ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Google (GOOG) fourth quarter earnings last night were largely as expected: “Google reported revenues of $6.67 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, an increase of 17% compared to the fourth quarter of 2008…GAAP EPS in the fourth quarter of 2009 was $6.13…compared to $1.21 in the fourth quarter of 2008…Non-GAAP EPS in the … Read more
At this point, everyone should be used to looking at charts of stocks and indices that look like they are topping out, many in climactic fashion (click here for a review of Caterpillar; click here for a review of Intel). Add healthcare stocks to the growing list. Specifically, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF, … Read more
Kass: Sell the News | Market Features | Financial Articles & Investing News | TheStreet.com The conventional view is that the Massachusetts election result will kill health reform and, thus, is bullish for health care stocks and for the market as a whole, but, for several reasons, I think that the crowd could prove mistaken … Read more
I did not think I would consider (this soon) whether the dollar’s short-term downtrend is ending. I thought this month’s unemployment report put an end to the dollar’s relief rally, but the dollar has surged in the past 3 days to recover all its losses since the most recent peak in mid-December. Even the Australian … Read more
F.H.A. to Raise Standards for Mortgage Insurance – NYTimes.com The Federal Housing Administration, which is supporting the housing market by insuring thousands of new mortgages every day, is expected to announce on Wednesday that it is tightening standards. (tags: housing FHA mortgage) King Says ‘Low’ U.K. Money Supply to Curb Inflation (Update1) – BusinessWeek Bank … Read more
Looking for signs of life in the commercial real-estate (CRE) business has now become an earnings season ritual for me. If construction activity serves as a leading indicator of CRE’s future health, then Fastenal’s report on fourth quarter and annual earnings demonstrates once again that CRE continues to deteriorate, not improve. Fastenal (FAST) reported “…continued … Read more
Why America and China will clash – FT.com / Columnists / Gideon Rachman The reason that the Google case is so significant is because it suggests that the assumptions on which US policy to China have been based since the Tiananmen massacre of 1989 could be plain wrong. The US has accepted – even welcomed … Read more
Stimulus program to weatherize homes has a cold start | ajc.com Months after millions of federal stimulus dollars started pouring in to Georgia to weatherize the homes of low-income people, state contractors have done little of the work. (tags: Georgia govt_stimulus weatherization)
Stimulus program to weatherize homes has a cold start | ajc.com Months after millions of federal stimulus dollars started pouring in to Georgia to weatherize the homes of low-income people, state contractors have done little of the work. (tags: Georgia govt_stimulus weatherization)
The market delivered another tepid response to another stellar earnings report from Intel (INTC). After October’s earnings report, I argued that INTC was hitting peak performance. Trading following that report seemed to support my expectation. Trading after Thursday night’s earnings looks like an exclamation point on what is a potential climactic top in INTC. Prior … Read more