Flash orders give some traders an edge in the purchase or sale of their stocks. The advantage is only a split second advantage, but it is enough to get the attention of the SEC.

For the next 60 days, the change will be up for public comment and could be adopted by the SEC after that time.

Flash orders are one of those things that sometimes occurs in the trading world. They really have started to become quite a hot issue on Wall Street though due to people asking questions about fairness on the Street.

From MSNBC:
A flash order refers to certain members of exchanges — often big companies — buying and selling reports about continuing stock deals milliseconds prior to that information being made public. A number of big banks and financial companies, using high-speed PC programs, can get a speedy, sneak peep at how additional investors are trading, giving them a brief peek into the direction of the market.

The other rule on the table includes more transparency from credit rating companies. For its role in the subprime mortgage mess, the industry that performs credit ratings has been shamed. The practices of these companies (which includes Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service, as well as Fitch Ratings) will be able to be seen by the public and will also be subject to restraints.

It is not fair when some companies have the ability to trade before the general public is allowed to do so. When there are ultra high speed computers and company information and reports available, then of course they will have an small advantage. I do not believe that the flash ordering has been exactly beneficial to a lot of companies on Wall Street because if you look at how many companies have performed over the past few months and especially when you look at the last year, you can tell that they are not exactly doing great. Many of the banks and financial institutions have only remained open only by the grace of our taxpayer dollars.

I am glad that they will no longer be helped out by any of the money that I pay the government. I know that the general public of the United States is ready to go after the boards of many of these companies because of all the bonuses that they seem to be raking in every couple of months; and I have to agree with the general public on this one.

These rules can be seen at the MSNBC article I’ve linked below. I would like to see what the SEC does with the public comments over the next two months. In 60 days, we will see how the market is doing and I am sure that will have some impact on the SEC’s decision as to what it is going to do with the new rules.

Source

The Wall Street Times is one of the largest newspapers in the country. It has subscribers from all walks of life from coast to coast. However, are those readers actually getting out of the newspaper what they were looking for in the beginning?

I honestly don’t think so.

In today’s times there isn’t a real reason to have a subscription to a newspaper at all. You can get your news from the internet or 24 hour cable news. The news on regular non-cable television is even on for hours a day now. People are becoming increasingly aware of the move to a more digital form of the news.

There is a downside of the news becoming completely digital; print journalists are losing their jobs. Newspapers all across the country are going out of business and while newspapers like the Wall Street Journal don’t seem to be doing too badly right now, they have had to begin charging for information on its website to make up for the amount of readers its losing in subscriptions.

The good thing for the newspapers is that they aren’t having to pay as much for printing services and publishing services simply because they don’t need the same amount of supplies.

Overall, I feel as though newspapers in their current print form will likely become more and more scarce. I think that many local newspapers will hurt the worst and many will go out of business altogether.

As funny as it may seem, in the past few weeks (contrary to exactly how I feel) another print newspaper has been showing up in my town of 20,000. I completely did not expect for there to be another print newspaper here ever. With three local newspapers/publications in the county, the market is over covered.

Flash orders give some traders an edge in the purchase or sale of their stocks. The advantage is only a split second advantage, but it is enough to get the attention of the SEC.

For the next 60 days, the change will be up for public comment and could be adopted by the SEC after that time.

Flash orders are one of those things that sometimes occurs in the trading world. They really have started to become quite a hot issue on Wall Street though due to people asking questions about fairness on the Street.

From MSNBC:
A flash order refers to certain members of exchanges — often big companies — buying and selling reports about continuing stock deals milliseconds prior to that information being made public. A number of big banks and financial companies, using high-speed PC programs, can get a speedy, sneak peep at how additional investors are trading, giving them a brief peek into the direction of the market.

The other rule on the table includes more transparency from credit rating companies. For its role in the subprime mortgage mess, the industry that performs credit ratings has been shamed. The practices of these companies (which includes Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service, as well as Fitch Ratings) will be able to be seen by the public and will also be subject to restraints.

