BSE Sensex Dives 4.1%; Biggest Fall In 2 Years | BSE Sensex, Today Gold Rate, Gold Rate Today, Gold Price In India

BSE Sensex Dives 4.1%; Biggest Fall In 2 Years | BSE Sensex, Today Gold Rate, Gold Rate Today, Gold Price In India

The 30-share BSE index fell 4.13 per cent, or 704 points, to 16,361.15, its lowest close in nearly one month. It was the biggest one-day percentage fall since July 6, 2009 with all of its components dropping.

World stocks as measured by MSCI fell more than 2.4 per cent to a new year low, making for a 14 per cent year-to-date loss.

The more volatile emerging markets stock index was down nearly 5 per cent for a 22 per cent 2011 loss. Read More

Sensex slumps 4.56 % on global turmoil | BSE Sensex, Today Gold Rate, Gold Rate Today, Zara Philips, Gold Price In India

Sensex slumps 4.56 % on global turmoil | BSE Sensex, Today Gold Rate, Gold Rate Today, Zara Philips, Gold Price In India

At the National Stock Exchange, the 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty also fell almost five % in the weekly trade. The Nifty closed 1.14 % down at 4,867.75 points Friday, after a 4.08 % loss the previous day.

“The bias is downward with Nifty support at 4,700 points, and if it breaks then we should be even prepared to see 4,300 points,” Kishor P. Ostwal, Chairman and Managing Director of a capital market research firm CNI Research Ltd.

“On upper side 5,170 points is resistance, we can see Nifty touching 5,500 only if it crosses 5,170,” Ostwal said.

Major Sensex losers Friday were: Tata Motors, down 4.81 % at Rs.147.40; HDFC Bank, down 3.1 % at Rs.457.65; L&T, down 2.7 % at Rs.1,452.25 and Hero MotoCorp, down 2.45 % at Rs.2,037.65.

The gainers were Cipla, up 2.09 % at Rs.283.85; SBI, up 1.03 % at Rs.1,955.50; Bharti Airtel, up 0.77 % at Rs.374.85 and Sun Pharma, up 0.59 % at Rs.471.10. Read More

BSE Sensex, Today Gold Rate, Gold Rate Today, Waktu Solat, Zara Philips, Gold Price In India

BSE Sensex, Today Gold Rate, Gold Rate Today, Waktu Solat, Zara Philips, Gold Price In India

BSE Sensex slips 200 points; RIL, HDFC Bank, L&T down

The BSE Sensex slipped 1.2% lower on Friday led by losses in Reliance Industries ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd and L&T.

The BSE Sensex opened with a gap-down of nearly 200 points mirroring fall in Asian markets as risk of another economic downturn dented investor sentiment.

"Markets are likely to correct further, as pressure to unwind long positions will force traders to sell. Unusual addition in open interest in lower strike price puts 4,800 and 4,700 point to a continued downslide as selling will continue for a few more sessions. Next support on the Nifty will come in at 4850 levels," added Kunal. Read More

MA288 - FXプチリッチ計画 30分足－2σ、1時間足MA288エグジット目標！

MA288 - FXプチリッチ計画 30分足－2σ、1時間足MA288エグジット目標！

5分足ミドルバンドは上昇しているので
レートがミドルバンドを下抜けたら、次の反転注意ポイントは、－1σ。
というわけで－1σを下抜け、さらにはMA75･88も下抜けたので
早速売りエントリー。
30分足でもミドルバンドを下抜けているし
4時間足でもミドルバンドの下あたりに位置。
本来なら安心して売りエントリーできる場面ですが
それまでの乱高下があったのでドキドキ(^-^;

とりあえず、エグジット目標は30分足－2σ、
1時間足で何度も反発しているMA228付近である、126.75円に設定。

ストップは、最初のうち30分足の（何度もレートを抑え込んでいる）MA88辺り。
なので、かなりストップまでの距離が広かったです。
一旦レートが下がったので、ストップもトレンドライン（黄色）まで下げました。
さらにレートが下がった時には、ストップ位置をエントリー値付近に下げました。
これでやっと安心。

