• Markets moved lower today on testimony from Ben Bernanke. The Fed Chairman told a Congressional committee there is no immediate plan to taper massive efforts at quantitative easing. He said it's possible the program will be scaled back in the next few meetings, but that there would need to be an improvement first in key economic data. Adding fuel to the fire, the latest FOMC minutes, released this afternoon, suggest plenty of debate about the topic during the Fed's most recent two-day meeting.

    Shares of Target (TGT) fell 4% on the release of the company's quarterly report. The company missed narrowly on revenues, but excluding items it easily beat on earnings posting $1.05 a share when estimates were for 85-cents. Target is blaming a relatively cold spring for the miss. The company says the effect was strong enough that it is now lowering its yearly forecast. By the way, Target has started a push into Canada. It has just opened 24 stores there and plans to open 100 more.

    Lowe's (LOW) moved more than 1% higher, despite missing estimates with its quarterly report. The company posted profits of 49-cents a share when consensus was for 51-cents. The home improvement chain also came-in about $300-million shy on revenues. Lowe's like Target is blaming the weather for its woes, saying cool temperatures and lots of rain this spring hurt sales of outdoor items. The company's larger competitor, Home Depot (HD), had a strong beat on earnings estimates yesterday citing the improving housing market. Today shares of Home Depot moved a little more than 1% higher.

    Speaking of housing, shares of Toll Brothers (TOL) soared more than 8% for part of the day before closing up almost 3% on their latest earnings release. The company reported earnings of 14-cents a share which was double the consensus. It also reported a rise in orders to the highest level in seven years and a climb in selling prices. Toll had fallen short of expectations last quarter because of rising costs for items like lumber.

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  • Millennials will be graduating from college with thousands of dollars in student debt, but still must start saving right away, says Karen Wimbish, director of retail retirement at Wells Fargo.

    “Whether you have a lot of debt or not, you have to keep plugging… looking toward your goals and trying to make sure you’re achieving them.”

    In a recent survey of millennials—defined as those born between 1980 and 2000 — Wells Fargo found that 49% were confident in their abilities to earn and save money for their financial futures. But more than half (52%) said they’re “not very confident” or “not at all confident” in the stock market itself as a place to invest for retirement.

    Related: Yes, Despite the Student Loan 'Crisis,' College IS Worth It

    Wimbish attributes the skepticism to millennials living through the dot.com crisis when they were young, followed by the 2008-2009 financial crisis and housing downturn. “They’ve seen families lose homes so understandably they’re skeptical about

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  • As college students across the country graduate from universities or get ready to, student loan bills will await many of
    them.

    Related: Yes, Despite the Student Loan ‘Crisis,’ College IS Worth It

    For the millennials that have already passed this milestone, paying off student loan debt is the top concern. Number one. That’s according to a Wells Fargo Retirement survey of 1,414 millennials between 22 and 32.

    And it's top of mind for good reason, it seems. More than half of them, 64%, say they financed school through student loans. For comparison to past generations, that’s double the amount of baby boomers who financed through loans.

    Related: Only 150 of 3500 U.S. Colleges Are Worth the Investment: Former Secretary of Education

    In general, debt is the biggest financial concern for more than half of them at 54%, according to the findings.

    And while nearly two-thirds see themselves as “savers,” 49% say they’re saving for retirement while 51% say they have not begun to save because they

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  • 3 Things to Fear More Than the Fed

    By Michael Santoli | Michael Santoli – 4 hours ago

    Investors can never escape all fear and threat of loss. But as a start, it helps to know what’s worth being afraid of.

    Atlantic Wire

    In this market moment – with indexes clicking to new highs like an Alpine funicular along a steep slope of economic unease – too many are too afraid of the eventual scaling-back of the Fed’s $85 billion monthly bond-buying program. The "tapering" of the Fed’s liquidity efforts has become Wall Street shorthand for being weaned from the presumed source of market sustenance.

    After chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony in Congress Wednesday morning, in which he reiterated that the Fed is in no hurry to change course, the minutes from the April FOMC meeting will be released. As Bespoke Investment Group points out, afternoons this year when the minutes have been disclosed have proven occasions for stocks to sell off on evidence that Fed officials are doing their jobs: weighing the pros and cons of reducing quantitative-easing measures earlier or later.

    A relentless march

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