Major Indices Mixed on Turbulent Week of Trading
Posted on March 14th, 2012
Weekly Wrap Up
Markets were basically unchanged week over week, with the Dow slightly down and the Nasdaq and SP 500 slightly up. The market experienced its biggest drop of the year so far on Tuesday, after Chinese officials revised their growth target downwards and investor anxiety over the Greek debt deal continued. As the week progressed, however, several indicators of a more optimistic outlook made themselves known; the Greek bond swap appeared to be progressing smoothly, for instance. Job creation also increased month over month in February, though jobless claims were slightly up for the week. In the end, the pessimistic and optimistic factors concluded with a was for week over week change in the markets. More Market News
Economic News
Greece Deal Triggers $3B in Default Swaps: ISDAGreeces use of collective action clauses forcing investors to take losses under its debt restructuring triggers payouts on $3 billion of default insurance, the International Swaps Derivatives Association said. Read full article…
Tags: Week, Week Trading
No Comments »
Major Indices Up for the First Week of the Year.
Posted on January 12th, 2012
Weekly Wrap Up
Markets began the week with a rally, as positive economic data about the manufacturing and construction sectors of the economy were released on Monday. Though Germany managed to get a lower rate for its debt during its auction on Tuesday, markets ended flat for the day. Markets continued to be flat or mixed for the rest of the week, with the week overall ending up.
Both Amazon and Barnes Noble saw tremendous sales of their ebook and tablet products during the holiday seasons. The former has admitted that they sold at minimum four million Kindles during December, and Barnes Nobles Nook sales did so well that they are considering spinning off the division into its own independent company. More Market News
Economic News
US jobless rate falls to three-year low as 200,000 Americans find jobs Companies hired 212,000 workers in December, which helped drive the unemployment rate down to 8.5pc from a revised 8.7pc in November, according to the Bureau of Labor.
Tags: Week, Week Year
No Comments »
Markets Achieve Moderate Gains on Week (YHOO, AMZN)
Posted on October 11th, 2011
Weekly Wrap Up
Tags: Moderate Gains, Week
No Comments »
Mortgage Rates a Bright Spot in a Wild Financial Week
Posted on May 8th, 2010
Almost lost last week in the drama of the Dow’s 1,000-point dive and riots over financial instability in Greece was this nugget of good news: 30-year mortgage rates dropped to their lowest level since March.
According to mortgage finance company Freddie Mac, 30-year conventional mortgages averaged 5.00% last week, down from 5.06% the previous week. Some historical perspective helps to illustrate how extraordinarily low 5.00% mortgage rates are — and how unlikely they are to continue.
Mortgage rates have been around 5% since the beginning of 2009, so that level might almost begin to seem normal. However, in over 35-years of mortgage history prior to 2009, 30-year mortgage rates had never dipped below 5.23%. In fact, mortgage rates below 6% have been uncommon historically. Prio
Tags: Mortgage Rates, Week
No Comments »
Three Banks and Two Credit Unions Failed This Week
Posted on September 29th, 2009
Three banks failed today. It has been three weeks since there has been 3 or more bank failures on a Friday. All 3 banks were relatively small. One had around $500 million in assets. The other two were tiny with well under $100 million in assets. Total cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund was just under $300 million which is fairly small compared to the losses in previous weeks. Some had speculated that the FDIC may have slowed the closures until the assessment money from the banks start coming in to replenish the DIF.
All of the three closures today were typical. The FDIC was able to find buyers for all three, and the buyers agreed to assume all deposits, even those above the FDIC limit. The main concern for depositors will be if the acquiring banks decide to cut rates on the existing CDs.
The Huntington National Bank assumed all deposits of Warren Bank in Michigan.
Tags: Three Banks, Week
No Comments »