Insights

European stock markets generally finished up more than 1% today. US stocks were down for most of the day after the disappointing manufacturing report but finished slightly higher. Bonds were up today after being down Friday. Natural gas was up 0.3% while oil lost over...

The worldwide slowdown is affecting US manufaturing which was reported today as very slightly contracting last month. An equivalent report came out for Europe earlier today. That leave economic growth up to the consumer, whose spending is up about 2.5% over the last...

According to CNBC, "It was also agreed that a single supervisory body for euro zone banks, housed under the European Central Bank, would be created by year's end—much faster than previously envisaged." Future bailouts will not come with austerity measures, a nod to...

The Supreme Court announced its decision on Obamacare today with Chief Justice Roberts writing the opinion. Roberts, not Kennedy sided with the liberal wing of the court in upholding the mandate and a penalty for people who do not buy health insurance. Hospital...

Thursday is the day we will probably hear the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare which have a big impact on businesses, individuals and government. A recent rumor by Justice Ginsberg that they were very divided over the issue means it will likely be aq 5-4 decision...

Italian and Spanish yields continue to rise. This was a problem a few months ago and with all the news about the European recession and Spain's troubles with its undercapitalized banks, contagion is back in the news. This probably had a lot to do with the fall in...

The Case-Schiller composite index of housing prices in 20 major metropolitan areas came out today and was higher for the 3rd month in a row, up about 1.2% if you strip out the seasonal adjustment. Prices were still about 2% lower than last April but it is encouraging...

US stocks bounced today after yesterday's big decline but as is usual got back only a small portion of yesterday's drop. The S&P 500 index was up 0.72% today, gold was up 0.4% while natural gas gained 1.9%. Oil was up 2%+ and bonds were slightly down. European debt...

The U.S. stock market as measured by the S&P 500 index lost 2.23% today which is really just a give-back of the runup on Tuesday in anticipation of the Fed meeting which yielded nothing of substance. That is a pretty normal pattern for trading around a Federal Reserve...

According to CNBC, an industry survey by Markit showed that, "U.S. 'flash' manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to 52.9 from 54.0 in May. The June reading was the lowest since last July although it stayed above 50, indicating expansion in activity." New claims...