Seven more banks failed late Friday, including institutions in Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Georgia, and three in Florida. The FDIC posted the liabilities it would assume and which banks would take on customers from the shutter institutions in detail on its website.

According to MarketWatch, "CreditSights, which tracks the dismal data, predicts that in the current cycle, from 2008 through 2011, as many as 1,100 banks will fail. That would wipe out 13.4% of all U.S. banks, representing 7% of U.S. banking assets."

Continue reading Bank failures hit 106 for 2009

Bank failures hit 106 for 2009 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are todays unofficial closing numbers:

Dow 9,487.37 -21.91 (-0.23%)
S&P 500 1,025.18 -4.67 (-0.45%)
Nasdaq 2,048.11 -9.37 (-0.46%)

Continue reading Closing Bell: Too much, too soon? (FSLR, YONG, ETRM, PFE & MGM)

Closing Bell: Too much, too soon? (FSLR, YONG, ETRM, PFE & MGM) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The markets opened lower this morning and have continued to slide all day, mostly due to poor reports on manufacturing and unemployment. Still, for the third quarter both the DJIA and the S&P 500 indexes gained about 15%. Now, it appears that faith in an economic recovery is wobbling, primarily as a result of expected growth in unemployment and continuing low consumer spending. The federal stimulus program has pumped about $86 billion into the economy so far, but that hasn't been enough to shake loose tight-fisted lenders or cash-conserving consumers.

Here are the numbers::

Dow 9,509.28 -203.00 (-2.09%)
S&P 500 1,029.84 -27.24 (-2.58%)
Nasdaq 2,057.48 -64.94 (-3.06%)

Continue reading Just about everything weighs on markets today (F, PAG, ETP, ASTI, CHTP)

Just about everything weighs on markets today (F, PAG, ETP, ASTI, CHTP) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Dow Jones Industrial average jumped about 125 points on Monday but has given back about two-thirds of that gain through trading so far today. The story with the S&P 500 index is similar, though not quite so severe: a giveback of about a quarter of Monday's gain. The NASDAQ Composite index is doing better, up about 3% so far today, to remain virtually even with Monday's gains. The indices are slowly gaining back some ground lost earlier this morning, so by the close of trading today, the markets could show a small gain.

Here are the numbers:

Dow 9,712.28 -29.92 (-0.31%)
S&P 500 1,057.07 -3.54 (-0.33%)
Nasdaq 2,122.42 -1.62 (-0.08%)

Continue reading Closing Bell: Market Indices retreat on manufacturing, employment, petroleum data (CIT, DSCO, MU, PZE & AMSC)

Closing Bell: Market Indices retreat on manufacturing, employment, petroleum data (CIT, DSCO, MU, PZE & AMSC) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Out of the chute this morning, the S&P/Case-Shiller index rose 1.2% in July and gave the market a nice uptick for a while. Then came the report from the Conference Board that its consumer confidence index for September fell to 53.1 from 54.5 in August. What was worse is that economists had estimated a rise to 57 for the month. The soft confidence number is almost certainly due to people worried about losing their jobs. Right now, it could be that traders are waiting for Friday's unemployment report before jumping one way or the other. The negative news won out and the indexes traded down most of the day.

The numbers:

Dow

S&P 500

Nasdaq

Continue reading Closing Bell: Housing, consumer confidence deliver lukewarm trading (CIT, C, BAC, ACS, XRX, SQNM & RIMM)

Closing Bell: Housing, consumer confidence deliver lukewarm trading (CIT, C, BAC, ACS, XRX, SQNM & RIMM) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Traders had on their rally caps today, and the DJIA moved as high as 9,823 as it renewed its ascent toward 10,000. The index moved back down a bit at the end of the day as traders got lazy during a session in which most of the news came before the bell.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) and Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) both announced deals today that pumped some air into the M&A business. Financial shares are mostly moving higher because increased M&A activity generally means more fees for financial services companies. Trading volume was light, mostly due to the Yom Kippur holiday today.

Today's numbers:

Dow 9,789.44 +124.25 (1.29%)
S&P 500 1,062.88 +18.50 (1.77%)
Nasdaq 2,130.74 +39.82 (1.90%)

Continue reading Closing bell: M&A gives market a boost; Coffee also provides stimulus (C, BAC, ACS, DDRX & GMCR)

Closing bell: M&A gives market a boost; Coffee also provides stimulus (C, BAC, ACS, DDRX & GMCR) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

DJIA: 9666.48 -40.96 (-0.42%)

NASDAQ: 2090.92 -16.69 (-0.79%)

S&P 500: 1044.44 -6.34 (-0.6%)

Continue reading Closing bell: No spark from consumer sentiment (RIMM, AAPL, UAUA, AMR)

Closing bell: No spark from consumer sentiment (RIMM, AAPL, UAUA, AMR) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The market seems to want to go up each day as it has relentlessly almost every trading session since April. But yesterday, it had a tiny setback after the FOMC announcement. Today the culprit was housing. The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales declined 2.7% in August. Every economist worth his salt said the number would rise.

