Posts Tagged ‘economic data’

(Michael Farr) - For the past 7 years we have published our Top Ten Stocks for the coming year. The results have been very gratifying, but we need to be mindful that concentrated positions also concentrate risk. Some institutional accounts have expressed interest in more concentrated portfolios like this. I buy this list personally for one of my personal accounts on the first trading day of the year and sell it completely on the last trading day of the year.

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(Lee Siler) - Stocks look to build on last week's gains, as this week will be packed with economic data. This morning, retail sales came in a little better than expected. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales increased by 1.4% during the month of October. However, if you strip auto and auto parts sales, the number came in less than expected. Ex-auto's, economists had been expecting a jump by 0.4%, but actually came in about half of that number at 0.2%.

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(Lee Siler) - The nation's unemployment rate jumped to over 10% for the first time since October 1983. The consensus estimate was 9.9%, but the continued lay-offs being handed out by corporate America made the number jump to 10.2%. The news has sent stock futures plunging from earlier levels.

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(Malcolm Butler) - Recent economic data suggests that the worst of the recession is behind us. The stock market has been moving higher in anticipation of a recovery in the business community. While the economic future is still uncertain, we will likely see increased economic activity over the coming months.

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(Lee Siler) - Stocks are looking to trade higher after a week that saw the major averages lose about 2.5%. Housing and manufacturing data pushed stocks lower last week even though we did see some decent jobs numbers.

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(Lee Siler) - Stocks rallied big yesterday, as Wall Street is still buzzing about Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments. The Fed chief announced that this recession is "likely" over. Recent economic data has suggested that the economy is stabilizing, but the question is how much growth we can expect in the short-term? The good news is at least the economy should not contract any further.

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(Lee Siler) - Last week the major averages treaded water, but the sentiment was changing. Despite a plethora of good economic data, the stock market was unable to gain any ground. In fact, there were several sessions where the market rallied right out of the gate, but by the end of the day was barely above the Mendoza line. In my opinion, this is a sign that the market is getting tired and the buyers are fading. What's more, the overseas markets have been correcting for weeks. China took a 20% hit a few weeks ago before rebounding slightly. However, overnight the Shanghai Index tanked almost 7%.

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(Lee Siler) - As the market continued to lack direction, the Federal Reserve announced that interest rates would be left alone for the foreseeable future. With the economy still at risk of a more significant downturn, monetary policy will remain status quot.

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(Lee Siler) - The U.S. economy shrunk more than expected, according to the Commerce Department. The U.S. saw economic contraction for the third straight quarter, a run not seen since 1974-1975. Analysts had expected the GDP to be down 4.9%, but the number actually came in down 6.1%.

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