Someone told me when I started trading that sometimes you're gonna be the windshield and other times you'll be the bug. As I watched my hind legs fly by my ears late yesterday afternoon I was reminded of that adage.Nobody?and I mean nobody?is smarter than the market.The time stamp on my bull costume was in and around S&P 785 NDX 1065 and DJIA 7820. That coupled with some small nibbles on Wednesday made for a rather unpleasant 24-hour P&L.I share this in the interest of forthright communication and to remind Minyans that it?s that hard out there. In the
Pollster Scott Rasmussen says President-Elect Barack Obama won by running on Ronald Reagan?s themes of tax cuts easing economic anxiety setting foreign policy right and delivering on America?s promise for the future.It?s therefore a mistake to think the nation is as liberal as it looked on election night. Conservative media will thrive with a Democrat in the White House - as long as it doesn?t veer left. The Washington Post (WPO) the New York Times (NYT) and the networks didn?t embrace supply-side economics during President Reagan?s 2 terms and
(AP) - General Electric Co. said Thursday it was talking with Asian investment funds about forming global partnerships similar to a joint venture with an Abu Dhabi government investment firm announced earlier this year.
OSLO, Norway (AP) - The U.S.-developed F-35 fighter jet has been chosen to replace Norway's aging F-16 aircraft in a purchase that would cost the NATO member about 18 billion kroner ($2.5 billion) for 48 aircraft, officials said Thursday.
(AP) - GE Energy said Thursday it has signed a 15-year agreement with South African oil and gas company Sasol Ltd. to provide maintenance services at a new power plant in Secunda, South Africa.
As part of GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms? Innovation Day, nine Brazilian companies presented stories of their success as a result of using GE products and solutions. GE Fanuc, a unit of GE
Most certainly in front of a computer, watching the Webcast of the FDIC Board meeting, waiting to see what changes the agency finally makes to the Interim Rule governing the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program. For that matter, other potential participants in the $1.4 trillion debt-insurance scheme will also be focused on the FDIC later this afternoon, if only to check whether the weight of the intended US government guaranty will stand diminished, essentially by the possibility that the timing of principal and interest payments in the event of default will be subject to bankruptcy-court delays.
The last couple of days have given us major announcements of electric car infrastructure projects.
As the keynote speaker at the L.A. Auto Show, Nissan (NSANY) CEO Carlos Ghosn announced a partnership with the Oregon Transportation Department and Portland General Electric to install charging stations around the state. Nissan will provide a fleet of electric vehicles to the state, and Oregon will offer a tax credit to buyers of electric vehicles.
CBOE VIX Index (VIX) - Implied option volatility as measured by the VIX or so-called market fear gauge rose back to those uncomfortable levels associated with a complete evaporation of investor confidence. Fatigued by relentless selling, led by intense pressure on key financial stocks, option sellers raised premiums today boosting the value of the VIX close to 80 for a gain of 7%. Looking at some of the jumps in implied volatility at stocks with a market cap in excess of at least $10 billion helps explain the ascent, but leaves one with a sense...
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is still about 15% above the bear market closing low on October 9th, 2002, but half of the index's current members are now down since then. Below we highlight each Dow member's percentage change since 10/9/02. As shown, McDonald's (MCD) is up the most at 241%, followed by Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and Caterpillar (CAT). Surprisingly, financial giant JP Morgan (JPM) is also one of the best performers with a gain of 108%.
General Motors (GM) is, not surprisingly, down the most since...
Covering this year's Zhuhai Air Show, The Economist takes a look at China's first domestically-produced jetliner, the AVIC1 Commercial Aircraft Corporation's ARJ-21, and on the eve of the regional jet's maiden test flight takes a moment to consider its commercial prospects. Their verdict: don't count China out.
Many foreign analysts doubt that Western airlines will ever be prepared to buy Chinese aircraft. But, as in other fields, China is playing a long game.
When is a stock safe enough to buy when it becomes difficult for corporations to find financing? We can answer the question two ways: 1) Why should we buy stocks when the financial markets are choking? Better to sit on cash. 2) We can’t tell when the turn is coming, so if we buy companies that are cheap with strong balance sheets and free cash flow, we should do okay over the intermediate-to-long run.
I’m going to illustrate this with a single stock today: General Electric...
Last week I wrote about some of the stocks and sectors that were identified as areas of future development in Obama's presidential acceptance speech. Today I am taking a more targeted approach at selecting companies and stocks that might benefit in the coming Obama administration years.
Global auto woes continue. U.S. auto executives pleaded for a $25B aid package at congressional hearings yesterday. "This is about much more than Detroit," testified General Motors (GM) CEO Rick Wagoner. "It's about saving the U.S. economy from a catastrophic collapse." Lawmakers were less than enthused by the pleas, with some saying the automakers had 'failed models' and should file for bankruptcy. (Read more from the hearings.) Elsewhere, automakers in China and Europe have taken a cue from their U.S. counterparts and have requested aid from their governments...