結局リミット目標値がナイスでしたヾ(●⌒∇⌒●)ノ
しっかり30分足－2σ、もしくは1時間足MA288がレートを下支えして反転上昇。
現在127円付近で保ち合っています。
よかった・・・・C=(^◇^ ; ホッ! Read More

grandparents day 2011, when is grandparents day 2011 usa, teach me how to dougie lyrics

grandparents day 2011, when is grandparents day 2011 usa, teach me how to dougie lyrics

September 11, 2011: National Grandparents Day

The idea for a special day to celebrate grandparents was first championed by Marian McQuade, a housewife from West Virginia. She believed that grandchildren should be encouraged to gain wisdom and a sense of heritage from their grandparents. Support for McQuade's idea grew and in 1978, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed that the first Sunday after Labor Day would be celebrated annually as National Grandparents Day.

In honor of National Grandparents Day, here are five fun facts:

1. The official flower of National Grandparents Day is the forget-me-not. The official song is "A Song for Grandma and Grandpa" by Johnny Prill.

2. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 7.5 million children lived with a grandparent in 2010. This accounts for 10 percent of the population of children in the U.S.

3. An Italian proverb says that: "If nothing is going well, call your grandmother."

Author Alex Haley has said: "Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children."

Comedy writer Gene Perret remarked: "What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure."

More quotes about grandparents can be found here.

4. Sadly, it is estimated that more than 50 percent of nursing home residents never receive visitors. Why not volunteer at your local nursing facility? Two to inquire about are Blair Manor in Enfield and Bickford Health Care Center in Windsor Locks.

5. Want to do something special for your grandparents (or someone who acts like a surrogate grandparent) today?  Read More

9/11 attacks, 9 11, 9 11 attack, 9 11 facts, 9 11 pictures - September 11: America marks 10th anniversary of 9/11

9/11 attacks, 9 11, 9 11 attack, 9 11 facts, 9 11 pictures - September 11: America marks 10th anniversary of 9/11

September 11: America marks 10th anniversary of 9/11

America is preparing to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, with events taking place across the globe to remember the worst attack on US soil in history.

Thousands will gather at ceremonies at the site of the destroyed World Trade Center towers, at the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennslyvania where the fourth hijacked plane crashed.

President Barack Obama and former president George Bush, who was leading the country at the time, will lead the remembrances for the 2,977 people who died.

New York's 650lb Bell of Hope, which hangs near Ground Zero in St Paul's Chapel, the rest centre for 9/11 rescue workers, will sound at 8.46am New York time, the moment of the first impact.

The two presidents will join victims' families to hear the reading of the names of those who died as bells toll across the city and President Obama will also visit the other two sites.

The remembrance takes place in the shadow of the "credible" threat of a terror attack on the mainland US as other ceremonies begin to take place around the globe. Read More

World Trade Centre attack: 'Khuda Kay Liye', 'Fahrenheit 9/11' best cinematic works on WTC attack

World Trade Centre attack: 'Khuda Kay Liye', 'Fahrenheit 9/11' best cinematic works on WTC attack

It's been a decade since the attack on New York's World Trade Centre took the world by storm, and filmmakers and documentary-drama makers have since then churned out about 40 works. Of them, Pakistani filmmaker Shoaib Mansoor's "Khuda Kay Liye" and the documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" seem to have earned maximum appreciation.

A multi-layered film, Mansoor's "Khuda Kay Liye" highlighted the clash between moderate Muslims and the fundamentalists in Pakistan. It also showed how Muslims are viewed with increasing suspicion in the West after 9/11. The well-made film, with a superb performance by Shaan was released in 2007 and critics appreciated it by describing it as a thought-provoking movie.

Hollywood, too, kept drawing references from the tragedy and showcased it in various documentaries including "Fahrenheit 9/11" (2004) and "Inside 9/11" (2005) as well as movies like "World Trade Center" (2006), "United 93" (2006) and "Reign Over Me" (2007).

While "World Trade Center" and "United 93" failed to attract audiences at the box-office, American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" became the highest grossing documentary of all time.

