Stocks Take a Breather

Wall Street took a step back on Monday and only inched higher as mixed earnings kept a lid on any possible rally. Over the last two weeks, earnings have pushed the Dow and the Nasdaq up more than 11%, so a slight slowdown in advances was mostly expected. A variety of bank shares rose including shares of Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and KeyCorp.The Commerce Department's report on new home sales did little to move stocks in the right direction. Investors are more concerned with new readings on consumer confidence and durable-goods orders, which are both slated to be released this week. Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.72%

Earnings Head South

Earnings took a back seat today as investors mulled over which reports beat and which ones missed expectations. Despite the record gains, market watchers were still pessimistic about how long the rally will last ? Others are confident that the market has reached a turning point and the Dow's run is far from over . Some analysts are expecting Wall Street to take a step back this week as the remainder of the earnings season grinds on.

Verizon Communications Inc. managed to beat the street's numbers, but still reported that profits declined 21% during the second quarter. The company's minimal success during the quarter was attributed to its strong wireless business , which added 1.1 million new customers . Those hilarious wireless commercials must be paying off. The success of Verizon's wireless business is not enough to keep profits in the green, so the company is letting its cost-cutting axe fall on 8,000 employees .

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The future remains cloudy for Honeywell International Inc. as it continues to battle with tough economic conditions that are expected to continue into 2010. The company's second quarter earnings were foggy to say the least. Honeywell's diverse range of manufacturing operations, which typically provides a hedge a gainst weak business in any one sector, is turning out to be a pain in the butt .

Aetna followed suit with Honeywell and cut its full-year earnings forecast as medical costs eroded revenue gains. Despite slashing its outlook and making Wall Street mad while doing so, could Aetna be on the road to rehabilitation ?

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How's the Economy Doing?

According to the latest reports, fairly well. The housing market has been on a roll lately and today's news contributed to that upswing. The Commerce Department said that new home sales surged in June to their highest level in 2009. Don't be so quick to let out a cheer without considering the impact of the $8,000 homebuyer credit . Did the Commerce Department pull a fast one on us? Did new homes really surge in June ?

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has hit the road to discuss the economic recovery and the central bank's actions. Alright maybe he's just trying to improve his image so that he can get elected for another term. Some think Bernanke should be reappointed while others think that he should receive a good old ‘ You're Fired !'

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Even if the government reports a surprise boost to second quarter GDP, don't believe the hype . Few economists are predicting a massive recovery just yet.

Other Juicy Tidbits

Is Allen Stanford really serious? Making demands for air-conditioning in jail is the least of his problems! How about you pay back the $7 billion you allegedly swindled from investors? Maybe someone will actually care about your demands then.

The Securities and Exchange said that is taking several steps toward curbing so-called naked short-selling .