Earnings season officially began, as the first member of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to grab Q4 2009 earnings headlines, Alcoa (AA), reported a net profit of $0.01 EPS on Monday, January 11. The shortfall to the $0.06 EPS market consensus was explained by CEO Klaus Kleinfield by the unexpected weakness in the dollar,
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The Institute for Supply Chain Management surprised the world on Monday morning, as they announced the results of their manufacturing managers survey. The report is essentially a survey where every manager is asked to respond to his own experience. Each manager states whether they see conditions improving, deteriorating or remaining constant, with respect to thirteen main criteria. The December survey’s
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Few expect the U.S. Federal Reserve's FOMC to announce any change to the current monetary policy. The Fed Funds rate target is expected to stay at 0.25%, despite effective rates closer to 0.1%, while language will promise that purchase programs of private debt and Fannie/Freddie mortgage products are soon to wind down. Conditions of the
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On October 23, 2009 we endorsed a position in the Peruvian gold mining firm Beunaventura Mines (BVN) in the article titled Profiting From Volatile Crude Oil Prices and Safe Guarding Your Dollars. Since October 23, BVN has moved from $36.97 to the Friday December 4, 2009 closing price of $39.84, capturing a 7.8% gain. Continuous spot
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We can all remember the panic that gripped financial markets in the dissimilar fall to winter season of 2008, where hoards of cash were brought to the sidelines and even the "Oracle of Omaha" went on record claiming "cash is king". This time around cash is anything but "king", at least if it's the United
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The S&P 500 rally from the March 9, 2009 low has caught many off guard and left more wondering if now is the time to buy stocks. The smart money has already made their profits in the past eight months and reports from the FT now cite hedge funds beginning to take profits. In a
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While the phenomenon hasn't received much attention, the Nikkei 225 headline Japanese stock index has diverted course from all other major economic player stock exchanges. The Nikkei turned negative on August 14, 2009 and hasn't been able to resume the congruent pattern that all other major stock market indexes seem to be following. One can
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The five day trading week spanning November 16-20, 2009 will leave few stones unturned as the current economic strength is weighed and measured via the Retail Sales, Industrial Production, New Housing Starts, and Leading Indicator reports.  Retail Sales The September report showed negative growth in total sales on the back of a massive pullback from the
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The broad measure of the U.S. Equity market, the S&P 500, has found it's way out of a deep hole, dug by the October Employment Situation report that toted headline unemployment at 10.2%. Perhaps giving way to the resilient tone among investors in U.S. firms, this Monday through Wednesday have announced little new economic data, yet
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