Traders-Blog.com

U.S. stocks came near a three month low on all four major U.S. indexes. The Dow fell further again today, closing at 10,368.61 after falling 24.38 points; the Nasdaq ended close to its three month low when it closed at 2,008.70 after falling by 25.57 points; and the S&P closed at 1,163.75 down by 4.12 points. With rising energy costs and falling stocks, United States investors are becoming increasingly worried about the coming season.

With the Northeast trapped indoors by a major blizzard oil costs are rising as providers hope for similar weather throughout the rest of the winter; oil costs have risen to $49 per barrel, their highest level in almost two months. Although the oil companies are happy, U.S. stocks fell once again. Analysts are concerned that rising energy costs will have disturbing effects on upcoming earnings reports. Each time crude oil prices go up, the market seems to do badly, and analysts do not expect this time to be any different. However, if you are looking to buy some stocks at low prices, now may just be the time to do it; the market always seems to bounce back after the winter season ends.

On a difficult day, American Express Co., the fourth largest supplier of credit cards to the United States, had some good news to share. In the last quarter, their profits jumped 17%, the largest jump in the past two years. Their net income climbed to $896 million from $763 million a year earlier, consumers have been helping American Express Co. by charging more and more with each continuing year.

In other news, stock picker Anthony Elgindy was convicted of racketeering and fraud today. Elgindy was convicted for providing illegal tips from an FBI agent into trading profits by short-selling stocks of companies under government investigation. Jeffrey Royer, the FBI agent, was also convicted. Elgindy has been in jail since last April after he tried to take a flight to Phoenix, later connecting to San Diego, while carrying fake identification, $25,000 in cash and $40,000 worth of jewelry. For a while federal prosecutors suggested that Elgindy could have known about the 9/11 attacks in advance since he predicted a stock market collapse and began to sell stock from his children’s trust funds. With the trial over, Elgindy and Royer are facing possible maximum charges of 20 years in prison.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter