Commodities Top Stories

Stocks Positive guidance from tech bellwether IBM triggered huge gains among global tech shares on Tuesday. The optimism than carried over to broader market as major equity indexes were all very much in the green. IBM shares rallied nearly $10 to close at 185.21 after it raised its full year earnings forecast to $12.87/share. Following IBM, the NAsdaq1 gained 2.22% to 2826, while the S&P 500 and Dow 30 each rallied by 1.6%. Over in Europe, the CAC 40 and DAX were each up around 1.2% while the FTSE added 37 points to 5790. Also higher was Coca Cola which added $2.20 and closed at a 10 year high of 69.32. Looking ahead to Wednesday, tech shares are expected to continue leading the markets, as traders respond to after the close earnings reports from both Apple Computers and Yahoo. Commodities After ten straight winning sessions, prices of Gold finally headed lower today as risk buying caused traders to sell the precious metal. As such,...

Equities Asian markets closed moderately lower, on light volume. The Kospi fell .7% weighed down by memory chip makers, as Hynix slumped 4.4%. The Shanghai Composite ticked down .1%, and the Hang Send slipped .3%, while the ASX 200 closed flat. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday, contributing to the light volume. Selling pressure picked up in Europe, as concerns over Greece remained in focus. The CAC40 sank 2%, while the FTSE and DAX both dropped 1.6%. Italian banks tumbled, and European banking sector fell 3.1%. France's CAC40 Drops to New Low for the Year US markets fared slightly better, but still closed down. The Dow fell 95 points to 12385, the S&P dropped 11 points to 1305.50, and the Nasdaq slid .9%. Apple was a bright spot amongst stocks, gaining 2.4% after JPMorgan significantly raised it earnings estimate. Netflix skidded 2.8% after being downgraded by Pacific Crest Securities, and LinkedIn tumbled nearly 7% after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to neutral. The ongoing phone hacking...

Equities Asian markets closed mostly higher. The Nikkei rose .4% to 9974, and the Kospi climbed .7%, even as the Bank of Korea lowered its growth outlook, and raised inflation expectations. China’s Shanghai Composite rose .4% to a 6 week high, but the Hang Seng slid .3%, leaving it down 3.8% for the week. In Europe, the major markets slid ahead of the release of stress test results for the region’s banks. The CAC40 dropped .7%, and markets in Spain and Italy fell more than 1%. The DAX managed a slight gain, rising fractionally to 7220. The Nasdaq led US markets higher, rallying 1% to 2790, buoyed by Google which soared 13% on strong earnings. The Dow advanced 43 points to 12480, and the S&P 500 rose .6% to 1316. Citigroup shares slid 1.6%, despite strong profits. 8 European banks failed stress tests, raising investor concern over financial shares. Mining giant, BHP Billiton, announced it is buying Petrohawk Energy for $12.1 billion, sending Petrohawk’s shares...

If you’re like many of us, you may be wondering when people are going to stop uttering the phrase “In this economy, … ”. Since the world’s financial system took a turn for the worst in 2007, this saying has been used time and time again by countless people. In fact, it is the underlying sentiment that contributed to U.S. regulators drafting the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010 (“Dodd Frank” or “Act”). Dodd Frank, for those of you who don’t know, is a massive financial legislation intended to prevent a future financial Armageddon. In drafting the Act, a great deal of time was spent paving the way for the eventual regulation of over-the-counter (“OTC”) financial derivatives; a purportedly large contributor to the world’s near financial collapse. In this regard, the intent of the U.S. Congress was undoubtedly to reign in what it saw to be reckless leverage within the financial system. However, in trying to capture all OTC...

Rising energy prices are making a serious dent on household budgets, adding to the pain of high inflation and higher utilities bills. The clear gainers in this scenario are energy companies and stocks of major players like Chevron and BP have been continuously trending upward. Investing in these securities would seem to be the most logical thing to do, but for the fact that the sector often witnesses high levels of volatility. One reason for this is that a large portion of the world’s oil reserves are located in relatively unstable nations. By holding widely diversified portfolios, mutual funds can greatly reduce the risks associated with investing in this sector. Below we will share with you 5 top rated energy mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) as we expect these mutual funds to outperform their peers in the future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all energy funds, then click here. Fidelity Select...