A winning week?
- Yes, stocks actually finished higher on Friday than their level of a week ago — by 2 whole points on the S&P 500 — but man, it didn’t really feel like it, did it? Volatility was the theme of the week, as two big swings higher on Monday and Thursday were offset by a bigtime drop on Tuesday and a decline on Friday that ended with a late rally to preserve the winning week. Nothing is even close to controlling the market like oil prices, which have risen almost 17% since Feb. 18. Considering that, it’s fairly incredible that stocks are still within 2% of their highs for 2011. The week also saw new highs in gold, silver, and cotton, while volatility in the 10-year note finally ended with its yield up to 3.49% — the general New Year’s consensus of it pushing above 4% looking like more of a distant event.
- On Monday, oil prices and related developments in the Middle East will continue to rule the markets as the economic data flow is very light in the opening stretch of the week. No announcements of any consequence are scheduled for either Monday or Tuesday. Similarly, the earnings calendar begins to wind down, with no A-list companies on tap for the beginning of the week.
OUT THERE SOMEWHERE:
- Jim Rogers with the simplest bullish argument on oil: We’re running out of it.
- Brit-based, but it’s hard to see an upside of banks having no risk.
- New Hampshire steps up the fight on junk-touching.
- HSBC allegedly mulling a move of HQ to Hong Kong.
- Time to tap the ole strategic oil reserves?
- What we’ll probably see in the 2020 census.
- Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) looms large in telecom’s success. Or failure.
- Two new movie theaters open every day in China.
- Inflation — well, it’s all relative, isn’t it?
