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It was a bad day for the market. The Dow fell 75.07 points, to close at 10,467.48. Also, the Nasdaq fell 7.51 points, to finish the session at 2,068.22. And, the S&P closed at 1,191.50, after falling 7.28 points. However, U.S. stocks posted solid gains in May, since the Nasdaq had its biggest best one-month performance since October 2003. The dollar gained against major global currencies, especially the euro.

Among Dow components, shares of American International Group traded down 1.5 percent to $55.55 after the company restated its earnings over the last five years. Also, Boeing Co. shares rallied 1.4 percent after the news that the U.S. administration will take a dispute with Europe to the World Trade Organization to talk about the unfair subsidies to rival Airbus.

A possible merger could occur in the online brokerage business between Ameritrade, and TD Waterhouse. The value of the transaction could be between $2 billion and $3 billion, according to the Financial Times report. Ameritrade’s stock ended up 3.3 percent at $14.86, while TD’s shares rose 2.9 percent to $42.53.

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP’s conviction for obstructing a government investigation into Enron Corp., dealing a “unanimous rebuke to the Bush administration’s corporate-fraud crackdown. The decision will have limited impact beyond Andersen, in large part because the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act supersedes the legal provisions at issue. The ruling overturns a $500,000 fine for the firm and may help Andersen’s former partners as they try to solve civil lawsuits.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
Guaranteed monthly gains of 8% or your money back.

U. S. stocks ended higher today. It was great news for investors that recovered confidence in the market before the three-day Memorial Day holiday. The Dow increased 4.95 points, to close at 10,542.55. Also, the Nasdaq rose 4.49 points, to close at 2,075.73. Meanwhile, the S&P closed at 1,198.78, after rising 1.16 points.

Pfizer Inc. said in a conference with the Food and Drug administration that Viagra users have not experienced great incidence of a form of blindness called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). After the news, the shares declined. On the New York Stock Exchange, Pfizer’s shares closed down 2 percent at $28.35.

Visteon Corp.’s shares jumped 31 cents, or 4.1 percent to close at $7.87 after Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, with a 12-month price target of $10. On the other hand, Delphi Corp’s stock, which was benefited from Visteon’s bull run, lost 19 cents, or 4.1 percent, to finish at $4.41 after Calyon Securities analyst Joseph Amaturo rated the stock to sell from neutral with a price target of $2.50.

Among components of the Dow, American International Group Inc. rose 1.2 percent to $56.40, this showed a 3 percent gain from the prior session. It looks like investors are very optimistic about the civil lawsuit with the giant insurer, as shares did not drop in value. According to Greenberg’s legal team, the insurer plans to “deny any fraudulent conduct, and vigorously defend the case”.

Crude oil rose for a fifth day due to gasoline’s demand, which reaches its peak from Memorial Day this weekend through Labor Day in early September. It climbed to 9.4 million barrels a day last week, reaching its highest peak this year. Crude oil for July delivery rose 84 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $51.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This rise in price reflects the highest close for the contract since May 11 of this year.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
Guaranteed monthly gains of 8% or your money back.

After investors got news about the GDP economic report, U.S stocks rose ending session higher. The Dow rose 79.80 points, to close at 10,537.60. Besides, both the Nasdaq, and the S&P posted gains. The Nasdaq closed at 2,071.24, after rising 21.07 points, while the S&P rose 7.61 points, to close at 1,197.62.

According to the Commerce Department, the U.S economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter. Besides, inflation was unrevised from the initial estimate. The personal consumption expenditure index rose 2.1 percent, while the core personal consumption expenditure price index rose 2.2 percent. But, business investment was revised to a 3.5 percent gain, compared with the initial estimate of a 4.7 percent rise. This is the slowest pace of investment since the first quarter of 2003 and is down sharply from a 14.5 percent rise in the fourth quarter.

Shares of American International Group (AIG) rose 3 percent to $55.71. Now, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued AIG claiming that the insurer used fraudulent transactions to manipulate its financial statements. Greenberg and Smith, both executives of AIG, were named as defendants in the civil complaint. But, the investigations precipitated the departure of Greenberg in March and forced the insurer to admit a series of accounting frauds that helped to artificially inflate its net worth by $2.7 billion.

