Monthly Archives: August 2011

August ends with Wednesday’s modest market rise

Posted on August 31, 2011 by

Stocks closed the volatile month of August not with a bang but with more of a whimper.

Posted in Bonds, Jobs, Stocks

August limping in with worst stock market performance in 16 months

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

Stocks were down as much as 100 DJIA points in the first hour of Tuesday’s trading, but by the close the market averages had modest gains.

Posted in Uncategorized

Stocks continuing last week’s uptrend

Posted on August 29, 2011 by

After their first positive week in five weeks, stock prices rose another 2%-plus on Monday, shrugging off the devastation of Hurricane Irene and reflecting better-than-expected personal spending data for July.

Posted in Economy, Stocks

A Mighty Wind

Posted on August 26, 2011 by

Expectations were high for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s keynote address at the K.C. Fed’s Jackson Hole conference, and judging by the stock market’s reaction – Dow up 135 points and the S&P 500 and NASDAQ gaining 1.5% and 2.5%, respectively … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Corporate Profits, Federal Reserve, Stocks

Deus ex Machina

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

Twenty four years ago on this date, the U.S. stock market hit a peak that two months later would be all but forgotten in the Black Monday crash that took the S&P 500 down 20% in one trading session.

Posted in Federal Reserve, Stocks

Treasury bonds giving more positive signal

Posted on August 24, 2011 by

After crashing lower by 90-100 basis points in the space of a month, weirdly coincident with the debt ceiling debate and S&P’s ratings downgrade, long-term Treasury bond yields have shot higher over the last three days, with the 30-year T-bond … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Stocks

Stocks sharply higher on hopes for Fed action

Posted on August 23, 2011 by

Stocks enjoyed their best day in a couple of weeks, as the Dow added 322 points (+3.0%), and the S&P 500 (+3.4%) and NASDAQ (+4.3%) were up even more.

Posted in Stocks

Stocks try to rally but mostly go sideways to open new week

Posted on August 22, 2011 by

Stocks mostly treaded water Monday, with the S&P 500 eking out the slightest of gains.

Posted in Federal Reserve, Stocks

Anxiety ends the week

Posted on August 19, 2011 by

Friday was a light news day, but investors continued to fret about global growth and the European debt crisis.

Posted in Stocks

Recession worries have investors seeking safety

Posted on August 18, 2011 by

Some disappointing economic reports had investors selling stocks and piling into Treasury bonds on Thursday.

Posted in Economy