Week in Review 30/9/2011

Date of publish: 30/9/2011

For Financial week: 26-30/9/2011

Written by Matthew McCreath

Week in Review 

   

   Stocks jumped and blue chips staged their biggest percentage gain in more than a month, as investors bet that efforts will be taken to stem Europe's sovereign-debt crisis. The Dow climbed 272 points, to 11044, clawing back more than one-third of last week's losses. The S&P 500-stock index gained 27 points, to 1163. The Nasdaq Composite was the laggard, gaining 33 points, to 2517, after spending much of the day in negative territory.  Stocks closed near session highs following reports that a "special purpose vehicle" to help stem Europe's debt contagion was in advanced development. Those reports followed an ECB official's endorsement of a more aggressive bailout plan and another official's remark that the ECB can't rule out an interest-rate cut.

   A sharp afternoon downdraft prompted U.S. stocks to erase more than half of their earlier gains, as investors fretted over a report that highlighted a potential split in the euro zone over the terms of Greece's second bailout. The Dow finished the session up 147 points, to 11191, after surging as much as 325 points. The S&P 500-stock index gained 12 points, to 1175. The Nasdaq Composite closed up 30 points, to 2547.

   U.S. stocks snapped a three-day winning streak, sinking as a drop in commodities prices added to concerns about policymakers' ability to contain Europe's debt crisis. The Dow fell 180 points, to 11011. The S&P 500-stock index lost 24 points, at 1151, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 55 points, to 2492. The moves came on a day when Finland voted to approve changes to the euro-zone bailout fund, after leaders raised concerns earlier this month that they would demand collateral as a precondition for participation. Germany votes on the changes Thursday. The changes need to be approved by all 17 euro-zone members to take effect.

   Stocks erased a strong rally but still finished off their worst levels Thursday in thin, choppy trading as the Dow and S&P rebounded from afternoon lows. Stocks started the session sharply higher following several robust economic news and after Germany's parliament passed a crucial vote which approved the reforms to the EFSF. The Dow gained 143 points, or 1.30 percent, to finish at 11,154, rebounding from its afternoon lows. The S&P 500 rose 9 points, or 0.81 percent, to end at 1,160. The Nasdaq slid 11 points, or 0.43 percent, to close at 2,481.

   Stocks declined, setting the market up to close the worst quarter in years on a down note, with glum overseas economic reports weighing on investor sentiment. The Dow shed 156 points, to 10999, in Friday afternoon trading. The Dow has lost 10% for the quarter as of Thursday's close, the biggest percentage decline since the first quarter of 2009 and the worst point drop since the nadir of the financial crisis in late 2008. The S&P 500-stock index shed 18 points, to 1143, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 44 points, to 2438. Those two indexes also are closing out their worst quarterly performance in years.

Commentary: Getting stuff done 30/9/2011

Date of publish: 30/9/2011

For Financial week: 26-30/9/2011

Written by Matthew McCreath

 Commentary: Getting stuff done

I hear it constantly, “I want to trade but I don’t have the time” or “I want to start investing but I don’t have enough money”. Unless those statements end with ‘yet’ then I think there really isn’t much desire, because truth is there isn’t anything stopping you.

There are 168 hours in a week and you really can’t find 5 hours out of them to look over charts, read a book, website, listen to a conference call or possibly read a newsletter *cough*. I’m sure it would be time better used than watching jersey shore. However, if you’re are finishing up stuff for work or school fine but if you’re mindlessly watching television then possibly your time would be better used taking control of your financial future.

Money is an iffy subject because it has to do a lot with the individual in question. Not many people have thousands of dollars sitting under their mattress that they can through into an investing or trading endeavor. For example to trade commodity futures unleveraged, one would need over a quarter of a million dollars. However, on the complete other side of the spectrum, there are forex brokers like Oanda which offer nano lots, where 1 pip is one cent. This means one could trade unrestricted with only fifty dollars and actually grow.

Fact is if you can’t find fifty dollars you have other problems or other priorities which is perfectly understandable. Using fifty dollars to buy groceries or pay rent is much more important. I’m just saying using fifty dollars to possibly grow your wealth seams worth it if it was going to be otherwise spent on a new pair of shoes or to watch that new movie. One must prioritize if they truly want to succeed.

