Latest News In Stock Market Investment Research – Jan 01, 2010

Please note it is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any information, opinion or advice contained in the content below.

U.S. stocks end down sharply; post big yearly gain

31 Dec 2009 at 2:22pm

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks finished the last session of 2009 sharply lower on Thursday, though they held onto a strong advance for the year, as a late bout of profit taking in thin holiday volumes offset news of a drop in unemployment claims. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 120.46 points, or 1.1%, to 10,428.05 on Thursday. The blue chip average still sported a 0.8% gain for December and a strong 18.8% advance for the year. The S&P 500 index fell 11.32 points, or 1%, to 1,115.10 Thursday. It rose 1.8% for the month, and is up 23.5% for 2009. The Nasdaq Composite fell 22.13 points, or 1%, to 2,269.15 Thursday. It gained 5.8% in December and is up 43.9% for the year. The decade, however, was a lost one for the major benchmarks. The Dow fell 9.3%, its second worst decade on record after the 1930s. The S&P slumped 24.1%, and the Nasdaq slumped 44.2% over the past 10 years.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


Time Warner Cable agrees to cooling off period

31 Dec 2009 at 1:51pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Time Warner Cable said Thursday that it has agreed to a 30-day cooling-off period and called on Fox to do the same. The move came after New York Congressman Steve Israel urged Time Warner and News Corp. to a cooling-off period in their dispute over carrier fees. During this time, Time Warner Cable will continue to carry Fox programming. News Corp. is the parent company of Fox and MarketWatch, the publisher of this report. “Our customers should not be held hostage over a business negotiation and we implore Fox to not make America’s living rooms a corporate battleground,” Time Warner Cable said in a statement.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


Oil edges up to mark best year in decade

31 Dec 2009 at 12:48pm

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures ended Thursday slightly higher and marked their biggest yearly gain in 10 years, helped by a weaker dollar and hopes for an economic recovery. Natural gas fell after data showed inventories fell less than expected last week. Crude futures for February delivery ended up 0.1% at $79.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after hitting $80.05 earlier in the session. Futures ended the year up 78%, the biggest gain since 1999.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


Gold up on weaker dollar to mark 9th yearly gain

31 Dec 2009 at 11:52am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Gold futures rose Thursday, ending 2009 with their ninth consecutive yearly gain as a weaker U.S. dollar increased gold’s investment appeal. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the most actively traded February gold contract rose $3.70, or 0.3%, to $1,096.20 an ounce. It rose as high as $1,103 earlier, but as the dollar reduced its losses, gold also pared gains. Futures ended the year’s trading up 24%. Prices, however, have already come off from their record high above $1,220 an ounce hit in early December.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


Moody’s may upgrade GMAC by several notches

31 Dec 2009 at 10:19am

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Moody’s Investors Service said Thursday that it may upgrade GMAC by several notches when it concludes its review of the company in a few weeks. Moody’s comments come in the wake of an announcement by GMAC that it received $3.79 billion in capital from the Treasury. Still, it noted that GMAC continues to face substantial risks, including its exposure to ResCap, which are likely to keep GMAC’s ratings in the low non-investment grade range. Moody’s had placed GMAC’s Ca-rating on review in June.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


Wells Fargo to award shares to four executives

31 Dec 2009 at 10:10am

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Wells Fargo & Co.’s board on Thursday approved granting retention performance shares to President and Chief Executive John Stumpf and three other executive officers. The shares are forfeited if the executive receiving the shares leaves the company to work for a competitor. The shares will vest after three years, only if the company meets specified performance goals, and must be held for as long as the executives remain with the company. These same executives also will not receive cash incentive bonuses for 2009.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


U.S. stocks fall after Chicago PMI revised lower

31 Dec 2009 at 9:46am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks added to losses in late morning trade Thursday, after the Chicago Institute for Supply Management revised lower its December business activity index to take into account seasonal factors, only a day after issuing its initial assessment. The December index was revised to 58.7 from Wednesday’s reported 60.0. Readings from September to November were also revised lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down 60 points, or 0.6%, at 10,488, led lower by a 1.4% drop in shares of Caterpillar Inc. . The S&P 500 index was down 4 points, or 0.4%, at 1,122, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 6 points, or 0.3%, at 2,284.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