I've blogged extensively about how the industry-wide decline in advertising is hitting TV networks. Now we're in November sweeps and the networks are developing scripts for next year, and we're starting to see TV networks find ways to cut back. I expect to hear about layoffs after the first of the year, but for now it's cuts in areas other than personnel.
One place we're seeing cuts is development costs: expect the networks to buy fewer scripts and make safer bets. We're now towards the end of the window where networks buy scripts for...
NEWTON , Massachusetts ( Reuters ) - General Electric Co ( GE.N : Quote , Profile , Research , Stock Buzz ) said on Thursday it has no intention of raising additional capital from sovereign - ...
It may have taken a crisis to prompt it , but General Electric has finally lumbered into the blogosphere.Following the lead of companies such as Google and Boeing , the industrial and financial ...
General Electric ( GE ) shares dropped Thursday as the company refuted published reports that it was seeking a major investment from a sovereign wealth fund , a stake purchase that investors ...
( AP ) - General Electric Co . said Thursday it was talking with Asian investment funds about forming global partnerships similar to a joint venture with an Abu Dhabi government investment firm ...
By DANIEL LOVERING , 11.20 . 08 , 04 : 16 PM ESTGeneral Electric Co . said Thursday it was talking with Asian investment funds about forming global partnerships similar to a joint venture with ...
NEW YORK ( Associated Press ) - General Electric Co . said Thursday it was talking with Asian investment funds about forming global partnerships similar to a joint venture with an Abu Dhabi government ...
LOUISVILLE , Ky . , Nov 20 , 2008 ( BUSINESS WIRE ) - - GE Consumer & Industrial , the first US company to meet newly established ENERGY STAR ( R ) standards for residential water heaters , announced ...
SINGAPORE - ( Dow Jones ) - General Electric Co . ( GE ) is in early talks with the Government of Singapore Investment Corp . for possible joint investments , a person familiar with the situation ...
NEWTON , Mass . , Nov 20 ( Reuters ) - General Electric Co ( nyse : GE - news - people ) said on Thursday it has no intention of raising additional capital from sovereign - wealth funds.The company ...
General Electric Co . ( GE ) isn ' t discussing a possible capital investment in the conglomerate with sovereign wealth funds or other investment funds , GE spokesman Russell Wilkerson said.GE ...
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Commercial paper issued by U.S. nonfinancial companies fell for the first week in two, the Federal Reserve said Thursday in its weekly update on the market for this short-term debt. Seasonally adjusted outstanding balances slid $4.6 billion for U.S. corporates in the week ended Nov. 19, to $163 billion. Including foreign firms, commercial paper issued by companies edged up $412 million. Overall balances, which includes financial issuers, the biggest users of commercial paper, expanded for the fourth straight week. They increased $11 billion to $1.6 trillion. To counter a freeze in the commercial paper markets, the...
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Vivendi chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy told a conference in Barcelona that the company's 20% stake in NBC Universal isn't a long-term investment, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report. A decision over when and how to dispose of the stake could come in the next two or three weeks, when the current window to sell to General Electric expires, the report added. GE owns the remaining 80% of NBC Universal. Levy also said Vivendi hasn't seen any signs of a slowdown in sales.
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- General Electric is in talks for funds from four Asian sovereign wealth funds. Financial Times Deutschland initially reported the news and Bloomberg News also reported the talks, citing a GE executive. The talks are being held with China Investment Corp., the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., Temasek Holdings and China Safe Investments.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Board directors for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index gave themselves, on average, an 11% raise in 2008 for a total compensation of $2 million per company, according to preliminary data from the Corporate Library on Wednesday. Median total compensation for each director is now just under $200,000 a year, the independent research firm said. "Directors in the S&P 500 have a clear differential, earning almost twice the overall figure for total compensation at the median," the Corporate Library said. "They also earn higher median option awards and stock awards."
(Updated throughout with company and analyst comments, background and stock price.) General Electric Co. announced Tuesday that it is reorganizing its big finance arm, GE Capital, in a move that will save $2 billion in 2009 and create "a more focused set of higher return businesses." The company said the reorganization will result in an unspecified number of layoffs as GE Capital sheds some low-performing assets. The new structure, effective Jan. 1, will have regional centers in Europe, Asia and the Americas, the company said.
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Vitaliy Katsenelson, director of research for Investment Management Associates in Denver, says that the stock market has been "range-bound" for a long time, but that "we have gone from a cyclical bull into a cyclical bear" while staying within that range.
While some hail the election of President Barack Obama as a boon for alternative energy down the road, the renewable sector remains stalled compared to the flurry of deal making earlier this year.
Vitaliy Katsenelson, director of research for Invesmtent Management Associates in Denver, says that the stock market has been "range-bound" for a long time, but that "we have gone from a cyclical bull into a cyclical bear" while staying within that range. As such, he suggests that investors "not focus on the cyclical trends and try to focus on individual stocks. ... The market is still not cheap, but there are a lot of cheap stocks. ... This is a great environment for stockpickers."
Hickey and Walters (
