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— by George Leong, B. Comm. Markets have been drifting in the past week, as there is some hesitancy, plus the fact that stocks are technically overbought given the rally. The current positive bias is largely based on a belief that the recession will be coming to an…
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— by Inya Ivkovic, MA Billions of dollars have already been poured into ailing automakers General Motors and Chrysler. There is an "interesting" conundrum going with bailout money coming into these two from both U.S. and Canadian governments, whereby GM got a much larger piece of the pie…
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— by George Leong, B. Comm. Here we are, with about three weeks left until the midpoint of the year. After a poor start, it has been an excellent ride since the March test of the bottom. The rally has been steady and managed to avoid any major…
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— by George Leong, B. Comm. Markets are largely trading in a sideways channel, unable to break and hold at some key resistance levels. However, the positive is that stocks have managed to avoid any major bout of selling. So far, in 2009, technology continues to provide the…
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— by George Leong, B. Comm. If the current economic and earnings concerns were not enough, we now are faced with the threat of a global flu pandemic that could wipe out about $3.0 trillion, or five percent, of global GDP, according to the World Bank. The threat…
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— by Michael Lombardi, CFP, MBA While the mood of consumers and investors is improving, the damage to the economy caused by the credit crisis will take years to repair itself. At this point, one can confidently say this is the worse recession we've had since the Great…
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— by Inya Ivkovic, MA The Federal Reserve ran so-called "stress tests" on 19 large banks, the methodology of which is going to be released tomorrow and the results on May 4th. According to Associated Press, the Fed's approach was to have a much harsher view on loans…
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— by George Leong, B. Comm. Are you looking for growth in the U.S. market? The Hispanic population is the biggest ethnic minority in the United States and it is expected to become even more significant. President Obama is looking at opening up dialogue with Cuba. He is…
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It was nasty on Monday for investors, as stock markets plummeted in a massive sell-off that drove major indices down between 7.0% and 11.85% in the case of the small-cap Russell 2000. The selling was triggered by a combination of an overbought stock market, given the five-day rally…
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On Monday, Credit Suisse Group (NYSE/CS) cut its price target on insurance and financial services company American International Group, Inc. (NYSE/AIG) to $22.00 from $30.00, based on an expected major loss in the third quarter versus the previous estimate of profits. The housing market remains in turmoil after…
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The stock market took off like a bullet yesterday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 2.9% in a single day. Yes, the Federal Reserve met Tuesday and decided to leave interest rates unchanged. And while most analysts were quick to credit the stock market's advance to comments…
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Not only is the business environment a tough one for the retailers, but for the manufacturers who produce the goods for sale, it has also been an uphill battle. Bellwether electronics company Sony Corporation (NYSE/SNE) announced on Tuesday that its earnings for April to June came in at…
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Some smart "___" analyst at Morgan Stanley predicted on Friday that crude oil prices would rise to $150.00 a barrel by the July 4th weekend. Well, that's all speculators needed on Friday to take oil up $11.00 in a single day to a new high of $139.00 a…
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Terrible day for economic news yesterday... First, Fed Chief Bernanke announced that the top priority of the Fed is price stability. (What happened to saving the economy being the priority?) Bernanke basically said that inflation is too high, which means that the Fed is signaling that it may…
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The demand for small and fuel-efficient cars have been trending higher in concert with the surging oil prices, which recently traded at just over $135.00 per barrel on May 22. Oil prices are impacting the way consumers think about spending. With the average price of gas at $3.93…
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Okay, so the stock market has told us that it doesn't like crude oil above $125.00 a barrel. Up to that level, the stock market is telling us that oil is not a big factor for the stock market. But oil at over $125.00 a barrel is a…
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When it comes right down to it, I guess I am worried about the economy for the next 18 months. Call it a gut feeling, but I just think that there is more pain ahead. I could be wrong, but I can't escape this view at this time.…
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The bank crisis... the banks will get over it. Remember the bad loans to the tech industry, third-world countries, and the Resolution Trust fiasco of the 1980s? The banks always recover. So does Wall Street. The housing market crisis... it too will eventually go away. Property booms are…
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The last several sessions saw some calm and cautious optimism return to the stock markets after news that JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE/JPM) had increased its bid for The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. (NYSE/BSC) to $10.00 a share from the previous $2.00 a share. The revised bid…
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To really understand what is happening in a marketplace, you often need to be there. And that's why I am in Miami today... so I can see first-hand the effects of the real estate bust in one of the most overbuilt areas in the United States. Is it…
