Stock Market Update -Oct 18th

The market continued to rally this week after srong earnings from Intel, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Citi and Bank of America reported losses. The Financials overall are starting to pull back a bit (see chart below), while the Energy sector continues to do well. The weak dollar also helped the market rally. The DOW finally topped the 10,000 mark, but was not able to hold that level.

New Unemployment claims for this week fell to 514,000 (chart).
(still over the half million mark every week, but shrinking)
Another bank was shutdown by regulators this week! (list).

Commodities: Oil prices were up again, closing the week around $78 per barrel, while Natural Gas seems to be in a trading range, closing around $4.80. The US Dollar dropped further this week, keeping Gold prices up. Bond prices continued to fall.

By the way, how is the auto business doing? Here is an excerpt from an article I read this week: "China’s auto sales jumped 78% in September. US auto sales fell 41%..."


Next week we get a slew of earnings reports. Some of the companies reporting include:

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
AAPL	CAT	AMGN	AXP	HON
BBT	KO	EBAY	AMZN	SLB
TXN	PFE	FCX	COF	MSFT
	YHOO	MS	MRK
		WFC	MMM
			MCD
			UPS

Market analysis: The rally continues until Wall Street decides that the party is over, so enjoy the run, but be careful. Apple reports earnings on Monday after the market closes and could be an indicator of how the rest of the week might turn out

Earnings:
Goldman Sachs Profit Climbs Well Past Estimates
JPMorgan Crushes Profit Expectations
Bank of America posts $2.2 billion loss
Citigroup posts loss, takes $8 bln in credit losses
Google profit, sales top estimates

Bailed-Out Banks Raking In Big Profits
CIT Says CEO Peek to Resign; Bankruptcy Looms
Foreclosures: 'Worst three months of all time'
Foreclosures On Pace To Hit 3.5 Million
Recession Will Be 'Full-Blown Depression': Strategist
The Greatest Depression Is Coming
U.S. deficit biggest since 1945
U.S. ran deficit of $1.4 trillion in fiscal 2009

It's Official: No Social Security Increase
Harvard’s Bet on Interest Rate Rise Cost $500 Million to Exit
SEC Enforcement Division Hires Goldman Sachs VP As COO
Bonuses Put Goldman in Public Relations Bind
A Monster $500+ Billion Market Is Rising in the East
Google's Android Ready To Explode Past The iPhone

Baby survives after falling under train (video)