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Oct31
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The news of the day was that the Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.5%. The Fed said that it believes that inflation risks and downside risks to growth are now equal. There was also one dissenter today, Thomas Hoenig, who preferred no change in the fed funds rate. If you would like to read the monetary policy press release from the FOMC, click here. Initially investors saw some pause from today's cut since it hints that this may be the last of the cuts, but after some digestion investors bid up stocks nicely into the close. The Dow finished higher by 137.54. The Nasdaq charged higher by 42.41. The S&P 500 rose by 18.36, or 1.2%. The energy stocks were huge winners today, as oil charged higher, hitting another 52 week high today. The price of crude oil today closed at $94.54 a barrel, up by more than $4 from yesterday's close. As has been the case so often of late, the clearest leaders were the Chinese oil stocks. PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) and China Petrol. and Chemical (NYSE:SNP) gained 6.88% and 10.52% respectively today. Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) led the oil and gas operations group higher, gaining 4.85% today. Encana Corporation (NYSE:ECA), the Canadian natural gas producer, gained 5.21% today and hit a new 52 week high. The basic material stocks were another huge winner today. These stocks continue to run because of huge demand for many basic materials all around the world. Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) gained 4.98% on the day. Potash Corporation (NYSE:POT) shares gained 3.57% and hit another new 52 week high. Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) led the gold mining stocks higher, gaining 4.1% today. As you might suspect based on the strength of the Nasdaq composite, the technology stocks were also very strong today. VMware Inc. (NYSE:VMW) shares rose by 3.72% to a new 52 week high today. Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS) closed higher by 3.59% today. First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:FSLR) gained another 6.05% today. FSLR has now gained over 95% from its August lows, and has nearly tripled in the past six months.
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Oct30
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A couple of weeks ago I presented a list of the top 5 reasons to sell a stock. I thought today would be a good time to provide a list of the top 5 worst reasons to sell a stock....
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Today was a large earnings day in several sectors around the market. I will provide a quick summary of some of the more notable reports from the day.Earnings Review October 30thAvon Products Inc. (NYSE:AVP) Avon issued an upbeat third quarter...
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Oct29
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The major indices all finished higher today, beginning the week on a rather strong note. The Dow ended up 63.56. The Nasdaq was higher by 13.25. The S&P 500 closed higher by 5.7, or 0.37%. The hopes that the FOMC...
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Oct28
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While last week was by number the busiest week of corporate earnings reports, this week is a close second. There is a large number of reports coming out during the upcoming week which could do a lot to move the...
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Oct25
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Today was another huge day of earnings reports, below are quick summaries of some notable reports.Notable earnings reports for October 25Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq:MSFT) Microsoft is the clear story of the day today. The company soared past estimates earning 45 cents per...
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Oct24
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There were more earnings reports out today than any other day thus far in earnings season, and this may well be the busiest day of the season when it is all said and done so here comes another summary of...
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If one had looked at the stock market indices a little after 2 pm today they would have seen a very ugly picture. At their worst levels; which were hit a little after 2 pm on the east coast, the...
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Oct23
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Today was a busy day on the earnings calendar so I wanted to provide readers a quick summary of some of the notable earnings releases. Earnings review for October 23United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) UPS met analysts expectations and slightly adjusted their...
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All the major indices charged higher today as investors cheered positive earnings reports. The Dow gained 109 points on the day. The Nasdaq was the standout of the day, gaining 45 points. The S&P 500 rose by 13 points, or...
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Oct22
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I have mentioned it before in some of my posts, so I wanted to provide a brief explanation of what dollar cost averaging is as it relates to investing. What exactly is dollar cost averaging? Dollar cost averaging is a...
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After Friday's huge losses in the stock market, the equity markets were able to finish slightly higher today. The major indices all opened lower and were lower by almost 1% early this morning before flip flopping numerous times during the...
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Oct21
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This will most certainly be the busiest earnings week of the quarter thus far, so today I wanted to breakdown some of the most important earnings reports from each day this week. Monday October 22Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) Apple will look...
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Oct18
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The largest day of earnings thus far this season was today, so here comes a review and quick summary of some of the most notable earnings reports of the day. Notable EarningsBank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Bank of America shocked...
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Oct17
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Once again today we had a slew of companies reporting their earnings so I wanted to provide a brief breakdown of some of the most notable reports.Notable EarningsE Trade Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:ETFC) The company reported its first quarterly loss in five...
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Today was an extremely volatile day that started with gains, then in the early afternoon stocks swung to moderate losses, then rallied into the close to finish mixed. There was no shortage of news to move the markets today. The bears...
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Oct16
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Today was packed with important earnings reports from many different sectors across the street. I thought it would be helpful to readers if I provided an earnings review of some of the more notable reports from today.Earnings BreakdownIntel Corporation (Nasdaq:INTC)-...
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It was very close to a mirror image of yesterday's trading today on wall street. The financials led the way to the downside on credit worries and terrible earnings reports in the sector, and oil prices once again surged, topping...
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Oct15
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Today the price of crude oil surged above $86 a barrel, easily blowing past its previous all time high. Stocks were finally hurt by the surge in crude oil prices today, as the Dow surrended over 100 points, after fighting...
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The major indices all fell significantly today as credit worries and record oil prices gave investors reason to sell. The Dow fell by 108 today. The Nasdaq fell by 26 points. The S&P 500 fell by 13 points, or 0.84%.Oil...
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Oct14
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Though my time is short tonight, I wanted to provide readers a quick look at the coming week in the equity markets since there is a lot riding on several events this week. This is a huge earnings week, and...
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Last week I opined on the top 5 reasons that an investor should sell a stock. I figured it would only be fitting to now provide a list of the top 5 reasons to buy a stock. Without further ado:The company...
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Oct12
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Yesterday's intraday reversal was certainly a bit concerning and scary to some investors, but today brought a nice bounceback. The market basically gained back what it lost yesterday. The Dow gained 78 points today. The Nasdaq was the biggest winner...
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Thus far today stocks are rebounding from yesterday's major intraday reversal. The Dow is currently higher by 60, while the Nasdaq is higher by 27. The broader S&P 500 is higher by 5 points. As I said earlier today, the...
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We had PPI numbers, retail sales numbers, and preliminary consumer confidence numbers all out this morning. I will take a quick look at each of the numbers and then analyze exactly what is confusing economists and investors around the country.The...
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Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq:ORCL) said Friday morning that it has offered $17 per share to buy BEA Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:BEAS). BEA Systems has also been in the news of late because Carl Icahn has just recently raised his position in the...
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Oct11
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How should you choose a mutual fund? What are the key questions you should ask yourself in determining which fund is the best investment? I want to investigate these questions tonight.Obviously when you look for a mutual fund you are...
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Today was a wild one on wall street, with the most volatility we have seen in quite a while. The markets all rallied nicely this morning, with the Dow and S&P both hitting new all-time highs intraday. This afternoon at...
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This morning was the morning for the all-important retail sales numbers. These numbers were widely expected to be quite weak due to warm weather in September and consumers pulling back somewhat on their spending. On the whole, the retail sales...
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Oct10
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Stocks finished the day mostly lower today after earnings warnings gave investors some pause. The Dow finished lower by 86 today. The S&P 500 closed down by 3. The Nasdaq bucked the trend and finished with a gain of 8...
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This morning brought some negative news to the trading desks as several companies missed earnings or warned that earnings would fall below analysts expectations. The energy sector saw two of its largest names under pressure this afternoon after both companies...
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After just a few weeks ago the UAW striking against GM and then settling within a couple days, it is now the UAW at Chrysler LLC which is striking. Workers at Chrysler plants in Michigan began walking off the job just minutes...
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This morning I wanted to take a look at another interesting chart. This chart will be on one of the drybulk shippers, which if you've been reading here at GrowYourFunds or listening to business television you probably know this sector...
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Oct 9
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both charged to new all time highs today after investors looked favorably upon the Fed minutes released this afternoon. The Dow finished the day higher by 120 points. The Nasdaq finished...
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Investors and traders are cheering the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting from September 18th. The committee also made it clear in their minutes that future interest rate moves would be decided based upon economic data and...
