Stock Market Blog -Apr 25th

The market rallied to 19 month highs after good earnings reports from companies like AAPL, BA, C, GS, and NFLX. On the other hand, NOK sold off after reporting earnings.

All time Highs AAPL Electronics/Entertainment BBBY Electronics/Entertainment DTV Electronics/Entertainment NFLX Electronics/Entertainment DISCA Electronics/Entertainment CREE Electronics/Semis DRI Food MCD Food YUM Food XRT Retail FDO Retail ROST Retail TJX Retail V Retail? NKE Retail

All time Lows DRV Inverse, Lev, ETF -Real Estate DUG, ERY Inverse, Lev ETF, -Oil DXD Inverse, Lev, ETF, -DOW 30 QIDd Inverse, Lev, ETF -NASDAQ 100 SDS Inverse, Lev, ETF -S&P 500 TZA Inverse, Lev, ETF -Russell 2000 Index Maybe it's better to short these things! ...or just avoid them in a bull market.

New unemployment claims declined this week, coming in at 456,000 (chart).
This week seven more banks were shutdown by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: We get a couple of economic reports, including GDP numbers, another barrage of earnings reports, along with a Fed meeting, and the government borrowing another $129 billion.

Earnings reports next week:

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
BLK, CAT, BSX, TXN	MMM,DD,F, NEM,ODP,UPS, X,BRCM,XL	ABX,BIDU, ESRX,GG, GMCR,V	CME,XOM,OMX PRGO,	CVX,HON,SLB

Market commentary: The rally continues. If we get a similar reaction to earnings as we did last week, we will see more up-side action. The market has been up 8 weeks in a row, and many traders are looking for a correction. Don't get caught trading in the wrong direction though!

Commodities:
Oil prices were up, closing around $85 per barrel.
Natural Gas rallied to close just over $4.25.
Gold prices recovered somewhat, closing around $1153.
The US Dollar index closed near 81.5 (mostly unchanged).
The 30 year Bond dropped, closing just over $116.

News:
Stocks: 8 weeks up and counting
New-home sales surge 27% to 411,000 pace
Apple tops Microsoft on S&P 500, index's guardian says
What happened to Microsoft?
Federal Debt Crisis in the U.S.? Nothing to Worry About

GM In Hot Water With FTC Over Misleading “Repaid Bailout” Ad...
GM Still Owes Us
Goldman Bragged of 'Serious Money' Off Subprime: E-mails
Big banks mint money again: $18.7 billion
Why the SEC Is Warning Investors About Leveraged ETFs
The euro's demise

Stock Market Blog -Apr 18th

The market was down a bit, after giving up most of the gains for the week on Friday.
INTC, UPS, and JPM reported great earnings, but weekly jobless claims were up again, and Goldman Sachs was charged with fraud, sending the markets down on Friday. GOOG dropped $45 after reporting good earnings on Thursday; so much for good earnings! ISRG dropped $27.

The indexes all hit key levels this past week:
DOW 11000, S&P 1200, NASDAQ 2500, QQQQ 50

All time highs:	ABC, BIDU, CRM, JNK, YUM,
All time lows:	DXD, EEV, FAZ, SDS, QID, SMN -same names again!

New unemployment claims rose unexpectedly again this week, coming in at 484,000.
This week eight banks were shutdown by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: We get a couple of economic reports, but the big news will be earnings reports from a number of major companies (see below).

Earnings reports next week:

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
ACI, C, HAL, IBM	AAPL,KO, GS, GILD, JNJ, VMW,YHOO	MO, T, BA, MS, WFC, EBAY,FCX,NFLX, SBUX	ABC,F,MSFT,SU, AMZN,AXP,COF,	PCX

Market commentary: The rally paused on Friday with the Goldman Sachs news. We could see more selling next week, but the onslaught of earnings reports will certainly influence market direction as well. We did see 1200 on the S&P500 as expected, but now we'll have to see if that holds, or if it marks a temporary top. We got a lot of volume as the market dropped on Friday, but it was also Option expiration day. Incidentally, GS, C, and BAC contributed to a large percentage of the volume on Friday.

Commodities:
Oil prices dropped, closing around $83 per barrel.
Natural Gas closed just over $4.00 again (unchanged).
Gold prices saw a huge drop on Friday, closing around $1137.
The US Dollar index closed near 81 (mostly unchanged).
The 30 year Bond rallied again (lower interest rates), closing around $117.

News:
SEC charges Goldman Sachs with fraud
Parts of This Market Are Looking Irrational
U.S. Stocks Drop, Ending Longest S&P 500 Winning Streak in Year
Why bond funds are suddenly hot
Foreclosure Rates Jump 35 Percent
Housing Starts Rise To Highest Rate In Well Over A Year

47% of Americans pay no income taxes
GE: 7,000 tax returns, $0 U.S. tax bill
Merrill Accused Of Same Fraud As Goldman Sachs
Gold-Dollar relationship challenged
China's quarterly GDP expands more-than-expected 11.9%

Stock Market Blog -Apr 11th

We continued to see gains in the market this week, though the Health Care sector pulled back a bit (see chart). Oil, Gold, and Silver have been moving up as well.

