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(10/23/00 5:26am)
This week, a number of oil-related companies are expected to deliver earnings, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Sunoco. Numerous technology companies -- including Compaq, WorldCom, Amazon, Lucent and AT&T -- will also be reporting earnings. If these companies provide positive guidance to investors, it could be another week of gains on Wall Street.\nLast Week\nThe NASDAQ closed up Friday 64.36 to 3482.96 and ended the week on a positive note as investors regained confidence in technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also ended in positive territory, closing up 83.61 points to 10226.59. The Dow ended the week with a small gain and the NASDAQ finished up 5 percent, but both markets are still down over 10 percent on the year.\n"I'm very impressed by the follow-through on the NASDAQ," Erik Gustafson, a senior portfolio manager for Stein Roe & Farnham, told the Wall Street Journal. "That shows me, No. 1, that there is some interest in tech stocks … No. 2, I think this is a clear sign that some of the massive tax-related selling in the mutual-fund complex is coming to an end. But we're not out of the woods yet."\nStock News\nMicrosoft released earnings of 46 cents a share Oct. 18. Analysts were expecting the company to earn 41 cents a share, according to First Call/Thompson Financial. \n"In general, we feel good about the quarter. We came in with net revenue slightly higher than we expected, and net expenses were slightly lower, so our earnings per share got a bump in the quarter that was greater than what was probably expected," Chief Financial Officer John Connors said.\nIntel released earnings that exceeded analysts lowered expectations. According to Reuters, Intel warned on Sept. 24 that it would not meet sales expectations because of an overly aggressive forecast in Europe. Analysts also noted that Intel's main rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., has been gaining market share. \nCircuit City disappointed investors Oct. 20 as the company released it would post a third quarter loss. \n"Although we had anticipated modest sales disruption related to our exit from the appliance business and the partial remodel of all stores, sales have softened significantly in virtually all product categories, including those not affected by the remodeling process," Alan McCollough, president and chief executive of Circuit City Stores Inc., said in a statement. \nCoca-Cola announced earnings of43 cents a share, beating forecasts of 41 cents a share, according to First Call/Thompson. Coca-Cola released strong numbers for this quarter, but announced that if the euro does not improve, profits in 2001 will suffer.\nFinal Note\nLast week's technology rally could spill over to this week if earnings appear strong. Investors are also interested in the guidance companies provide for future growth. The market will continue to monitor tension in the Middle East and the upcoming presidential election.
(10/09/00 6:40am)
This week, a number of companies will release their third-quarter earnings. Those earnings appear to be strong, but Wall Street is more interested in the guidance companies release for following quarters. After last week's large losses, investors are interested in future growth. If companies announce sales will be slowing, investors could punish them.\nA number of high-profile companies will release earnings this week including General Electric, Yahoo!, Motorola and General Motors. Investors will also be looking at the earnings of technology companies Juniper Networks, Veritas Software and Redback Networks.\nTechnology Stocks Pull Nasdaq Down\nLast week, both the Dow and Nasdaq experienced heavy selling. The Dow closed down 128.38 at 10596.54 Friday. The Nasdaq ended the week at 3361.04, down 111.06. The Nasdaq had a week that many investors would like to forget -- dropping 8.5 percent.\nThe Nasdaq is now down more than 17 percent this year. Investors have been selling technology stocks in the past weeks after receiving earnings warnings from several companies. \n"The market is at a very tenuous state that doesn't really handle any news well -- good or bad," Jefferies & Co.'s chief market analyst Art Hogan told MSNBC.\nStock News\nAfter the close of trading Friday, Electronic Data Systems was awarded the largest government information technology contract ever. The contract appears to be worth more than $6.9 billion dollars, according to Reuters.\nIn other stock news, Dell and Xerox warned they would not meet earnings expectations. Dell announced sales would be soft and trading is nearing a two-year low. Xerox has had major trouble recently and announced it expected a third-quarter loss. \nWall Street was looking for a profit from the company, according to Reuters. \nIn acquisition news, General Motors is attempting to buy troubled car maker Daewoo Motor. Ford withdrew its bid to buy Daewoo in September, saying the company had too much debt. \n"There's a lot of anxiety on Wall Street whether this deal makes sense. We think there are cases where it does make sense," GM chief executive officer Richard Wagoner told Reuters. \nFinal Notes\nThe tone of the market will depend on the earnings released this week. If earnings are strong and investors feel the economy is not slowing, the market could turn positive. If earnings are weak and investors feel the economy is slowing, the market will likely see more selling.
(10/03/00 11:07pm)
Monster.com\nMonster.com has a searchable database of more than 450,000 jobs. The site is easy to navigate, and users are encouraged to post their resumes. The site boasts 2,000 pages of resumes, career advice and salary information. The site also features interactive communities and ongoing discussions.\nMonster.com is a well-designed site, but the main page seems a bit overloaded. Searching through the job database, it became apparent that most of the jobs listed were not for college students. A majority of the jobs were looking for someone with at least two years experience. For college students, the site offers lots of advice to help find an internship, but few openings.
