THE MARKETS Another roller coaster week saw stocks finish in negative ground for the fifth week in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below its July low on Wednesday as it closed at 7683.13. This marked the lowest level for the Dow since October 1st, 1998. The NASDAQ, which closed below its July [...]

THE MARKETS A deluge of bad corporate and economic news sent stocks reeling as both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ ended the week in negative territory. The Dow (which was down on four of the five trading days) closed below 8000 on both Thursday and Friday. This marked the first time that [...]

THE MARKETS With the memory of 9/11 in the background, traders shifted their attention last week to the possibility of a war with Iraq. On Wednesday the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared above its 50-day moving average, 8613, as the high for the day touched 8726. Closing above this average would have been a positive [...]

THE MARKETS The markets entered the month of September with a bang as both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ took it on the chin. Tuesday’s sell off left the Dow down 355.45 points (-4.1%) while the NASDAQ dropped 51.01 points (-3.8%). Tuesday’s drubbing set the stage for a seesaw week. On Wednesday [...]

THE MARKETS I find some recent market statistics to be encouraging. Corporate executives appear to be more optimistic on their own companies as the insider trading data for the week ended August 16 showed a parity of sales to purchases. In addition, margin debt fell 6.9% in July, a significant drop, to the lowest level [...]