, making it the third Hong Kong company to rise on its debut this week. The company provides energy efficiency solutions and products, including wind power equipment. Luxury residential developer Evergrande Real Estate Group, which began trading earlier this week, fell 2.6 percent today, and menswear company Trinity Ltd, which also kicked off trading this week, lost 3.9 percent of its recent gains.

Comments (2)Permalink