It has been a strong two weeks for the equities market. Thanks to some positive news from the nation’s banking sector, the average investor is wealthier this week than he was last week. Is it time to lock in the gains?
Microsoft’s Bing Off to Strong Start; U.S. Natural Gas Reserves Higher Than Once Thought; Carnival Cruise Lines Beats the Street; Treasuries Fall Again; GE Capital May Come Under Fed Scrutiny; Mexico’s Tourism Plummets on Swine Flu Scare; Discover Profits Down
Goldman Raises $5 Billion to Repay TARP; Cost Cutting Will Save Royal Phillips $664 Million; Johnson & Johnson Earnings Saved By Cost Cuts; Singapore Forecasts 6%-9% 2009 Decline; Discover to Cut 500 Jobs; LIBOR Rate Dropping Fast; Coal Prices to Stay Low in 2009; Madoff Firm Files Bankruptcy
FedEx Announces Profit, Cost Cuts; Report: Wal-Mart to Sell iPhones; GM Denies Chrysler Merger Talks; Discovery Applying for Bank Status; Initial Jobless Claims Down; Goldman Sells Sanyo Stake to Panasonic; IMF Sees 2009 U.S. Rebound; Carnival Cruises to 4Q Profit
Consumer credit could be the next “aftershock” of this financial crisis, says Jason Simpkins. Banks have suffered big losses on mortgages, and are now looking to reduce their exposure to credit card debt. This could be the death knell for the American consumer, and deepen the US recession in 2009.
Ford and Toyota Sales Crash; Triple Airline Merger in Talks; GE Ponders Job Cuts; Sears Closing Stores; Oil Prices Hit 3-year Low; Discover Says More Credit-card Write-offs Likely
Andrew Snyder says this credit crisis could eventually go down as one of the most profitable periods in US history. The country’s biggest and oldest companies are selling at an unprecedented discount. Andrew selects four blue chip stocks set to make huge recovery profits over the next two years.
Visa and MasterCard Settle Up; Daimler’s Plant Closures; Apple’s Christmas Bargain; Johnson Controls’ Weak Outlook; Gas Prices Down 23% From July; U.S. Budget Deficit the Highest Ever; Pepsi Fizzles
Central banks around the world yesterday (Wednesday) announced a coordinated reduction of their respective interest rates in a bid to restore investor confidence and put an end to the worst market rout since the Depression era. However, analysts and investors alike are skeptical that even the largest coordinated effort by central banks since Sept. 11 will be enough to save the economy from a severe recession.
Small online businesses are in for a serious wake-up call in 2011, says Mark Nestmann in The Sovereign Society. This is because it will then become mandatory for all electronic payment systems to report sales data to the IRS. The agency will then be able to check these records against filed tax returns from business owners.