analysts, dow jones, investment portfolio, nasdaq, recession, wall street
As 2011 draws to a close, Europe’s debt problems remain in the spotlight for anxious Wall Street investors, resulting in stocks being down by more than one percent at close of business Wednesday. Trading volumes have been light in this last week of the year, and with few economic and corporate reports due it is doubtful that this light trading trend will change until the New Year. Analysts have noted that recent market movement is likely to have been influenced by investors taking stock of their investment portfolios and taking action to balance these in preparation for 2012. The...
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analysts, dow, economy, europe, investing, recession, wall street
With analysts warning that the current climate of market uncertainty is far from over, it appears that Wall Street is set to end the month of October on a high, with the Dow recording the greatest October gain ever. Despite the fact that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been reported as saying that Greece should never have been permitted entrance to the Eurozone in 2001, European authorities have reached an agreement and mapped out a plan to rescue ailing European countries, including Greece, Italy and Spain. This has done much to boost confidence...
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analysts, banking, financial institutions, imf, recession, us economy, wall street, world bank
With Europe's ongoing economic woes threatening to trigger a global economic meltdown, it was not surprising US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's official statement to the International Monetary Fund focused on this topic during the 2011 Annual Meeting of the IMF and World Bank Group in Washington DC. In addition to expressing the need to ensure short term support of the US economy, along with taking steps to lower the US long-term deficits, his most pointed comments were on the situation in Europe, and more particularly the debt crisis of Greece, which he noted was...
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analysts, economic data, financial crisis, investors, nyse, recession
Investors face a new week on Wall Street with Europe's financial crisis and non-existent job growth fuelling fears of a double-dip recession. While some analysts are of the opinion that the United States is likely to avoid a recession, even if only by a narrow margin, others feel that it is only a matter of time before the economy slips into recession territory. Last week’s report of zero job growth, among other factors, resulted in consumer confidence falling to its lowest level since August 2009. With consumers fearful of job losses, the majority of consumers...
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analysts, antitrust, competition, consumers, merger
In the current economic climate, mergers and acquisitions offer potential for growth, as well as a means to cut costs by the laying off of staff and sharing of resources. The danger in M&A activity is the domination of markets by monopolies, and this is where antitrust authorities step in to ensure that markets remain competitive and consumers have a choice in products and services. The proposed takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T has been big news recently and it is no secret that AT&T was counting on this acquisition...
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analysts, credit rating, financial sector, nasdaq, nyse, wall street
With rumors of a possible credit rating downgrade for France, one of the few remaining AAA countries, analysts have noted that there appears to be a heightened level of anxiety among investors. This was reflected in the loss of 520 points for the Dow Jones industrial average on Wednesday, with losses also recorded for the S&P 500 index and the NASDAQ Composite which declined by 52 and 101 points respectively. Stocks were primarily dragged down by the financial sector of the market, and despite reassurances by Bank of America...
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analysts, credit rating, earnings, economy, europe, nyse
The US government's apparent inability to reach consensus on the debt ceiling is being cited as one the primary reasons for S&P's credit rating pessimism as the US was downgraded from AAA to AA+. Although the news initially sent shockwaves through markets, with Asian markets reacting negatively, Europe absorbed the news with little effect. Analysts have been quick to remind investors and other interested parties that an AA+ rating is still considered to be good, also pointing out that, although...
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analysts, banking, federal reserve, investors, mortgages, wall street
With the month of May already half-way through, the general attitude on Wall Street appears to be one of caution, which analysts believe will continue into the coming week. Although stocks were doing well around two weeks ago, hitting levels that had not been seen in almost three years, investors are reportedly wary of the possible negative impact that the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s bond buying program, commonly referred to as QE2, at the end of June will have on markets. Moreover, falling home prices have resulted in growing number of homeowners having mortgages...
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