It is not fair when some companies have the ability to trade before the general public is allowed to do so. When there are ultra high speed computers and company information and reports available, then of course they will have an small advantage. I do not believe that the flash ordering has been exactly beneficial to a lot of companies on Wall Street because if you look at how many companies have performed over the past few months and especially when you look at the last year, you can tell that they are not exactly doing great. Many of the banks and financial institutions have only remained open only by the grace of our taxpayer dollars.

I am glad that they will no longer be helped out by any of the money that I pay the government. I know that the general public of the United States is ready to go after the boards of many of these companies because of all the bonuses that they seem to be raking in every couple of months; and I have to agree with the general public on this one.

These rules can be seen at the MSNBC article I’ve linked below. I would like to see what the SEC does with the public comments over the next two months. In 60 days, we will see how the market is doing and I am sure that will have some impact on the SEC’s decision as to what it is going to do with the new rules.

Source

Verizon Communications, the country’s biggest wireless carrier said today that because its second quarter profits fell 21%, it will be cutting more than 8,000 employees and contractor jobs by the end of the year. The measure is one of the most drastic cost cutting measures that the company is implementing.

Verizon’s wireline business has failed to keep up with the falling revenues and has to cut the jobs in order to keep costs in line according to CFO John Killian.

Verizon has, in the past, balanced the job cuts in wireline with the amount of people being hired in its wireless division. However, this time that will not be the case and they are not going to be looking at hiring in the wireless division with the latest rounds of job cuts.

“We probably will not have large-scale hiring until we’re out of the recession,” Strigl said in an interview.

The quarter for Verizon ended with the company having 235,000 employees, which is 6,000 higher than the same quarter last year even with 8,000 job cuts throughout the year. In the totals, contractor jobs aren’t included in the totals.

When earnings came out, Verizon still beat Wall Street expectations, even if they only narrowly beat them. Verizon blamed the recession and falling demand for cell phones and new home TV service as a reason for the decrease.

At the same time, there was an additional 1.1 million customers to subscribe to the cellular service. This was in line with analyst expectations as the company ended the quarter beating out AT&T again. Verizon has 87.7 million customers while AT&T has 79.6 million. AT&T is, however, beating out Verizon in how many customers it is adding per quarter, last quarter it netted 1.37 million customers (which is likely thanks to its media barrage of the iPhone and other services).

Verizon’s wireless division doesn’t currently have a great device that can compete with the iPhone and until it does it will continue to fall behind AT&T in my opinion. I believe that the Blackberry Storm wasn’t the amazing phone that everyone thought it would be and while Blackberry will be coming out with a new device called the Storm 2 later this year, the company has said that it will not be getting rid of some of the features that made the phone so unpopular to begin with.

As MSNBC noted, if you go by historical figures, September is typically the worst month for stocks. While most people would think October would be the worst month for stocks (think Black Monday and Black Tuesday), September is often the worst month for Wall Street aside from huge crashes. Even last year, the Dow Jones shed 6%.

The S&P 500 has posted a decline of 1.3% on average every September since 1929.

So, why is September such a bad month for the stock market?

Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at Standard & Poors thinks that because people want to spend more time on their portfolios after coming home from vacations could be partially to blame for the fall in the September market.

Of course, toward the end of the year people are starting to run out of the money they had at the beginning half of the year due to tax refunds and bonuses.

Then there is the idea that mutual funds will sell off the funds that don’t perform well before the end of the fiscal year in October.

“Psychologically, when the leaves turn in the fall, vacations end and the days are getting shorter, there is this kind of negative vibe out there that tends to accentuate any negative events,” said Dan Seiver, a finance professor at San Diego State University.

One factor that could contribute to a September downturn is the realization by investors that they’ve been a little too zealous, driving the market up 29 percent since March, and switch to sell mode. Anderson believes a small correction could be coming, but there is so much money on the sidelines right now that as soon as the market begins to head south those poised to jump could get in quickly, softening the downward impact.

