14 Jan 2005

Posted at 16:00h in The Friday Brief by
Earnings season customarily brings stock market volatility and this one is certainly no exception.  As oil prices rise creeping toward their record highs and as several major U.S.industrials warn of earnings shortfalls, the good news has largely fallen on deaf ears.  The Dow Jones Industrial Index declined nine of the last twelve trading days for a 3.2% drop from year-end highs.  The NASDAQ is down 5.5% during a similar period.  Investors seem more cynical in January than they did in December when they chased the Dow up 11% for the month.     

07 Jan 2005

Posted at 16:05h in The Friday Brief by
The professional future-tellers, the highly respected economists and analysts who have been glamorized in recent years by CNBC, CNN, and Bloomberg News all fall in a pretty tight range saying that markets should grow about 8-10% this year, the economy should grow about 3.5% and corporate earnings, about 10%. 

17 Dec 2004

Posted at 16:28h in The Friday Brief by
So far the Holiday spending season is outshining the more pessimistic prognostications of the more Scrooge and Grinch-like analysts.  On Monday the government reported that retail sales rose for the third straight month, despite rising fuel costs.  The end of the negative political ads, the highest job growth since 1999, and the recent drop in gasoline prices have all likely contributed to the improved mood and spending.