Good news on the unemployment front did give the market an early boost this morning. Within an hour, though, bad news on the housing sales front wiped out the gains and moved the major indices into negative territory, where they have remained.

Here were today's unofficial closing numbers:

Dow 9,706.99 -41.56 (-0.43%)
S&P 500 1,050.78 -10.09 (-0.95%)
Nasdaq 2,107.61 -23.81 (-1.12%)

Continue reading Closing bell: home sales don't help (AONE, BAC, WFC, GE, CHTP, JPM)

Closing bell: home sales don't help (AONE, BAC, WFC, GE, CHTP, JPM) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The market was remarkably bored about most of what the Fed had to say about the results of the FOMC. A close reading of the minutes shows nothing new. The economy is very modestly better. The turn for the better will be slow and painful. Housing may be getting a tiny bit better. Rates will stay near zero. The only statement which may not have been expected by almost everyone is that the agency will continue buying mortgage-backed and federal debt into the first quarter of next year.

The lack of enthusiasm showed as the major indices traded fairly flat. Today's unofficial numbers:

Dow 9,749.31 -80.56 (-0.82%)
S&P 500 1,060.90 -10.76 (-1.00%)
Nasdaq 2,131.42 -14.88 (-0.69%)

Continue reading Closing bell: no one cares about the Fed

Closing bell: no one cares about the Fed originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The only really important bit of financial news today was the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment figure for August. It declined to 63.2 from 66 in May. The consensus among economists polled by MarketWatch was the August's figure would be 69. The portion of the poll called the "expectations index" hit its lowest level since March.

That is particularly bad news because March was the depth of the recession. Analysts were at a loss to explain why the consumer's picture of the economy had turned sour so fast. It is certainly a sign a rebound in spending may be well off in the future, which could be bad news for the upcoming holiday season.

Today's unofficial closing numbers:

Dow 9,321.40 -76.79 (-0.82%)
S&P 500 1,004.09 -8.64 (-0.85%)
Nasdaq 1,985.52 -23.83 (-1.19%)

Continue reading Closing bell: The consumer's retreat takes Wall Street down (BBI, BA)

Closing bell: The consumer's retreat takes Wall Street down (BBI, BA) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Today's market news was dominated by two events. The first is that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported earnings a bit better than expected and had a forecast that was a bit better than expected, to. Traders were left to ponder whether this means a modest return of the consumer or whether Wal-Mart is just that much better than its competition.

The government coincidentally announced July retail sales which were helped by the automotive "clunkers" program. Most analysts were surprised that the figure dropped .1%. The two pieces of news made traders reflect on the reality that the recession may be ending but the collateral damage is not.

Because no day can go by without some news on housing, there was date from RealtyTrac that foreclosures rose 7% last month compared to June.

Dow 9,399.17 +37.56 (0.40%)
S&P 500 1,012.84 +7.03 (0.70%)
Nasdaq 2,009.35 +10.63 (0.53%)

Continue reading Closing bell: Wal-Mart and retail sales help upward trend despite increased foreclosure data (WMT, CIT, LVS, ETFC)

Closing bell: Wal-Mart and retail sales help upward trend despite increased foreclosure data (WMT, CIT, LVS, ETFC) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Stocks surged again, setting up August to be another big month for investors. The S&P 500 cracked 1,000 for the first time this year. The Institute for Supply Management's index moved to 48.9 in July, up from 44.8 in June. A number over 50 signals growth in the manufacturing sector.

Car sales for July were fairly strong. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) sales moved up a little more than 2% from the same month last year. GM sales were off almost 20%, but overall the month was as strong as any in a year. Industry experts said that the "cash for clunkers" program deserved much of the credit. The Senate may not approve another $2 billion for the program which has already been passed by the House. If the bill does not make it to the President's desk this week, August could be an unpleasant month for the car companies.

All three major indexes were up more than 1%:

Dow 9,286.56 +114.95 (1.25%)
S&P 500 1,002.62 +15.14 (1.53%)
Nasdaq 2,008.61 +30.11 (1.52%)

Continue reading Closing bell: the rally that goes on forever

Closing bell: the rally that goes on forever originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After months of speculation, several media reports say that a deal to create a joint venture on search between Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) may be announced as early as today.