Source

What do you think the new unemployment numbers mean for us?

Question:

A few days ago, some really unimpressive unemployment numbers came out. The figures showed that unemployment was actually on the rise rather than falling like people thought they would. What do you think the new numbers mean for us and the economy?

Answer:

I think that the unemployment numbers will fluctuate for awhile no matter what is happening on “Wall Street.” The stock markets have been on a rise (even though it has hit a bit of a  plateau recently) and consumer confidence numbers are also up (along with consumer spending). It will just take time for employment numbers to catch up.

As we have covered before, we are about to enter a solid recovery. Many people have lost lots of money in the recession in all sorts of investments and are wondering what they should do from here. If you have not already unloaded those bottomed out stocks, hold on to them. If your retirement money is in any stock related format, do not even touch it. Stay put and ride the tide back up. Essentially, yes, this is a form of timing the market, but sometimes you just have to. You rode the Dow down from 12000 points to 6500 points. Why not ride it back up with the same stocks. Most of the stocks you hold, if the company has not gone bankrupt, will go back to their original status.

If you have invested in financial organizations that have not already filed for bankruptcy, you are in good shape to ride the recovery tide back up to prosperity. If you have not already diversified your 401k to minimize losses, do not bother now, Ride it back up where it was and then make plans from there. With the market at such a low and stocks that were once in the double digit dollar figures per share currently trading for pennies, this is the time when everyone and their mother will begin to buy.

Sure, read that Wall Street Journal issue that was on your front porch this morning. Check your IRAs, your 401k plan, and the stocks you are currently holding. The only thing you need to remember is that what you are reading is the lowest your investment will go. As mentioned in previous articles, “a rising tide lifts all boats,” and your ‘boat’ will surely rise with the oncoming tide. If you miss a major value incline now, it could be very devastating. Why lose so much value now and sell so low when you can just regain the value.

Of course a recession is difficult. This only happens every twenty years, just like any cycle you will find in any industry or any part of life. As difficult as it may be to hang on, this is the worst time to sell because we’re at the bottom. Some analysts, who this author agrees with, actually call this an artificial bottom. The bottom should not have been lower than a 7000 point Dow Jones average.

Flaring emotions and investors raging with adrenaline and anger actually brought the economy to an artificially low bottom. Selling in an artificial bottom is more unwise than words can express. Resist the urge to sell. In fact, if anything, try to buy more. It will raise the overall economy, doing good for all industries you have your fingers in.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s review of the transcript:

Lewis said the federal government wanted him to keep quiet while the two sides negotiated government funding to help BofA absorb Merrill. BofA bought the troubled brokerage on Jan. 1 for $29.1 billion, including $8.6 billion in preferred stock. The deal resulted in BofA’s receiving an additional $20 billion in federal bailout funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

According to the Journal, Lewis said Bernanke and Paulson told him the deal needed to be completed, otherwise it would “impose a big risk to the financial system” of the United States as a whole.

Since the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, Lewis has been under pressure from BofA shareholders for not disclosing how bad Merrill Lynch’s financial problems were.

To me this sounds like a cop-out from Lewis, next week he faces the annual shareholder’s meeting for BofA and he must really want to remain chairman and CEO, a position that the shareholders will likely split up.

Source

Mark Herr, a spokesman for AIG said that the company is selling 70 Pine Street and 72 Wall Street in New York City to help “boost operations.”

Once AIG leaves the building, it could be hard to find a buyer for the building for another business due to the recession. Dan Fasulo, managing director at research firm Real Capital Analytics Inc., said that the best use of the building would be something like a hotel or apartments.

This is just one of the two gestures of good faith AIG gave today after being shamed by Congress.

Source

The whole mess came after this statement was made:

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said the nationalization of some banks could be needed “at least for a short time,” according to a Bloomberg report.