Novel Inc., which sells network software and consulting services, dropped 45 cents to $5.83. But, the company said that it broke even in the second quarter on a per-share basis. Besides, Boston Scientific Corp. tumbled for a second day, retreating $1.30 to $28.16, marking the biggest drop in the S&P. The largest maker of heart stents reduced its 2005 earnings forecast because of high competition and high acquisition costs. On the other hand, Boeing Co. gained $1.54 to $62.99, since Indonesia’s PT Lion Mentari Airline announced that it will buy $3.9 billion worth of Boeing’s 737-model aircraft.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
Guaranteed monthly gains of 8% or your money back.

Today, U.S. stocks finished session low due to an increase in the price of oil, and also amid concerns of rising interest rates. The Dow fell 45.88 points, to close at 10,457.80. Also, the Nasdaq fell 11.50 points, to finish at 2,050.12. Meanwhile, the S&P closed at 1,190.01, after falling 4.06 points.

In a speech, Jack Guynn, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said that he believes that the current solid growth, and increase in business’ spending, suggests that the economy has “ample strength to withstand further removal of accommodative monetary policy”. He also said that, the Fed’s goal is to return rates to “a so-called neutral levels”, so growth can continue without an increase in inflation.

Crude oil for July delivery rose for a third day, climbing 2.6 percent to $50.98 a barrel in New York. Also, the Energy Department showed that inventories unexpectedly fell last week. The decline in U.S crude oil supplies was the first in five weeks. The U.S uses about 10 percent of the world’s oil output to make gasoline. Gasoline demands peaks between the Memorial Day holiday, and Labor Day early September. According to a survey, a record 37.2 million Americans will take trips during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, which shows an increase of 2.2 percent from the year 2004.

According to the Commerce Department, sales of new U.S houses remained almost unchanged in April, by only rising 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.316 million. On the other hand, the National Association of Realtors said that turnover of existing homes rose 4.5 percent to a record $7.18 million annual pace. In the past six months, sales have averaged a record 1.25 million annualized from last month.

Shares of Ford Motor Co. ended the session down 2 cents at $9.96 on the New York Stock Exchange. On the other hand, Visteon’s stock finished the session up 89 cents, at $7.16, after potential speculations of a deal with Ford. After the deal was announced, credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said that Ford’s debt rating, which was recently downgraded to junk, will not be affected by the deal. Nevertheless, Fitch ratings agency moved its outlook on Visteon to positive from negative.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
Guaranteed monthly gains of 8% or your money back.

U.S stocks finished session mixed. The Dow fell 19.88 points, to close at 10,503.68. However, the Nasdaq rose 4.97 points to close at 2,061.62. Meanwhile, the S&P rose 0.21 points to close at 1,194.07.

Shares of General Motors Corp. (GM), which is the world’s largest automaker, skidded after yet Fitch ratings downgraded its debt to “junk” status. GM’s stock closed down 90 cents at $31.69, still above billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian’s $31 per share tender offer for 28 million shares. Then, Fitch downgraded the senior unsecured ratings of General Motors, its financial unit GMAC, and the majority of affiliated entities to BB+ from BBB-. According to Fitch the downgrade was caused by increased competition, and a persistent slump in sales of SUV’s, which is a key source of profitability for top U.S automakers.

The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee revealed some positive new information by reporting that Fed officials were not worried about indicators released in April that suggested that the economy was slowing, since it was only “transitory”. Also, the minutes suggest that inflation remained the biggest concern for the central bankers. According to the minutes, the Fed staff forecast inflation would edge lower over the rest of the year and into 2006.

Shares of Network Appliances Corp. (NTAP) fell to $28.53 after the company reported a fourth quarter profit of 16 cents a share on revenue of $451.8 million. Network Appliances earned $66.6 million, or 17 cents per share. For the current quarter, the company said expects pro forma earnings of 17 or 18 cents per share. And, analysts had forecast earnings of 18 cents per share on revenue of $473.3 million.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
Guaranteed monthly gains of 8% or your money back.