Details of the transaction make the much-anticipated partnership seem immensely complex, which could undermine its future. Many analysts had expected Yahoo! to get up-front cash payments for putting its search business together with Microsoft's. That will not happen. The two firms will split the revenue from ads sold on their sites. Microsoft's Bing search technology will be the platform for the venture, but Yahoo! will sell the ads.

Continue reading Complex Yahoo! deal with Microsoft finally set

Complex Yahoo! deal with Microsoft finally set originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During 2009, drug treatments for ten diseases in the U.S. will bring pharma companies nearly $170 billion in sales. Those include drugs for major killers like cardiovascular diseases and a number of cancers. Also among the most successful emerging treatments are ones for mental disorders.

Patents on a number of the older blockbuster drugs are running out and a new generation of biotech drugs is offering competition to traditional treatments. Some of the companies that are in the next wave of solving medicine's largest problems are worth watching.

Continue reading Finding biotech's big winners

Finding biotech's big winners originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Today was an unusually active day for extremely volume increases in several stocks which traded on news and rumors.

Shares in Sequenom (NASDAQ: SQNM) jumped over 10% on takevover rumors.

Rite Aide (NYSE: RAD) moved higher by 5% on larger than normal volume as it beat earnings estimates and Monsanto (NYSE: MON) traded up on strong numbers and took a number of agriculture stocks with it. Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) also benefited from earnings above Wall Street forecasts.

Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) traded higher as RBC upped its price target to $18 from $14, and MEMC (NYSE: WFR) fell on a downgrade from JPMorgan.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at VSInvestor.com.

Today's big stock price moves on big volume originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The market spent the day as it has many a Friday in the summer: slowing going no where.

The University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment index showed a very modest increase in June up to 69, from 68.7 in May. The same survey showed that expectations for six months from now actually dropped.

Oil and gas prices still dominated the headlines. Oil still hovers around $72 and the average price of gas rose for the 45th consecutive day to $2.63. The has to rattle consumers who have precious little discretionary income as it is.

Continue reading Market Close: Confidence flat, gas up

Market Close: Confidence flat, gas up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dow Chemical (DOW) is raising $1.63 billion by selling common stock. But it really needs more money than that. Perhaps in the current credit market the interest rate it would have had to pay on debt was simply too much.

Reportedly, $1 billion will be used to reduce debt it is taking on to buy rival Rohm and Hass. But the total purchase price of the transaction is $16.5 billion. Dow tried to get out of the deal. The margins in the chemical industry were ruined by the recession, but the document it signed with Rohm & Hass was airtight. Dow will almost certainly end up overpaying and will be burdened with a mammoth debt load in the process.

Continue reading Dow Chemical to raise money - but not enough

Dow Chemical to raise money - but not enough originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 May 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Research-In-Motion's (NASDAQ: RIMM) earnings are going to get better soon. And it is not entirely because the Blackberry is standard issue for most mobile business people. RIM's future is getting better because the economy is about to run up.

According to Barron's, "UBS analyst Jeffrey Fan upped his rating on Research In Motion to Buy from Neutral, and raised his rating on the shares to $90 from $65. His theory: the stock will be a good bet in an economic recovery." Fan sees an improvement in enterprise IT spending next year. He also believes that the Blackberry does not have much competition among business users.

Continue reading A RIM (RIMM) upgrade: Analyst swims against the Apple tide

A RIM (RIMM) upgrade: Analyst swims against the Apple tide originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 May 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are the unofficial closing numbers:

Dow 8,169.00 -16.73 (-0.20%)
S&P 500 872.42 -1.22 (-0.14%)
Nasdaq 1,715.10 +3.16 (0.18%)

Continue reading Closing bell: big news brings no market movement

Closing bell: big news brings no market movement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

VW may have passed Toyota (NYSE: TM) as the world's No.1 car company just as Toyota passed GM (NYSE: GM) a year ago. Unfortunately, the companies all operate in an industry where being on the top of the pile does not matter much these days. It is probable that each of these firms loses money on the great majority of the cars they sell. To make matter worse, market share may be a weakness as the auto industry moves out of the recession.

It seems more and more likely that modest sized and nimble auto makers like BMW and Hyundai, who do not have to maintain factories in distant corners of the world and do not have to develop and market dozens of individual products, may hold an advantage in a fragmented car industry. The behemoths rely on their ability to maintain massive capital spending and their cost structures can do them nearly irreparable harm in a weak economy.

Continue reading Volkswagen may be number one

Volkswagen may be number one originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.