More from Bernanke: "Another cost, one that we take very seriously, is the possibility that very low interest rates, if maintained too long, could undermine financial stability ... (however) a premature tightening of monetary policy could lead interest rates to rise temporarily but would also carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery." Questioning is about to begin. S&P 500 +0.9%. [View news story]
Economic recovery? All my friends and clients that are in retail sales are telling me the they have never seen such a slow down in the first quarter. It is slower then in 2008. Thanks for the update Ben
Bernanke Congressional Testimony: Premature tightening risks choking off the economic recovery, says Bernanke in prepared remarks, and the FOMC stands ready to increase or decrease QE as necessary. Watch live here. [View news story]
so we may or may not do anything.. Thanks for the clarity Ben.
Even if centralbankers attempt to drive gold down another 30-40%, which i think is not in their control, I feel more comfortable holding then paper fiat. Bring it down to 900/oz I will keep converting so long as the CB are printing. It's only logical
More on Case-Shiller: Home prices (the 20-city composite) gained 6.8% for all of 2012, the best performance since 2006. However, with prices on the upswing for nearly a full year now, the days of easy comparisons are over. "The strongest numbers may have already been seen," says S&P's David Blitzer. SPY +0.5%, QQQ +0.3% premarket. (full report) [View news story]
You are correct hammer, i do know of a few neighbors who in fact have not paid a mortgage, taxes or insurance payment for over 3 years. I am looking to buy a slighlty bigger home but can't get myself to do it knowing i'd be paying an artificially higher price
Bernanke Semiannual Monetary Policy Report: The benefits of easing continue to outweigh the costs and risks, says Bernanke in his prepared testimony. Maybe putting to rest the kerfuffle from last week's FOMC minutes, he says QE will continue until there are substantial labor market gains. Watch live here. [View news story]
JPM firing 14k employees so that the free money never ever stops. Its all bullshit
More on Case-Shiller: Home prices (the 20-city composite) gained 6.8% for all of 2012, the best performance since 2006. However, with prices on the upswing for nearly a full year now, the days of easy comparisons are over. "The strongest numbers may have already been seen," says S&P's David Blitzer. SPY +0.5%, QQQ +0.3% premarket. (full report) [View news story]
I live 20 minutes from manhattan in a neighborhood with decent schools and average median home prices of 400-450k. I see signs for sale go up and nothing gets sold. It's all still smoke and mirrors
PepsiCo (PEP) lost ground in Thailand after its partner of 59 years in the region launched its own soft drinks in November, effectively cutting off the company's distribution network. The new brands from Thai Beverage grabbed 19% of the nation's market share in just two months. The bigger issue: Do Pepsico and Coca-Cola face the threat of local brands knocking their drinks off local shelves with manufacturing, marketing, and technology improved across Asia? [View news story]
The threat they face is the realization that their product causes health issues.
"Although a number of businesses remain under pressure ... the likelihood of the bottom falling out appears diminished," says UBS' Steve Milunovich, upgrading H-P (HPQ +7.8%) to Neutral following its FQ1 beat. Interestingly, Milunovich has long called for a breakup of H-P (something Meg Whitman shot down), and it was just 2 days ago he suggested H-P might be to blame for a Foxconn hiring freeze. Deutsche is maintaining a Sell, arguing top-line performance remains weak and FQ1 cash flow was inflated by a tax benefit and smaller bonuses. (more) (transcript) [View news story]
More on Amazon's (AMZN) Q4: The company swung back from its Q3 loss as North America sales rose 23% Y/Y to $12.175B and International sales gained 21% to reach $9.093B. Growth in the company's Electronics segment outpaced Media segment sales. Free cash flow decreased 81% to $395M for the trailing twelve month period compared to a year ago with real estate outlays factoring in. For Q1, the company sees $15.0B-$16.6B in revenue and expects profit to fall in a range of -$285M to $65M. A conference call is scheduled for 5:00 EST. AMZN changes direction, now +3.2% AH. (PR) [View news story]
The nearly-always bullish Tom Lee of JPMorgan made news a couple of weeks back by actually sounding cautious. No more, the strategist takes to CNBC to talk about Dow 20K and S&P 500 2.5K in the next 4 years. "There's still a lot of investors fighting the tape ... We still have a taint on owning stocks." [View news story]
why don't you place a standard deviation on the accumulated debt level in the same time period...and don't tell me debt doesn't matter and we can spend our way to prosperity bla bla bla and yada yada yada
"We were somewhat surprised/pleased by the magnitude," of Citigroup's (C +5.4%) anticipated savings, says Wells' Matt Burnell, reacting to the announced job cuts. He reiterates an Outperform, saying the move will accelerate the stock's run towards Citi's $53 in tangible book value. [View news story]
I wonder if the 11000 being let go will be "Pleased" at the cost savings. I think you will see 26 before 53 Matt
The unemployment rate remains "unacceptably high," says FRBNY President Dudley, promising to stay the course with QE∞, and take a hard look at amending it with more Treasury purchases in 2013. Instead of putting a number on what he wants to see for headline UE, Dudley will focus on a range of current and forward-looking indicators. [View news story]
If we keep buying Mortgaged back securities that are under water from the irresponsible banks that made them and hold them, then the banks will go out and lend and businesses will hire.
