• Let the market rallies and records resume. U.S. stocks gained today after the Federal Reserve's latest policy announcement and Chairman Ben Bernanke's news conference. The Dow Jones Industrial Average touched a record intraday high of 14,547 and closed the day at 14,512, despite the uncertainty Cyprus is creating in the Euro Zone.

    The past quarter was far from ship shape for FedEx (FDX). Shares fell 7% today after the company issued a disappointing earnings report. The shipping giant made $1.23 per share excluding items. Estimates were for $1.38. The company says the quarter was very challenging due to economic weakness overseas. Here at home, profits were also down because customers have been using FedEx's less expensive shipping options. Shares hit their 52-week high last week.

    Shares of homebuilder Lennar (LEN) rose nearly 5% after the company issued earnings that were through the roof. The company says its quarterly profit nearly tripled. Earnings were 26-cents per share. Estimates

    Read More »from Market Rally Resumes, FedEx Falters, Lennar Raises the Roof
  • There are No Bubbles, QE Is Working!

    The Federal Reserve concluded a two-day meeting with no change in policy but a tweak to its economic forecast.

    The Fed lowered its unemployment rate forecast slightly for 2013 through 2015—suggesting a bit more strength in the job market—but also skimmed 0.1% to 0.2% off its GDP forecast for the same periods, which suggests slightly slower growth.

    As it stands now, the Fed’s so-called “central tendency” for unemployment is 7.3%-7.5% for this year, 6.7%-7% for 2014 and 6%-6.5% for 2015. The unemployment rate is key for future Fed policy since the central bank has said it would maintain its current easy monetary policy until the jobless rate falls below 6.5%

    The Fed’s latest GDP forecast is 2.3%-2.8% this year, 2.9%-3.4% next year and 2.9%-3.7% in 2015. The slightly lower GDP forecast could reflect the impact of billions of dollars in federal spending cuts that just started to take effect as part of the sequester that Congress and the White House let stand despite expectations and

    Read More »from There are No Bubbles, QE Is Working!
  • Buy U.S., Sell China? Not For Much Longer

    By Michael Santoli

    There was a time, not long ago, when a strong stock market and rising investor optimism were almost synonymous with a strong belief in the China growth story. This rule is being bent almost to the point of breaking so far in 2013.

    The Standard & Poor’s 500 index (GSPC) has barely wobbled in the face of Cyprus-driven contagion fears even after logging a 10% year-to-date gain, making the American market the place global investors want to be. The mainland Chinese market, in contrast, has been among the world’s weakest, with the iShares FTSE China 25 exchange-traded fund (FXI) suffering a 10% decline, the magnitude of setback often formally classified as a formal correction.

    JPMorgan (JPM) strategists this week piled on by downgrading their view of Chinese stocks, citing the “nasty combination” of a slowing economy and a central bank focused more intently on countering price inflation and suppressing speculation in China’s frothy real-estate market than in stimulating

    Read More »from Buy U.S., Sell China? Not For Much Longer
  • More Bad News for JPMorgan But the Worst May Be Over

    JPMorgan’s (JPM) reputation was tarnished last year after the bank lost billions of dollars because of its London “whale trade." Now the biggest U.S. bank in terms of assets was hit by another public relations headache.

    The Wall Street Journal reports today that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has downgraded JPMorgan’s management to level 3. (5 is the worst score and 1 is the best). The rating indicates that the bank’s risk management practices “are less than satisfactory” or management and board performance need improvement.

    Last week the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations headed by Carl Levin (D-MI) held a hearing on the losing derivative trades from the bank’s London Chief Investment Office. Several JPMorgan executives testified but not CEO Jamie Dimon. The committee also released a scathing 300-page investigative report that found that the bank disregarded its own risk management rules designed to prevent such a disaster, and then hid those losses from the

    Read More »from More Bad News for JPMorgan But the Worst May Be Over

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