U.S. stocks ended higher today, mainly due to a surge in Google shares, and reports that Apple computer, Inc. may begin using Intel Corp. chips in its Macintosh computers.The Dow rose 51.65 points, to close at 10,523.56. Besides, the Nasdaq, posted gains, and the S&P is at a two month high. The Nasdaq rose 10.23 points, to close at 2,056.65. While, the S&P increased to 1,193.86, after rising 4.58 points.

A gauge of industrial shares increased 1 percent, which accounted to almost a fifth of the S&P’s advance. 3M, which is the maker of 55,000 products that include Post-it notes software, added $1.47 to $78.53. Besides, United Technologies Corp., the maker of jet engines and air conditioners, jumped $2.49 to $107.64, showing a record high.

Besides, Wal-Mart climbed 67 cents to $47.85. This increase was due to an increase in May sales, which rose as much as 4 percent, since shoppers spent more on foods. Sales climbed 3.1 percent in the quarter ended April 30. And, Target Corp., the second discount chain, added 25 cents to $52.14. According to Target, sales this month are rising at the high end of its forecast for a 3 percent to a 5 percent increase at stores open at least for one year.

Intel Corp. shares rose 0.6 percent, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple Computer Inc. is considering using Intel chips in its Macintosh computer line. Also, Apple Computer Inc. rallied $2.21 to $39.76. Adopting Intel Corp’s chips would allow Apple to develop Macintosh systems that could match the performance and lower prices of products from rivals such as Dell Inc.

Finally, shares of Google Inc., jumped 5.7 percent to $255.53 amid speculations that it may be added to the S&P index. Until last week, Google was still underweighted by institutions. While the percentage ownership by the top 10 institutional investors rose from 8 percent last September, to 20 percent in December, it is still lower than that of Yahoo, at 34 percent, of eBay, at 27 percent, and of Amazon.com, at 52 percent.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
Guaranteed monthly gains of 8% or your money back.

U.S stocks ended mixed today, but overall the market showed strong gains for this week, since November. This improvement in the market might be caused by a decrease in oil prices, plus investors’ optimism. The Dow fell 21.28 points, to close at 10,471.91. However, the S&P increased 1.80 points, to close at 1,189.28. The S&P index closed at 1,189.28 instead, after falling 1.80 points.

In a response to a question of houses’ prices, Alan Greenspan said that he does “not perceive that there is a national bubble, but it is hard not to see that there are a lot of local bubbles”. For instance, in the San Francisco Bay area, which is the nation’s most expensive region for homes, the medium price of a house was $689,200. Meanwhile, in the price of the house in Florida was $275,000 in 2004. Earlier this week, the Fed warned banks that they should tighten controls on home equity loans that sometimes are even offered to borrowers without documentation.

A New York grand jury is considering possible criminal charges in a probe of American International Group Inc. (AIG). Attorney General Spitzer, who is presenting evidence to the jury against AIG, said in April that he may pursue criminal or civil charges against Greenberg, who ran AIG for almost four decades. Correcting the accounting errors made by the AIG will reduce AIG’s shareholders by $2.7 billion, or about 3.3 percent.

Gap Inc., the nation’s largest apparel seller said it made $291 million, or 31 cents a share, in comparison to last year’s profit of $312 million, or 33 cents per share. However, today Gap Inc. lost 28 cents to close at $21.46. Besides, earnings fell to 31 cents a share from 33 cents a year earlier. And, the specialty retailer reported that same-stores sales were so sluggish that the quarter’s financial results fell to a loss.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
Guaranteed monthly gains of 8% or your money back.

Again, U.S stocks ended higher today. The Dow rose 28.74 points, to close at 10,493.19. Besides, the Nasdaq and the S&P posted gains. The Nasdaq rose 11.93 points, to close at 2,042.58, while the S&P rose 5.52 points, to close at 1,191.08.

America West Holdings Corp., and US Airways Group Inc. agreed to merge, in order to create a national low-fare carrier, with $1.5 billion in funding from investors, and vendors. The merger is also getting financial support from Airbus SAS, Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., among others. The airlines reported that the merger would occur after US Airways exits bankruptcy. Additional capital was needed because America West did not have enough cash to acquire U.S Airways on its own. But the agreement is not approved yet.