Moore's work takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the war on terror and how it was covered by the media. Shown in over 42 countries, after its release in the US and Canada, "Fahrenheit 9/11" reportedly earned over $220 million worldwide in one year. Read More

World Trade Centre attack: Tony Blair discusses how the UK nearly shot down a passenger jet after 9/11

World Trade Centre attack: Tony Blair discusses how the UK nearly shot down a passenger jet after 9/11

Tony Blair has given more details about how he came close to ordering a passenger jet over UK airspace to be shot down "some time after" 9/11 because it was not responding to air traffic control.

He said fighter jets had been prepared to take off after the plane "appeared to be deviating for the path it was in" and new protocols drawn up in the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre gave him the authority to blow the plane up.

"We were really not very far away from having to take a final decision as to whether to bring the plane down, because we had the provision to do that," he said.

Asked how close he came to giving the order to shoot it down.

"It came quite close. It was a situation where I ended up talking directly to the officer who was in charge of the operation and trying to work out whether the plane in question was for some reason a mishap which obviously was the overwhelming likelihood, but what if it wasn't?" he said in an interview with Jon Sopel on BBC World News. Read More

world trade centre, osama bin laden, 9/11, world trade center, osama bin laden dead

world trade centre, osama bin laden, 9/11, world trade center, osama bin laden dead

NYC ratchets up security for 9/11 commemoration

To fortify New York, federal and local law enforcement officials are piling security plans atop security plans, making Sunday not just the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, but also a milestone in a decade-long state of heightened alert.

The defense portfolio includes thousands of New York and District of Columbia police officers, including divers, bomb technicians and countersnipers, many putting in days of overtime; National Guardsmen; and FBI intelligence analysts. Sunday's commemoration at the site where the World Trade Center was destroyed — and where a new memorial will be unveiled — will be attended by President Barack Obama, former President George W. Bush and other dignitaries. Plans for the show of force stretch back at least to May, when a notebook filled with Osama bin Laden's musings about a potential terrorist strike on the 9/11 anniversary was discovered in the al-Qaida leader's compound.

But they intensified last week upon word of a new threat. Intelligence analysts were poring Saturday over aviation and other travel records in an attempt to identify two men, both U.S. citizens, whom a CIA informer heard had been dispatched by al-Qaida to mount car-bomb attacks in New York or Washington, officials said. In the jargon of threat assessment, the report was called "credible" because the source had been reliable in the past and 'specific" because it described a mode of attack and geographic targets. But it was also labeled "unconfirmed" because it came from one source whose information was second- or third-hand.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/article_475f7e21-6246-52ee-97a9-0b2de4cd7758.htm

Singapore Exchange, Singapore Stock Exchange, Singapore Nifty, Sgx.Com, Sgx Singapore

Singapore Exchange, Singapore Stock Exchange, Singapore Nifty, Sgx.Com, Sgx Singapore

Sensex, Nifty to bounce back amid global rebound

The Dalal Street is likely to open gap up, having fallen over 800 points in three days amid a global sell-off. The SGX Nifty, indicative of early trade, jumped nearly 1.5 per cent, rising 73 points to 5,168 at 0825 hours.

All Asian stocks reversed trend and were trading with impressive gains on Wednesday morning. Markets in Australia and New Zealand were among the first to open and continued Tuesday's rebound.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was trading with over 3.5 per cent gains while South Korea's Kospi rose over 2 per cent. Japan's Nikkei advanced over 1 per cent.

The bounce in global markets came after Wall Street's Dow Jones industrial average finished Tuesday with a 429-point gain after the Fed offered super-low interest rates for two more years.

Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/sensex-nifty-to-bounce-back-amid-global-rebound-168260

U.S. Stock Futures, Treasuries Drop as Gold Gains on Debt Talks | Dow Jones Industrial Average

U.S. Stock Futures, Treasuries Drop as Gold Gains on Debt Talks | Dow Jones Industrial Average

U.S. equity futures and Treasuries dropped while gold rose to a record as President Barack Obama and Congress failed to reach a deal on raising the debt limit, intensifying concern the nation will default. Asian shares fell.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in September lost 0.9 percent to 1,329.40 at 9:19 a.m. in Tokyo, indicating the measure will decline after rising within 1.4 percent of a three-year high. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares in the region slipped 0.6 percent. Yields on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points. Gold added as much as 1.4 percent to $1,624.30 an ounce. Oil fell 0.8 percent.

