Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 73

Stocks surge in late rally, reversing Monday's rout

At the end of a wild day, U.S. stocks soared the most in two years, rebounding from yesterday's rout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 429.92, or 4 percent, to 11,239.80 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 53.07, or 4.7 percent, to 1,172.53 The late-session rally came on the heels of yesterday's 634-point [...]

Stocks pare gains as Fed dims economic outlook

(Updates market activity.) The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee, in an announcement this afternoon, predicted a longer and slower U.S. economic recovery than its previous forecast, causing stocks to erase earlier gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average  rose 131.76, or 1.2 percent, to 10,941.61 in recent trading,  and the  Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose [...]

Talking downgrade on Fox 26

Here's my appearance on Fox 26 last night discussing the Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt with Lance Roberts of Street Talk Advisors: S&P Downgrades Fannie and Freddie, US-Backed Debt: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

S&P's trail of failure, from Enron to America

Here in Houston, we know better than most how little Standard & Poor's credit ratings actually mean. As a rating agency, S&P — along with its counterparts Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Rating — function as sort of independent market police, alerting investors to risk. But S&P was blind to the risk building on Enron's [...]

Stocks surge as all eyes turn to the Fed

(Rewrites and updates throughout.) U.S. stocks battled back this morning from yesterday's rout, the sixth-worst decline in market history. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 220.62, or 2 percent, to 11,030.50 in late morning trading, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 29.52, or 2.6 percent,  to 1,148.98, after a wild overnight session that [...]

Stocks rise slightly as all eyes turn to the Fed

(Updates with the open of U.S. trading.) U.S. stocks are rising slightly in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67.66 to 10,877.51 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 5.24 to 1,125.50, after a wild overnight session that saw them swing 300 points in each direction. The fallout from S&P's credit downgrade [...]

Had enough of the market volatility? Of course not

That's why you'll want to tune into KRIV Fox 26 for their 9 p.m. newscast tonight. I'm scheduled to discuss  the Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt, today's market turmoil and other economic issues with Lance Roberts of Street Talk Advisors.

Poll: Who's to blame for the downgrade?

Late Friday, Standard & Poor's stripped the U.S. of its top-notch credit rating for the first time in history, sending global financial markets into turmoil and unleashing a worldwide debate over who's to blame. Some blame the unwillingness of Republicans to consider revenue increases to help close the budget deficit, others blame the Obama administration [...]

Market Liveblog: Stocks end beastly day down 6.66%

(I'll be liveblogging today's market events. Updates will come about every hour until the market closes.) 3:18 p.m. - The markets, mercifully, are now closed. The Dow fell 634.75, or 5.6 percent, to 10.809.85 and the S&P 500 tumbled 79.92, or 6.7 percent, to 1,119.46, its worst slump since 2008. It's rather eerie, but the [...]

Market Liveblog: Stocks fall at the open

(I'll be liveblogging today's market events. Updates will come about every hour until the market closes.) 11:29 a.m. - Dow: down 341.75 at 11,102.86. S&P 500: down 44.74 at 1,154.64. If you think you're safe from the downgrade because you own corporate bonds that are still rated triple-A, think again. As part of its sweeping [...]