[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US equities ended mostly higher Wednesday as Wall Street applauded comments from President Obama on the fiscal cliff, and investors lapped up upbeat corporate news, but Apple Inc dragged down the NASDAQ Composite. On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management reported a slightly faster pace of growth for the US services sector in November, …
7 ETF Model Portfolios You Can Use – Updated through 12/4/2012
With the looming fiscal cliff as the backdrop, the major indexes meandered and then pulled back with the S&P 500 managing to eke out a 0.6% gain since last week’s ETF Model Portfolio report. There is no secret that nothing matters much other than the latest battle news from the fiscal cliff participants, as the fronts appear to harden almost …
US Indexes Ease As Fiscal Cliff Wrangling Continues; Europe Wobbles On Uncertainties
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US stocks turned lower, sending the major equity averages down for a second straight day, as Democrats stuck to their guns on raising taxes for the richest Americans and eurozone differences continued to fester over a new banking regulator in the single currency bloc. In the latest round of US budget negotiations, the White House rejected …
More Fiscal Cliff Rhetoric With No Tangible Results; Weak Data Pulls Down Indexes
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US equities finished lower as politicians in Washington restarted the rhetoric on how to manage the nation’s fiscal policy, and a measure of factory output showed unexpected contraction in November. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity dropped to 49.5 in November from 51.7 a month earlier, signaling contraction for the first time since …
One Man’s Opinion: Does Monetary Policy Improve Structural Unemployment?
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has little control over US monetary policy and by using up all the traditional ammunition called the basis points by taking the Federal Funds Rate down to zero and indulging in this experimental medicine known as quantitative easing, Bernanke has pretty much abdicated control over the traction between the monetary policy and real economy, says Stephen Roach, …
Major Indexes Ride The Fiscal Cliff Roller Coaster; Funny Quote Of The Day
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] As I mentioned yesterday, increased market volatility is pretty much guaranteed to stay with us, and swings in either direction will depend on the latest announcements as to any progress in the fiscal cliff negotiations. That’s what happened today, as the indexes yo-yo’d up and down depending on who was making a speech or giving the …