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| Weekly Wrap Up |
The markets started off a little shaky on Monday as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished the day in the red while the Dow Jones managed to post a 3.32 point gain. Fannie Mae (FNM: Charts, News, Offers) and Freddie Mac (FRE: Charts, News, Offers) stocks benefited from the government's decision to buy $5.6 billion of Fannie, Freddie and Federal Home Loan Bank debt. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: Charts, News, Offers) computer chipmaker also had a good day on the market. AMD stocks surged 8% after a favorable company evaluation from Citigroup (C: Charts, News, Offers). The markets regained positive traction on Tuesday with all three major indices advancing upward. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq posted 30.01 and 6.25 point gains respectfully while the S&P added 2.43 points. Tuesday's strong performance was driven by promising economic reports on the nation's consumer confidence and housing market. Investors also seemed to respond well to President O'Bama's decision to nominate Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second term. Wednesday's trading saw a lull in the action as the overall markets posted nominal gains. The day seemed to be indicative of Wall Street's seasonal summer slowdown. The markets' "uneventful" state did not last too long. On Thursday, the Dow Jones shot up 37.11 points thanks to a late rally in the last 90 minutes of trading. The S&P 500 advanced 2.86 points while the Nasdaq gained 3.30. The Dow Jones retreated 36.43 points back into the red on Friday. The S&P followed the Dow Jones' lead with a 2.05 point drop. The Nasdaq held its position in the green by advancing 1.04 points for the day. In corporate news, Dell (DELL: Charts, News, Offers) stocks improved after it released a better-than-expected earnings report. Apple (AAPL: Charts, News, Offers) also made headlines by closing a deal with China Unicom that will introduce the iPhone to China. U.S. light crude oil for October delivery rose 69 cents to $73.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. More Market News
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| Economic News |
Housing: Still a Long Road to Recovery
The housing market may be busier, but that doesn't mean home values are set to rebound any time soon. If you're selling your home, the good news is that you're likelier to find a buyer now than in the last couple of years. The bad news is you should be prepared to slash your asking price. This summer, recent data show, real estate agents are busy and, spurred by low interest rates, falling home prices, a wide selection, and government incentives for first-time home buyers, home shoppers are becoming home buyers. (Source: BusinessWeek) Click here to read the full article
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Jobless Claims: A Mid-Cycle Meltdown?
Today, the Department of Labor released their latest read of Joblessness showing seasonally adjusted "initial" unemployment claims declined 10,000 to 570,000 claims from last week's upwardly revised 580,000 claims while "continued" claims decreased 119,000 resulting in an "insured" unemployment rate of 4.6%. A second round of layoffs or NOT a second round that is the question. We are on the verge of realizing the answer to this question, and its outcome is probably one of the most important developments of our time. (Source: Seeking Alpha) Click here to read the full article
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Consumer Confidence Soars
A key measure of consumer confidence jumped much more than predicted in August, as the job market outlook and business expectations improved, said a report released Tuesday. The Conference Board, a New York-based business research group, said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 54.1 in August from an upwardly-revised 47.4 in July. (Source: CNN Money) Click here to read the full article
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| Business News |
Staples Steps Up
Soaring unemployment and stagnant consumer spending have stalled at office-supply chain Staples (SPLS: Charts, News, Offers), which reported a 38% decline in quarterly profit Tuesday morning. But as any retail analyst will tell you these days, less bad is the new good - and Staples, whose earnings matched the Street's expectations, has outperformed its peers during the recession. "The market hasn't factored in the earnings power of this company in a recovery," says Brian Nagel, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. "Staples is a market share grabber." (Source: CNN Money) Click here to read the full article
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Toll Brothers Lost $472 Million in Q3
Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL: Charts, News, Offers) says it lost $472.3 million in its fiscal third quarter, as the luxury homebuilder took a large tax hit. But while Toll Brothers' results were worse than analysts expected, the company is seeing signs of improvement in many markets. Nationally, new home sales have risen for four months in a row. The builder said Thursday it lost $2.93 a share in the three months ended July 31. That compares with a loss of $29.3 million, or 18 cents a share, the same period last year. Toll Brothers sold 792 homes with revenue totaling $461.4 million. Those results were down 36 percent and 42 percent, respectively, from the third fiscal quarter last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of $1.79 a share on revenue of about $460.2 million. (Source: Associated Press) Click here to read the full article
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American Eagle Profit Falls as Teens Cut Purchases
American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO: Charts, News, Offers), the U.S. retailer of clothing for 15- to 25-year-olds, said second- quarter profit dropped as teenagers and college students pared spending on its t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. Net income fell to 14 cents a share from 29 cents a year earlier, the Pittsburgh-based company said today in a statement. The retailer said Aug. 6 that earnings would be 16 cents. Profit excluding a tax benefit was 12 cents a share. Analysts predicted 15 cents, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. (Source: Bloomberg) Click here to read the full article
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| Technology Focus |
Facebook Plans Hiring Spree
If there ever was any question that social networking is slowing down, Facebook's chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg dispelled the notion in an interview published Monday. Zuckerberg said Facebook plans to increase its staff by as much as 50% this year. Even as early Facebook employees are moving to cash out of their company stock, the startup has been aggressively hiring new employees as its user base has grown to more than 250 million. In an interview on Bloomberg.com, Zuckerberg said his company is taking advantage of the large crop of engineers who have been laid off in the current economic downturn. (Source: InformationWeek) Click here to read the full article
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Can AT&T Meet iPhone Network Demands?
When AT&T (T: Charts, News, Offers) cut the deal that made it the exclusive U.S. distributor of Apple's (AAPL: Charts, News, Offers) iPhone, the carrier bet correctly it would attract millions of new subscribers. What it didn't bargain for: the huge demands the device would impose on AT&T's network. Thanks largely to the iPhone's ability to surf the Web, play videos, and run all manner of software-based tools called apps, by some estimates AT&T now handles more than twice as much smartphone traffic as any other U.S. carrier. Or mishandles, as the case may be. In areas where the devices are most common, such as San Francisco and New York, the iPhone often drops calls or fails to deliver Web access at speeds implied in Apple ads. (Source: BusinessWeek) Click here to read the full article
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Intel Raises Q3 Guidance as Industry Recovers
Intel (INTC: Charts, News, Offers) has revised its third-quarter revenue expectations, anticipating a resurgence in demand for computer components. The company now forecasts revenues to fall between $8.8 billion and $9.2 billion, up from the previous guidance ranging from $8.1 billion to $8.9 billion. Gross margin targets remain unchanged, although the numbers are expected to reach the upper end of the previously-announced range. (Source: Electronista) Click here to read the full article
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| Your Money |
Getting a Fair Credit-Card Deal? Priceless
Lisa in Boston is at wit's end. A few years back, she consolidated all of her outstanding debts - including her remaining student loans -- onto a low-rate credit card that promised a rate of roughly 5% for the life of the loan. She has steadfastly paid the bill down, always on time, but seldom over the minimum because, she said, "I can't afford that much more than the minimum." Recently, Lisa got a notice that Chase Card Services is raising her minimum monthly payment to 5% from 2%. That will raise the monthly amount due on her outstanding $14,000 balance from $280 per month to $700 per month - enough to make Lisa tight on the rest of her bills. (Source: MarketWatch) Click here to read the full article
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| Trivia Question |
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In addition to the Treasurer of the United States, who else has his or her signature appearing on U.S. currency?
(answer below) |
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| Market Overview |
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| DJIA |
9,544.20 |
+38.24 |
| S&P |
1,028.93 |
+2.80 |
| NYSE |
3,278.08 |
-10.97 |
| NASDAQ |
2,028.77 |
+7.87 |
| 10Yr |
3.451% |
-0.11 |
| Dollar |
78.97 |
-0.22 |
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| Trivia Answer |
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| The Secretary of the Treasury |
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