Below is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street:
1. With costs related to the Gulf oil spill still rising and unknown, BP (NYSE: BP) announced this week several actions aimed at establishing an outline for how to address the now massive mess. First, with the aid of President Obama (although some will call it "forced"), BP set up a $20 billion escrow fund as a way to, more or less, catalog expenses related to the spill. Further, as was most expected last week, the company also suspended dividend payments for the rest of this year. Talks of a large debt offering made the rounds on Wall Street while BP CEO Tony Hayward was grilled by US regulators onCapitol Hill. While estimates as to how much oil is leaking into the Gulf each day, we've heard numerous and varied figures, however BP's Hayward suggested that the upper end of estimates could be now moving toward 80,000 barrels per day.
2. Moody's lowered its government bond ratings on Greece early this week, sending debt contagion-crazed investors running for the sidelines. The downgrade was all the way from A3 to Ba1, a four notch downgrade. Moody's said that the downgrade reflects Moody's view of the country's medium-term credit fundamentals.
3. On the earnings front: Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX) disappointed and Kroger (NYSE: KR) was mostly inline.
4. In the latest sign that the construction industry will not be the tip of the sword of the economic recovery, home building starts plunged last month to the lowest level since December, while building permits also dropped. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the construction of new homes dropped 10 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 593,000, while Aprils figure was revised down to 659,000. Economists had been estimating that housing starts would fall 3.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 648,000. The XHB fell more than 4% to end this week's trading session.
5. The NYSE announced that Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac(NYSE: FRE) will be delisted from the exchange this week, sending traders selling in droves.
6. The IPO for CBOE (Nasdaq: CBOE) opened this week, pricing at $29 and then jump over the $33 level on its first day of trading. The stock fell for the remainder of the week, but closed above $31 on Friday.
7. A plunge in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s index of regional manufacturing hit the U.S. stock market on Thursday, as the rate of manufacturing still grew in June but expanded at a slower pace than the prior month. The index showed a very sharp drop from 21.4 in May to 8 this month, a data point which sparked investor concerns about the state of the recovery. Manufacturing has been one of the leading components in the turnaround from the recession. Economists had expected the reading to show up at a much more robust level of 20.
8. Adding to downside in the housing market and housing stocks this week, theNational Association of Homebuilders released its monthly Housing Market Index for June. The reading came in at a meager 17, while the Street was looking for a reading of 21.
9. Shares of Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) finished this week's trading session up about 8% as traders cheered the company's decision to make a big bet on Bresnan Communications. Cablevision announced Monday that it has agreed to acquire mid-sized cable television provider Bresnan Communications for $1.37 billion.
10. Alternative energy stocks had a strong week given concerns related to the prospects for offshore drilling in the U.S. Solar stocks performed especially strong ahead of a speech by Obama mid-way through the week. The TAN ETF finished was rose 8% this week.
1. With costs related to the Gulf oil spill still rising and unknown, BP (NYSE: BP) announced this week several actions aimed at establishing an outline for how to address the now massive mess. First, with the aid of President Obama (although some will call it "forced"), BP set up a $20 billion escrow fund as a way to, more or less, catalog expenses related to the spill. Further, as was most expected last week, the company also suspended dividend payments for the rest of this year. Talks of a large debt offering made the rounds on Wall Street while BP CEO Tony Hayward was grilled by US regulators onCapitol Hill. While estimates as to how much oil is leaking into the Gulf each day, we've heard numerous and varied figures, however BP's Hayward suggested that the upper end of estimates could be now moving toward 80,000 barrels per day.
2. Moody's lowered its government bond ratings on Greece early this week, sending debt contagion-crazed investors running for the sidelines. The downgrade was all the way from A3 to Ba1, a four notch downgrade. Moody's said that the downgrade reflects Moody's view of the country's medium-term credit fundamentals.
3. On the earnings front: Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX) disappointed and Kroger (NYSE: KR) was mostly inline.
4. In the latest sign that the construction industry will not be the tip of the sword of the economic recovery, home building starts plunged last month to the lowest level since December, while building permits also dropped. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the construction of new homes dropped 10 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 593,000, while Aprils figure was revised down to 659,000. Economists had been estimating that housing starts would fall 3.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 648,000. The XHB fell more than 4% to end this week's trading session.
5. The NYSE announced that Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac(NYSE: FRE) will be delisted from the exchange this week, sending traders selling in droves.
6. The IPO for CBOE (Nasdaq: CBOE) opened this week, pricing at $29 and then jump over the $33 level on its first day of trading. The stock fell for the remainder of the week, but closed above $31 on Friday.
7. A plunge in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s index of regional manufacturing hit the U.S. stock market on Thursday, as the rate of manufacturing still grew in June but expanded at a slower pace than the prior month. The index showed a very sharp drop from 21.4 in May to 8 this month, a data point which sparked investor concerns about the state of the recovery. Manufacturing has been one of the leading components in the turnaround from the recession. Economists had expected the reading to show up at a much more robust level of 20.
8. Adding to downside in the housing market and housing stocks this week, theNational Association of Homebuilders released its monthly Housing Market Index for June. The reading came in at a meager 17, while the Street was looking for a reading of 21.
9. Shares of Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) finished this week's trading session up about 8% as traders cheered the company's decision to make a big bet on Bresnan Communications. Cablevision announced Monday that it has agreed to acquire mid-sized cable television provider Bresnan Communications for $1.37 billion.
10. Alternative energy stocks had a strong week given concerns related to the prospects for offshore drilling in the U.S. Solar stocks performed especially strong ahead of a speech by Obama mid-way through the week. The TAN ETF finished was rose 8% this week.
No comments:
Post a Comment