September 30, 2011
Oil Falls Below $80 Per Barrel, Oil Companies Follow
 Crude-oil futures slumped once again on Friday as fears over the state of the global economy push it down close to 10 percent for the month of September. For the quarter, oil has slid 16 percent on fear that European debt contagion and slow global growth will continue to be concerns in the global economy and weaken the demand for oil. Several mildly optimistic news items help bolster the contract slightly in late day trading but the trend for oil seems to be ultimately lower. Small boosts, like the ones earlier in the week and on Thursday, have been quickly erased. The recent strength of the dollar is likely to exacerbate the exit from oil in spite of its prolonged tenure beneath its technical norms. Crude is currently trading beneath $80 per barrel after peaking at nearly 2008 level highs (more)…
Equities Sector Coverage: Wall Street Closes Out Worst Quarter in Years
 Personal spending rose 0.2% in August in line with estimates, while personal income unexpectedly fell 0.1% for the first decline since October 2009. The Chicago PMI Index topped estimates with a reading of 60.4 in September up from 56.6 in August. The final reading of the Michigan consumer sentiment survey for the month of September came in at 59.4, higher than the preliminary reading of 57.8. On Monday we get the national ISM manufacturing index and construction spending. On Tuesday we get Factory Orders and listen to Fed Chief Ben Bernanke testify before the Joint Economic Committee. On Wednesday it’s the non-manufacturing ISM. Initial Jobless Claims is on Thursday and the Employment Data is on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded down to 10,995.27 then up to 11,136.84 in morning trading then slumped below 10,950 into the final half (more)…
SaviCorp.’s DynoValve In-line With Current Government Objectives
 Among the top priorities on the American agenda right now is developing green products and jobs. Global warming and pollution are issues impacting not just the U.S. but the world over. The necessity of delaying the process of their occurrence creates an area of tremendous fiscal potential. Arun Majumdar, director of ARPA-E declared the green movement “another Sputnik-like moment in a race to develop clean energy,” in a recent press conference announcing a new funding for the movement. Majumdar stressed the importance of American green companies and the vital nature of the cause for the future of the country. Granted, ideas for how to create cleaner energy have been in the works for years. The finite amount of available fossil fuel had been discussed well before global warming was ever on the table, prompting the search for sustainable energy. In (more)…
Equities Roundup: Stocks Slide Lower As Q3 Ends
 Stocks sank slightly lower in early trading and seems to be moving lower after shrugging off mixed economic data as the dismal third quarter comes to a close. Stops have fallen over 10 percent in Q3, the worst performance since the peak of the financial crisis. However, according to a barometer from Thompson Reuters and the University of Michigan, consumer sentiment actually rose to 59.4 in September versus the three-year low of 55.7 from the month before. Chicago manufacturing activity also rose to 60.4 for the month over 56.5 in August. The U.S. also received some lackluster news as well, however, as the U.S. Department of Commerce said that income fell in August, the first decline in two years. Consumer spending fell 0.2 percent, meaning Americans had to dip into their personal savings to keep up. Economic activity from China (more)…
Is it Time to Buy Rare Earth Stocks?
 Rare earth stocks are at their recent lows with some of the big names like Molycorp. (MCP), shedding 45 percent in the past three months. From a technical standpoint some of these stocks are looking like buys, but a major shift is taking place that could keep them from recovering in the near future. China’s announcement in July 2010 that it would limit exports of rare earths caused a boost in prices. Rather than swallow the higher prices though, some of the biggest customers began innovating new ways to get by without it. Toyota and General Electric Co., both announced plans to reduce the amount of the materials used in their cars and windmills according to Bloomberg, a shift that is likely to significantly weaken demand for rare earth metals. In the last three months alone the Bloomberg Rare Earth (more)…
China Stocks End Volatile Week Nearly Unchanged
 A massive gain on Tuesday and welcome news on the European debt and U.S. economy fronts could not rescue China stocks this week. After a 9.2% plunge last week, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 4.2% on Tuesday due to short-covering from its oversold position, according to Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KGI Asia. Optimism also emerged that European authorities were taking steps to head of a default by Greece on its debt. Then good economic news came from the U.S. overnight Friday. However, the Hang Seng, with its strong contingent of big Chinese companies, ended the week with a negligible gain of 0.4%, edging up 77 points to 17,592. The index of Chinese companies sank 1.3%, 116 points, to 8,917. One problem was that moves on the European debt crisis were only “minor improvements,” with no comprehensive solution (more)…
Bulls Need a Big Day, or Else
 Brooksie’s Daily Stock Market blog - an edge before the open Friday, September 30, 2011 9: 17 am EDT DJIA: 11,153.98 S&P 500: 1160.40 TODAY: Yesterday’s strength was solely due to better-than-expected Jobless Claims and Q2 GDP data. Early trading today should produce a loss of 100 points in the DJIA. The market has been locked in a wide trading range (consolidation) since August 9. Bulls need to blow it out above DJIA 11,740 (S&P 500: 1220). Bears gain control on a break below DJIA 10,572 (S&P 500: 1101). The September Chicago ISM report, due out at 9:45 is expected to drop to 55 from 56.5 in August. A reflection of manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity in the Chicago region, it has been down five out of the last six months. We need a surprise here, i.e., up, not down. While (more)…
September 29, 2011
Investors Place Bets on the Future of Amazon’s Kindle Fire
 The tech sector was mixed today as segment news influenced share prices more than the see-sawing attitudes of the broader market. Among the major happenings investors were looking out for was the fiscal revenue of semiconductor maker, Micron Technology (MU). The company reported fiscal Q4 revenue surpassing analyst expectations. The improvements; however, were not enough to bolster the stock as an unanticipated decline per share weighed heavily on the company. Revenue slid 14 percent year-over year for three month period that ended last month. The results were consistent with Q3 levels and Micron sustained a net loss of 14 cents per share. Analysts had been expecting lower revenue but had predicted per share leakage of only 1 cent. The steep drop had investors on edge, as did a warning that a negative outcome in an antitrust case against Rambus (RMBS) (more)…
Equities Sector Coverage: Stocks Gain But Stay Volatile
 The final reading of Real GDP for Q2 2011 is 1.3% versus 1.0% in the preliminary reading. Initial Jobless Claims fell 37,000 to 391,000 still above the 350,000 recessionary threshold. On Friday we get readings on Personal Income & Spending and Chicago PMI. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up to 11,271.14 in the morning then down below 11,000 in afternoon trading. The NASDAQ stayed below its 50-day simple moving average at 2557 trading down from 2478.56 to below 2435 in afternoon trading. Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday with the Nikkei 225 up 0.99% 8,701, while the Hang Seng remained closes at 18,011. European stocks were mixed as the Germans approve an expansion of the Euro bailout fund. The FTSE 100 declined by 0.40% to 5,197 with the DAX up 1.10% to 5,640 and the CAC 40 up 1.07% (more)…
As Sam Sees It: Low-Beta Sectors to Beat the Bear-Market Blues
 Each week, we tap the insight of Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist for Standard & Poor’s Equity Research, for his perspective on the current market. EQ: September is historically one of the worst performing and most volatile months in the stock market. As we enter the last week of the month, does that statement ring true this time around? Stovall: Yes it does, but certainly less so than it did earlier in the month. With the S&P at 1194 for Sept. 27, that puts us down 2 percent for the month. Yet, if we remember back to when the S&P 500 was at 1135 only a week or so ago, that would’ve indicated a 7 percent price decline. Either way, the S&P is off for the month, which is the traditional performance for September whether you go back to 1990, (more)…
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