Chris Versace
PowerTrend Brief: Facebook, the Fed and A Dash of “Hopium”
This past week there were two stock market topics that were widely discussed. One was company-specific to a degree but the action that made the topic fodder among the investment community, talking heads and pundits was one that bears watching, no matter what company you may be invested in. The other is far more reaching […]
PowerTrend Brief: When Bad News Means “Good News”
There are many types of bad news in the world around us. They include accidents, the loss of a job, physical and mental issues, and the loss of a loved one. It’s pretty safe to say that no one likes to get bad news. An exception is if you are a stock market trader who […]
PowerTrend Brief: Back to School Spending Boom or Bust?
With the lackluster July employment report behind us, we are firmly into August, and the temporarily slower pace of life as summer vacation season sets in. To others, it means that preseason fall sports are getting under way — football, lacrosse, field hockey and so on — and many parents and students have kicked off […]
PowerTrend Brief: The Real Deal on the July Employment Report
On its face, last Friday’s better-than-expected July Employment Report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) catapulted the market higher, wiping out losses earlier in the week. The S&P 500 rose 1.9% alone on Friday, far more than the 1.5% fall it experienced following the lack of new news midweek from the Federal Reserve […]
PowerTrend Brief: Contracting Consumers Confirm Economic Concerns
Through the end of last week, roughly 288 of the companies that comprise the S&P 500 index reported their latest quarterly results. Tallying the results, we find that roughly 72% beat earnings expectations, but far fewer — only 41% — beat on revenues. Generally speaking, their guidance for the upcoming quarters has fallen short. It […]
PowerTrend Brief: Markets Looking for Direction Amid a Sea of Earnings Reports
Last week, we waded deeper into 2Q 2012 earnings season as nearly 16% of the companies that comprise the S&P 500 reported their results. While there were some positives to be had with Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT) and Autonation (AN), there also were a number of misses and weaker outlooks at Yum! Brands (YUM), Johnson […]