Psychology

Market Wrap for Monday, May 20: Stocks Record Very Minor Losses; Greenback Falls Versus Euro

Scott Rubin — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:25:45 +0000

The U.S. stock market fell on Monday in a quiet trading session. The losses, however, were very minor and the sharp uptrend in equities continues to look intact.

Nevertheless, traders and investors will be on the lookout for any sign of a pullback as stock prices have been surging on a near daily basis in recent weeks. In currency trading, the greenback fell while the euro climbed to kick off the trading week in the United States.

Major Averages

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 19 points, or 0.12 percent, to 15,335.

The S&P 500 fell 1 point, or 0.07 percent, to 1,666.

The Nasdaq Composite shed a little less than 3 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 3,496.

Commodities

Crude oil prices rose on Monday to start off the trading week. Late in the day, NYMEX crude futures were up 0.72 percent to $96.71. Brent crude contracts had added 0.08 percent to $104.72. Natural gas futures prices were last trading up 0.81 percent to $4.09.

Precious metals rose on the day. At last check, COMEX gold futures were up around 1.83 percent to $1,389.70. Silver futures had last added 2.21 percent to $22.85. Copper climbed a little less than 1 percent on Monday.

In the grains complex, corn and wheat futures were mixed. At last check, corn was trading down 0.50 percent while wheat was up 0.29 percent. In soft commodities, movers included coffee, ...

Tesla Share Offering Rumors Arise After Stock Price Surge

Cooper Ziecik — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:50:37 +0000

Rumors of a share offering from Tesla Motors (NYSE: TSLA) have been circulating throughout the investor community after the stock's recent tear over the past few trading days.

With Tesla's stock seeing a 96 percent increase in price over the last month and a 50 percent increase in just the past five trading days, traders can't help but wonder if the electric motor company has plans to implement a stock offering. Some believe that the stock's recent rally provides a perfect opportunity for Tesla to sell shares to the public without shaking shareholder confidence.

Initiating a share-offering makes sense for ...

Five Tips to Solve the Fixed-Income Crisis

Louis Bedigian — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:49:29 +0000

Bayard Closser, President of Vertical Capital Markets Group, shares his five tips for solving the fixed-income crisis. 5. Be Diverse

"Make sure that your portfolio is well-diversified," said Closser, an industry veteran with more than 30 years working on the distribution and design of investment products. "What we're doing is, we're creating just one more unit of diversification by putting an asset class out there that people haven't had exposure to before. I always get quite concerned when people put too much money into one particular asset class. So make sure that you're well-diversified."

4. Look For Growth

"Does [your investment] offer any type of growth potential that goes along with it or total return capabilities?" Closser asked. "You look at fixed incomes today, you know, we started doing some research and you go back to 2010 and you have a lot of experts warning about the bond bubble.

"Do you have an investment vehicle that has -- or [offers] a combination -- that gives you the diversification that helps protect against a rising interest rate environment?"

3. Pessimism Never Hurt Anyone

"Make sure that you're not betting too much on good things to happen," Closser warned. "Understand what the economic outlook is.

"Real estate is a great example. A lot of times when people buy real estate they're buying commercial properties. They're looking for compression of cap rates. They're looking at improving economies. ...

The Week Ahead: Full Slate of Economic Data; Earnings From Cisco, Wal-Mart and Deere

Scott Rubin — Sat, 11 May 2013 01:59:38 +0000

A host of economic data is set to be released for the week beginning May 13. Investors will also continue to be focused on corporate earnings reports from a number of leading companies. Heading into next week, the major averages are sitting near new highs and confidence on Wall Street has been steadily gaining momentum.

Among the companies that are set to release quarterly financial results next week are Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), Agilent (NYSE: A), John Deere (NYSE: DE), Macy's (NYSE: M), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), AutoDesk (NASDAQ: ADSK), and WalMart (NYSE: WMT).

On the economic front, a spate of domestic reports are set to be released starting on Monday with retail sales figures. On Tuesday, PPI data will be released along with industrial production and capacity utilization. Thursday will see initial jobless claims data along with CPI, housing starts and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing figures. The full week of economic reports will be capped off on Friday with May data for the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index and Leading Indicators for April.

Earnings

On Monday after the closing bell, video-game publisher Take-Two Interactive is expected to release its quarterly financial results. Heading into the report, Wall Street analysts have consensus earnings per share estimates of $0.23 versus a loss of $0.60 in the year ago period. Sales for the quarter are expected to be up more than 89 percent to $280.36 million.

Ahead of Monday's key report, analysts at Wedbush published a client note suggesting that the company is likely to report results at or above the high end of its guidance. The firm is also looking for Take-Two to provide fiscal 2014 guidance which is ahead of current consensus expectations. Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating on the stock and $19.00 price target.

Analysts at Sterne Agee also wrote in a research note that Take-Two is likely to exceed March quarter expectations. The ...