Wall Street mulls the next move!

These days the Wall Street is in an introspective phase as it mulls the 'mood' of the market. The question on every one's mind is as to whether the market has bottomed out or is there more to come. With most of the analysts predicting that the market has not yet bottomed out and that it will require a huge catalyst, a miracle for most, in order to change the mood of the market, it may be quite some time before the market recovers.

But of late, the market seems to have lost the downward momentum causing many to ponder if the bearish mood of the market has come to an end. There have been some good news on the housing market and hopes are high that the bull will soon run amok at Wall Street. But that may not happen for some time to come on account of the surge in Oil prices, increasing by as much as 30% in the last three months. The pressure of the Oil prices reflect on most of the other financial markets with investors being a bit wary. So the anticipated change in the momentum of the Wall Street may well occur after the Oil rates come down a bit. But if they do not, then with increased inflationary pressures, one can only bite ones nails and hope that OPEC sees reason soon and increases the supply to counter the demand on Oil.

World finance leaders vow to tackle bank reforms!

The credit crunch as well as the mortgage crisis seems to be pushing the U.S economy on to the fast track towards recession and this is having effects on all the global markets. As it is, most of the major economies are facing the heat as a result of the credit crisis and the world consumer confidende has dipped rather low of late. Some of the major powers like China nd India are facing inflation in high figures and are busy seeking ways to contain the surging economy as well as the rampant inflation. At a recent IMF meeting, the mention of the sale of gold to the tune of $11 Billon by the IMF to shore up funds has highlighted the problem and made it amply clear that no one is immune to the current crisis, it is truly a global one onb almost all the aspects.
Recetnly some of the world financial leaders
met up to discuss the current situation and it was then decided that some of the financial regulations needs to be tightened up a bit so as to enable the world economy to handle the current crisis better. To some this may seem like closing the barn doors after the horses have bloted but the fact of the matter is that the current situation can get a whole lot worse and very quickly at that. In order to prevent that from happenkng as well as to be able to take a firm grip on the situation at hand, the world financil leaders have made the right decision by agreeing to regulate further and to revamp certain financial regulations. This certainly beats sitting in a corner and moping!

Jobs taking a hit as the markets reel!

The world markets reeled from the effects of the Oil prices hitting new heights at $106 per barrell. If that was not bad enough employers had to slash jobs to such a large extent that recession seems to be the mantra on everyone's lips. One can almost feel sorry for whoever the next president is going to be, because when all is said and done, the recession is not going to hit the bush aministration but the buck is going to be passed to the next commander-in-chief.
The corporates have take a hit and as such are pushing it all onto the employees. High fuel prices, unstable economy and a dollar that is determined to go all the way to the basement has all contributed in one form or the other to the latest slasher drive by the corporates!

Bernanke pours cold water on Mortgage hopes!

It seems that the end is not yet near as one may have hoped, for according to Bernanke, the mortgage crisis is far from over. For those of you how are wondering who on earth is Bernanke and why on earth should we even bother to listen to him? Well, for your information, Bernanke is none other than the Fed chief and his analysis carries a lot of weight and is much more on the mark than what you or I would have to say on this matter.

According to Bernanke the crisis is far from over and that the government may have to take some more remedial measures to help calm the waters. Of course, the query on every one's lips is what does this mean for us the common man on the street? Well, for one thing, do not go near the stock market for the next couple of days as the market sentiment is quite down and other than that, to keep an eye out on home prices since they are dropping you may actually get your hands on a property that is worth much more than what it is being sold for.

Bernanke wants the foreclosures to be either stalled or written off at least partly as such a move would bring stability to the markets. What ever else that anyone may have to add on this, one thing is for sure, the ride is far from over and that there is more excitement to come!

Bond insurers breathe a sign of relief!

With the news that Standard & Poor's affirmed its ratings for Ambac Financial Group Inc. and MBIA Inc., the Wall Street shot off as though Popeye had eaten a whole tub of spinach. These days any news, no matter the size, big or small is bound to get the markets up and going.

Everyone had thought that the Bond insurers were going to get rated down in face of their exposure to the Subprime mess, but that does not seem to be the case at least for now. For the moment, the ratings stand especially for Ambac group. Had the ratings dropped, the consumer confidence, or what little is left of it these days, would have headed all the way down. The Dow Jones industrials bolted the corral by 190 paces or to be more precise, by 190 points. Would the momentum carry on to tomorrow, let us hope that is the case indeed!

Fed announces new plan to rescue mortgage defaulters!

This is a good move by the feds and may well stop the unemployment rate in its tracks, well; it may not stop it altogether but should at the least lessen it. This is indeed a very good move for many reasons, for one, it should take some of the bite out of the current mortgage crisis that seems to be facing the American markets.

What many people do not seem to have considered is that if all the mortgage defaulters were thrown out of their homes, then the various companies would not be all that eager to hire them. Everyone must have a real address that they can call 'home' so as to get legally employed.

So if a defaulter was to be thrown out of his or her home, then that person, by law cannot be gainfully employed and would probably be begging a living under one of the overpass.

