As I noted earlier, Wynn Resorts (WYNN) was hit with a downgrade this morning…(Read More)

The opening bell has rung and here is what I see…Pre-open stock futures suggested an upside bias and the regular session has continued that theme…(Read More)

Here are some of the contenders for today’s biggest…news…of…the…day…  A report that says insider buying has surged…Word that Google’s (GOOG) CFO, George Reyes, is planning on retiring…Some concerns that Home Depot’s (HD) sale of its construction supply business means it “is dumping its best hope for future growth”…Upbeat comments from Big Lots Inc…(Read More)

We head toward the bell with stock futures still pointing to an upside bias…the S&Ps are eight and a half points above fair value…gold is up 2.30…Here are a few of the analyst upgrades and downgrades that I thought were worth noting this morning…Upgrades AutoZone (AZO) Marvel Enterprises (MVL) Scientific Games (SGMS) Molson Coors Brewing (TAP)Downgrades Align Technology (ALGN) Bear Stearns (BSC) PDL BioPharma (PDLI) [multiple] Papa John’s (PZZA) Sonic (SONC) Wynn Resorts (WYNN) …(Read More)

Here are the results for today’s unusual stock volume scan. The scan looks at the previous day’s volume and compares it to the recent average volume…(Read More)

Good morning everyone – welcome to the middle of the trading week where we find stock futures bouncing back after yesterday’s brutal selling…The S&Ps are nine points above fair value…(Read More)

Earlier I noted that the market failed to see a bounce after the FOMC minutes…(Read More)

The FOMC minutes hit the wires at 2 PM and the Street has now had a chance to digest the news…(Read More)

We head into the second half of the session with selling pressure still weighing on the market…  The S&P 500 (SPX) has bounced off its worst levels of the session but is still showing a loss that exceeds one percent…(Read More)

The opening bell has rung and here is what I see…We are an hour into the action and there is a definite downside bias…(Read More)

Here are some of the contenders for today’s biggest…news…of…the…day…  Data on home prices which showed “the largest decline ever in the 20-year history of the Case-Shiller home price index”…Word that Merrill Lynch (MER) has downgraded Citigroup (C), Lehman Brothers (LEH), and Bear Stearns (BSC)…A report that says credit card defaults by American consumers are rising…A denial from Barclays (BCS) “that failed debt vehicles structured by its investment banking arm had left it with an exposure worth hundreds of millions of dollars”…The commotion surrounding efforts to unlock Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and free it from AT&T’s (T) network…this has been spurred on after it was announced that 17-year-old George Hotz will trade his unlocked iPhone for a Nissan 350Z and three new iPhones…Expectations that the market will retest its recent lows…The acquisition of PolyMedica (PLMD) by Medco Health Solutions (MHS)…While those are all stories worth watching, I think it is obviously clear that the biggest story is this – Fried foods rule Texas fair contest…according to the article, “The entries in this year’s Big Tex Choice Awards…are Deep Fried Lattes for a morning jump-start, plus fried chili pie, fried guacamole, and a range of crispy desserts including Fried Cookie Dough”…While some may be disappointed that there doesn’t appear to be another “Fried Coke” in this year’s offerings, how could you turn down “a fried pastry topped with cappuccino ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream and instant coffee powder”? Of course, as the inventors alludes to, this isn’t health food – “We have gained about 10 pounds trying this…(Read More)

We head toward the bell with stock futures weakening and sitting at their worst levels of the overnight session…the S&Ps are eight points below fair value…gold is down 2.20…Here are a few of the analyst upgrades and downgrades that I thought were worth noting this morning…Upgrades Callaway Golf (ELY) Gap Inc (GPS) OSI Pharm (OSIP) ValueClick (VCLK)Downgrades Bear Stearns (BSC) Citigroup (C) DTE Energy (DTE) Lehman Brothers (LEH) Mentor Graphics (MENT) Maxim Integrated (MXIM)…(Read More)