Wednesday Morning Headline

There is big talk this morning that caused GM stock to go up $2.53 a share as the markets opened. Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. has put an offer on the table to buy 28 million shares of GM @ $31 a share. We will have to just wait and see how this will play out for General Motors and investors as a whole.

More Tuesday News

Today, as expected, the Fed raised the federal-funds rate a quarter point. The rate, at 3%, is higher than it's been in 4 years, but still relatively low when you look at historical numbers. How did this effect the markets? The DOW and the NASDAQ were up 5.25 points to 10,256.95 and 4.42 points to 1,993.07, respectively. The S&P 500 fell only slightly to 1,161.17. In news closer to home... Welcome to the Magnolia State, President Bush. President Bush was at the Nissan plant in Canton today. He gave a little lunchtime talk on Social Security and his plan to "fix" it. I hear, he also caused quite the traffic jam on I-55!

Tuesday, aka Fed Meeting Day

Markets are waiting for an announcement by the Federal Reserve Bank on the direction of interest rates. That should come around 2:15 eastern time. Expect to see a bump up. That's what Wall Street is thinking will happen. No surpise in an increase, but the Street will want to hear from Mr. Greenspan on direction in the future. If Greenspan indicates a hesitancy to continue raising rates, stocks should respond positively. When Alan Greenspan talks, trust me, people listen. The latest on the MCI bidding war has Verizon as the winner. Is it over yet? I think we need to wait for the ink to dry on this one before we declare a winner. I'm starting to feel like I'm watching a tennis match.

Monday Wrap-Up

Monday turned out to be a good day on Wall Street. The Dow finished the day up 59.19 points, while NASDAQ gained 7 points. Verizon is back on top in the fight for MCI, as the board approved a $26 per share offer. Oil prices eased over $50 per barrel to finish the day at $50.92, but the increase did not dampen the start of the May week. Meanwhile, my husband has been calling all day to report gasoline prices on his travels. He's such a romantic!

Monday May Not Be So Bad

The markets are continuing their upswing as oil prices continue to slide. MCI is still up for grabs. Just when it looked like Qwest had won the war, Verizon jumped back in the game. After a stock market scandal, bankruptcy, and a tenuous outlook for telecommunications, MCI must still have value. Another company on the block is the high-end retailer, Nieman Marcus. Last week, McRae's, this week NM. AIG keeps the bad news coming, and investors continue to run for the exits on this one. As for the broader market, let's hope this good Monday morning doesn't give way to the Monday morning blues. The market may be awake, but, right now, I just need another cup of coffee!