So, after that was said,

Bank of America spokesman Robert Stickler said “We see no reason to nationalize a bank that is profitable, has strong capital and strong liquidity and is lending actively.”

When asked about nationalization, Citigroup spokesman Jon Diat said in an e-mailed statement that the bank’s capital base is “very strong” and its Tier-1 capital ratio is “among the highest in the industry.”

So it doesn’t look like banks will be nationalized. However, I still believe that something should be done to punish the banking and investment system for what’s been going on on Wall Street.

Source

Investors have been eager for any signals that the economy is set to recover. Supporters hope the bill’s mix of spending and tax cuts will increase consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

But investors are still cautious. Wednesday’s 51-point rise in the Dow is “not a strong statement here,” said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. “More information is what we need. What I mean by that is what exactly has been agreed to with the stimulus plan.”

And Wall Street remains nervous about how, exactly, Geithner’s financial rescue plan will work out: how it will assess the banks, how it will price their bad assets, and how it will recreate a market for those assets.

Investors “reacted to bad news yesterday. There wasn’t more bad news today,” Caughey said. “People didn’t have a good sleep and say ‘Whew, was I wrong yesterday.’”

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50.65, or 0.64 percent, to 7,939.53.

I think investors aren’t the only ones looking for a signal for recovery, everyone is.
Source

Of course Wall Street executives like those at JPMorgan would try to weasel their way around the cap. Maybe the government should weasel the money right back into the wallets of the taxpayers instead.

So, will the government step in to regulate these bonuses? Some of the offending financial companies like Merrill Lynch are under investigation as to why bonuses were paid. Merrill Lynch paid bonuses last year days before it was taken over by Bank of America.

The most disturbing trend, in my opinion, relating to bonuses, are the bonuses paid to executives of banks that are being helped by the government. The government right now has no way to stop executives from getting bonuses from TARP funds.

From the NYTimes:

As suspected the will be a $2 increase for additional subscriptions and a $2.99 fee for the online internet radio service. The silver lining in all of this is that all internet subscriptions will now feature the 128k “premium” feed.

Source

The Dow rose 258.30, or 2.94 percent, to 9,034.69, finishing the week up 6.1 percent. The blue chips last closed above 9,000 on Nov. 5, when they stood at 9,139.27.

The Dow, the oldest of the big market indexes, fell 33.8 percent in 2008, its worst performance since 1931, during the Great Depression.

Like the Dow, broader stock indicators also advanced for the third straight session. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 28.55 percent, or 3.16 percent, to 931.80, its highest close since Nov. 5. The Nasdaq composite index rose 55.18, or 3.50 percent, to 1,632.21.

For the week, the S&P 500 finished up 6.8 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 6.7 percent.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.39, or 1.28 percent, to 505.84. -AP

Perhaps the market is finding a bottom. I won’t judge anything because there were plenty of early predictions about 2008 that were horribly wrong. I won’t speculate, just enjoy a rally.

Source

green (as in “going green”)
carbon footprint or carbon offsetting
maverick (I suppose this means Sarah Palin impersonations will have to cease?)
first dude
bailout (I’m sure you’ll all still hear this one plenty of times on this blog)
Wall Street/Main Street
monkey (really??)
<3
icon or iconic
game changer
staycation
desperate search
not so much
winner of five nominations
it’s that time of year again

There were around 5,000 nominations this year, too bad “Joe the Plumber” didn’t make the list.

Source

Christmas Eve is a quiet trading day on Wall Street, but it was enough to increase the Dow Jones Industrial average by half a point. Companies like Delta benefited as oil prices fell further to under $38 a barrel. Large retailers Wal-Mart and Target also did well as last minute shoppers packed their stores.

It wasn’t exactly the “Santa Claus” rally of some people’s dreams, but it was an end to the 5 day slump.

