There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 8131 and, on Monday, plunged 290 points.
- On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back 128 points.
- On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 83 points.
- On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70 points.
- On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 119 points and closed the week at 8076.
- The International Monetary Fund warned that the worst is yet to come for the global economy.
- Economies across the world are feeling the impact of the economic recession. Spain reports that its unemployment rate is at 17.4%, more than double the European Union average.
- During March, unemployment rates increased in 46 states. California’s unemployment rate reached 11.2% and North Carolina was close behind at 10.8%. Unemployment rates remained flat in Georgia, New York, and Rhode Island. Only North Dakota had a drop in unemployment rates.
- According to a recent study, 8 of the 20 best cities in which to find jobs are located in Texas.
- General Motors will cut 1,600 more workers in an effort to reduce costs.
- General Motors announced plans to close fifteen plants for nine weeks this summer. The company will essentially stop making trucks and cars from mid-May through July. The potential ripple effects of this action on the overall economy could be significant.
- Yahoo will lay off 700 more employees following a drop in profits.
- Oracle announced plans to acquire Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion.
- Wells Fargo’s first quarter profits reached $3 billion.
- Bank of America reported that net income in the first quarter of 2009 was $4.24 billion, well above analysts’ estimates.
- Bank of America announced that it was setting up a loan reserve of $6.4 billion to cover bad loans.
- JP Morgan Chase reported that banks will probably experience an additional $400 billion in losses in the months ahead.
- Drug company Eli Lilly announced that first quarter income was up 23% as a result of cost-cutting measures.
- MacDonald’s declared higher quarterly profits in the first quarter of 2009.
- Coca-Cola reported that first quarter profits fell 10%.
- Caterpillar posted its first quarterly loss in seventeen years.
- Merck’s first quarter profits were slightly below Wall Street estimates.
- UAL reported that United Airlines lost $382 million in the first quarter of 2009 as air traffic fell 13.2%. Meanwhile, Continental Airlines said it lost $136 million as air traffic dropped 11.2%.
- Federal regulators have now closed 29 federally insured banks this year.
- Morgan Stanley announced first quarter losses of $177 million. The losses were far greater than most analysts had projected.
- The costs of home, automobile and life insurance are rising rapidly as insurance companies due to volatile market conditions and lower investment revenues.
- Defaults on student loans are skyrocketing. Rising tuition costs, a poor job market, and drops in compensation are all contributing to make it more difficult for student borrowers to repay lenders.
- The four states hit the hardest by the foreclosure tsunami are California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida.
- During the first quarter of 2009, the ten largest recipients of the government”s financial bailout spent $9.5 million on federal lobbying. Taxpayer dollars at work?
- The federal government has almost twenty criminal investigations related to its $700 billion financial bailout.
- Small and mid-sized airports are experiencing the brunt of airline cutbacks caused by deteriorating economic conditions.
- In the last two months, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority seem to be uncovering multiple Ponzi schemes each week. Makes you wonder why they uncovered almost no Ponzi schemes in the previous decade.
- The California Attorney General has sued Wells Fargo to recover $1.5 billion associated with the firm’s sale of auction rate securities.
Page Perry’s Market Monitor is published periodically to give investors an overview of certain recent developments impacting the economy and/or the investment markets.