What started out as a "flat" day on Wall Street ended up with a bang. Oil fell to $49.72 per barrel, and stocks took off on the news. We almost made up what we lost on the Dow yesterday, posting a gain of 122.14. This was a gain of more than 1% on the day. NASDAQ finished up 17.47 points, percentage-wise, a little behind the big boys. What a nice send-off for the weekend. Let's hope the roll continues next week. Have a great weekend!

TGIF

"... said Scott Di Valerio, corporate vice president and corporate controller at Microsoft. 'Given our optimism about the future with our strong product pipeline and the growth opportunities from our investments in innovative products and services, we expect increased revenue growth in fiscal 2006.' And that's how Friday began, with tech stocks showing signs of life. April has seen three double digit down days on the Dow, and the hope is that markets will settle down and get back to business. The last half of 2005 is what I am eyeing as I watch for technology to finally take off again. The markets have greeted Microsoft's news without much fanfare, as things look flat this morning. On a local note, Belk's (a privately owned retailer) has agreed to purchase McRae's from Sak's. Should be interesting to see how this plays out in the Southeast.

Thursday's Close

It seems to have been rainy and stormy around here 75% of the time these past few weeks. But, much to my surprise, the weather was absolutely beautiful today...if only I could say the same about the NASDAQ. The NASDAQ closed at 1,904.18, its lowest close this year. The DOW is down 128.43 points to 10,070.37, and the S&P 500 also finished down at 1,143.03. The slow down in economic growth and the disappointing GDP numbers contributed to the downturn of the market today. As April comes to a close and these numbers become "historical data", I keep in mind the old saying, April showers bring May flowers...

Thursday's Update

Oil prices dropped below $50 per barrel this morning... good news, you would think. Despite this, markets fell this morning. Exxon had great news on the earnings front, but other companies faltered. Bristol Myers Squibb's earnings fell as they face competition on some of their fronts. Daimler Chrysler also saw an earnings decline. Procter and Gamble, on the other hand, saw an increase of 13% and boosted their projections for the year. It's a mixed bag today. It all comes down to the GDP numbers, the lowest in 2 years. Stay tuned for further developments.

Wednesday Wrap-Up

The talk on Wall Street... The disappointing durable-goods report this morning caused the markets to drop, but they rallied late and held on to finish up, despite being off the highs of the day. Some credit the turn around of the market today to the big drop in crude oil. The 2.59 drop (to 51.61 a barrel) is the talk from Wall Street to Washington. DOW 10,199.31 - up 48.18 NASDAQ 1,930.43 - up 2.99 S&P 500 1,156.38 - up 4.65

Mid-Week Doldrums

The market has been like a yo-yo lately, bouncing up and down, mainly with the price of oil. Today, prices per barrel fell about $1, helping to stem concerns about the impact on oil-driven stocks. As we head into summer, expect more pressure on oil prices as demand heats up. We'll all be hitting the road, and this will squeeze prices, despite the best efforts of the Saudis. If you're looking for the best place to fuel up, go to http://www.fuelmeup.com. Durable goods orders dropped, causing some ripples as we look for big business (and consumers) to commit to big purchases. Everyone seems a little hesitant right now, and I believe that goes back to oil prices and overseas concerns. Remember, the market doesn't like uncertainty. Check out The Wall Street Journal every day for the latest. Sony announced earnings, and they didn't look good. This Japanese company took the unusual step of hiring a Western CEO recently. They hope new ideas on marketing will help pull them out of the doldrums. If East meets West in a good way, this stock should see better times ahead. They still have a good product.