All time highs:	AAPL, BIDU, CRM, DISCA, DTV, DRI, ESRX, IVN, JOSB, JNK, MCD, MIL, NKE, NETL, PRGO, ROST, TJX, YUM -long list!
All time lows:	DXD, EEV, FAZ, SDS, QID, SMN -same names!

New unemployment claims rose unexpectedly this week, coming in at 460,000.
This week another bank was shutdown by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: We get more economic reports including the CPI, retail sales, and housing. We also have Options expiration on Friday.

Earnings season kicks off next week as well:

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
AA	INTC	JPM	AMD, BTU, GOOG, ISRG	BAC, GE

Market commentary: The rally continues, with earnings reports starting next week. We should get a good gauge of direction, although options expiration could also influence the market. We have had a huge rally from early February, and it's not unreasonable to expect a pullback either next week or the following week. We could also see 1200 on the S&P500 and a close above 11000 on the DOW. This market has been very unpredictable for technical traders, so be careful.

Commodities:
Oil prices were up to $87, but ended the week at close t0 $85 per barrel.
Natural Gas closed just over $4.00 again.
Gold prices were up, closing around $1161.
The US Dollar index closed just over 81.
The 30 year Bond gained a bit, closing just over $115.

News:
U.S. Stocks Rise as Inventories Point to Strengthening Economy
Consumer behavior shows recession is over
52-Week Highs Rolling Over: Volatility Ahead?
Junk Bonds Grab Record Share as Yields Tumble: Credit Markets

Florida 90-Day Delinquency Rate Hits 19.39 Percent, US Rate is 8.78 Percent
Los Angeles Faces Threat of Insolvency
Bonds in the 'danger zone'
Oil's moves leave traders scratching their heads
The next Greek tragedy: default or bail-out?
Greece: Europe's 'bazooka' moment

Stock Market Update -Apr 4th

The market was up slightly this week. Energy stocks were strong as Oil edged up near the $85 mark (see sector chart below). Bonds lost some more ground, as long term interest rates approach the 4% mark (10 yr notes). Of course next week the government will be borrowing billions more again!

For the first time in a long time, we got a 'positive' jobs number on Friday (+162,000). The unemployment rate remained at 9.7% however. Manufacturing was also up.

All time highs: AAPL, MCD, CLNE, IVN, JOSB, JNK, MJN, PRGO
All time lows: DXD, EEV, FAZ, SDS, QID, SMN, hmm... why are so many traders still buying these?


New unemployment claims were down, coming in at 439,000.
This week no banks were reported shutdown by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: We get a few economic reports, and we also begin a new quarter. Apple released the much awaited iPad this weekend -we'll see how the stock reacts next week.

Market commentary: The market still seems to be in a consolidation mode. There is no real gauge of direction here, though I still believe the next move could be a short retracement down. The Russell 2000 (IWM) seems to be the weakest of the indexes here.


Commodities:
Oil prices were up again, closing the week at close t0 $85 per barrel.
Natural Gas recovered a bit as I expected, closing just over $4.00.
Gold prices were up, closing around $1126.
The US Dollar index was down, closing around 81.4.
The 30 year Bond was down, closing just under $115.

News:
Dow, S&P 500 at new 18-month highs
Stocks: A Rally That Defies Gravity
Finally! Job growth returns
Payrolls rise 162,000, best gain in three years
Sharp Increase in March in Personal Bankruptcies

Nobody's worried. Time to worry?
The coming inflation wave
State Debt Woes Grow Too Big to Camouflage
Sales of New U.S. Homes Dropped in February to Lowest on Record
How the U.S. Natural Gas Fund (UNG) Lost 20% in March

Stock Market Update -Mar 28th

The market was up a bit this week after pulling back last Friday on Options expiration. This quarter we have seen a rollercoaster ride down in January, then back up in February, for a small overall net gain (depending on the index).



New unemployment claims were down, coming in at 442,000.
This week four more banks were shutdown by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: We get the usual economic reports, along with the much anticipated jobs report on Friday (however the stock market will be closed on Friday). The Fed's trillion dollar mortgage purchase program also comes to an end on Wednesday.

Market commentary: Overall the S&P500 could start to top out at this level. The 1st quarter also comes to an end this Wednesday, which could subsequently give way to some selling/profit taking. We could revisit Thursday's high and then pull back -seems like a lot of technical indicators are lined up for a reversal here.

Commodities:
Oil prices closed the week just over $80 per barrel.
Natural Gas dropped again, closing just under $4.00. We could see a reversal next week as the current futures contract ends trading.
Gold prices were mostly unchanged, closing around $1109.
The US Dollar index was up, closing around 82.
The 30 year Bond price dropped, closing around $115.

News:
U.S. Dollar Breaks Out
10-Year Treasury Yields Break Out
U.S. Growth in 4th Quarter Revised Slightly Lower
Sales of New U.S. Homes Dropped in February to Lowest on Record
Ambac Unit Now Essentially Junk -remember Ambac?
Another Analyst Chimes In On Chinese Solar