(10/02/00 3:37am)
This week, the Federal Reserve will meet and make a statement about interest rates and inflation. \n"This meeting is going to be pretty boring," Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo & Co., told msnbc.com. "They likely will put more emphasis on inflation, especially because of the price of oil going up significantly." \nNormally, the market is quite interested in anything the Fed does, but investors believe the upcoming meeting is a nonevent. The Fed has increased interest rates six times in the past year, but has left rates untouched since May, according to MSNBC. \nInvestors appear to be more interested in the health of third-quarter earnings. Earnings are expected to be strong for most large companies, but a small number of companies released warnings in the past weeks. These warnings caused investors to fear the rapid growth and believe that spending might be coming to an end.\nSeptember ends poorly for Dow, Nasdaq\nSeptember ended on a negative note as the markets closed sharply. Friday, the Dow was down 173.14 to close at 10650.92. Overall for the month, the Dow ended down 5 percent. In September 1999, the Dow gained 6.6 percent. The Nasdaq also experienced heavy selling, closing at 3672.82, down 105.5. The Nasdaq suffered greater losses than the Dow this month, losing 12.7 percent. Last year, the Nasdaq gained 11.7 percent in September.\nStock News\nLast week, Apple Computer and Eastman Kodak both warned investors they would fall short of earnings expectations. Kodak, a Dow component, announced its earnings would be 20 to 25 cents below forecast, Sept. 25. The top U.S. photo film maker blamed the problem on weak sales. According to Reuters, Kodak is struggling to redefine itself in a digital age. Thursday, Apple Computer announced it would fail to meet earnings as well. The next day, Apple's stock was down 52 percent. Apple is blaming its problems on slower-than-expected sales and a sell-off in computer related issues, according to Reuters. Other companies announcing they will miss earnings included Caterpillar and Priceline.com. \nFinal notes\nOil prices declined last week and the euro seemed to stabilize, but warnings from companies seemed to drown out the bullish news. The market might have to wait for positive news to come from companies, who will begin releasing earnings in the middle of the month. Investors will be anxious to hear companies forward earnings guidance. If companies project a decline in revenues, investors might start to fear an economic slowdown.
(09/25/00 7:05am)
Many students are taking advantage of online brokerage accounts. Most online brokerages offer low commission trades and the ability to conduct research directly through the site. \nExperts say it's easier than ever to open an account with an online brokerage. At three popular brokerages -- E-trade, Charles Schwab and Ameritrade -- signing up for an account requires filling out a few short pages of information. At most sites, customers can transfer money online.\nSenior Todd Jerles, president of the Stock Market Club said, "the new market offers an exciting high-paced opportunity for young investors to make money."\nJunior David Dermenjian agreed. \n"Investing a few thousand dollars today will give students the opportunity to learn about the markets while not putting their entire financial stability at risk," he said.\nE-TRADE\nAccording to their Web site, opening an account on E-Trade requires an initial deposit of $1,000. Commission for trades with E-Trade is $19.95. Currently, the company is offering new customers 15 trades free of commission. \nCHARLES SCHWAB\nAccording to their Web site, Schwab has recently increased the minimum investment into an account to $5,000. The company is offering a hundred dollar promotion through Webcertificate.com for new customers signing up over the Web. A $29.95 commission for an Internet trade with Schwab is higher than the other three brokerages.\nAMERITRADE\nAccording to Ameritrade's Web site, accounts opened by Nov. 7 receive a month of commission free trades. That means students can buy and sell stocks for free. For $500, clients can get off the beach and trade stocks. Commission with Ameritrade is the cheapest of the three at $13. \nCompanies try to make online trading as simple as possible. Despite that, trading stocks involves risk. Before making any investment, it is important to determine exactly how much risk is involved, financial advisers say. \nMUTUAL FUNDS\nFinancial advisers say mutual funds may be one of the best ways to start investing for someone with little market knowledge. It's possible to purchase funds that specialize in certain areas such as technology or\ntelecommunications. Typically, mutual funds own a number of stocks and involve less risk than owning shares of an individual company. If one stock in the fund was to drop dramatically in price, then the fund would be affected, but the loss would be potentially limited. Many funds are also no-load, meaning that no commission is paid to enter and exit the fund. \nDIVIDEND RE-INVESTMENT PROGRAMS\nAnother option is dealing with Dividend Re-investment Programs or 'Drips'. These programs aim to invest in stocks which pay out a high dividend. The dividend is then used to purchase more shares of the stock. \nBuyandhold.com offers long-term investors many different dividend purchase programs. An account can be opened with $20 and trades cost $2.99, according to their Web site. Buyandhold.com is able to offer such low commissions because it only buys and sells stocks twice a day. \nAdditionally, Buyandhold.com gives customers the option of designating an amount of money to withdraw from their bank account and invest automatically each month. The feature allows people to make regular investments and build the amount of shares they own.\nStill, investors should realize stock prices fluctuate, and it is possible to loose money. Students must also understand investing requires research and an understanding of financial markets, but some have begun to play the market.
