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• Tuesday, 18 June 2013

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• Wall St Boosted by Fed Rates Forecast - 26 January 2012

Following a slow start on Wall Street on Wednesday, US stocks rebounded on news that the Federal Reserve intends to keep interest rates low through to late 2014 – an adjustment of its previous indication that rates would be kept low through to mid-2013. The announcement came as the Fed's two-day policy meeting drew to a close, and by the end of the day the Dow Jones industrial average had gained 83 points, recovering from its loss of 95 points in the morning trading session. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 11 points, after having lost 7 points earlier. The Nasdaq composite added 32 points, with Apple and software company CA Inc reporting better than expected earnings and boosting the tech-favored index.

• Wall Street Likely to Remain Volatile This Week - 15 August 2011

With all eyes on the seesawing Dow Jones industrial average and other top indices throughout last week, investors are becoming increasingly anxious about stock market volatility, and word is that the coming week is not likely to be much better as Wall Street continues to do battle with waves of uncertainty caused by S&P's downgrade of the US economy from AAA to AA+, despite the fact that AA+ is still considered to be a good rating. Problems in Europe, including the possible downgrading of France's credit rating and the question of whether the Eurozone and the Euro, recently considered to be overshadowing the US Dollar as a trading currency, will survive the turmoil, along with concerns over the stagnant US job market, has investors being extremely cautious as they search for a glimmer of positivity and an indication as to which way to go. Investor uncertainty was reflected in the Wall Street fear index, the VIX, which climbed to a level last seen in early 2009.

• Double Dip Fears Return - 13 June 2011

As last week drew to a close, the Dow ended below the 12,000 mark amidst increasing concerns regarding the rate of recovery of the US economy. The Dow was down 172.45 points to close at 11,951.91, while the S&P 500 ended the week down 18.02 points on 1,270,98 and the Nasdaq composite dropped by 41.14 points to 2,643,73, being 1.4 percent, 1.4 percent and 1.53 percent respectively. This is the sixth week in a row that markets on Wall Street suffered losses, making it the longest consecutive weekly loss since 2002.

• Uncertain Economic Outlook Depresses Market - 22 July 2010

With second quarter corporate results and forecasts offering up a mixed bag of optimism and pessimism, (or realism depending on who you talk to), the mid-week market reflected investor disappointment at Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's warning that the US economic outlook remains uncertain. Actually, his words were "unusually uncertain" which is seen by many as an indication that this has come as somewhat of a surprise even to the Fed. However, Bernanke offered reassurance that tightening up of policies will prevent the US economy from falling into recession again, and while maybe not at the pace hoped for, the economy is nevertheless strengthening. The tightening up of policies alluded to, include the Wall Street reform bill signed by President Barack Obama on Wednesday, which is being described as the most stringent set of financial rules and regulations since the Great Depression of 1929.

• Q2 Results Dominate the Week Ahead - 19 July 2010

The upcoming week will see the trickle of second quarter results, and projected earnings, turn into a flood on Wall Street, which will no doubt have an impact on markets and investment decisions. More than a hundred of America's largest and most influential companies will release data during the week, providing a clearer picture of the state of the economy, as well as providing some insight into consumer activity. The reporting season started off reasonably well with relatively good results from Alcoa and Intel, but last week ended with Citigroup, Bank of America and General Electric dishing out a dose of disappointment to investors. Adding to investor concern at the end of the week was the July consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan, which revealed consumer confidence to be at its lowest point in close to a year.

• Nervous Market Responds to BP Dividend Cut - 10 June 2010

Following the pattern of the previous two days, Wall Street experienced a late in the day decline on Wednesday with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 40.73 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 shedding 6.35 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipping 11.72 points, ending the day at 9899.25 points, 1055.65 points and 2158.85 points respectively. A major concern for investors, which is believed to have been the primary cause for Wednesday's dismal market performance with energy shares dropping and dragging other sectors down, was the likelihood of BP cutting its dividend in order to fund the cleanup of the oil spill disaster wreaking havoc in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. There has been speculation on Wall Street that BP’s circumstances are so dire that they may take the route of seeking bankruptcy protection.

• FCIC Probes CRA Role in Financial Crisis - 3 June 2010

While a number of indicators suggest that the US economy is on the road to recovery, albeit a long and rocky road, the probe into what caused the financial crisis in the fist place continues. Recently it was suggested that credit rating agencies such as Moody's, Fitch and S&P, may be wielding too much power as Greece's credit was cut to junk status, and both Spain and Portugal were downgraded, with a negative impact on international markets. Relating to the global financial crisis, it has been suggested that these same credit rating agencies gave troubled banks misleadingly high ratings, while at the same time failing to act promptly to warn of the risks posed by bonds and other securities that were tied to subprime mortgages.