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• Will Black Friday Rescue U.S. Retailers? - Editor, 28 November 2008 - No Comments yet

Traditionally many retailers have viewed Black Friday as the means to pull them out of the red and into the black financially speaking (hence the name), but this year Black Friday is generally being viewed with trepidation as analysts predict that cash strapped Americans will be carefully considering every dollar they spend. Retailers throughout the U.S. have battled through a difficult year, with many going out of business or declaring bankruptcy, so Black Friday has now more than ever before become a light at the end of a long dark tunnel for many businesses relying on consumer spending to keep them going.

• Investors View Market Rally with Cautious Optimism - Editor, 27 November 2008 - No Comments yet

While months of market volatility have taken a toll on stock market players, there is an air of cautious optimism that the market rally being experienced at present will continue, at least in the short term. Following President-elect Barack Obama’s pledge that on his first day in office he would have a plan to deal with the U.S. economic crisis, early session losses on Thursday were reversed. While gathering his economic team, which has met with approval from many quarters, Obama reassured the nation that “help is on the way”.

• New $800 Billion Bailout Initiative Aimed At Main Street Gives Investors New Hope - Editor, 26 November 2008 - No Comments yet

While many U.S. stock market players may have faced Tuesday with trepidation, thinking it unlikely that markets would experience gains for a third day in a row, the announcement by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve that $800 billion will be injected into the struggling U.S. economy resulted in the session ending with most major indexes reflecting slight increases. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.4 percent up and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 0.7 percent, however, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5 percent. The Dow may have gained 12.3 percent over the past three sessions, but remains down 36.1 percent for 2008.

• Monday’s Stock Market Rally Seen as Endorsement of Obama’s Economic Team - Editor, 25 November 2008 - No Comments yet

Markets in the United States and around the world rallied on Monday, which many see as an endorsement of Barack Obama’s choice for his administration’s economic team. The additional government bailout package for banking giant Citibank also contributed to the spirit of optimism reflected in Monday’s stock market activity. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.9 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 6.4 percent and the Nasdaq composite index rose by more than 6 percent. For the Dow and S&P 500, the two-day percentage gain was the biggest experienced since October 1987, while the point gain over the two trading days was the biggest ever.

• U.S. Markets in Anticipation of Obama-Administration Economic Team Announcement - Editor, 24 November 2008 - No Comments yet

At the end of a week of volatility, reflecting the many uncertainties and unanswered questions facing investors, U.S. stock markets rallied during Friday’s trading and while not entirely regaining the losses of the week, at least minimized those losses to some extent. Many believe that the rally in the market can be attributed primarily to the rumors and speculation with regard to who will be making up the Obama administration’s economic team. The President-elect is scheduled to introduce this team to the nation on Monday afternoon, and analysts are hopeful that with the new administration starting to take shape, it will have a confidence boosting effect on investors, and U.S. citizens as whole.

• Citigroup Seeks Ways To Weather Global Financial Storm - Editor, 21 November 2008 - No Comments yet

Despite a vote of confidence from its biggest single investor, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Citigroup’s shares and market value continue to decline. Citigroup’s market value dropped to $25.7 billion on Thursday, and when taking into account that in the not too distant past its market value exceeded $270 billion, it appears that investor’s have some valid reservations about investing in the embattled bank. Nevertheless, on Thursday the Prince stated that he believes Citigroup’s shares are “dramatically undervalued”, and he plans to increase his less than 4 percent stake in Citigroup, to 5 percent.

• Stock Markets Dive As Investor Anxiety Grows Over State Of Global Economy, U.S. Automakers and Oil Prices - Editor, 20 November 2008 - No Comments yet

As anticipated by many analysts, stock market volatility is far from over. U.S. stock markets dropped dramatically on Wednesday as concerns relating to the economy, highlighted by the uncertainty of the future of the U.S. auto industry, caused investors to dump stock near close of trade, erasing Tuesday’s gains. The Dow Jones industrial average closed below the 8,000 mark, a state of affairs which has not been seen since March 2003. The Dow was down 5.1 percent, with all 30 Dow components ending the session lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index sank 6 percent, also its lowest level since March 2003, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 6.5 percent, settling at it lowest level since April 2003.

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