On Wall Street, stocks slipped, as investors anxiously await a Greek government decision on budget cuts that are considered the keys to securing a second bailout and avoiding default. Read More

After sliding for four straight session, stocks jumped Wednesday on a combination of improved economic data and easing concerns about Europe’s debt crisis. Read More

There has been another batch of companies slated to present this coming month on the website www.retailinvestorconferences.com.  The next day of presentations is February 12, 2012 with the day kicking-off at 10 AM ET.  The companies that will be presenting Read More

Stock futures are pointing upward early on Tuesday, looking to erase loses from Friday and Monday brought about by the tug-o-war between Greece and private creditors. Overseas markets are primarily advancing as of 5 AM ET on several pieces of news, including a new pact in the Eurozone. Late Monday, news came from the summit in Brussels that 25 of the 27 European Union states Read More

On Wall Street, stocks recovered most of their lost ground Monday afternoon but struggled to pull out of the red as concerns over Greece continued to weigh on the market. Read More

Stocks on Wall Street were mostly lower Friday as jittery investors digested a weaker-than-expected economic growth report and as Europe’s debt crisis still loomed in the background.

The Dow Jones Industrials slipped 74.17 points to 12,660.50, a decline of 60 points on the week.

The S&P 500 sank 2.11 points to 1,316.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq picked up 11.27 to 2,816.55

While the Nasdaq logged a fourth straight week of gains, the day’s declines in the Dow and S&P put the indexes in negative territory for the week.

Earnings reports were also weighing on the market on Friday.

Chevron was the worst performing stock on the Dow. Shares sank 3% after the company posted its biggest drop in quarterly earnings in two years and widely missed Wall Street’s estimates.

Procter & Gamble was also a big decliner on the blue chip index. Shares of the maker of Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste and Pringles snacks fell after the company lowered its outlook for the year.

A 5% drop in shares of DeVry was a big factor in the S&P 500′s slide. The for-profit educator’s earnings plunged 90% and undergraduate enrollment continued to decline.

Starbucks was a big loser on the Nasdaq. While the coffee chain beat forecasts with strong earnings and revenue in its fourth quarter, shares slipped as investors were underwhelmed by the company’s profit outlook for the future.

Ford, aided by a one-time gain, posted 2011 profit of $20.2 billion U.S. — its biggest since 1998. But for the quarter alone, earnings missed forecasts, and shares tumbled.

On the flip side, shares of Newell Rubbermaid and Eastman Chemical were big winners on the S&P 500 on the back of strong earnings.

Transocean shares rose after a federal judge cleared the company of some damages related to the Deepwater Horizon spill, because it was shielded by a contract with well-owner BP. BP shares slumped.

Meanwhile, the Social Media ETF spiked almost 3% on news that Facebook is planning to file IPO registration papers next Wednesday, according to the The Wall Street Journal. Shares of social media companies Pandora, Groupon and Zynga also headed higher following the report.

Friday’s slump came as investors reacted to the government’s first reading on fourth-quarter gross domestic product.

Investors had been hoping for news that would back up growing optimism about the nation’s economic recovery. Instead, the news seemed to jive with the Federal Reserve’s lower outlook for the economy.

The Fed announced Wednesday that it plans to keep the federal funds rate near zero until late 2014, because the recovery remains too slow to warrant higher interest rates any time soon.

Anxiety also continues to loom over Greece’s ongoing negotiations with private-sector creditors in an attempt to reduce its debt burden. Without an agreement, the country jeopardizes its access to bailout funds and might not be able to make a 14-billion euro debt payment due March 20.

In addition, Fitch downgraded the sovereign debt ratings of five European countries, including Italy and Spain, which took the biggest hits.

On the economic beat, the University of Michigan’s final installment of its January Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 75, up from an initial reading of 74. Economists were expecting the index to come in at 74.2.

The United States economy picked up speed at the end of 2011, growing at an annual rate of 2.8%, as consumers increased their spending. But the data fell short of the 3.2% forecast, based on a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Investors had been hoping for news that would back up growing optimism about the nation’s economic recovery. Instead, the news seems to jive with the Federal Reserve’s lower outlook for the economy.

The Fed announced Wednesday that it plans to keep the federal funds rate near zero until late 2014, because the recovery remains too slow to warrant higher interest rates any time soon.

Treasury prices for the 10-year note gained ground, lowering yields to 1.90% from Thursday’s 1.93%.

Oil for February delivery was stronger by 21 cents to $99.68 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery rose $5.50 to $1,732.20 U.S. an ounce.

Article provided by Baystreet.ca.

In New York, stocks edged lower Thursday as investors digested a mixed batch of corporate earnings results and remained cautious amid lackluster economic data and ongoing debt talks in Greece.

The Dow Jones Industrials sank 22.33 points by the close to 12,734.60.

The S&P 500 went down 7.61 points to 1,318.45, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index subtracted 13.03 points to 2,805.28.

The three major indexes started higher but gave up gains throughout the day, and are on track to end in the red.

Disappointing data on the housing market (see below) forced investors to turn cautious, according to some experts.

Fourth-quarter corporate results were also in the spotlight. Caterpillar and 3M, which both posted better-than-expected earnings, were the best performers on the Dow, while Netflix was the biggest winner on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, with shares surging more than 20%.

Late Wednesday, the streaming video and DVD-by-mail company topped earnings and sales expectations. Netflix said it began to add customers again last quarter, after a series of blunders damaged its reputation with consumers and investors.

JCPenney and LSI were also big gainers among the S&P 500, after the companies delivered upbeat forecasts for the first quarter of 2012.

On the flip side, AT&T was the biggest laggard on the Dow after it reported quarterly earnings that fell short of forecasts. Disappointing results from SanDisk also weighed on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

E*Trade was the worst performing stock in the S&P 500, after the company posted an unexpected fourth-quarter loss

Nokia shares climbed after the mobile phone maker posted a fourth-quarter loss of €1.1 billion, with sales down 21% compared to the same period a year earlier. Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop said the Finnish company has sold more than one million Lumia devices, a smartphone using Microsoft (MST) Windows Phone software.

Investors are also still waiting for news out of Athens, where Greek officials are negotiating with private-sector creditors to reduce the country’s debt burden.

A stall or end to the talk, however, would be a major concern. Greece is in desperate need of an agreement to receive additional bailout funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Without these funds, the country may not be able to make a €14-billion debt payment that’s due March 20.

On the economic beat, new home sales tumbled to a record low in 2011, according to government data released Thursday. Just 302,000 new homes were sold in 2011, 6.2% below 2010 and the lowest number of annual sales since the government started tracking home sales in 1963, the report showed.

Elsewhere, initial jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 21 rose to 377,000, up from a revised 356,000 the week prior, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Economists had anticipated 375,000 claims, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.

Durable orders for the month of December rose 3% in December. Economists had expected orders to have risen 2%.

The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators Index for December rose 0.4%. Economists were expecting the index to rise by 0.7%.

Treasury prices for the 10-year note leaped, lowering yields to 1.93% from Wednesday’s 2.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for February delivery were stronger by 36 cents to $99.76 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery gained $26.60 to $1,726.70 U.S. an ounce.

Article provided by www.baystreet.ca.

In New York, stocks shaved early losses and turned higher Wednesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve said it plans to keep interest rates near historic lows through late 2014.

The Dow Jones Industrials gained 83.10 points to 12,758.80, levels the blue chips haven’t seen since last May.

The S&P 500 regained 11.41 points to 1,326.06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index spiked 31.67 points to 2,818.31.

The Fed, which issued a statement at the end of a two-day policy meeting midday Wednesday, had previously said it would hold rates low through mid-2013.

Software company CA and Apple were the biggest gainers on the tech-heavy index, thanks to better-than-expected earnings.

In addition to keeping low rates, Fed chief Ben Bernanke also left the door wide open to additional stimulative policies, including a third round of bond purchases, a policy known as quantitative easing, or QE3.

During a press conference following the statement, Bernanke said “expanding the balance sheet certainly remains an option” for the Fed, and the central bank would consider it “very seriously if, in particular, progress towards full employment was continued or became more inadequate or if inflation remained exceptionally low.”

Apple’s earnings provided some positive momentum Wednesday, especially in the tech sector.
Late Tuesday, the iPhone and iPad maker reported a whopping quarterly profit of $13 billion U.S. — the best quarter ever for a technology company.

The company said sales for the quarter hit $46.3 billion U.S., sending shares shooting up 6.5% Wednesday. The gains helped Apple surpass Exxon Mobil as the most valuable U.S. company.

Shares of Boeing turned higher, after the airplane maker reported a jump in fourth-quarter profit and revenue. Earlier shares were down, as the company also issued a disappointing full-year earnings guidance.