House Speaker John Boehner told Republicans that there's no agreement on a plan for raising the ceiling before a default threatened for Aug. 2. A Republican congressional official said Boehner, speaking by telephone to lawmakers, is reporting that discussions are continuing. S&P said last week the impasse has boosted the chance it will cut the U.S. credit rating from AAA within three months to 50 percent.

"Stock markets around the globe will look to price in a greater uncertainty premium on account of political squabbles in the world's largest economy and the increasing risk that it may lose its sacred AAA rating," Mohamed A. El-Erian, chief executive officer and co-chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co., wrote in an e-mail. His firm is the world's biggest manager of bond funds. "A last-minute political compromise will avoid a default but will leave the AAA rating extremely vulnerable," he said.

Japan, Australia

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.8 percent, retreating from its highest level since July 8, and South Korea's Kospi index slumped 0.8 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.6 percent.

Oil retreated for the first time in five days in New York, sliding to $99.04 a barrel. Corn futures sank 1.9 percent to $6.7225 a bushel. Wheat fell 1.5 percent to $6.82 a bushel.

"There's a broad risk that it takes down global equities and commodity prices and causes a big selloff in the dollar," Barry Knapp, head of U.S. equity strategy in New York at Barclays Plc, said in a telephone interview. "This is the center of capital markets and the global economic universe, so if we can't get our act together and the market truly does become concerned about our political will, we could get a major global risk event."

Stocks Whipsawed

The S&P 500 closed at 1,345.02 on July 22. When the measure climbed to 1,363.61 on April 29, it was the highest level since June 2008. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.3 percent on July 22 to 12,681.16, paring its weekly increase to 1.6 percent. Dow futures fell 103 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,518 today. U.S. equities rallied last week as Europe pledged support for Greece to end the region's debt crisis and companies from Apple Inc. to Morgan Stanley and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. beat earnings projections.

Negotiations in Washington over the nation's debt limit have whipsawed U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 jumped 1.6 percent on July 19, the biggest gain since March, amid optimism Obama and congressional Republicans would agree to raise the ceiling before an Aug. 2 deadline. Stocks fell the next day on concern a Senate plan to help the nation avoid default faced resistance from House Republicans.

Treasuries fell, extending last week's decline, its first in three weeks. Yields on benchmark 10-year notes rose three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 2.99 percent from 2.96 percent on July 22, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. That's below the five-year average of 3.71 percent.

Avoiding Default

"The U.S. should avoid default but may get downgraded by the ratings agencies if the White House and Congressional Republicans are unable to agree on significant medium-term fiscal tightening," Mansoor Mohi-uddin, the Singapore-based chief currency strategist at UBS AG, wrote in a note to clients.

Investors outside the U.S. own $4.51 trillion in U.S. Treasuries, or about 50 percent of the marketable government debt outstanding, according to the Treasury Department.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/07/25/bloomberg1376-LOUZ806JTSE801-5LO5TG592JOLGA9L76G79EPQ3D.DTL

Stock Market Today: Today’s Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, Nasdaq, S&P 500 Index Trends; Current Stock Market Investing News Today

Stock Market Today: Today’s Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, Nasdaq, S&P 500 Index Trends; Current Stock Market Investing News Today

The inability for the U.S. government to compromise on an agreement relevant to the U.S. debt ceiling over the weekend spelled bad news for the opening session this week in the stock market. If no agreement is reached by the looming deadline, Americans would face weaker purchasing power and rising interest rates.

Stock futures indicated a drop in index trends prior to opening bell this morning and the additional breaking news of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion preparing to cut over 10 percent of its workforce applied additional negative pressure to the marketplace today. Prior to opening bell, stock futures were red across the tracking boards. The Dow Jones was off by more than .67 percent and the Nasdaq was lower by .56 percent. 

