- Daily Ticker
Grounded Flights Stress Travelers but Not the Economy: Jeff Macke
Today, the day before Thanksgiving, is the single busiest travel day of the year, according to AAA's annual travel outlook. But, as if right on cue, mother nature has unleashed a massive and deadly storm that is threatening travel this holiday. More than 300 flights have been cancelled and nearly 1,000 have been delayed already
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Stocks Are Headed Even Higher: Michael Holland
Investors certainly have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Markets are trading at all-time highs with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) trading above 16,000 and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) at more than 1,800. But where can stocks go from here? Related: No Fed Taper but No Market Bubbles Either: Jefferies' Ward McCarthy "All [...]
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America’s Student Loan Crisis: Generation I.O.U.
Graduation season is here! But instead of planning for a year abroad or embarking on exciting new careers, many new grads are instead paralyzed with fear over a weak job market and crushing debts. “I am a slave to my student loans and I cannot take it," says Flickr user Rhiannon. She's a 27-year-old graduate [...]
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‘Homeownership Is Still the Cornerstone of the American Dream’: Rick Newman
Housing data out this week continues to support the case that a recovery is in the making. Home prices jumped 8.6% and 9.3% since February 2012, according to the latest reading of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for its 10- and 20-city composites. Those are the biggest gains since 2006. Related: Robert Shiller: Home Prices [...]
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Fed-Assisted Growth Stuck at 2% “New Normal” Rates Through 2013
The Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy-making meeting today and not much news is expected, as has been the case ahead of many of the most recent meetings. Why? Related: The Bull Case for Gold Hasn’t Changed One Iota: Michael Pento The central bank has clearly stated it will continue its $85 billion per month [...]
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12 (Misguided) Commandments of Gold Bugs: Barry Ritholtz
Gold prices have finally stabilized after falling roughly 11% over the last week. The yellow metal closed Thursday up 1.84% to $1,417 an ounce. The reason for the recent drop in gold prices is unclear but some cite Cyprus selling its gold to cover the cost of its bailout as a factor or central bank [...]
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CEOs Make More Than 350 Times the Average Worker: AFL-CIO
CEO pay was 354 times that of the average worker last year, according to the AFL-CIO's new Executive PayWatch database. The labor group asserts that this is "by far the largest pay gap in the world." In 2012, the chief executives of some of the country's largest companies earned an average of $12.3 million in [...]
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Banks Are Not as Bad as You Think: Pettis
The last financial crisis catapulted the U.S. economy into the worse recession since the Great Depression. Since then, much time and discourse has been dedicated to blaming the big banks for engaging in risky business. Michael Pettis, finance professor at Peking University in Beijing and senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, recently [...]
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S&P 500 May Fall More Than 40% By Fall: Chris Martenson
Even though the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) are hovering at all-time highs, Chris Martenson, author of PeakProsperity.com and the “Crash Course” Series, is forecasting a major market correction. Martenson predicts the S&P could fall 40% to 60% to the 600-800 level by this fall. His last major market call was [...]
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Jim Chanos: Stay Away From U.S. Tech Firms
While the American economy may continue to be sending investors mixed signals about a potential recovery, famed short-seller Jim Chanos still believes the U.S. is "the best house in a bad neighborhood." He's been bullish on U.S. markets for three years. Related: March Jobs Disaster: It’s a Bad Report But Don’t Panic, Brusca Says "Boy [...]
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Google Glass Made in the U.S.A. Means No Tech Theft From China: Altucher
Google (GOOG) plans to assemble its highly sought after Google Glass technology here in the United States with the help of Taiwan's manufacturing powerhouse Foxconn, according to The Financial Times. Reportedly, the assembly plant will be based in Santa Clara, CA -- not far from Google headquarters -- and employ U.S.-based employees. While that sounds [...]
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Victoria’s Secret Under Fire for Racy Panties
On the heels of Lululemon's see-through yoga pants flap, Victoria's Secret is under fire for its latest PINK line campaign "Bright Young Things" which targets young girls. While the clothing line includes a variety of apparel including t-shirts, sweatshirts and pants, the items causing the biggest stir are underwear featuring sayings like "call me" and [...]
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Fed-Speak Freakout Shows Traders Aren’t Really Paying Attention
Markets rallied Monday morning on news of the so-called bail-in for Cyprus, but then fell more than 1% in afternoon trading after comments made by William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Dudley said the Fed may eventually wind down its monthly $85 billion bond-buying program. “At some point, I expect [...]
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Why the Market Pullback Won’t Last
U.S. markets are trading lower Thursday morning after rallying Wednesday afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed up 0.39% to 14,512 on Wednesday and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) ended yesterday's session up 0.68% to 1,559 after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated his pledge to keep the monetary spigot flowing. Related: There are No Bubbles, [...]
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Housing Will Limp Along at Best: Gary Shilling
Aside from the €10 billion Cyprus bailout, U.S. housing data will be another key factor for the markets this week. Housing starts rose 0.8% in February to an annual rate of 917,000 homes, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That's a 27.7% increase from the year before. On Monday, the National Association of Homebuilders said [...]
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‘Too Big to Fail’: Conservatives and Liberals See Eye to Eye
It's been more than five years since America's biggest banks caused the worst financial crisis in decades. Questions still remain over how to minimize the risk of another financial shock. Indicative of this "business as usual" environment is JPMorgan's so-called London whale trade that has cost the bank and its investors nearly $6.2 billion. A [...]
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Banks Pass Stress Tests But That Doesn’t Mean Much: William Cohan
If the U.S. economy fell into another recession, American banks would likely face a loss of $462 billion, according to the the Federal Reserve's annual examination of the health of U.S. banks. Seventeen of the nation's largest banks would survive the economic crisis, according to the Fed. Of the banks tested, Ally Financial is the [...]
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North Korea’s Nuclear Threats Are “Classic Propaganda”: Ian Bremmer
North Korea threatened a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the U.S. Thursday as the U.N. Security Council prepares to vote on tougher sanctions against the country for continuing to pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. "Since the United States is about to ignite a nuclear war, we will be exercising our right to preemptive nuclear [...]
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Washington Dysfunction Having Huge Impact on Business: John Paul DeJoria
The debate over whether or not to prevent sequestration cuts is over. As of last Friday, $85 billion in spending cuts will take effect this year and another $1 trillion in cuts will impact the economy over the next decade. But if you thought the debate over America's finances was over, think again. Two more [...]
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While Sequester Looms, Congress Eyes Next Fiscal Deadline
The deadline for Congress to prevent yet another fiscal crisis is upon us. On Friday, $85 billion in automatic spending cuts are set to take effect if our elected officials fail to act. Over the next decade, a total of $1.2 trillion in government cuts to both domestic and defense spending are expected to impact [...]