Delta reported fourth-quarter earnings that widely beat expectations, sending shares of the airline higher.

Shares of Ericsson tumbled after the Swedish telecom-equipment maker reported a 66% drop in fourth-quarter profit, driven by weak network sales.

Yahoo reported a much quieter quarter than Apple, posting earnings in line with analysts’ expectations after the close Tuesday. Shares of the company slipped.

Shares of Nvidia slumped a day after the graphics chip maker cut its fourth-quarter sales outlook, citing a shortage of disk drives.

Advanced Micro Devices also reported earnings late Tuesday, posting revenue that missed expectations. But shares of the semiconductor company rose slightly.

Meanwhile, investors are also watching Greece’s ongoing negotiations with representatives of private-sector creditors to reduce its debt burden. Officials are set to resume informal talks Thursday in Athens.

Greece is in desperate need of an agreement to receive additional bailout funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Without these funds, the country may not be able to make a €14-billion debt payment that’s due March 20.

On the economic beat, the Fed left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.25%, as analysts expected.

The Fed also released forward-looking forecasts for the federal funds rate for the first time ever on Wednesday, in addition to its outlook on the economy and labour market.

The central bank said it expects the unemployment rate to fall to between 8.2% and 8.5% in 2012, an improvement over what it had predicted back in November.

But the Fed is also predicting the economy will grow between 2.2% and 2.7% this year, slightly slower than it had previously thought.

For that reason, most of the policymakers at the Fed think the federal funds rate should remain near zero for the foreseeable future.

Elsewhere, pending home sales for the month of December dropped by 3.5%, after rising 7.3% in the prior month. Economists were expecting sales to fall 3%.

Treasury prices for the 10-year note jumped, lowering yields to 2.01% from Tuesday’s 2.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for February delivery regained 87 cents to $99.82 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery gained $35.60, or 2.1%, to settle at $1,700.10 U.S. an ounce.

News provided by www.baystreet.ca.

In New York, stocks were also mostly in the red Tuesday as investors awaited progress on Greek debt talks and waded through another batch of corporate results.

The Dow Jones Industrials gave back 33.07 points to 12,675.80

The S&P 500 fell 1.37 points to 1,314.63, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index nipped ahead 2.47 points to 2,786.64.

Investors waded through another round of corporate results, including Dow components Verizon, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson and Travelers. Following Tuesday’s trading day, tech leaders Apple and Yahoo will announce their results.

Following the release of their results, shares of Travelers, Verizon and McDonald’s slid, making them the Dow’s biggest laggards.

After the close, Apple is expected to post earnings of $10.08 U.S. a share, a steep rise from the $6.43 U.S. it reported a year earlier.

Yahoo earnings are projected to be unchanged from the 24 cents U.S. per share posted in the fourth quarter of 2010. The Web portal announced last week that company co-founder Jerry Yang resigned from its board of directors and all other positions at the company.

Anxiety remains about the European debt crisis and, in particular, Greece’s ongoing negotiations with representatives of private-sector creditors to reduce its debt burden.

A deal is a key condition for Greece to receive additional bailout funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Without this financial support, Greece may not be able to make a €14-billion debt payment that’s due March 20.

On the economic beat, the International Monetary Fund lowered its outlook for the world economy on Tuesday, and warned that the global financial system faces growing risks from the debt crisis in Europe.

The IMF now expects the global economy to grow 3.3% in 2012, according to an update to its World Economic Outlook. In September, the IMF said the global economy would expand 4% this year.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to start a two-day meeting, and will release forward-looking forecasts for the federal funds rate for the first time ever on Wednesday. The government also releases its first estimate of fourth-quarter economic growth on Friday.

Treasury prices for the 10-year note gained a bit of ground, lowering the yields to 2.06% from Monday’s 2.07%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for February delivery dropped 19 cents to $99.09 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery fell $13.80 to settle at $1,664.50 U.S. an ounce.

Article provided by www.baystreet.ca.

File-sharing giant Megaupload.com was shut down yesterday; just one day after web-wide protests took place over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate.  The Federal Bureau of Investigations had been investigating Megaupload since 2009, resulting in the indictment yesterday accusing its founders and executives of racketeering, money laundering and presiding over online piracy in what the feds called a “Mega Conspiracy.”  The lawyer representing Read More