As the mid-day point in the trading session approached today, the major indices were still trending in the red. The Dow Jones was lower by .58 percent at 12,607.93. The Nasdaq was lower by .46 percent at 2,846 and the S&P 500 was lower by .53 percent at 1,338. Oil for September delivery is dropping and the dollar was losing strength to the euro and the Japanese yen. Gold futures were benefiting from the uncertainty playing out in the market today and futures pushed to an intraday high today. Shares of RIMM dropped after the announcement that the company would be laying off over a tenth of its workforce. Investor confidence drops as the trading week opens. Read More

{Stock Market Today, Stock Market, Debt Ceiling, Cnn Money, Dow, Dow Jones}:"Historical Insights From The TARP Bailout Vote Failure And The Market Crash In 2008

{Stock Market Today, Stock Market, Debt Ceiling, Cnn Money, Dow, Dow Jones}:"Historical Insights From The TARP Bailout Vote Failure And The Market Crash In 2008"

Traders of today can learn lessons from historical events where Politics and the Stock Market collided – with negative results.

Current Congressional gridlock is threatening another potential market crash via two separate but related events:

The US Debt Ceiling Negotiations ahead of August 2nd and the “Big Three” Credit Agencies warning that the US may receive a downgrade as a result of failed negotiations or a too small solution.

A full discussion of the current political and economical climate is outside the realm of this post, but I thought it would be helpful to study the most recent situation where Congressional gridlock helped usher in a literal stock market crash:

The initial TARP (Bail-out) Vote Failure and the 30% Decline in US Stocks over the next two weeks:

The chart above shows the stock market peak (Dow Jones) in October 2007 and the slow but steady downturn that resulted ahead of the October 2008 collapse.

Though there were certainly many negative headlines circling about during September and October 2008, I wanted to focus on the two votes for the initial (first) Bail-out Package – called “TARP” – and the aftermath that is currently being cited as a warning for what could happen again should Congress fail to pass a Debt Ceiling increase bill that the President will sign.

After a round of negotiations from then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and then President George W. Bush, the US House of Representatives voted on a controversial bail-out of financial institutions that was designed to stabilize the metastasizing financial crisis.

Notice that the stock market was in a relatively stable downtrend/decline until early October 2008.

After a contentious debate, the US House of Representatives – in what many thought was a must-pass ‘done deal,’ – rejected the initial TARP bail-out bill by a vote of 205 to 228.

Not only did this shock analysts and pundits, but it shocked the stock market as well, as it was assumed that this was a “must pass” bill that would be accepted. Read More

Dow Jones Stock Market Gold: Reviewing the Dow-to-Gold and Greek Stocks-to-Gold Ratios

Dow Jones Stock Market Gold: Reviewing the Dow-to-Gold and Greek Stocks-to-Gold Ratios

In this article we will discuss different ratios, including the important Dow Jones-to-Gold ratio and another special ratio as well.

Let’s start with the Dow Jones-to-Gold ratio.

When you see the following chart, you will probably be convinced that the Dow-to-Gold ratio has a long way to go before bottoming. Since 1900, the ratio has often fallen below 3. It even dropped as low as 1 in 1980:

However, when we look at the ratio since 1800 (yes, that is more than 200 years of data!), we see a completely different picture.

We can clearly see that the ratio is in an uptrend over the long term. This means that, over the long term, stocks have outperformed gold, big time. The ratio has now dropped below the green zone (just like it did three times in the mid-1800s), which looks like a long-term trend zone.

When we look at the medium term, we can see that a huge bubble in stocks was created in the late 1990s. However, that bubble burst in 2000-2001, and stocks have underperformed gold ever since. The blue line looks to provide support right now, although the bottom may fall out at anytime. Stock bulls may argue that the ratio now broke out above the red resistance line. Who is right?

Read More

Stock Market: Wall Street Analysts Like Pandora, Investors Not So Sure

Stock Market: Wall Street Analysts Like Pandora, Investors Not So Sure

Pandora (NYSE: P) shares popped nearly four percent in pre-market trading Monday after several analysts issued bullish research reports on the internet radio company—then settled quickly as soon as the market opened. The stock’s whipsaw action reflects optimism about the booming online radio market, tempered with doubts about the company’s prospects in the face of competition from Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), Google (NSDQ: GOOG), Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) and upstart Spotfiy.