This move by the Fed is one that should have been taken a long time ago, but then again, it is better to be late than never.

With the current mortgage crisis spiraling out of control the next move by the fed should aim at regulating the housing markets and after that, the fed should concentrate on the banks and pressurize them to increase lending so as to prevent any further credit crisis from hitting the consumer on the street. It is a long way to go and the first step, the most important one has finally been taken by the Fed today!

Bush says the economy is sound in the long term!

Bush says that the economy is sound in the long term and that is something that we all know. The problem is that the markets do not seem to know that are still very much bearish than bullish.
Just a statment from the president is not going to set things straight and it may need some deft handling by the Fed before the economy is back to square one. This is going to be one tough kitty to handle but handle they must, for the whole world is watching to see what the Fed does next!

A housing meltdown??

That is not exactly a bolt from the blue, but then again for all those of us who were taken in by the joy ride, it well may be the last bell on the Big ol' Bear.
The housing market is predicted to shrink by as much as 25%. With the economy showing no signs of shrugging of the bear, it is only to be expected that the housing market will be the one to take the biggest hit.
With big housing giants already folding like a cheap pack of cards, it is any surprise that the rest of them are feeling the shudders. It is high time that the housing market was regulated to some degree and this way the market can be insured against any more free fall!

Wall Street floating on high expectations!

After the Friday losses, a badly shaken Wall Street is keeping its hopes up in anticipation of another slash in the rates by the Fed. It seems that these days the market seems to follow a philosophy of 'one day at a time'. The recent dismal showing by the housing market is still setting waves in the industry with more and more banks introducing more and more stringent rules regarding loans. Let us just say that the lending part by the banks is going to become less and less for the near future.
With such a poor showing and a fall by more than 26% in the sales of new homes, the markets reacted with a 'knee jerk' reaction. That is only to be expected.

But would the Fed slash rates this soon and if they do so, what would be the impact on an already weak Dollar? Wouldn't there be a free fall? As it is the Dollar has lost so much of its value against a host of major currencies and today it holds supreme only over those currencies whose rates are still stringently controlled by their central banks. My two bits is that the Fed would slash the rates but it may not come as early as the wall street thinks. It would probably happen around the end of the fiscal year, thereby giving the new Financial year a boost as well. But then again, it may happen soon, either way, it is time for a martini, dry, shaken but not stirred!

The home sales data shatters the myth!

This image is old and does NOT reflect current data!

Even as Paulson urges the senate to consider the stimulus package, the myth that was being spread by all the king's men and courtiers was that 'all was fine with the American economy' and that it was business as usual. And then the idea of a tax rebate came about and it sounded some good cheer all across the U.S.A.
But sadly though, it was all a myth and the recent data regarding the housing market clearly underlines that more than ever.

According to the data, the sale of new homes fell by more than 26.4% last year and that is by a whopping 700,000 and more. It is the lowest level that the sale of new homes has reached in almost two decades. Recently the Fed slashed rates and Wall Street reacted late and started to come slowly out of the red into the green.

I am sure that most of you who are reading this would have seen the cheerful faces of many a trader on the news that day. But that was , sadly, a knee jerk reaction and momentum not withstanding, it soon ran into troubled waters on the back of 'Hedge funds affair'.
Now with the latest installment from the commerce department, one can only wonder why is it that we are all so ready to believe in the Myth?

Paulson urges the senate on stimulus package!

The treasury secretary seems to have his hand full these days as the stimulus package is becoming a hard one to sell. Today saw Paulson urging the senate to consider the stimulus package and let us not forget that it is this package which is rumored to contain tax rebates.
But of course the bigger question as to who is going to actually benefit by such rebates remains an academic question. But common sense suggests that the ones that would most benefit by such rebates would be the big honchos starting from the banks like citigroup to the housing industry. Would the markets respond positively if such a package is passed by the senate? Well, the may but the market needs a continued consumer confidence if it is to rein in the bear and let the bull loose!

Hedge funds all set to rock wall street!

With rumors flying thick and fast, the investors are running for cover, just as the animals that know an earthquake is about to hit, make it for the hills. The rumor mills are obviously working overtime and just when we all thought that the worst has come and gone and that it is all uphill from now on, bang! Hedge fund problems start running the markets to the ground and even lower.

The day that we let rumors of the Hedge fund affect the market is the day that we have lost all reason and are grappling with straws. One such straw may be the Microsoft profits but that seems to apply only to the Tech sector. As it is the profits and leads that the Wall street may have made are disappearing into thin air. It is high time that we all take stick of the situation and take some measures to see to it that Hedge funds and the likes of it does not affect the market in the future!

Tax rebates in the offing?

As the days go by and the bad news just keep piling up, Washington is under extreme pressure to act and restart the economy. One of the ideas that this administration is currently mulling about is the idea of 'tax rebates'. The very idea of getting rebates from tax is something that we all dreamed about at one point of our lives but now it seems that the dream may well become a fantasy.