Among Dow components, DuPont and Alcoa Inc, were among the losers. DuPont fell 0.9 percent, to close at $47.61, after a report indicated that the company had received a subpoena from the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia for the production of documents related to chemicals used in nonstick pans, which might cause health problems. Anyhow, DuPont marketed Teflon in the past as “miracle material”, since it was introduced in the late 1950’s.

Also, Alcoa Inc. fell 0.7% to $27.67, after the maker of aluminum products announced that it plans to close a Kentucky auto-part castings plant by the end of the year. By closing the facility, 158 employees will be affected. Besides, Alcoa would take a pretax charge of $45 million to $50 million against second-quarter results.

However, General Motors Corp. was the biggest winners in the Dow, since it rose 3.6 percent, to close at $32.75, as investors took advantage of recent share-price weakness to snap up the stock. Nevertheless, in the last year shares of General Motors have fallen around 21 percent.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
Guaranteed monthly gains of 8% or your money back.

It was another day of gains for the market, as a consequence of an economic report which shows that the economy is growing. Besides, a drop in oil prices increased investors’ confidence. The Dow rose 132.57 points, to close at 10,464.45. Besides, both the Nasdaq, and the S&P posted gains. The Nasdaq rose 26.50 points, to close at 2,030.65, while the S&P closed at 1,185.56, after rising 11.76 points.

The 15th Juridical Circuit in West Palm Beach ordered Morgan Stanley to pay billionaire investor Ronald Perelman $850 million in punitive damages. Besides, on May 16th, jurors awarded Perelman $604.3 million in actual damages. In total, the combined verdict sums to $1.45 billion, which is a bit more than the $1.4 billion in profits reported this quarter by Morgan Stanley. Perelman, who owned 82 percent of Coleman Co., said that Morgan Stanley conspired with Sunbeam Corp. to mislead him about sales in 1997, and 1998 to get him to sell Coleman.

According to the Labor Department, the consumer-price index (CPI) increased 0.5 percent in April, which was driven by a 4.5 percent increase in energy prices. Besides, food prices rose 0.7 percent, but other price increases were moderate. This report reveals that although energy prices are rising, prices of other goods and services had not changed. The CPI is now up 3.5 percent in the past year, compared with 3.1 percent in March. On the other hand, the core CPI is up 2.2 percent in the past year, compared with 2.3 percent in March.

Crude oil for June delivery fell 3.5 percent to $47.25 a barrel in New York. This drop in price might be caused after the Energy Department showed that U.S oil inventories rose more than expected. Besides, total gasoline imports, including finished gasoline, and gasoline blending components, averaged 988,000 barrel per day.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
Guaranteed monthly gains of 8% or your money back.

U.S. stocks ended sharply higher today, after a government report raised the pressure on China to revalue the yan. The U.S Treasury said that China must stop pegging its currency to the dollar or “risk being accused of manipulating exchange rates. After this report, investors concluded that Congress might not introduce trade sanctions that could raise companies’ costs.

The Dow rose 79.59 points, to close at 10,331.88. Besides, the Nasdaq, and the S&P posted gains. The Nasdaq rose 9.72 points, to close at 2,004.15. Meanwhile, the S&P closed at 1,173.80, after rising 8.11 points.

Hewlett-Packard Co. announced that its second quarter earnings rose 9 percent. Although, at the same time, it reported a third-quarter earnings forecast that does not meet analysts’ expectations. For the quarter ended April 30, Hewlett-Packard reported net income of $966 million, or 33 cents a share on sales of $21.4 billion. Its shares rose 54 cents to close at $21.55. The company’s most profitable unit has been its printing business, but its profits and stock performance has lagged rivals such as Dell Inc, which reported a 28 percent gain in first-quarter profit, and a 16 percent increase in sales, last week.

According to the Labor Department, the U.S producer price index (PPI) increased a larger-than-expected 0.6 percent in April on higher energy prices. Excluding food and energy prices, the PPI for finished goods increased 0.3 percent on the month. In April, energy prices increased 2.1 percent, food prices rose 0.1 percent, and capital goods prices increased 0.2 percent. Economists expect that the Federal Open Market Committee will rise short-term rates by a quarter of a percentage point at the next two meetings, which means that the federal funds rate would increase to 3.5 percent for this summer.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
Guaranteed monthly gains of 8% or your money back.