In Case You Missed Thursday

by Michael Goodman | March 11, 2011 4:44 am

‘Twas nice knowin’ ya, 12,000:

It was not a welcoming equities environment for the waking U.S. investor on Thursday: news of a massive $7 billion trade deficit reported by China, a downsizing of fourth-quarter GDP by Japan, and a move by Moody’s to downgrade Japan’s debt as well as harness it with a negative outlook had already sparked selloffs in Asia and Europe. The U.S. market didn’t disappoint, thanks to falling to five-week lows as the Dow closed below 12,000 for the first time since Jan. 31 with a 228-point drop that was its worst in five months. This all came, don’t ya know, with oil slipping nearly 2% to move under $103 a barrel. It turns out some other stuff also can tweak the market now and then. Unsurprisingly, bonds were a big hit, with the 10-year note’s yield slumping to 3.39%, its lowest level since, you guessed it, Jan. 31. With a falling dollar and lower crude prices, the precious metal trade cooled off some, with gold and silver both finishing lower.
After the closing bell, shares of Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO[1]) slipped nearly 7% after the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report, which included downside forecasts for both the first quarter and its full year ahead. Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE[2]) rose 4.7% after a fourth-quarter earnings beat.
On Friday, you’ll be offered up the February report on retail sales, the Univ. of Michigan report on consumer sentiment, and a look at January business inventories. A smattering of who-cares earnings are in the mix, too.

OUT THERE SOMEWHERE:

Premature baby drug cost balloons 100-fold[3]. Really helpful.
Pay for postage by text message[4]? Yes, in Sweden.
Dalai Lama hanging it up[5].
Remember the Dust Bowl? Remember when it came back[6]?
Here’s to not living in the Diabetes Belt[7].
The Chinese-growth-savior[8] model not looking great.
Betting on gold forever[9] — this time is not different.
Why assume there’s no succession plan[10] at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[11])?
Largest cities[12] through history.
Gas prices are eroding the American dream[13].
Whether failure[14] is the best option for AOL (NYSE:AOL[15]).
There is Groupon, and there are all the wannabes[16].
Role model alert: investors on Forbes’ billionaire[17] list.

Endnotes:

ARO: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=ARO
CLNE: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=CLNE
balloons 100-fold: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/03/high-cost-premature-babies
postage by text message: http://www.thelocal.se/32436/20110307/
hanging it up: http://the-diplomat.com/china-power/2011/03/10/dalai-lama-%E2%80%98retiring%E2%80%99/
came back: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/8359076/US-farmers-fear-the-return-of-the-Dust-Bowl.html
Diabetes Belt: http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/650642.html?campaign_id=rss_topStories
Chinese-growth-savior: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/unexpected-trade-deficit-in-china.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29
Betting on gold forever: http://macrobusiness.com.au/2011/03/house-prices-gold/
no succession plan: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-10/steve-jobs-s-hottest-app-may-be-succession-plan-eric-jackson.html
AAPL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AAPL
cities: http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201a.htm
eroding the American dream: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/03/how-gas-prices-are-eroding-the-american-dream/72285/#bio
failure: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704132204576190861798485114.html
AOL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AOL
all the wannabes: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/business/smallbusiness/10sbiz.html?_r=1
billionaire: http://www.marketfolly.com/2011/03/forbes-billionaire-list-2011-top.html

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