But this is not the solution to the economic woes that are currently plaguing the economy and at the most the idea of Tax rebates is just like a temporary band aid. Will Bush listen? That is any one's guess!

Wall street in a flutter as the Fed slashes rates!

Under normal circumstances, the news of the Fed slashing interest rates by as much as 75 basis points would have bought the bull out on a rampage in the markets. But these days it seems that the bull has gone into hiding and is just not interested in coming out.

The economy is fast heading for a tailspin, so the Fed slashed rates as a way of preventing recession from taking hold. All that the Fed have managed to do is to make the Dollar even weaker and this slashing of the rates by as much as 75 basis points has not bought any cheer to the markets. The markets see it as an indication that the recession is not all that far away and that it is time to batten down the hatches.

The Wall Street seems to have been in two minds, with momentum swinging from the red to the green and all the way back to the red. This move by the Fed many have dumped about $50 billion into the financial markets but it seems that this latest move has no takers and could well rush the Dollar into some rather stormy waters.

2008: The best companies to work for!

Well, there is a list of the best companies to work for, in this year, and I have to say that half of the list has been influenced by the shifting Economic woes that most of the world are facing right now.
Naturally some of the top companies to work for this year would be the loans dept since most of us would be applying for loans one way or the other. The list is given below and nearly half of them are in the development phase, that is they are looking to hiring some more people, so good luck!
1. Google


2. Quicken Loans


3. Wegmans Food Markets


4. Edward Jones


5. Genentech

6. Cisco Systems


7. Starbucks


8. Qualcomm


9. Goldman Sachs


10. Methodist Hospital System

Consumers tighten their purses as the economy retrenches!

As the economy retrenches, the consumers have started to spend less and less,one clear indication that the recession is about to start in full swing. With the shape that the economy is in and with the prices of Oil and essential commodities hitting an all time high, it is no wonder that the consumers are tightening their purse strings.

What is more, with banks not that interested in lending any more, it only makes sense for the consumer to spend a lot less than he or she used to do so before.

The world markets reels from Recession fears!

It is that time of the year when we all get to eat the 'humble crow' and tell all the pessimists that they were right all the time and that recession is indeed setting in. The Bush administration thought that they could hold the recession at bay with their stimulus plan and it seems to have backfired miserably.

The unveiling of the plan sent many an investor running for the hills. Lets face it, even if Bush had managed to come with a fantastic plan, the current one is not that bad, even then, it would just not be enough. Once the financial markets decide to recede, there is nothing much anyone can do but to bite ones teeth and go for the ride! That is all about what one can do at times like these!

With the Fed cutting rates at the drop of the hat, the Dollar is taking quite a beating across all of the world markets. What is more, with the Dollar no longer supporting the Oil, the prices are shooting up day by day. And the only good thing that is there for the investors to invest in, what seems to be the safest bet of all is none other than the famous 'yellow metal'. So, if you are an investor, this is where you should be heading!

Wall Street sheds some 360 points!

Thursday saw the Wall Street shed some 360 points and head downtown as the manufacturing index fell. These days it seems that even the lightest jitter in the financial markets sends the investors scurrying about. As things stood, the newspapers came out the day before, talking about how the Stock markets are doing well and how there seems to be a new momentum in the market.
I had mentioned then itself that most of the news agencies had gotten it wrong and I was proved right today as the Wall street shed some 360 points and headed downtown. It is not that I wanted to be proved right but rather that all the indications are that the Wall street is in the grip of the bear and it is going to take more than the beige book to shake it off!

It is the turn of the Merrill Lunch now!

Just a couple of days ago it was the turn of the JP Morgan to post a rather poor Q4 report and now it is the turn of the Merrill Lynch to do the same. It seems that although many people may think that the worst of the sub prime after effects are over, more and more companies are coming out with new and undisclosed losses.
The markets are getting most of their profits wiped off the board and the investors are getting quite 'antsy'.
Although Merrill Lych did post a poor Q4 report, the outlook according to it seems to be rosy. Merrill Lynch seems to be under the impression that the economy is going to recover the very next day, but that may just be a pipe dream as of yet. With people not willing to spend as much as they may have, it is going to be one tough act to pull this economy up!

The Wall street mirage!

It seems that the Wall street seems to have gained as a result of the Beige book,the report by the Fed indicating that the economy may have slowed down a little but that is a natural process and that the recession has not yet come to haunt the Wall street. Most of the newspapers and the periodicals seem to go about saying that the Wall street rebounded sharply, but that was not the case.
The Wall street did rebound but not as sharply as one would have liked it to. There is some momentum in the market but that is only to be expected and it is the Fed report that is giving this market some buoyancy and not the market itself. What is more, this momentum may be nothing more of a mirage and that the dark days may come sooner than later.
I probably sound like a doomsday prophet, but the fact of the matter is that the sub prime crisis and the mortgage issues have not yet disappeared and that the unemployment rate is bound to sharply increase in the coming months. So to actually say that the Wall street is not going to be affected is kind of behaving like an Ostrich burying its head in the sand.