Priorities go into the depths of what this commentary is about. When you have stuff to do, it’s best to get the most important stuff done first. I can’t tell what is important in anyone’s life because I’m not them. However, simple logic would agree that if you really want something or if something needs to be done, it just simply has to get done. So if you really want to do something, finance related or not, you have to step back, prioritize and make the necessary sacrifices. If not you’ll either never reach your goals or it will just take too long.

Week In Review 23/9/11

 Disclaimer: The above statements should not be seen as a financial recommendation. Any trades or investments discussed within this newsletter are simply my own thoughts as of the moment of publication, and are subject to change. Traders entering any market should make their own decisions based off their own research and tolerance for risk. Losses in trading are very real and can exceed your initial investment. There is no guarantee that I will enter, or have entered any of the trading or investing ideas discussed in this newsletter. I, the author do not grant this work for distribution beyond any single individual subscriber as this publication is protected by International Copyright laws. All rights reserved. No license is granted to the user except for the user's personal use. No part of this publication or its contents may be copied, downloaded, stored in a retrieval system, further transmitted or otherwise reproduced, stored, disseminated, transferred, or used, in any form or by any means except or with prior written permission. I am not a licensed financial planner or advisor. It is also understood that the writer of this newsletter has warned against the dangers of shadowing other traders thoughts.

Commentary 19/23/11

 Disclaimer: The above statements should not be seen as a financial recommendation. Any trades or investments discussed within this newsletter are simply my own thoughts as of the moment of publication, and are subject to change. Traders entering any market should make their own decisions based off their own research and tolerance for risk. Losses in trading are very real and can exceed your initial investment. There is no guarantee that I will enter, or have entered any of the trading or investing ideas discussed in this newsletter. I, the author do not grant this work for distribution beyond any single individual subscriber as this publication is protected by International Copyright laws. All rights reserved. No license is granted to the user except for the user's personal use. No part of this publication or its contents may be copied, downloaded, stored in a retrieval system, further transmitted or otherwise reproduced, stored, disseminated, transferred, or used, in any form or by any means except or with prior written permission. I am not a licensed financial planner or advisor. It is also understood that the writer of this newsletter has warned against the dangers of shadowing other traders thoughts.

Apology

I'd like to apologize for not having released last week's newsletter. Frankly I've been busy with school recently and barely have enough time to write and publish the newsletter however, I will try to manage my time better as well as be more consistent in my releases. Also I've been learning about blogger and html coding to enhance the flow of the site. So thank you for baring with me and I promise there will be a release this Friday.

Week Ahead (5-9/9/2011

Next week will be a relatively light news week for the US. There will be no trading on Monday as it will be the labor day bank holiday. On Tuesday the ISM non-manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Manager’s Index), It's a leading monthly indicator of economic health - businesses react quickly to  market conditions, and their purchasing managers hold perhaps the most current and relevant insight into the company's view of the economy; Above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction. If the actual release is higher than the forecast of 51.3 then the markets should rally. The next major news release comes on Thursday with Unemployment claims and the trade balance. Forecast come in at 409k and –50.3B respectively. Based on Fridays jobs number expect light volume going into the release and bearish bets as well. Also there is the trade balance which will be watched carefully to see whether there was actually a contraction in global trade. Also watch for the ECB press conference on Thursday and any  announcements on austerity measures or new policies to aid Greece or Italy. If there is any significant announcement Wall Street and other  European indices could rally  violently. NEWS Monday: - Tuesday: ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Wednesday: - Thursday: Unemployment Claims  & Trade Balance Friday: -

Week In Review (Newsletter 29/8-2/9/2011)