Pandora went public at $16 per share last month, raising $235 million, but its stock fell sharply after Spotify’s long-awaited U.S. debut. Today’s bullish analysis from Morgan Stanley and others helped send the stock to $18.74 in early action, but investors remained unconvinced, sending the stock down 2.27 percent to $17.62 after the opening bell. Read More

Stock Market News Briefs: Autodesk, Advanced Micro Devices, Chubb, General Electric Company, Goldman Sachs Group, Honeywell International, Jefferies Group, Microsoft, Schlumberger N.V., Verizon Communications | Dow Jones, Dow, Bloomberg Ht, III, Paragaranti

Stock Market News Briefs: Autodesk, Advanced Micro Devices, Chubb, General Electric Company, Goldman Sachs Group, Honeywell International, Jefferies Group, Microsoft, Schlumberger N.V., Verizon Communications | Dow Jones, Dow, Bloomberg Ht, III, Paragaranti

• Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) reported first quarter earnings per share of $0.09, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny
• Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) fourth quarter 2011 earnings per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $0.11, or 19.0%. GAAP EPS and pro forma EPS were same at $0.69 compared with $0.61 in the prior quarter and $0.51 in the year-ago quarter
• Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) reported second-quarter 2011 earnings of $0.87 per share (excluding special items), beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.85
• Verizon Communications Inc.’s (NYSE:VZ) second quarter adjusted earnings of $0.57 per share was ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $0.02 and above the year-ago earnings of $0.51. In another development, Verizon appointed Lowell McAdam as its new CEO who will replace current CEO Ivan Seidenberg effective August 1
• Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) reported second-quarter 2011 earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.02, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.98 and prior-year earnings of $0.73 cents
• General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) second quarter 2011 earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.34 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.32 and were up 17% year over year
• Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) upgraded Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) to “Buy” rating from a “Hold” rating
• The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) downgraded The Chubb Corporation (NYSE:CB) to a “Neutral” rating from a “Buy” rating

Read More

Stock Market News for July 25, 2011 | Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

Stock Market News for July 25, 2011 | Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

Stellar earnings results provided sufficient impetus to markets as they edged modestly higher on Friday, amidst lingering concerns about debt-ceiling negotiations. The week also closed with gains as earnings provided enough cushion for the benchmarks to settle in the green.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was the only benchmark to end in the red as it dropped 0.3% to finish the day at 12,681.16. The Standard & Poor 500 (S&P 500) gained 1.2% to end the day at 1,345.02. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 2,858.83, after gaining 0.9%. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), consolidated volumes remained low at 3.3 billion shares. The markets’ breadth or the advance decline ratio was roughly even.

With the likes of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Analyst Report), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - Analyst Report) and The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Analyst Report) posting strong earnings results throughout the week, the markets happily settled in positive territory. Despite the fall in the Dow on the closing day of the week, the blue-chip index was up 1.6% for the week. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained 2.2% and 2.5% respectively for the week.

On Friday, no significant economic reports were scheduled which could provide the market with direction, and it was left to corporate results to guide the benchmarks. However, the blue-chip index finished lower amidst encouraging results after a significant component, namely Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Analyst Report) plunged 5.8% after its results fell shy of estimates. Caterpillar’s results are of special significance as its business of selling construction and mining machinery spans the entire globe.

Corporate results did much to lift investor sentiment on Friday. Boosted by robust results from tech-heavyweights Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD - Analyst Report) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Analyst Report) the broader markets enjoyed a rally negating disappointing results from Caterpillar. The two tech stocks were up 19.2% and 1.6%, respectively. Read More

What US Debt Default Talk Means for the Stock Market - Mike Swanson (07/25/11) | Stock Market, Dow Jones, Dow, Bloomberg HT, III, Paragaranti

What US Debt Default Talk Means for the Stock Market - Mike Swanson (07/25/11) | Stock Market, Dow Jones, Dow, Bloomberg HT, III, Paragaranti

All the talk this weekend is about deft default. The US Treasury is going to run out of money come August unless Congress agrees to allow it to raise its debt limit. So far President Obama and the Congress have not been able to come to an agreement on raising it. Obama wants to raise taxes on "the rich" while Republicans don't want to do this and want some deeper spending cuts. I've gotten emails from people asking what will happen if they can't come to an agreement.