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Oct 8
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The market closed mostly lower on the day as investors took profits and awaited earnings reports to guide the market action over the next few weeks. The Dow closed lower by 22 points and the S&P 500 finished lower by...
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Oct 7
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The market is fresh off a week of hitting new all-time highs in two of the three major indices, but what will move the markets in the coming week? Tonight we'll take a look at the economic data and major...
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Oct 5
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On this Friday evening I wanted to take some time to provide the readers here at GrowYourFunds with a nice roundup of some recent interesting posts from around the investing and personal finance blogging communities. Corey at Afraidtotrade talks about the...
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The employment report this morning was precisely what the bulls were looking for. The report came in at a moderate pace of expansion, and last months recession fears were lessened a large amount when August figures were revised sharply higher....
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Today's story stock is Research in Motion Limited (Nasdaq:RIMM). Research in Motion reported strong 2nd quarter earnings and more importantly, raised its Q3 expectations quite significantly. In the 2nd quarter RIMM earned 50 cents per share, doubling their 25 cent...
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Good news was abound in the job market this morning as the August nonfarm payrolls number, which was initially reported at a loss of 4,000 jobs last month was revised upward to 89,000 jobs created. Also, the new number from...
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Oct 4
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A check of Bankrate.com shows that mortgage rates continue to fall as the housing economy continues to stall. In the past week the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 7 basis points to 6.42 percent. This compares to the even lower...
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The major U.S. market averages inched higher today as investors largely waited on the sidelines in anticipation of tommorrow's nonfarm payroll number from September. The Dow edged higher by 6 points at the close today. The Nasdaq gained 4 points for...
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The first half of today's trading has been very uneventful. The major indices all sit just a couple points above breakeven for the day. The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 are all higher by 2 points.The usually quiet utilities group is...
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Today's story stock is NutriSystem Inc. (Nasdaq:NTRI). NutriSystem lowered its third-quarter forecast yesterday evening and the stocks has lost just about 1/3 of its value just this morning alone. The company had previously forecast that it would earn 77 to 82 cents...
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Today I want to take a look at the top 5 reasons to sell a stock. These five things are what I believe to be the best reasons that you can have to sell your stock. For many investors when...
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Oct 3
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There is no doubt that the launch of the Apple iPhone has to be considered a huge success thus far. Because of that success it is no surprise that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is now coming out with its new lineup...
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Today is playing out to be a similar day to yesterday. Stocks have traded lower for the majority of the day, but the losses have been contained very well. The Dow is down by 41 points as of 12:50 on...
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It's the age-old matchup of Coca Cola vs PepsiCo. This time the question isn't which soft drink tastes better, but it is which company's stock is cheaper on a valuation basis. The Coca Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is second to none when...
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The GARP investing style explained.
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Oct 2
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The 401k is truly an amazing savings and investing plan. A 401k plan allows a worker to save for retirement, while deferring income taxes on the saved money and earnings until it is withdrawn. The 401k plan is always sponsored...
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It was role reversal day on wall street today. What kind of role reversal am I talking about? The recent high fliers took their lumps today, while the most beatup sectors bounced back nicely. The Dow finished the day lower...
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The stock market has pulled back slightly from yesterday's record levels. The Dow is currently lower by 57 points. The Nasdaq is down by 4 points. The S&P 500 is lower by 4.91, or 0.32%.Interestingly, those sectors which have been...
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Today I wanted to continue my top 5 lists by looking at the top 5 retail stocks. Retail is not necessarily an area I would be pouring money into right now, given the possibility that consumers will slowdown quite significantly on...
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Oct 1
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What a start to the fourth quarter for the stock market. Stocks started the day with very small gains and consistently built on those gains as the day went on. The Dow closed higher by 192 points. The Nasdaq gained...
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For the second year in a row, Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) has been named the most powerful woman in business by Fortune Magazine. Nooyi was the lead negotiatior in Pepsi's $13.8 billion purchase of Quaker Oats in 2001,...
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Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG) reported an unexpected drop in profits from last year, its first decrease in profits year over year in a decade. The company reported net income of 40 cents per share, 7 cents less than the average analyst...
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