Back to Work

Markets ended this Tuesday/Monday down. Consumer confidence was up, and there was no real negative news. Maybe, traders are still on vacation. It's the start of Summer, usually, a slow time for stocks. Dow -75.07 NASDAQ - 7.51 S&P 500 - 7.28 The biggest news of the day seems to be Paris Hilton's engagement... talk about a slow day!

Is It Monday or Tuesday?

It's a short week, with the passing of Memorial Day. It's always confusing to me to start my week on Tuesday. Of course, I love seeing Friday show up early! Markets are down today, but not drastically. Consumer confidence numbers are out, and they're better than expected. What difference does this make? When we consumers feel good about our prospects, we spend more money and companies earn more. It comes back to that old saying, "When Momma's happy, everybody's happy!" Meanwhile, the U.S. and China are still battling over underwear. The U.S. has imposed quotas on textile imports from China, and the Chinese are threatening to retaliate. This one really hits you where you live! Here's hoping the first week of June follows in May's footsteps.

The Long Weekend

Personal incomes are up, good news for the market. Along with this, we are, of course, spending more. The average savings rate for Americans, including debt repayments, is near zero! Don't save for tomorrow what you can spend today. Markets are flat this morning, as Wall Street prepares for a long holiday weekend and the beginning of Summer. Trading is usually light on the day before a holiday, so don't expect big moves. Have a fun and safe Memorial Day!

The gross domestic product rate for the first quarter of 2005 was revised today, stating the rate at 3.5%. That's not bad considering the ups and downs the first quarter brought. What this number shows is that the economy is not as bad off as some were thinking. This number was three tenths higher than the government expected, and the market reacted well to the news. DOW up 79.80 @ 10,537.60 NASDAQ up 21.12 @ 2,071.24 S&P up 7.61 @ 1,197.62

Wednesday's Wrap-Up

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced today that the crude oil inventory dropped by 1.6 million barrels last week. There's still plenty of oil...the stockpile is actually higher this year than years past, but this much of a decline was not expected and upon the release of that report, oil rose $1.31 to $50.98 a barrel. Stocks also reacted to the report and the market closed as follows: DOW down 45.88 @ 10,457.80 NASDAQ down 11.50 @ 2,050.12 S&P down 4.06 @ 1,190.01