Yet another volatile session....

As expected, we saw another volatile session today.  Closing numbers were:

Dow -119 to 11295
Nas -19 to 2529
S&P -12 to 1185

Bernanke did little to help, in fact his comments were taken as a reason to sell.  Tonight, President Obama speaks to congress at 7 pm, then starting at 8:30 pm the Saints will destroy the Packers. J

Hopefully Obama says something...anything...that the market will like.

Looks like solar stocks may be dead...

Take a look at the solar stock charts.  Looks like the market is showing that the public is once again rejecting solar as an alternative energy.

Sun Power

Jinko Solar

JA Solar

Evergreen Solar

Valero upgraded by Oppenheimer...

Valero Energy (VLO) sits atop the S&P leader board, with Oppenheimer seeing a potential 60% upside in the stock as the company integrates new refineries it recently acquired. Earlier, VLO said it plans to boost Eagle Ford crude delivered to its refineries by 30%, and it doesn't rule out buying Sunoco's (SUN) Pennsylvania refineries.

VLO is up 0.89 to 23.19

At 2:15 pm....

The market is mixed as Bernanke concludes his speech.  In the speech he hints that the Fed stands ready to act if needed.  As he was speaking the Dow sold off 96 + Points.  Right now we have:

Dow -61
Nas -8
S&P -7 to 1191

Consumer stocks are higher, Oil mixed, Banks lower, and gold is higher.

Bernanke's comments send market lower...

from Bernanke's Minnesota speech: "Unusual weakness" in household spending is countered a bit by business. Price pressures before came from "transitory influences" and inflation is expected to moderate in coming quarters to at or below 2%. Fed has a range of tools and it "will continue to consider those... at our meeting in September."

The market is selling off as these comments are released.  Dow is now down 93 points.  Obviously the market does not want QE3 or anything like it. 

Speaking of the NFL....

The NFL season kicks off tonight with a game between the last two Super Bowl Champions. 

New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers
8:30 pm start

Should be a great game.  Pregame entertainment is Lady Antebellum, Kid Rock and Maroon 5.

ESPN extends deal with NFL...

Disney's (DIS) ESPN extends a deal with the NFL through 2021 for $15.2B. The deal lets the network extend coverage - possibly into playoffs - and allows it to stream programming to Verizon (VZ) cellphones.

More on tonight's speech...

The President will tonight unveil the "American Jobs Act," a program that includes an extension of payroll tax breaks, funds for infrastructure spending, and aid for long-term unemployed, according to leaked documents. The plan will be paid for by closing of corporate loopholes and higher taxes on the wealthy.

Sounds like more of the same.  As soon as this info was leaked, the market sold off....

Samsung to unveil new tablet...

A report originating from Korea says Samsung (SSNLF.PK) will unveil its new Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 8-powered tablet computer at a developer's conference next week.

Today's Upgrades and Downgrades...

These are some of this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.


Amgen Inc. (AMGN) Started as Outperform at BMO.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ARIA) Started as Outperform at BMO.
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) Started as Underperform at BMO.
Celgene Corporation (CELG) Started as Outperform at BMO.
China Life Insurance (LFC) Started as Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Fusion-io Inc. (FIO) Started as Sell at Merriman.
Global Payments Inc. (GPN) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Humana Inc. (HUM) named value stock of the day at Zacks.
Lennar Corporation (LEN) Started as Outperform at FBR.
Motorola Solutions, Inc. (MSI) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Talbots Inc. (TLB) Raised to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Travelzoo Inc. (TZOO) Cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.

Municipal Bonds reaching new highs....

After the Meredith Whitney Muni Bond scare almost a year ago, Municipal Bond prices have come storming back.  Just about every Muni Bond on our clients books are now trading at a premium to par. 

Here is a weekly chart of the Van Kampen Investment Grade Municipal Trust (VGM) - which btw has a tax free yield of 7.44%

Mastercard flying to new highs....

Mastercard (MA) is following thru to the upside this morning. 

The stock is up 5.62 to a new all-time high of 344.60

Here is the weekly chart:

After 40 minutes....

The market looks OK as many stock leaders are higher again after a lower opening.

Dow -26
Nas -4
S&P -5 to 1193

I'm keeping an eye on the fear trade of Gold.

GLD (Gold ETF) is currently up 3.26 to 180.33, let's see what happens to this as the day wears on.

Expect a very volatile session today...

as if this is anything new...

After a 275 point gain in the Dow yesterday, Bernanke speaking at 1:30 pm and positioning ahead of the Obama speach at 7 pm tonight, this should be a wild one...that could go either way.  Still watching the 1200 level on the S&P as the key level to break thru.

Bernanke speaking as well...

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will be in the spotlight during the trading day, as he speaks before the U.S. Economic Club of Minnesota at 1:30pm ET. 

Obama to call for urgent steps on U.S. economy...

Tonight, President Barack Obama will lay out a jobs package worth more than $300 bill, staking his re-election hopes on a call for urgent bipartisan action to revive the faltering U.S. economy.

Lately, the market doesn't like anything Obama says...

iPhone 5 Production Ramping up...

Production of Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 5 is ramping, according to DigiTimes. Sources claim contract manufacturer Foxconn us producing 150K units/day, and that industry shipments will hit 22M in Q4. Investors are hoping a rumored larger display and distribution deal with Sprint (S) will fuel another massive upgrade cycle this holiday season.

This would be a huge deal for the struggling Sprint.

Amazon trying to lock in a deal with California...

Amazon (AMZN) reaches a tentative deal with Californian legislators that would enable it to postpone collecting sales taxes for another year. In exchange, the firm would stop attempting to overturn the new state law that covers the issue. However, Governor Jerry Brown's stance is unclear.

This whole story is getting entertaining.  Obviously, Amazon knows their retail days are numbered if sales taxes are instituted on online sales.

Futures point to lower open...

S&P Futures down 0.8%, Gold spiking higher.