The market Stocks rallied Monday, following a trifecta of positive news: A Greek bank deal, a solid U.S. consumer spending report and relief that Hurricane Irene caused less damage than expected. The Dow Jones industrial average added 254 points to close at 11,539. The S&P 500 rose 33 points to 1,210. The Nasdaq Composite gained 82 points to 2,562.   Early Tuesday morning, investors were spooked by a report that showed consumer confidence sunk to its lowest level in more than two years. All indices closed the day in positive territory. The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 20 points to 11,559.95. The S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1212.92; while the Nasdaq added 14 points to 2576.11. Stocks got a bit of a late-day bounce from the release of the Federal Reserve minutes. The minutes revealed that some members supported QE3. U.S. stocks advanced Wednesday, pushing the Dow back into positive territory for 2011 and capping a four-day winning streak that closed a volatile August. The Dow finished with a gain of 53 points 11613.5. AT&T shed 3.9%, to 28.48, after the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit that seeks to block AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile. The S&P 500-stock index gained 6 points 1218.9, led by financial and utility stocks. The Nasdaq Composite eked out a rise of 0.1%, to 2579.46. Three batches of economic data helped set a positive tone for Wednesday's session. Despite the recent strength the major All three indexes had their worst August since 2001 after fears of an economic slowdown in the United States and debt issues in Europe put investors on edge. A four-day rally ended Thursday with a slump led by banks. Many investors sold stocks ahead of the monthly jobs report Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 119.96 points to close at 11,493.57. Markets rose shortly after the manufacturing report showed evidence of growth in August. Retailers rose after reporting strong sales last month, despite worries about the economy. The S.& P. 500 fell 14.47 points to 1,204.42. The Nasdaq fell 33.42 to 2,546.04. U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday after data showing zero jobs growth in August brought investors face-to-face with the prospect of another recession. The declines left Wall Street lower for the sixth week out of seven on a light-volume day ahead of the long U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend. Stocks had rebounded recently on expectations the Federal Reserve would introduce new stimulus to boost the sluggish economy. However latest reports show that action by the Fed alone cannot address the economy's problems.  Bank shares were again among the day's biggest losers after U.S. housing regulator filed a lawsuit against Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and other big lenders over mortgage practices. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 253.16 points, or 2.20 percent, at 11,240.41. The S&P 500 Index was down 30.46 points, or 2.53 percent, at 1,173.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 65.71 points, or 2.58 percent, at 2,480.33. Friday marked the S&P's biggest drop in two weeks. Despite the day's sharp decline, stocks were only modestly lower for the week. For the week, the Dow fell 0.4%, the S&P lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq was flat. Quick Stats on world markets DOW opened this week at 11277 closing 37pts 0.4(%) lower at 11240 S&P 500 opened this week at 1175.10 closing 2pts  0.2(%) lower at 1173 USD Index opened this week at 73.77 closing 0.98pts 1.3(%) higher at 74.75 Gold opened this week at 1818.95 closing 57.95 dollars 3.2(%) higher at 1876.9 Oil opened this week at 85.38 closing 1.07dollars 1.3(%) higher at 86.45

Commentary (Newsletter 29/8-2/9/2011)

The market has QE3 on its brain. This just shows that macro economic factors have more impact on the markets than any factors affecting the businesses that these stocks getting pummeled are supposed to represent. Hopes for more support from the Federal Reserve have helped stocks levitate in recent sessions, making investing and trading in any markets, especially stocks much more difficult, as if it wasn't hard enough, and frustrating the average investor or destroying the savings of pensioners as their 401ks or IRAs come down with the markets. The minutes of the last Federal Reserve policy setting meeting, released Tuesday, revealed that a third round of asset purchases, or "quantitative easing," was raised as a possibility to support the economy and financial markets. QE2 spurred a significant rally in many markets and Investors are beginning to say, 'Hey, if they're going to do a QE3, probably the same thing happens.’ Stocks and commodities rallied as the Fed minutes came out., as Some traders clearly felt that the Fed was signaling a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) solely because they acknowledged discussing a range of easing options. A few members felt that recent economic developments justified a more substantial move which seemed to be all that was necessary to get everyone salivating again.  The Fed is deeply divided; they couldn't even seem to agree on whether inflation posed an imminent threat or not however the minutes revealed that some committee members advocated another round of  easing or QE3.  By itself the Fed can't restore confidence or create jobs, so any steps it might take won't be game-changing for the economic growth prospects. The likelihood of more stimulus has increased dramatically as a result of this and some other recent data, but at this point it's unclear how much that will really help markets. Frankly if it didn't work the last time its not going to work the second time. Wall Street has a gambling problem and the fed cannot keep supporting it because when news comes out showing inflation again the complainers will come in their masses to blame everything on Mr Bernanke. The same traders making a killing on rising wheat prices will crush a restaurant stock when it says wheat prices are shrinking margins or complain when their trading profits buy less in the stores. When you bite the hand that feeds you, don't be surprised when it does return and I will loose much of my respect for Ben Bernanke if he decides to feed Wall Street’s gambling problems once again.