Call me paranoid, but when the bullets are flying and the bodies are falling, I’m inclined to worry that I might be next. As for the big banks, investment and otherwise, Bear Stearns is not in anyway shape or form the last man to hit the ground.
Although the earnings season officially kicked off last week with Alcoa reporting first quarter earnings, the real fun starts this week with seven Dow components reporting.
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Optimism has turned to realism on Wall Street.
US stocks slumped today following disappointing quarterly earnings and news that mortage lender Washington Mutual needed a bigger cash injection than expected. WaMu today drew $7 billion in capital, $2 billion more that the amount originally circulated.
News that existing home sales dropped in February also weighed on investor sentiment.
With the recent volatility, it’s hard to say if the market will stay down. But that’s where the futures are. And trading overseas also suffered.
US stocks are steaming ahead as Mr Market digests the news of a $5 billion injection for mortgage lender Washington Mutual.
Rising crude oil prices have also helped boost oil-sector stocks.
Dow Jones MarketWatch reports that the Dow Jones industrials were up 104 points to 12,713, with 24 of its 30 components moving higher, with financials leading the rise.
US stock futures are pointing up following news of a $5 billion cash injection into Washington Mutual.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the mortgage lender is close to a deal to get a $5 billion injection from TPG and other investors — a deal not brokered by the government, as was the recent Bear Stearns bailout.
The deal seen by some analysts as a sign that the financial sector is starting to pull out of the credit crisis.