Well I'm not too worried about that. There probably will not be some complete agreement that solves this situation forever, but I fully expect some sort of temporary agreement to be announced before the end of next weekend that passes the buck down the road. To me this looks like a lot of political posturing and theater.

This is something that has been all in the news and the political talk shows this past week and so has grabbed the attention of the masses, but one thing is for sure - the financial markets don't care about it. If they did then the stock market would be collapsing and the interest on US treasury bonds would be rising to the moon already, but neither one of these things are happening. Instead the stock market has bounced over the past month and held on to most of its gains. We may see some nervous nellies do some selling about the debt over the next few days, but I expect the issue to be resolved soon.

If you are a political junkie this may be an issue that has captured your imagination, but it is a story that should not be factoring into your decision making as an investor.

All that matters there is the trend.

And right now we are in a cyclical bull market that started in March of 2009 and is now three years old. That means that it is in the latter stages. There may be about another 15% upside to the broad market averages over the next year, but right now the broad market averages are going through a sideways phase and we are in the third week of earnings seasons.

So far most of the big name stocks that have had earnings releases, such as GOOG and IBM, and are beating estimates are seeing there stocks gap up and are holding their gains. That is a good sign for the market. Read More

(Stock Market, Dow Jones, Dow, Bloomberg HT, III, Paragaranti):"Stock Market: Gold, Swiss Franc Rise on Debt Deal Uncertainty"

(Stock Market, Dow Jones, Dow, Bloomberg HT, III, Paragaranti):"Stock Market: Gold, Swiss Franc Rise on Debt Deal Uncertainty"

Gold and the Swiss franc appeared the only winners Monday, as Washington's ongoing impasse over the U.S. debt ceiling continued to depress markets.

At midday, stock markets in the U.S., Asia and Europe were all down -- the S&P 500 by 0.47 percent, the Nikkei by 0.81 percent. Gold, however, rose 0.81 percent, and futures for the precious metal hit a new record of $1,624.30 an ounce. And the Swiss franc gained 2.1 percent against the dollar.

U.S. Treasuries showed surprising resiliency, with the yield on 10-year Treasuries rising to 2.98 percent. Some observers took that as a sign that fears of financial catastrophe had been exaggerated. Guy Lebas, a fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, told Bloomberg he'd expect to see a bigger move if something "truly catastrophic" was on the horizon.

Meantime, a gridlocked U.S. capitol entered its last full week of negotiations before the Aug. 2 deadline for raising the nation's debt ceiling. Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in Hong Kong, sought to reassure Asian nations of the U.S. economy's health, reminding them that the country has recovered from such instability in the past. Clinton predicted that a debt ceiling deal would be reached before the Aug. 2 deadline to avoid an unprecedented default. Read More

AAPL Tops $400 in After Hours Trading |Apple Stocks (AAPL)

AAPL Tops $400 in After Hours Trading |Apple Stocks (AAPL)

Apple’s stock jumped up over the US$400 mark for the first time in after hours trading on Tuesday during the company’s third fiscal quarter earnings report. The jump followed Apple’s announcement that it had yet another record breaking report, bringing in US$28.57 billion in revenue.

The company sold 20.34 million iPhones, 9.25 million iPads, and 3.95 million Macs during the quarter. CFO Peter Oppenheimer also confirmed that OS X 10.7, or Lion, will be available on Wednesday.

Apple reported a gross margin at 41.7 percent, and earnings of $7.31 billion for the quarter.

Apple closed on Tuesday at $376.85 with a market cap at $348.49 billion.

Apple’s stock is currently sitting at $399.14 in after hours trading, up 22.29 (5.91%). Read More