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• Axing From Global Dow Highlights Shaky Footing of Citigroup and General Motors - 30 March 2009

Although the scheduled annual review of the Global Dow (GDOW) components is only due to take place in September, the extraordinary worldwide market conditions currently being experienced prompted a review of the 150 companies endorsed by the recently established market index. The result of the early review saw the ousting of General Motors and Citigroup – two companies that have been under the microscope for some time now. This has sparked speculation as to whether these two high-profile companies will suffer the same fate on the Dow Jones Industrial Average which monitors 30 top U.S. stock market listed companies, all of which are included in the GDOW.

• First the Good News, Then the Bad News, Then the Good News … - 26 March 2009

Wednesday’s roller-coaster ride on Wall Street, which ended with a rally shortly before close of business, was fuelled by optimism that the draining effect of the recession may be abating. Better than expected data relating to housing and durable goods as well as the continued rally of the financial sector, offset to some extent the increasing concern by investors that U.S. authorities may not have what it takes to yank the economy out of recession, and may even be courting disaster by releasing large amounts of money into the economy which may trigger a rise in inflation.

• Financial Sector Drives U.S. Market As Investors Await Details of Toxic Mortgage Buy-Up Plan - 23 March 2009

Wall Street pulled back on Thursday and Friday of last week after enjoying a seven-day market rally which resulted in the Dow gaining 14 percent. Stocks jumped on Wednesday spurred on by the Federal Reserve’s latest credit crisis plan, but fell again Thursday and Friday as concerns set in that the Fed’s plan to inject a significant amount of money into the economy could fuel inflation. Optimists are quick to point out that any market rally is subject to pullbacks and anticipate that positive steps from the Obama-administration in dealing with righting the wrongs in the financial sector will reflect well on markets.

• Wall Street Rallies in Response to Fed’s Latest Credit Crisis Plan - 19 March 2009

Wall Street responded positively to the announcement by the Federal Reserve that it plans to buy another $750 billion in mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion in long-term U.S. treasuries over the next six months in a renewed effort to get credit flowing again. The plan was revealed following the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s policymaking committee that determines interest rates. While the news was not totally unexpected, due to the fact that the Fed had previously stated it may consider following this course, stocks nonetheless turned higher on the strength of the announcement. The Dow picked up by 1.2 percent on Wednesday, with both the S&P and Nasdaq gaining more than two percent.

• Mood of Cautious Optimism for Week Ahead on Wall Street - 16 March 2009

Following last week’s unexpected Wall Street rally, the mood among stock market traders as they face a new week may be best described as one of cautious optimism. The Dow rose by 597.04 points to 7,223.98, while the S&P 500 gained 73.17 pointsto 756.55, being a 9 percent and 10.7 percent increase respectively. The increase has been attributed to a number of factors, including retail sales figures that were better than expected and encouraging results from General Electric, Bank of America, General Motors and Pfizer – all Dow components. However, it was likely the news from Citigroup that it had traded profitably for January and February that played the biggest role in the rally, as short sellers - who had anticipated that Wall Street would keep falling - were sent scurrying to buy stocks back.

• Recovery of U.S. Economy Contingent on Stabilizing Financial System - 12 March 2009

Following a dramatic Wall Street rally on Tuesday which saw the Dow Jones industrial average gain 379 points, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 climbing 43.07 points and the Nasdaq composite going up by 43.07 points, the market inched slightly higher again on Wednesday, leaving stock market investors wondering whether this should be seen as a sign for optimism. Tuesday’s market surge has been primarily attributed to Citigroup’s report that the troubled financial institution traded profitably in both January and February. In light of the fact that Citigroup had reported five consecutive quarterly losses, made use of government assistance, and saw its stock fall below a dollar during last week, this was welcome news indeed.

• Searching For The Silver Lining - 9 March 2009

Embattled Wall Street traders have been on the lookout for signs that the market is bottoming out, but as the weeks pass by with major indices reflecting an ever declining market, it appears that the question of “Are we there yet?” is becoming impossible to answer. Last week saw the Dow Jones industrial average falling 6.17 percent to end at 6,626.94, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 shed 7.03 percent to end at 683.38 and the Nasdaq composite lost 6.1 percent to close on Friday at 1,293.85. This means that both the Dow and S&P have plunged by around 24 percent, and Nasdaq by nearly 18 percent, since the beginning of 2009.

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