S&P 500 falls for fifth day as financials drag

The market keeps going down and down this time with another 3-digit loss on the Dow as a preemptive strike against feared Democratic regulations against the banking industry come January.  And what are the Democrats threatening: higher capital and liquidity requirements for the banks to avoid another meltdown.  In another era, this would have been the Republican playbook so it’s always strange how one party’s policies become another party’s when the power paradigm shifts.  And then the party of the first part changes its mind! 

S&P, Dow lose ground as crude plunge punishes energy stocks

It was quite the rout yesterday and straight down.  Today volatility was back with the Dow swinging back and forth in a 270 point range but settling at close 100 points down.  The problem once again was the global exposure of U.S. companies, today Boeing being the victim going down over 2 percent and providing the biggest drag on the Dow.  Aside from that, an over 7 percent decline in crude proved the heaviest weight on the S&P.  The overall sentiment is that, despite some occasional signs of hope, the tensions with China “reflects an unsuredness and lack of direction” in the market.  But GE had a bit of a comeback unveiling plans to raise $4 billion dollars to start paying off its debt, boosting the share price almost 8 percent.  As Q3 approaches closure, 77 percent of the 91 percent of companies that have reported have beaten estimates.  Volume was 8.2 billion, after the holiday back very close to the 4-week average. 

Apple, Goldman Sachs send Wall Street tumbling

Well, the late session recovery that started on Friday most certainly did not extend into the new week with panicked investors going on a major sell off dropping the Dow 602 points.  Once again, Apple’s exposure to global markets is what triggered it all, Apple dropping 5 percent and taking the whole semiconductor index with it.  Goldman Sachs also got pushback from its global commitments, particularly Malaysia, which dropped the bank 7.5 percent, making it the biggest drag on the Dow.  The holiday muted trading somewhat but it was still pretty vigorous at 7.3 billion, though below the 4-week average of 8.4 billion.  The beleaguered GE was also back in the red today, falling nearly 7 percent on news of its increasing debt. 

Succinct Summation of Week’s Events 11.9.18 (plus safe, respectful workplaces)

The time has again come for the weekly summation, the biggest positive being -- Hurray!  The Midterms are over!!  Divided government is good.  And, best of all, no more robocalls!  Other good news included stocks bouncing half way back from the October lows and 7 million new job openings.  The negatives are pretty much same old, same old.  Yes, rates are likely to go up again next month and, of course, the flip side of all those new job openings is that there are not enough qualified workers to fill them. 

Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises

The Marias submission for this weekend is a 55 minute audio interview with Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates as interviewed by Barry Ritholtz discussing the entire U.S. history of debt crises and, more importantly, his new book published November 1st outlining his strategy for how to not just recognize the next debt crisis but to protect yourself from it.  The big bonus is that this book that is available for $30 on Amazon can be had here as a free download.  And if you don't have time to listen to this recording or read this book, you can go to the Amazon listing and for $7 purchase a published summary of this book.  Anyway you do it, the information sounds valuable.  Enjoy your weekend.

Oil slide, China worries send Wall Street tumbling

With a new report today showing the Chinese economy continuing to slow, the global markets were sent into a tailspin and Wall Street went along for the ride, the Dow falling 202 points.  But as late in the session as 2 p.m. it had been down some 300 points so maybe the late session recovery will continue next week.  Oil continues to fall so with election worries behind us we’re now back to the conventional wisdom that oil runs the market, which has sent the energy index down more than 2.5 percent in the last two sessions and spooked investors on any risk taking, sending tech and particularly Apple down almost 2 percent.  Volume remains high at 7.9 billion though still below the fevered pitch averages of 8.4 billion that have dominated the pre-election averages of the past four weeks. 

Wall Street falls after Fed statement, energy shares tumble

The 10 point gain made in the Dow today may suggest that investors are taking a breath after such a strong run-up yesterday.  But it’s not at all what happened.  The chart clearly shows that we were back to volatility as usual with the index up and down all day in a 200 point range and, though it was in the red in the beginning and end of the session, at least it closed near break-even.  Everyone was looking at the Fed today and nothing unexpected happened; they said what we knew they would say – they’re keeping an eye on drags on growth but are still looking at another rate increase next month.  Is that really a hawkish position?  Some investors think so.  Bank stocks were up in anticipation of the December hike.  But mostly everyone is now back to wait-and-see mode on the trade war and volume, though by any other standard would be called high at 7.2 billion, is anemic by the standards of recent weeks.