Latest Considerations
Like the rest of you, my
prayers go out to the victims, their families and the rescue workers in New
York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
We’re
all hoping that consumer confidence isn’t crushed by these incidents. Consumer
spending, which fuels two-thirds of the U.S. economy, has held up well despite
the slowdown in growth and has been credited with helping prevent a recession.
Tuesday’s attacks could change that, BUT I DON’T THINK SO. I BELIEVE AMERICANS
HAVE AND WILL RALLY AND UNIFY DUE TO THIS HORRIFIC TRAGEDY, RATHER THAN ALLOW
THIS TO BECOME A DIVISIVE EVENT. WE ARE ALREADY SEEING EVIDENCE OF THIS, AS
BLOOD DONORS AND VOLUNTEERS HAVE REACTED AS AMERICANS HAVE IN OTHER SUCH
TRAGEDIES, BY OFFERING EVERYTHING THEY POSSIBLY CAN. THIS IS WHAT HAS MADE US
GREAT AND WHAT WILL HELP US OVERCOME THIS TRAGEDY.
Here is the latest update on
trade-related events and other considerations:
Trading:
The
New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Market
and all US futures exchanges were closed yesterday and will remain closed today.
This will be the first time the New York Stock Exchange has been closed for two
consecutive days since the end of World War II.
Insurance
companies and Airlines could be hardest hit sectors. Defense issues such as
Boeing
(
BA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Lockheed Martin
(
LMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) should see positive money flows.
Oil
and gold prices are falling, not rising in European trading today. OPEC
moved quickly to give reassurances about the security of world oil supplies,
causing oil prices to fall after their sharp surge Tuesday, and amid concerns of
expected U.S. retaliation in the Middle East to the assaults. London Brent blend
futures dropped 46 cents to $28.60 a barrel after Tuesday’s $1.61 jump in a
knee-jerk reaction to the terrorist attack.
Money:
The
central bank of the United States is making money available to banks in the wake
of terrorist attacks Tuesday on major targets in New York and Washington, D.C.
A statement on the Federal Reserve Web site said: “The Federal Reserve
System is open and operating. The discount window is available to meet liquidity
needs. The promise to supply additional money to the banking system was similar
to a pledge the Fed issued on the morning after the October 1987 stock market
crash, when the market plunged more than 500 points in one day of trading. That
statement in 1987 was given a large amount of credit for helping to restore calm
to badly shaken financial markets.
Historical
Comparisons:
Americans
could also react to the incidents as they reacted to the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941. That attack served to unify the country and rouse
public sentiment for U.S. entry into World War II.
“After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the New York stock market fell 5 percent
over two days,” Carl Weinberg and Ian Shepherdson, economists with High
Frequency Economics Ltd., said in a research note. “As the United States
mobilized and expressed its resolve in the ensuing days, the stock market came
back.”
-
Sinking
of the SS Maine in Havana
-
Sinking
of Lusitania (WWI)
-
Pearl
Harbor (WWII)
-
Pan
Am bombing 1988
-
World
Trade Center 1993
-
Murrah
Federal Building 1995
Jon “Doctor J”
Najarian,
Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001