Archives: October 2008

Explaining the Late-Day Market Trading Surges (and Declines)

Posted by: Lauren Young on October 28

I was at an ETF media event hosted by NASDAQ OMX Global Financial Products and the Journal of Indexes today. One topic of discussion was the recent bout of late-day...

Obama, McCain and the Stock Market

Posted by: Ben Steverman on October 24

People love to argue politics. And one way of making those arguments is to claim that the stock market agrees with you. Here are a few examples from the past...

Stocks Didn't Crash Friday, But That's Nothing to Celebrate

Posted by: Ben Steverman on October 24

Despite all signs to the contrary early this morning, the stock market didn't crash today. Maybe Monday? Overnight, Asian stocks plunged, then European stocks followed suit. U.S. stock futures fell...

Credit Card, College Deals for the Creditworthy

Posted by: Lauren Young on October 24

I wrote a story for this week’s issue about tightening credit standards and how borrowers with great credit rule the roost. The financial elite can certainly find deals on credit...

Do we need to regulate lending with a Financial Products Safety Commission?

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on October 24

There's an interesting proposal for fixing part of what went wrong in the credit crisis over at Harper's magazine written by Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren and her daughter...

Gold price plummets again as hedge funds rush for the exits

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on October 23

There's still plenty of fear and even panic evident in stock markets around the world but the safest of safe havens, gold, isn't getting much love. In trading today, gold...

Caterpillar Plunges on Fears of Global Infrastructure Bust

Posted by: Ben Steverman on October 22

Stocks like Caterpillar (CAT) are one reason (though just one of the many reasons) the stock market is having such a terrible week. Caterpillar shares are trading at a four-year...

Q4 DIVIDENDS PAYMENTS EXPECTED TO DECLINE 10% - WORST SINCE 1958

Posted by: Howard Silverblatt on October 21

I expect the Q4,’08 S&P 500 dividend payment to decline 10% over Q4,’07, making it the worst decline since 1958. Outside of the index (NYSE, ASE, NASD common) things are...

The "Dead Cat Bounce"

Posted by: Ben Steverman on October 20

A "dead cat bounce" is the Wall Street's evocative phrase for a brief rally that follows a deep stock slide. I guess it comes from the notion that, when dropped...

Warren Buffett's Buying Stocks

Posted by: Ben Steverman on October 17

Warren Buffett is buying U.S. stocks. As he wrote in the New York Times today: I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a...

Delving Deeper into Health Savings Accounts

Posted by: Lauren Young on October 17

Earlier this week, I wrote a story about health savings accounts as part of a special report on health insurance for BusinessWeek.com. Many thanks to the readers who commented on...

Citadel's Woes Keep Growing

Posted by: Matthew Goldstein on October 15

Updated 9:45 p.m. EDT Citadel Investment Group founder Ken Griffin used to be on top of the hedge fund world. Griffin's Chicago-based fund was the envy of many, especially as...

The Worst Dow Drop Since 1987

Posted by: Ben Steverman on October 15

Apparently the financial crisis was just taking a 'power nap.' Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 7.87%, or 733.08 points, to 8,577.91. That's the largest percentage drop in the...

Where's my rate cut?

Posted by: Ben Levisohn on October 15

The ongoing financial crisis -- and even bulls would have to admit after today's 9% drop in the S&P 500 that it's not likely to end soon -- began in...

Pink Slips Fly on Hedge Row

Posted by: Matthew Goldstein on October 15

It’s been a bad year for hedge funds, with many posting their worst performances in years and wealthy investors threatening to redeem their money by year’s end. Now here comes...

Another Bear Roars

Posted by: Lauren Young on October 14

Update: An earlier version of this post said Wallis was buying stocks in his personal account. Wallis says he was adding to some existing positions in the mutual fund he...

Confessions of a financial adviser

Posted by: Lauren Young on October 14

I got this email from a financial adviser today. Friday was the darkest day of my professional career. It was a helpless feeling watching the market drop 7 straight trading...

On the second day, the market shrugged

Posted by: Ben Levisohn on October 14

Following yesterday’s breathtaking moves, the Dow finished today down 76.62. While investors certainly would have liked to see another big up day -- remember the market opened up around 300...

Nice bounce but will the bond market follow?

Posted by: Ben Levisohn on October 13

At 10:30 today, it was still unclear whether the markets would hold onto their gains or if Bears would take view it as a selling opportunity. The VIX, commonly known...

Stocks: An Unhappy Anniversary

Posted by: Ben Steverman on October 08

Thursday marks a rather depressing anniversary. On Oct. 9, 2007, major U.S. stock indexes closed at an all-time high. The broad S&P 500 index closed at 1,565.15. Today -- on...

The VIX: Could the “Fear Gauge” Call a Market Bottom?

Posted by: Ben Levisohn on October 08

Since the Dow started its precipitous drop from its record high of 14,000 one year ago, options traders and savvy investors have been waiting for the S&P Volatility Index, or...

QUICK BUYBACK NOTE

Posted by: Howard Silverblatt on October 08

The current price vs the employee option strike price is critical to the base buyback purchases. With prices falling so quickly, options in the money are dwindling, so buybacks may...

The Joke's On Us

Posted by: Ben Levisohn on October 07

In his October 1 testimony before the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services, Henry Hu, Allan Shivers Chair in the Law of Banking and Finance at the University of...

Bill Miller Gets Fired From Masters funds

Posted by: Lauren Young on October 07

This item was written by Lewis Braham, who recently authored a piece on focused funds for BusinessWeek Has the master lost his touch? Legendary value manager Bill Miller of Legg...

Why I’m buying

Posted by: Amy Feldman on October 06

The market is in free fall. Friends are calling and emailing in a panic. My response: I’m buying. Investors today seem as fearful as they’ve been since, perhaps, the Great...

What Happens When the Dow Dips Below 10,000?

Posted by: Lauren Young on October 06

Back in July, John Carter, president of Trade the Markets, predicted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average would dip below 10,000 by year end. Another unscientific Industry Standard poll finds...

SEPTEMBER WAS THE WORST MONTH FOR DIVIDENDS, BUT JANUARY MAY BRING INSULT TO INJURY

Posted by: Howard Silverblatt on October 03

Blue-chip dividend investors aren't happy campers these days. Their favorite financial stocks have declined significantly, and cut or omitted their dividends. The insult to injury however may come next January,...

Lehman Bankruptcy Gets Ugly

Posted by: Matthew Goldstein on October 02

The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy is quickly becoming one giant mess. Scores of hedge funds that had hundreds of millions in cash and other securities parked with Lehman’s prime brokerage operation...