Weekly Market Review ~ Friday, 10/28/11

Stocks gained ground on Monday, sending the NASDAQ into positive territory for the year. A positive earnings report from Caterpillar and a lack of bad news from Europe contributed to the gain. On Tuesday, the market plummeted after a meeting by European Union finance ministers to discuss Greek debt was canceled, as hope that a Greek debt solution would be reached shortly faded. Stocks gained back most of Tuesday’s losses on Wednesday on hope that China will be involved in the Euro bailout plan. The Dow roared to a 339 point gain on Thursday after a very early morning agreement among European leaders to deal with Greece’s debt was met with approval. A report that the US economy accelerated in the third quarter also propelled stocks. On Friday, stocks posted a small gain, an encouraging sign that the large gain from the previous session was not immediately given back. [table id=34 /]

The New Gilded Age

The top 1 percent of American earners controls as much of the nation’s total income as it did on the eve of the Great Depression. Now, however, their money comes from skyrocketing paychecks more than from unearned income, as it did in 1928.

click image for larger view

 

Source: The New York Times

 

Weekly Market Review ~ Friday, 10/21/11

Stocks fell heavily on Monday on doubts that progress on the European debt crisis was progressing rapidly enough, as the Dow moved back into negative territory for the year after briefly breaking to the positive the week before. The markets snapped back on Tuesday, regaining much of Monday’s losses in a very volatile day of trading. On Wednesday, a disappointing earnings report by Apple coupled with a bleak economic outlook from the Fed’s “beige book” sank stocks. The major indexes finished mixed on Thursday as conflicting economic reports as well as uncertainty over the European debt plan failed to propel stocks in any particular direction. On Friday, continued strong third quarter earnings reports sent stocks 2%+ higher again, as the major indexes finished the week with a fourth consecutive weekly win. [table id=33 /]

Fewer jobs, less pay

The latest data on employment and wages are out and it’s not good:

The figures from payroll taxes reported to the Social Security Administration on jobs and pay are, in a word, awful.

There were fewer jobs and they paid less last year, except at the very top where, the number of people making more than $1 million increased by 20 percent over 2009.  The median paycheck — half made more, half less — fell again in 2010, down 1.2 percent to $26,364. That works out to $507 a week, the lowest level, after adjusting for inflation, since 1999.

The number of Americans with any work fell again last year, down by more than a half million from 2009 to less than 150.4 million.

Source:
First look at US pay data, it’s awful
David Cay Johnston
Reuters, 10/19/2011

Weekly Market Review ~ Friday, 10/14/11

Stocks roared to almost a 3% gain on Monday after Germany and France vowed to assemble a “comprehensive package” to introduce more capital to European banks in the near future. On Tuesday stocks finished near the unchanged mark as a 55 session streak of at least a 100-point intraday swing in the Dow was broken. That streak was re-established on Wednesday with a 102 point gain in the Dow, as the third quarter earnings season kicked off with a disappointing report from Alcoa. On Thursday, disappointing earnings from JP Morgan Chase led down banking stocks and the market in general. Stocks finished the week on an up note on Friday, as the Dow finished the week with its longest weekly winning streak in six months. [table id=32 /]

Ponzi Schemes? Look No Further Than Your Backyard!

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation. The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, who became notorious for using the technique in 1920 (see photo).

People often don’t realize Ponzi schemes happen everywhere and all the time.  Take for instance Bruce Kramer and his company Barki, LLC based in Mint Hill, North Carolina.  This small town is just outside of Charlotte, NC and not far from the headquarters of our firm, NorthStar Capital Advisors. The Charlotte Observer broke the story on May 29, 2009:

In January, with the economy tanking and Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion scam unraveling, Bruce Kramer met a nervous investor for lunch at Hawthorne’s pizzeria in Mint Hill.

The investor, a Charlotte consultant who had invested several hundred thousand dollars with Kramer’s foreign currency exchange firm in Cabarrus County, wondered if the money was safe. Kramer reassured him it was, recalled the investor, who asked not to be identified to protect his family.

Kramer then thanked him for lunch and drove off in a new $90,000 Maserati.

A month later, Kramer shot and killed himself. Court documents allege he swindled $40 million from 80 clients and spent much of it on luxury cars, a racehorse, art and extravagant parties.

Two days ago the U.S. District Court issued a default judgment against the late Bruce Kramer and his company ordering more than $40 million in fines and restitution. (see $40M judgement ends Ponzi case in the Charlotte Observer).

Weekly Market Review ~ Friday, 10/07/11

An increase in US manufacturing and construction failed to offset continued fear of Greek debt on Monday, as shares plummeted to their 2011 lows. Earlier in the day on Tuesday, the markets plunged again, putting the S&P officially in a bear market. However, during the last hour of trading, stock staged a remarkable 4.1% rally as extreme volatility roared back to life again. The rally continued on Wednesday on a positive private-sector hiring report for September. On Thursday stocks extended their rally to three days with another large gain, as a decision by the European Central Bank to keep interest rates steady buoyed both European and US stocks. On Friday, the rally ended despite a rise in US September nonfarm payrolls. [table id=31 /]

Tune Out the Noise…your portfolio will thank you for it!

One Day in Mainstream Media Market Headlines…

6:00 AM MarketWatch US Futures Down As Euro Pressures Mount

6:30 AM TheStreet.com US Stock Futures Recover on Amazon Tablet Expectation

7:15 AM MarketWatch Stocks Fall in Pre-Market Amid Global Concerns

8:00 AM Minyanville Stocks Buoyant Ahead of August Durable Goods Orders

8:10 Wall Street Journal US Marts Down Briefly, Techs Remain Higher

9:15 AM TheStreet.com US Stocks Mixed Ahead of Open After Durable Goods Orders

9:45 AM MarketWatch Stocks Decline Slightly On Economic Concerns

10:15 AM MarketWatch US Stocks Fall on European Woes

11:00 AM Minyanville Stocks Up After Morning in Which They Were Slightly Down

11:30 AM TheStreet.com Stocks Exist  at Half Past 11 AM this Morning

12:00 PM  MarketWatch Stocks Slightly Higher at Mid-Day as I Pick Up My Dry Cleaning

12:15 PM Bloomberg Markets Stabilize as Japanese PM Explains Proclivity for Vending Machine Pornography

12:30 PM Minyanville US Markets Rally Modestly as Stocks Don’t Be Down

1:00 PM TheStreet.com Stocks Off Slightly After Cloud Passes Briefly in Front of the Sun

1:30 PM Reuters We are Better than You and You Probably Realise that by Now

1:50 PM Wall Street Journal US Stocks Extend Advance after Not Extending Decline

2:15 PM Minyanville Markets in Retreat as Euro Pressures Threaten Global Recovery

3:10 PM TheStreet.com US Stocks Unchanged, We Are Seriously Running Out of Reasons for Random Things You Guys

3:11 PM TheStreet.com US Stocks Still Unchanged, We Just Checked For You

3:34 PM Bloomberg Markets Neutral Into the Close

3:37 PM MarketWatch Neutral Markets Into the Close

3:50 PM Wall Street Journal Stocks Set to Close Flat on Session as European Woes Continue to Cause Concern

3:56 PM Reuters US Stock Market Flat on Close

4:01 PM MarketWatch No Change in US Stocks Today on Excessive Nonsensical Headlines, Tune in Tomorrow

 [courtesy Joshua Brown]

Avoid getting caught up in the hype and drama of media’s talking heads.

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