[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US stocks fell Monday with the S&P 500 index coming off a five-year high as Wall Street shifted its focus from the nation’s fiscal woes to the start of corporate earnings season tomorrow. Aluminum maker Aloca Inc will unofficially kick-off the fourth-quarter earnings season after the market closes on Tuesday. Fourth quarter earnings for S&P 500 …
One Man’s Opinion: Is The US Job Market Really Healing?
The latest non-farm payroll data shows the US economy added 155,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.8 percent, well short of the Fed’s stated target of 6.5 percent, which in turn will likely keep the central bank engaged in the foreseeable future. Does the present administration have any number that relates to job losses if …
Fed Minutes End Euphoric Rally; Europe Rises
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US equities slipped slightly following the S&P 500 index’s biggest rally in a year as minutes from the Fed’s December meeting showed some policy makers were mulling whether to wrap-up its $85 billion monthly bond purchase program before the end of this year. What that means is that QE punch bowl addicted crowd may no longer have the …
Cliff Deal Reached—But Where’s The Meat?
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] Sure, the much feared slide down the fiscal cliff was avoided at the last minute, but the euphoric relief rally in the markets will likely be temporary in nature. Last time the S&P 500 gained some 60 points in 2 trading days, over 70% of it was given back within the next week. Upon closer inspection …
Postponing The Inevitable
As I pointed out yesterday, the hard decisions in regards to the fiscal cliff negotiations have not been made and who knows, how and if they ever will be addressed once we step into 2013. For some food for thought on this topic, Mark Grant, author of Out of the Box, had some worthwhile comments in “Postponed:” “Postponed” is the official stamp …
Going Off The Cliff, But…
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] It was another day marked by confusion, last minute agreements that a fiscal cliff deal had been reached only to be followed by announcements that nothing had been finalized, but talks were still going on, etc., etc. It was insanity at its finest… In the end, hope prevailed that a deal is still possible, which pushed …