Traders-Blog.com

The Dow was down again today although other parts of the market did make a slight comeback. After falling 14.49 points, the Dow closed at 10,456.02. However, the Nasdaq rose 0.88 points to close at 1,990.22, while the S&P gained 0.82 point closing at 1,172.53.

In today’s after-hours trading, crude jumped to a new all-time high. Earlier today a deadly blast occurred in the nation’s third largest refinery, producing 435,000 barrels per day. April gasoline traded at 1.608 per gallon, a record high, while May crude traded at $54.31 per barrel.

Social Security left more bad news today as the Social Security programs trustees announced that the trust fund will have to cut benefits starting in 2041, a year earlier than the government expected. This is good news for the Bush administration as they try to push Social Security reform in the way of privatized accounts. According to Treasurey Secretary John Snow, “The numbers published today leave no question that Social Security reform is needed, and it is needed soon.”

In Starbucks efforts to join in the coffee liqueur business, they lost a major stockholder. PaxWorld Funds, a “socially-responsible” fund, announced that they have sold off their estimated $23.4 million investments in Starbucks over the last few months. Anita Green, PaxWorld’s vice-president of social research said, “We did ask them to reconsider. We felt it was not in line in with everything they say about themselves or their mission statement.” Starbucks, however, seems to feel that this new venture is highly lucrative, and according to reviews of the liqueur, they may be correct.

President Bush announced today that the United States will be signing a pact, the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, with Mexico and Canada encouraging greater cooperation in security and economic issues. The pact will help the leaders of these countries to plan better methods of security for both cargo and passengers, as well as provide methods through which the countries can work together to make North America even more of a leader in a variety of industries.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter