Stock Market Blog -Jul 11th

We got a nice rally this week, despite the lack of any market moving news. Could be an oversold bounce, or maybe we're in for a better quarter than the last one!

All time highs this week: AZO NEM


New unemployment claims rose again, coming in at 454,000 (chart).
This week, four banks were shutdown by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: We get a few Economic reports, along with earnings season kickoff.
Some of the companies reporting:

MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI
AA	INTC		JPM	BAC
			AMD	C
			GOOG	GE

Don't forget options expiration on Friday!

Market commentary: We did get that 'oversold' bounce I mentioned last week, and I think we can continue to see more upside action this week. Options expire on Friday, and the put/call ratio on the indexes is very high! Earnings will also be a big market driver.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices moved up, closing near $76 per barrel.
Natural Gas fell, to close around $4.40.
Gold was up slightly, closing around $1209.
The US Dollar index continued to drop, closing around 84.15
The 30 year Bond finally dropped, closing just over $126.

News:
U.S. stocks rise, log best week in nearly a year
US growth gauge falls to lowest since July
Foreclosure Friday: The Top 1 Percent Stick It to the Banks
States of Crisis
Why Pimco Likes Stocks
Good News on the Junk-Bond Market

Microsoft's Bold Attempt to Repair Health Care
China Will Be World's Largest IPO Market This Year, PriceWaterhouse Says
Why China's growth will slow
Central banks are trading their gold for cash. What do they know that we don't?
Goldman, Morgan Stanley EPS Estimates Cut by Whitney