Its worked out so well in the past. Does anyone really still believe this horseshit
Amazon (AMZN +4.5%) has done a complete about-face after missing Q3 estimates and issuing soft Q4 guidance (I, II). The Street priced in some worries ahead of time, and could be taking kindly to healthy customer account growth and third-party merchant activity. Nomura's Brian Nowak, who has been bullish for a while, is pleased Amazon's gross margin rose 180 bps Y/Y (albeit while falling Q/Q), but is concerned about still-soaring fulfillment expenses. Overstock (OSTK +6.7%) and eBay (EBAY +1.4%) are also up. (transcript) [View news story]
Hedge fund bonuses depend on AAPL, GOOG, AMZN, and PCLN. Bernanke to the rescue
More from Bernanke: "Another cost, one that we take very seriously, is the possibility that very low interest rates, if maintained too long, could undermine financial stability ... (however) a premature tightening of monetary policy could lead interest rates to rise temporarily but would also carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery." Questioning is about to begin. S&P 500 +0.9%. [View news story]
Bernanke Congressional Testimony: Premature tightening risks choking off the economic recovery, says Bernanke in prepared remarks, and the FOMC stands ready to increase or decrease QE as necessary. Watch live here. [View news story]
An Infestation Of Gold Bugs [View article]
More on Case-Shiller: Home prices (the 20-city composite) gained 6.8% for all of 2012, the best performance since 2006. However, with prices on the upswing for nearly a full year now, the days of easy comparisons are over. "The strongest numbers may have already been seen," says S&P's David Blitzer. SPY +0.5%, QQQ +0.3% premarket. (full report) [View news story]
Bernanke Semiannual Monetary Policy Report: The benefits of easing continue to outweigh the costs and risks, says Bernanke in his prepared testimony. Maybe putting to rest the kerfuffle from last week's FOMC minutes, he says QE will continue until there are substantial labor market gains. Watch live here. [View news story]
Feb. Consumer Confidence: 69.6 vs. 61.0 expected, 58.4 in Jan. (revised). [View news story]
More on Case-Shiller: Home prices (the 20-city composite) gained 6.8% for all of 2012, the best performance since 2006. However, with prices on the upswing for nearly a full year now, the days of easy comparisons are over. "The strongest numbers may have already been seen," says S&P's David Blitzer. SPY +0.5%, QQQ +0.3% premarket. (full report) [View news story]
PepsiCo (PEP) lost ground in Thailand after its partner of 59 years in the region launched its own soft drinks in November, effectively cutting off the company's distribution network. The new brands from Thai Beverage grabbed 19% of the nation's market share in just two months. The bigger issue: Do Pepsico and Coca-Cola face the threat of local brands knocking their drinks off local shelves with manufacturing, marketing, and technology improved across Asia? [View news story]
Water, and wine is all that should be consumed
"Although a number of businesses remain under pressure ... the likelihood of the bottom falling out appears diminished," says UBS' Steve Milunovich, upgrading H-P (HPQ +7.8%) to Neutral following its FQ1 beat. Interestingly, Milunovich has long called for a breakup of H-P (something Meg Whitman shot down), and it was just 2 days ago he suggested H-P might be to blame for a Foxconn hiring freeze. Deutsche is maintaining a Sell, arguing top-line performance remains weak and FQ1 cash flow was inflated by a tax benefit and smaller bonuses. (more) (transcript) [View news story]
More on Amazon's (AMZN) Q4: The company swung back from its Q3 loss as North America sales rose 23% Y/Y to $12.175B and International sales gained 21% to reach $9.093B. Growth in the company's Electronics segment outpaced Media segment sales. Free cash flow decreased 81% to $395M for the trailing twelve month period compared to a year ago with real estate outlays factoring in. For Q1, the company sees $15.0B-$16.6B in revenue and expects profit to fall in a range of -$285M to $65M. A conference call is scheduled for 5:00 EST. AMZN changes direction, now +3.2% AH. (PR) [View news story]
The nearly-always bullish Tom Lee of JPMorgan made news a couple of weeks back by actually sounding cautious. No more, the strategist takes to CNBC to talk about Dow 20K and S&P 500 2.5K in the next 4 years. "There's still a lot of investors fighting the tape ... We still have a taint on owning stocks." [View news story]
"We were somewhat surprised/pleased by the magnitude," of Citigroup's (C +5.4%) anticipated savings, says Wells' Matt Burnell, reacting to the announced job cuts. He reiterates an Outperform, saying the move will accelerate the stock's run towards Citi's $53 in tangible book value. [View news story]
The unemployment rate remains "unacceptably high," says FRBNY President Dudley, promising to stay the course with QE∞, and take a hard look at amending it with more Treasury purchases in 2013. Instead of putting a number on what he wants to see for headline UE, Dudley will focus on a range of current and forward-looking indicators. [View news story]
Its worked out so well in the past. Does anyone really still believe this horseshit
Expect Apple To Surge In Coming Months [View article]
Amazon (AMZN +4.5%) has done a complete about-face after missing Q3 estimates and issuing soft Q4 guidance (I, II). The Street priced in some worries ahead of time, and could be taking kindly to healthy customer account growth and third-party merchant activity. Nomura's Brian Nowak, who has been bullish for a while, is pleased Amazon's gross margin rose 180 bps Y/Y (albeit while falling Q/Q), but is concerned about still-soaring fulfillment expenses. Overstock (OSTK +6.7%) and eBay (EBAY +1.4%) are also up. (transcript) [View news story]