Source

In an article from the AP, it says that sometimes they list “security” as one of the reasons the execs fly private versus commercial (or even charter). If it is unsafe for them to fly, perhaps everyone who books a flight is not safe flying commercial. If it has something to do with security of their documents and “trade secrets,”‘ they are running companies that had to be bailed out by the government…no one wants to know their “secrets” for a failed business.

AP Impact: Wall Street still flying corporate jets

The news is good for the markets, and may cause temporary rallies in some of the financial sector.

The stock market has been volatile with every new news story that comes out. It almost seems like if someone sneezes on Wall Street, stocks will move…but this news is truly good news for the market.

It lost $4.97 per share in the quarter ended Nov. 30, last year in the same quarter it earned $3.17 billion or just over $7 a share.

Other investment and banking firms are expected to report losses this week also. Amid the current financial crisis, there isn’t a lot of good news floating around on Wall Street, or any financial sector.

Goldman Sachs posts first loss since going public – Yahoo! News

November showed a 5th straight month of retail declines. The decline was lead by the auto market, which saw the worst month is 26 years. They really need the bailout, but is it right for the American consumers?

Wall Street has been up and down over the last month, and has seemingly been uninterrupted by bad economic news (for at least the past few weeks anyway).

With Christmas and the holidays around the corner, at least retail sales have a chance of getting some gains…

It’s kind of strange that the news has reported the drop today was because of the report coming out about the “official” recession because I honestly believed that there was an “official” recession when the GDP became negative a couple of months ago…I suppose I was wrong.

A new stimulus package is about to push its way into Congress so when Obama is inaugurated, he can pass it and it will go to job creation and other programs that will supposedly help the economy.

Even preliminary reports have said that consumers spent more this weekend than the same weekend 2007. However, the whole picture won’t be there until stores release the same-store sales for November to test the retailer’s health in the current economy.

Wall Street had a good week last week and will be looking to continue the upswing.

With consumer confidence levels dismal and home prices the lowest they have been in many years, the markets overlooked this news and rallied all week.

This shows that I should just say what happens rather than saying what I think may happen. At the beginning of the week, I really thought this would be another bad week on Wall Street; with the auto industry begging for money (still) and the other news that came out during the week, it should have been, but for the first time it seems like the market didn’t react in the same way it has in the past months.

Here’s a weekly wrap-up from the Wall Street Journal Online:

Some of the ideas are useful, like giving a Starbucks gift card (so the receipent can also save 10%). Some of the ideas are just silly, like the chair sale at the NYSE.

Not only is the Dow up (right now) over 300 points, but Citigroup’s stock is also trading almost 52% higher today, or almost 2 points, up from 3.77 at previous close.

That, to me, is a fairly impressive due to it being a financial company that has to be bailed out…

Not to mention, the United States auto industry having such a hard time. Democrats are expecting executives of the companies to explain why they deserve to get a bailout. It sounds more like a parent trying to get their child to explain why they should get to go to the movies on Friday night than a $25 billion loan…

The markets hit 11 year lows last week and aren’t expected to do better this week…it could be a tough Thanksgiving for some.

He is likely to announce New York Fed president Timothy Geithner as his choice for treasury secretary. Paulson could use some vacation time.

It has been a very volatile few months on Wall Street. It’s almost like a roller coaster, I know that metaphor (or simile) may be a bit cliche, but it really, truly is…and no one likes putting all their savings on the line when the markets are so unstable. It seems as though one day you could feel as though you’ve lost it all, then the next day gain most of it back.

These are strange financial times.

In the last two days the Dow has fallen over 10%, the largest 2-day drop since October 1987.

The U.S. job market is also looking bleak. It was announced that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits has reached the highest number in 16 years.

Investors are worried about their own financial futures as they look toward the market. All the news coming out of Wall Street is grim. Everything from decreased demand for commodities to auto market troubles has plagued the market in the past few months.

In these troubled times, safe havens are becoming far and few between (even gold, a safe haven, has become a volatile investment).