Why is Wall Street Stuck in Timeout? – August 6, 2009

Wall Street Falls on Caution

Stocks slumped again on Thursday as tech, financial and commodity shares dragged on the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 24.71 points, hurt by declining Procter & Gamble (PG) shares. Broader stock indicators also ended in negative territory. A dip in crude prices pushed Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil(XOM) lower. The selling spree overshadowed a report showing that initial jobless claims fell last week. Investors traded cautiously ahead of another jobs report due out tomorrow. In other news, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc and Bats Global Markets agreed to stop allowing brokerages to make so-called flash orders. Morgan Stanley (MS) said it paid $950 million to buy back warrants from the government. In global trading, European and Asian markets rallied. COMEX gold for December delivery fell $1.30 to $965 an ounce.

Five Reasons the Market Could Crash This Fall

In the News

The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking care of business and asking questions later. The agency has been extra busy initiating law suits and issuing fines. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the SEC is seeking $22.5 million from a former Kmart executive and $33 million from Bank of America (BAC). Maurice R. Greenberg was next on the chopping block, but the ex-American International Group Inc.(AIG) executive decided to just write a $15 million check to get the Commission off his back.

You will soon have to pay to access all of Rupert Murdoch’s online rubbish. The global media mogul announced plans to charge for all online content of his newspaper and TV empire. This idea has fail written all over it.

Some more unemployment data trickled in today. Initial jobless claims fell for the fourth straight week, yet another important indicator that the economy is emerging from a recession in the third quarter of 2009. Remember, this isn’t unemployment peaking (unemployment figures come tomorrow and we probably won’t have good news in that category for months). Get ready for the year’s most honest jobs report.

Video – Econ Analysis: Weekly Jobless Claims

Have Initial Unemployment Claims Peaked?

Does Trina Thompson have the right idea? The college graduate of Monroe College in New York is suing her alma mater because she hasn’t found a job yet.

Consumer spending has been up and down for some time now, so it comes as no surprise that retail sales are suffering. Even back-to-school shopping has not been able to provide the sector with a boost. Huge budget shortfalls have prompted a number of states to cancel tax-free weekends that previously provided parents with savings on school necessities.

As the economy shows signs of recovery, economists don’t see U.S. consumers spending freely again for a while. When Will Consumers Start Spending Again?

Earnings Call

According to its latest outlook, better days are on the horizon for Sirius XM (SIRI). Although the satellite radio broadcaster reported a second-quarter loss, analysts are hopeful that the cash for clunkers program will lead to more sales for the company.

Satellite radio profit? You cannot be Sirius!

The battle over cable vs. satellite continues. Comcast Corp. (CMCS.A) posted a 53 percent increase in second-quarter profit. Sounds like great news right? That’s what they want you to believe. Some of this surge in profit can be attributed to the fact that the company is continuing to raise prices. That would explain why some customers are switching over to satellite TV. DirectTV is gaining some new subscribers, but its second-quarter profits still declined.

Kraft Foods Inc.’s (KFT) second-quarter earnings topped Wall Street’s expectations, and the packaged-foods giant increased its earnings forecast for the full year.

Other Juicy Tidbits

Don’t you wish that you could just unplug your SUV and take off? No more worries about skyrocketing energy prices and poor gas mileage. General Motors (GM) is making your dreams come true! The Detroit automaker unveiled plans to launch a plug-in SUV for its Buick brand in 2011.

Twitter is back to tweeting. The popular social networking site has restored service to most of its users after a hacker compromised the system. Hacking appears to be an ongoing problem with the site. It’s probably time to sit the security team down for a good tongue lashing.

Could YOU be responsible for the Twitter outage?

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