(09/25/00 7:04am)
Investors might feel a little more optimistic about the market this week. Third-quarter earnings are expected to be strong, and the Federal Reserve appears to have stopped raising interest rates for now. Investors might start picking up some stocks in the beaten-down technology sector, as the NASDAQ has been down nearly 10 percent in the past month. \nTraders should have more confidence this week, as many bearish factors appear to be improving.\nLast week the markets traded in a turbulent fashion, but didn't lose much ground. A Sept. 21 Intel earnings warning had many predicting an ugly end to the week. At first, it appeared the markets were in trouble with the NASDAQ down 214 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 100 points. Nonetheless, traders staged an impressive rally pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close up 81.85 at 10,847.37 Friday. The NASDAQ also bounced off its worst levels to close down 25.16 ending the week at 3803.71.\nUnited States Joins Europe\nInvestors got good news Sept. 22 when the United States joined central banks from Europe and Japan to help rescue the ailing euro. Confidence in the currency has been fading because the euro is down more than 25 percent from its opening level. \n"The main issue for central banks was not to strong-arm the currency higher, but to address negative sentiment and stop the decline from continuing," Lisa Finstrom, senior currency analyst at Salomon Smith Barney told MSNBC. The move to bail out the currency comes days before Denmark expects to vote to adopt the euro. \nPetroleum price falls\nAs the market closed Friday, oil prices fell 1.32 to close at 32.68. In what many are calling a political move, President Bill Clinton authorized the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the country's strategic petroleum reserves. The release attempts to increase supply and decrease prices. Still, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries president Ali Rodriguez predicts prices will fall, but only temporarily. \nNotable Stocks\nSept. 21, Intel issued an earnings warning, announcing it would be short of expectations. The company blamed the problem on weak demand in Europe. Hewlett-Packard announced it would purchase $1 billion of its own stock. Earlier last week, the company announced it was attempting to purchase the consulting division of PricewaterhouseCoopers. \nStock news\nIn other market news, AOL and Time Warner have submitted concessions to European antitrust regulators, according to The Washington Post. The companies hope to win approval for their multi-billion dollar merger. Many competitors worry the combined company will be able to discriminate online content.
(09/18/00 5:01am)
This week, investors might start bargain hunting, picking up stocks that have declined six in value. But the market is approaching a time when companies report they will be unable to meet their expected earnings. Investors fear rising energy costs and a weak Euro will have a negative impact on companies. \nLast week, consumer prices fell for the first time in 14 years as the consumer price index fell 0.1 percent. The CPI was a bullish sign for traders, but it was unable to calm investor fears. Worries about earnings and valuations seemed to plague the NASDAQ and Dow Jones Industrial Average all week. \nThe NASDAQ ended the week at 3865.23 closing down 78.62. During the past two weeks the index has been down nearly 10 percent. The DJIA also endured losses Friday, closing down 160.47 at 10927. Volume was very heavy because of a simultaneous expiration of futures, options on stocks and options on stock indexes.\nPetroleum concerns\nThe market also seemed to be worried about the effect of energy prices. Crude oil is now at $36 a barrel, a 10-year high. Last week, the Organization of Petroleum Countries agreed to increase oil production by 800,000 barrels a day, but energy prices are still increasing as tension between Iraq and Kuwait are threatening supply. \nThursday, Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing from its oil fields and warned it would take action, according to the Wall Street Journal's Web site. In addition, traders fear Hurricane Gordon will stop production in the Gulf of Mexico. Iraq's accusations, joined with the threat of a hurricane, have analysts predicting prices will continue to rise, economists at Goldman Sachs said.\nNotable stocks\nChase Manhattan announced Wednesday, it would acquire J.P. Morgan in a deal valued around $36 billion. The combined financial giant would have $675 billion in assets. Ford announced it would abandon its plans to purchase troubled Daewoo Motor Co. Ford also announced it would be buying back up to $5 billion of its stock.\nStock news\nDow component Exxon Mobil reached a new 52-week high, while Oracle, Nike and Adobe reported earnings which beat Wall Street estimates. Companies reporting earnings this week include Jabil Circuit, Goldman Sachs, Circuit City and FedEx Corp.\nLast week, McDonald's was one of the first companies to announce its earnings would be lower because of the devaluation of weak foreign currency compared to the U.S. dollar. The financial sector could also see some selling as the sector made strong gains because of consolidation speculation. Economic data released last week appears to show that the economy is cooling off, but if investors fear an economic slowdown, it could be a rough week on Wall Street.