| Market Summary |
Despite economic data suggesting a slowing housing market, investors remained optimistic causing the markets to gain today. The S&P reached its highest level in the past 5-1/2 years. Given that the housing sector posted it's 5th consecutive monthly loss and that energy prices have been falling lately, investors were optimistic that the Fed won't choose to raise the interest rate. In particular, the tech sector performed well today, the Nasdaq gained almost 1.4% and companies like Oracle (ORCL: Charts, News, Offers) and Microsoft (MSFT: Charts, News, Offers) were among today's winners. On the other hand, Altria (MO: Charts, News, Offers) posted a noteable drop following news that a judge was granting class action status in a case involving smokers of "light" cigarettes. Altria closed the day down 6.4 percent.
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| Market News |
A U.S. judge gave class-action status on Monday to a lawsuit filed by "light" cigarette smokers who accuse tobacco companies of defrauding smokers into thinking "light" cigarettes were safer than regular smokes, reaping as much as $200 billion in extra sales.
The decision will delay Altria Group Inc.'s plan to spin off its Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT: Charts, News, Offers) unit, an attorney for Altria said, and Altria shares posted their largest single-day percentage loss in more than two years. (Source: Reuters) Full Story
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Sales of existing homes fell for the fifth consecutive month in August as the once-booming housing market slowed further.
The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that existing home sales slipped by 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.30 million units.
The slowdown in sales was weighing on home prices, with the median price of an existing home sold in August dropping to $225,000, 1.7 percent below August 2005. It marked the first year-over-year price decline in more than 11 years. (Source: BusinessWeek) Full Story
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Carlos Ghosn, the head of Nissan and Renault, and General Motors CEO Richard Wagoner plan to hold talks this week in Paris as they continue to assess the possibility of an alliance among the three automakers, Nissan said Monday. (Source: Forbes) Full Story
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| Market Analysis |
No matter how many times they are ultimately discredited, the business media repeatedly makes paper heroes of CEOs for their managerial brilliance when it is larger trends that usually contribute the most to their success. Investors really need an order of protection from this kind of writing, because it leads to harmfully high CEO salaries and, even worse, overconfidence on the part of investors that a particular CEO can climb any mountain and forge any stream. (Source: TheStreet) Full Story
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We are in the midst of a slimy, sleazy, putrid scandal of corporate self-dealing and cronyism. It points up just how elitist and corrupt the power-suited set of the corporate boardroom can be. And it is widespread. Over 100 companies -- major corporations -- have been implicated so far.
And yet ... where's the outrage? (Source: CNN Money) Full Story
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When Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany admitted on tape that he had lied about the state of the economy, he probably expected some minor punishment in the currency and bond markets.
Instead, his comments have been met with the most sustained outbreak of street rioting since the popular uprising against communist rule in 1956.
So far, the foreign-exchange markets have reacted calmly, with only minimal selling of the Hungarian currency, the forint. (Source: Bloomberg) Full Story
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