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• Wednesday, 19 June 2013

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• Fiscal Cliff Concerns Subdue Markets - 13 December 2012

Following a climb of up to 81 points, driven by the Fed's announcement that it would keep interest low and extend its $85 billion a month bond-buying plan, the Dow Jones industrial average closed Wednesday at 13,245.45, being down 2.99 points. While investors responded well to the Fed's announcement, this was soon dampened by the reality that high-level "fiscal cliff" budget talks were continuing to take place in Washington, the outcome of which could impact significantly on Wall Street and the economy in general, should Congress and President Barack Obama be unable to reach a deal to prevent a series of spending cuts and sharp tax increases taking place in January. The Standard & Poor's 500 finished 0.64 points higher to close at 1,428.48, while the Nasdaq composite lost 8.49 points to close at 3,013.81.

• Looming ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Batters Consumer Confidence - 15 November 2012

The new buzz-words on Wall Street – 'fiscal cliff' – are being used to describe the automatic tax increases and spending cuts which are set to come into effect on January 1, 2013. As the date draws ever closer, economists are sounding the alarm that the combination of spending cuts and tax increases could very well result in the United States going into a recession, which would have a detrimental effect on global economies. An estimate by the Congressional Budget Office notes that the US economy will contract by 0.5 percent in 2013, with employment levels increasing to 9.1 percent – certainly not what average Americans want to hear as many continue to struggle to keep head above water.

• SOPA Triggers Tech Sector Backlash - 17 November 2011

With tech and social media companies continuing to grow in size and influence in the US economy, investors take note when companies like Google and Facebook make waves about proposed legislation affecting these market sectors. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) introduced in the House of Representatives at the end of last month, has these tech giants up in arms as they criticize the proposals for being too stringent, noting that it opens up possibilities for a host of unintended consequences. As the name of the act suggests, its intention is to deal with trademark and copyright issues by targeting foreign sites that facilitate piracy of copyrighted materials such as music, films and television shows.

• US Job Market, Europe Crisis, Earnings of Interest in Week Ahead - 31 October 2011

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 among Wall Street investors who will continue to keep an alert eye on Europe as leaders of nations forming the G-20 gather in Cannes, with the debt crisis a highlight on the agenda for discussion.

• Eurozone Hopes, Mortgage Rates, Corporate Earnings in Week Ahead - 10 October 2011

With the "Occupy Wall Street" protests continuing to gain ground, America's financial system and economy remain hot topics for debate on both Wall Street and Main Street. Calling themselves "the 99 percent" these protestors, among other issues, are highlighting the fact that ordinary Americans are battling to cope, and their call has resonated with supporters around the world. Investors are painfully aware that the economy is significantly affected by consumer spending, which has been dramatically curtailed due to the ongoing jobless situation. Moreover, a recent survey revealed that workers are taking huge pay cuts to secure employment, with little hope of receiving increases, certainly not to the extent of raising them back to the pay level they may have been at before losing their jobs – all of which has a negative effect on disposable income and the economy.

• US & Global Economies Still Under Spotlight - 3 October 2011

As Wall Street enters the final quarter of 2011, investors need to come to grips with some of the fears that drove stocks down on Friday, ending what has been declared as the worst quarter since the beginning of the financial crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 240 points to close at 10,913, the S&P 500 fell by 30 points to close at 1,131, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 65 points to close at 2,415 – recording declines of 2.1 percent, 2.5 percent and 2.6 percent respectively. For the Dow it was the worst quarter since the first three months of 2009, while for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq it has been the worst since the final quarter of 2008. While investors are, of course, hopeful for improvements moving ahead, indications are that the problems plaguing the US economy, as well as the global economy, are likely to continue unabated for some time.

• Debt Ceiling, Corporate Results Dominate Wall Street - 25 July 2011

With the credit rating of the United States hanging in the balance as authorities continue negotiations and discussions regarding the country’s debt ceiling, individual states around the nation are reported to be drawing up contingency plans to deal with the consequences of failure to reach consensus by the August 2 deadline. Currently the United States does not bring in sufficient funds to cover its financial obligations, with deficits averaging $125 billion per month. If the debt ceiling is not raised, allowing the treasury to borrow additional funds to close the gap between income and expenditure, it has been estimated by the Bipartisan Policy Center that more than 40 percent of the 80 million payments the US government makes each month will not be processed. Although it is not yet clear as to who will be directly affected, these non-payments may include federal worker and military paychecks as well as social security checks, food stamps, and payments to Medicaid and Medicare providers.