Dollar turns up in thin year-end trading

31 Dec 2009 at 8:46am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The dollar turned higher versus major counterparts in late morning trading on Thursday as very thin trading conditions exacerbated month- and year-end position squaring. The dollar index , a measure of the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of major rivals, rose to 77.921, after falling to 77.685 earlier and compared to 77.888 in late North American trade on Wednesday. The euro fell to $1.4328 recently, after previously gaining to $1.4372, and compared to $1.4338. The U.S. dollar is still on track to post annual losses against most currencies as the global economy has stepped away from the depth of the recession.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


Delta, Northwest authorized as a single carrier

31 Dec 2009 at 8:41am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Delta Air Lines said Thursday
that the Federal Aviation Administration has authorized the carrier and Northwest Airlines to operate as a single carrier, allowing it to fully integrate its schedules, routes, airfare, and reservation systems. Delta purchased Northwest in October, 2008, for $2.6 billion. The Atlanta-based carrier is now the world’s largest airline with over 370 destinations.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


AT&T ends sponsorship deal with Tiger Woods

31 Dec 2009 at 8:40am

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — AT&T said Thursday it is ending its sponsorship of Tiger Woods, weeks after the golfer announced he is taking time off from playing to deal with personal issues. “We are ending our sponsorship agreement with Tiger Woods and wish him well in the future,” said AT&T in a statement. AT&T is the latest corporate sponsor to drop Woods following Accenture and Gillette after his domestic woes became tabloid fodder.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


U.S. stocks drop slightly, weighed by industrials

31 Dec 2009 at 8:37am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks lost early gains on Thursday, as profit-taking among industrial stocks offset news of a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 28 points, or 0.3%, at 10,520, weighed by a 1% drop in shares of Caterpillar Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Inc. . The Dow industrials remain on track to gain 20% for the year. The S&P 500 index was down 2 points at 1,124, weighed by a 0.4% drop in the industrials sector. The S&P 500 is still on track to gain 24% in 2009. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,285. The tech-heavy index remains set for a 45% advance this year.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


Natural gas falls after inventories data

31 Dec 2009 at 8:36am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Natural-gas futures erased their earlier gains Thursday, falling as government data showed U.S. gas inventories fell last week less than analysts had expected. Natural gas inventories fell 124 billion cubic feet in the week ended Dec. 25, the Energy Information Administration reported. Analysts polled by Dow Jones expect a drop of 147 billion cubic feet. After the data, Natural gas for February delivery lost 2.2% to $5.588 per million British thermal units. It was up more than 1% before the data.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


Freddie Mac: 30-yr mortgage rate rises to 5.14%

31 Dec 2009 at 8:11am

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Freddie Mac said Thursday the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average rose from the previous week to 5.14% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Dec. 31. In the previous period, the average was 5.05%, and the year-ago average was 5.10%. “Although long-term mortgage rates rose for the fourth week in a row, they still remain affordable by historical standards. Based on today’s median loan amount of $138,000, monthly principal and interest payments for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are close to one-third less than a decade ago when rates peaked at 8.6% in May 2000. This translates into almost 50% less in interest payments over the full 30-year term,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


Tech stocks mixed in early trades Thursday

31 Dec 2009 at 7:50am

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – Technology stocks opened to mixed trading Thursday morning for their final session of the year. The Nasdaq Composite Index was flat while the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index saw a fractional decline and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.5%. Flash memory maker SanDisk was up 1.3% in early trades, while Apple rose 0.3%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.


U.S. stocks open higher, set for big yearly gains

31 Dec 2009 at 7:42am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday, and were set to post strong gains for the year, as a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims further boosted hopes for the economy to recover. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 4 points, or 0.1%, at 10,554, receiving a boost from a 0.9% gain in shares of Walt Disney Co. . The Dow industrials were up 2% for December and 20.3% for 2009. American Express shares led year-to-date gains on the Dow, up 121%, followed by Microsoft shares, up 59%. The S&P 500 index was up 1 point at 1,127. The broad index is up 2.9% for December and up 24.8% for the year. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5 points to 2,291 Thursday, leaving it up 6.9% for the month and 45.3% year to date.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Related Articles on Stock Market Investments.com

Latest News (external links)

Recent Articles on this site

Free Newsletter

Sign up for the free Daily newsletter, filled with tips and advice on Stock Market Investing, Stock Market Fundamentals, Day Trading, Online Trading, Commodities, Mutual Funds, Foreign Exchange and Options. Your email address will be kept confidential and won't be shared. Easily unsubscribe at any time.

If you enjoy the free information available on this site, you're sure to enjoy the free newsletter as well:

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Site Search Tags:

Share and Enjoy:

January 01 2010 01:46 am | Stock Market News

Trackback URI | Comments RSS

Leave a Reply

Related Posts from the Past: