And That’s The Week That Was: 1.18.08

January 21, 2008 | 1 Comment

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Attached/linked please find And That’s The Week That Was…the Brounes & Associates market/economic commentary for the week ended January 18, 2008.  With virtually all investors calling for some pretty dismal earnings numbers from Citigroup and Merrill, the results were even worse than expected.  Enter more foreign governments with a continuation of the international “bailout”…talk about globalization at its finest/worst.  (Is anyone else concerned about this?)   Earnings season has lived up to its most pessimistic predictions; financials led the negativity, though some consumer-driven companies suffered last quarter as well.  For now, there seems to be no reprieve in sight including Bush’s quickly conceived economic stimulus plan that many believe to be “too little, too late.”  News from the housing, retail, and inflation fronts brought even more sentiments of “gloom and doom.”  Oil prices declined (at least, that’s a positive), gold rose (the ultimate hedge), and the Fed looks to be on target for a 50 bps cut in the weeks to come.  Equities tumbled early in the week and never looked back.  Both the tech-heavy NASDAQ and the small-cap Russell 2000 have fallen over 10% thus far this year and the other indexes aren’t far behind.  Perhaps investors will get this intense negativity out of their system all at once and then move on to better things?  (Wishful thinking…) 

Coming up in the week ahead:  Existing Home Sales (Thursday)

And That’s The Week That Was: 11.30.07

December 3, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Attached/linked please find And That’s The Week That Was…the Brounes & Associates market/economic commentary for the week ended November 30, 2007.  So what do Donald Kohn and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have in common (besides that fact that most people had not heard of either before the week began)?  Well, this week the Fed Vice Chair and the state-owned investment pool of Abu Dhabi became huge hits within the US investor community.  First, Citigroup received a much-needed injection of capital from its friends in the Middle East; and then a few well-time remarks by Kohn prompted Fed-watcher to predict another rate cut at the December meeting.  With oil prices falling from the previously high levels just below $100/barrel, equity investors rejoiced and sent the Dow into a few record-setting days.  The other indexes followed suits, though some sour news from techs (thanks Dell) sent the Nasdaq into a tailspin as the week came to a close.  Retailers got off to a solid start in the holiday season, though expectations are still mixed and a poor Sears earnings announcement did not help matters. 

Coming up in the week ahead:  ISM – Manu (Monday), Factory Orders (Wednesday), ISM – Services (Wednesday), Unemployment Rate (Friday), Nonfarm Payroll Additions (Friday) 

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