| Market Summary |
Stocks tried to make a turnaround on Wednesday, but were only able to edge over the flat line. Investors’ pessimism about how long it will take the economy to make a full recovery came into play during the session. The session started off pretty positive as stocks made small advances up until the afternoon. A mixed outlook on the economy from the International Monetary Fund caused all three major indices to erase some advances. A number of tech shares including Intel (INTC: Charts, News, Offers), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: Charts, News, Offers), and Applied Materials (AMAT: Charts, News, Offers) slipped. Stocks made a brief recovery during the afternoon following a strong auction of 10-year Treasury notes. Tumbling oil prices once again prevented stocks from rallying. U.S. light crude oil for August delivery fell $2.79 to $60.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Corporate news was light and did little to move the markets in either direction. Family Dollar Stores (FDO: Charts, News, Offers) reported fiscal third quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates. Microsoft (MSFT: Charts, News, Offers) promoted Steven Sinofsky to president of the Windows division. Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.41%. COMEX gold for August delivery fell $19.80 to settle at $909.30 an ounce.
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| Market News |
Google takes aim at Microsoft with new PC platform
Google Inc (GOOG: Charts, News, Offers) plans to attack Microsoft Corp's (MSFT: Charts, News, Offers) core business by taking on the software giant's globally dominant Windows operating system for personal computers. Google, which already offers a suite of e-mail, Web and other software products that compete with Microsoft, said on Tuesday it would launch a new operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Microsoft shares fell 1.4 percent to $22.22 in early Nasdaq trade on Wednesday. Google shares rose 1.2 percent to $401.36. (Source: Reuters) Click here to read the full article
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JPMorgan, Bank of America Switch Credit Cards to Variable Rate
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM: Charts, News, Offers) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC: Charts, News, Offers) are replacing fixed interest rates on some credit cards with variable rates, citing changing costs and new U.S. curbs on pricing. JPMorgan Chase, the biggest credit-card lender among U.S. banks, plans to tie interest charges on some cards to the prime rate, said Stephanie Jacobson, spokeswoman for the New York-based lender. Bank of America’s variable rate is based on the prime rate as of May 31 and won’t cause an increase "at this time," said Betty Riess, spokeswoman for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company. (Source: Bloomberg) Click here to read the full article
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Six Arrested in $140 Million Wall Street Fraud Case
Six employees of Wall Street retail brokerage Sky Capital ran a $140 million "trans-Atlantic boiler room" to defraud investors in the United States and Britain, authorities charged on Wednesday. U.S. prosecutors announced a criminal indictment of securities, wire and mail fraud against broker-dealer founder, President and Chief Executive Officer Ross Mandell, 52, and five others while the Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges. The SEC complaint said brokers raised $61 million between 2002 and 2006 from investors, but then enforced a policy that prevented them from selling their stocks in Sky Capital Holdings Ltd and Sky Capital Enterprises Inc (Sky Entities). (Source: CNBC) Click here to read the full article
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| Market Analysis |
Are the Good Times Really Back On Wall Street?
Your 401(k) balance might be stuck somewhere south of the border and the stock market might still be off 40 percent from the post-bubble high, but in recent days the headlines have been about big profits and bonuses making a quick comeback on Wall Street and in European financial capitals. Based on financials from two quarters, analysts estimate that Goldman Sachs, fresh from repaying its government bailout money, will dole out $20 billion in salary and bonuses this year, an average of $700,000 per employee, while Morgan Stanley's compensation will range between $11 billion and $14 billion--in the neighborhood of $300,000 per employee. (Source: Real Clear Markets) Click here to read the full article
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Oil Prices Need Government Supervision
For two years the price of oil has been dangerously volatile, seemingly defying the accepted rules of economics. First it rose by more than $80 a barrel, then fell rapidly by more than $100 before doubling to its current level of around $70. In that time, however, there has been no serious interruption of supply. The oil market is complex, but such erratic price movement is cause for alarm. The surge in prices last year gravely damaged the global economy and contributed to the downturn. The risk now is that a new period of instability could undermine confidence just as we are pushing for recovery. (Source: Wall Street Journal) Click here to read the full article
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Stimulus: Where's the $787 Billion?
Call it the $787 billion question: Where is all that government stimulus money, and why hasn't it stemmed the heart-stopping slide in U.S. employment? The stimulus plan was all about jobs, after all. Key Obama Administration officials pledged to save or create between 3 million and 4 million jobs with the measure. But the federal government's employment figures on July 2 clocked in worse that expected, with job losses lurching to 467,000 in June and the unemployment rate reaching its worst showing since 1983, at 9.5%; many expect it to rise further still. (Source: BusinessWeek) Click here to read the full article
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