Stock Market Blog -Mar 20th

The market dropped early in the week, then recovered somewhat by Friday. Banks rallied on Fed news about being able to pay dividends again. The nuclear reactor situation in Japan worsened, while earthquake and tsunami victims are scrambling for help (seems like the news forgot about them). The US Dollar continued to drop, and Oil is back over $100 again.

New all time highs: BSFT, CSX


New unemployment claims dropped to 385,000 (chart).
This week, no banks were shut down by the FDIC! (list).

Next week: (Economic reports link). We continue to monitor the news out of Japan and the Middle East. GDP report on Friday too.

RIMM and ORCL report earnings on Thursday.

Market commentary: The market stumbled again this week, though it recovered a bit on Thursday and Friday. With all the bad news out there, I don't see much to hold the market up. We may be setting up for a larger correction in this two year rally. Keep your eye on the US Dollar too -if it starts to rally, it could hurt the market.

Now that we've started bombing Libya, next week could be an interesting one in the markets.

Commodities (charts):
Oil prices dropped, then recovered, closing near $101 per barrel.
Natural Gas rallied, closing near $4.17
Gold dropped, then recovered, closing near $1416
The 30 year Bond was up, closing near $123'11.
The US Dollar was down, closing just under 76. All major currencies rallied on Friday, except the US Dollar!

News:

Inflation pressure bubbles, home building dives
What the End of QE2 Means for the Market
The bull market is over – we're in a bear market now
What’s next for commodities with Japan in crisis
AT&T to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
Florida: 18 Percent of Homes are Vacant

U.S. Missiles Strike Libyan Air-Defense Targets
West Plans More Strikes on Libya Despite Arab Criticism
BoJ Injects Another 5 Trillion Yen to Calm Market
Central Banks Set to Tighten Despite Japan Crisis