Stock Market Update -Nov 16th

This was a week chock full of news. The $700 billion bailout plan got switched (it never even got off the ground; remember this is the one that had to be done 'immediately' to avoid a financial meltdown, over a month and a half ago!) , AIG got billions more from the government, and now insurance companies are converting to banks to get some of that government money too (also American Express!), GM is on the brink of bankruptcy, while Circuit City filed for bankruptcy. We saw more than 279,500 homes receive foreclosure notices in October, over 500,000 in new unemployment claims for the week, more job cuts announced (Sun, Citi, etc), and Oil settled lower at $57 per barrel. With all this news, the market dropped below the October 10th low, then bounced back on Thursday.


This coming week we have the CPI report on Wednesday, and earnings from Dell, Home Depot, and Lowe's. We also have options expiration on Friday.

This could be make or break week for the markets -I expect it to turn higher, but we could always get a downside surprise, so be careful. Unless you are a professional trader, I would still be on the sidelines at this time.

U.S. Economy: Retail Sales Drop by Most on Record
Cost of Living in U.S. Probably Dropped by the Most in Almost Sixty Years
12,000 retail stores to be shuttered next year
Are you an idiot to keep paying your mortgage?
The Big Three Are a National Disgrace
Chipmaker stocks fall as bad news snowballs
DHL express service centers in U.S. to be shut down

Citigroup Shares Tumble, Pressure on Pandit
How AIG got Uncle Sam over a barrel
Uncle Sam's Credit Line Running Out?
Your $3 trillion bailout
The United States of Bailouts
CNBC -Weekly market stats
Stocks and Indexes mentioned in this blog are for educational and illustration purposes only.