Posts Tagged ‘money’

(Lee Siler) - Big news this morning has Exxon/Mobil buying Natural Gas player XTO energy for $31 billion in stock. Exxon/Mobil will be issuing .7098 shares of their stock for each share of XTO. The deal helps XOM gain control of a huge portion of the natural gas market...The deal is valued at a 25% premium from Friday's close.

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(Shaun Eddy) - The economy and the investment markets have historically had great successes and great hardships. The year 2008 represented a very challenging economic and investment environment. During these times it is important to reflect on the positives. We have much to be thankful for in this country. It is also a time to reinforce the value of living within our means and putting aside money for emergencies.

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(Mark Rogers) - Retirees over the age of 70 ½ have, prior to 2009, been required to withdraw a small percentage of their retirement accounts (401k, IRA's, etc.). This is the government's way of gaining tax revenues on money that had been growing for years tax deferred. The person taking the distribution was required to pay income tax, at their current tax rate, on any money withdrawn.

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(Lee Siler) - Intel, the world's largest computer chip company surprised everybody on Wall Street by significantly beating analyst's estimates on both earnings and revenues.

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(Lee Siler) - So far earnings season has started out with a bang. Alcoa got things started by beating estimates last week. Then this morning all eyes were on Goldman Sachs, which their results knocked the cover off the ball. The company reported a 33% rise in quarterly profits on very strong trading results. Certainly a good second quarter for the stock market helped buoy their report. Remember, last month Goldman paid back the TARP money they borrowed and is now the last investment bank standing. Earnings came in at $4.93 a share versus First Call estimates of $3.54 a share. This earnings report was no surprise to Wall Street, as the stock traded up over $8 a share yesterday in anticipation of a blow out number.

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(Lee Siler) - A dismal jobs report on Thursday sent the market plunging before the 4th of July holiday weekend. The U.S. lost 467,000 jobs in June. That was more than expected and took the overall unemployment rate to 9.5%, the highest since 1983. Stocks dropped more than 2.5% across the board. At the same time the price of crude also tanked by more than 4%. A drop in crude prices should be conducive to an economic recovery, but it may also be a sign that the economy is still not on solid ground.

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(Lee Siler) - The market treaded water yesterday, but is selling off this morning. The ADP National Employment Report, which is a number that has been monitored lately, showed a decrease in jobs by 532,000. This was slightly less than expected, but still very negative none-the-less. Investors will be looking for the Labor Department's report on Friday, which will be crucial to the sentiment of the economy.

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(Lee Siler) - Things at General Motors are getting bleaker by the minute, as the company pulled an offering that would convert its debt to equity. The bondholders revolted the offer and gave GM no choice but to cancel the deal. This event will likely be the straw that breaks GM's back and pushes them into bankruptcy. On the news GM is down 12% and probably on its way to zero.

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(Lee Siler) - The major averages took a hit yesterday, as the banks sold off right from the open. After weeks of terrific performance, the financial stocks dropped on a wave of profit taking. As I mentioned yesterday, I sold all of my financial stocks and ETF's on Friday. I simply had a hunch that these stocks were way over done. Two months ago they represented some tremendous value. But, since then these stocks have made a parabolic move up. What's more, the banks that are in need of more capital will likely be doing secondary offerings and flooding the market with additional stock. This additional stock will cause some dilution and hence, will probably put some pressure on those issues. That said, there's not as much value in these stocks today...

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(Steven Zeller) - Life, and the joy of life, is stored in our memories, hopefully, until our last day on earth. The memories, great experiences and lessons of our past, we are so fond of and, within us, carry deep meaning and relevance. Many times, it would be to our wishes that we shared these things with our loved ones well into the future. The wonderful times we shared with our family members and our friends, the things we learned and the things and values that we so dearly hold, we would like to pass onto future generations.

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