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• Thursday, 11 March 2010

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• GM Bankruptcy Appears Inevitable Following Failure to Strike Deal With Bondholders - 28 may 2009

A sharp rise in Treasury yields and the seemingly inevitable bankruptcy of General Motors were contributing factors to stocks falling on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 173 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 shedding 17 points and the Nasdaq composite dropping 19 points, representing a decline of 2 percent, 1.9 percent and 1.1 percent respectively. Wall Street had rallied on Tuesday on the strength of an optimistic reading on consumer confidence. However Tuesday’s gains were wiped out in Wednesday’s slump, but analysts generally agree that this is to be expected as investors await more concrete evidence that the so-called “green shoots” of economic recovery are developing.

How Evident Are The “Green Shoots” of Economic Recovery? - 25 may 2009

Following a day of choppy trade on Wall Street, a late in the day sell off resulted in major indexes closing the day slightly lower. While there was no major economic news to account for the sell off, a general feeling of concern about the state of the U.S. government’s economic health persisted among stock market traders following a warning by Standard & Poor that Britain was in danger of losing its long-standing triple-A debt rating. Risk management company Moodys has however noted that the U.S. government’s triple-A rating is currently not at risk, which may go some way to restoring investor confidence.

Wall Street Slumps on Fed’s Gloomy Forecasts - 21 may 2009

Wednesday on Wall Street was off to a promising start as stocks surged in response to the news that Bank of America"s sale of 1.25 billion shares of stock had raised $13.47 billion, fueling investor hopes that the financial sector is in the process of stabilizing. The results of the government's bank stress test revealed that Bank of America would need $33.9 billion to protect it against losses in the event of the economy worsening. While $13.47 billion is far short of the stress test amount, the bank’s ability to raise that amount of cash nevertheless puts it on a steadier footing to cope with the rising rate of consumers defaulting on loan payments.

Wall Street Rally Over As GM & Chrylser Cut Dealerships - 18 may 2009

By Wednesday of last week, when markets took a dive on Wall Street following the worse-than-expected retail sales results for April, as well as dismal results on housing and employment, there was still some optimism that Thursday and Friday could possibly see markets recoup their losses and extend the two month rally - but this was not to be. As more bad news filtered through to investors, Friday was somewhat of a roller coaster ride, ending the week with all three major indexes – the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq Composite - declining for the first time in ten weeks.

Wall Street Dealt a Blow by Dismal Retail Results - 14 may 2009

Dismal retail results and rising foreclosure numbers dealt Wall Street a blow on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the day down 2.18 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 losing 2.69 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 3.01 percent. The next two days will determine whether the markets will recover sufficiently to end the week on a positive note. Having rallied since hitting an early March low, Wall Street traders were optimistic that the rally would be extended into this week. This optimism was based on a string of economic reports that exceeded expectations, as well as indications that some of the nation’s largest banks may be turning around and have weathered the financial crisis storm.

Markets Absorb “Stress Test” Results and Remain Optimistic - 11 may 2009

Despite the fact that the "stress test" results performed on nineteen U.S. banks revealed that ten of these will need substantial government assistance, Wall Street ended last week on a high, with Nasdaq advancing for nine weeks in a row, and the Dow and S&P 500 both rising for eight out of the past nine weeks. The government report that employers cut fewer jobs than was expected during the month of April also contributed to a glass-half-full mindset among investors and thereby boosting the market. Analysts agree that stock market traders are becoming so accustomed to bad news that when the bad news is not as bad as anticipated, it is perceived as "good" news, or at the very least "less worse" news. With U.S. markets showing a strong likelihood of advancing for a tenth week, it appears that nervous investors are overcoming their anxiety and are keen to get back into the market before they miss out.

Wall Street Sees Burst of Investor Confidence Ahead of Stress Test Results - 7 may 2009

While the much-awaited bank "stress test" results are only due out after close of business on Thursday, investors have been responding with zeal to speculation, rumors and leaked information since markets opened on Monday morning. Despite the fact that most of the "information" doing the rounds indicates that anywhere between ten and fourteen of the banks being scrutinized are likely to be instructed by the government to raise capital, shares of all nineteen participants jumped on Monday. At least a dozen increased by more than 10 percent, with even the worst performer, Morgan Stanley, gaining 4.7 percent.

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