Will This Be On The List Of Top Business Schools One Day?
Stocks were slightly higher in
the lightest trading
volume of the year.
All three major indices were up on the week; the Dow
recorded its third straight weekly gain and the Nasdaq made it two in a row. The
Republican National Convention is next week;
many New York traders are taking the week off.Â
The U.S. GDP rose at an annual rate of 2.8% in
Q2, the slowest rate of advance since Q1 2003 and lower than the Commerce
Department expected. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment number rose
to 95.9, down slightly from 96.7 in July.
Oil closed flat, shrugging of news of another attack on the Southern Iraq
pipeline. The past week, oil has dropped 12%. Economists estimate a $10 rise in
the price of oil raises interest rates by about 1/2%.
Aetna said it will do its own study on VIOXX and other drugs to treat arthritis.
Earlier this week, an FDA study found that patients who took Merck’s VIOXX had
50% more heart attacks.
Coach
(
COH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) will join the S&P 500,
replacing Charter One
(
CF |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating). Mutual funds which track the index will
add the stock to their portfolios. The effective date will be announced soon.
Donald Trump filed an application with the
US Patent and Trademark Office to trademark “Trump University.” It is not clear
when the school will be launched or what position “The Donald” will hold.
At a Fed symposium in Jackson, WY, Greenspan
said that productivity growth will likely slow and said an aging population will
put more pressure on U.S. finances and recommended extending the retirement age.
UBS is in talks to buy Schwab’s
(
SCH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Soundview unit for up to $300 million.
Dividend paying stocks — REITS and utilities — have done well in August. REITs
have gained 6.6% and the utility index rose 1.8%.
Jaguar sales fell 25% in July; Jaguar is a
division of Ford
(
F |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating).
| Dow | +21.60 | 10195.01 |
| S&P 500 | +2.68 | 1107.77 |
| Nasdaq | +9.17 | 1862.09 |
Strong today were: Biotech
(
BTK.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.42%, Oils
(
XOI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.05%, Healthcare
(
HMO.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.86%.
Weak were: Airlines
(
XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -3.11%, Brokers
(
XBD.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -0.34%.
10-year Notes were +060 at 112 315
The dollar
was +0.53 at 89.82
Gold was -4.20 at 402.80
Crude Oil was unch at
43.18
Volume was 848 million
on the NYSE and 1 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was mixed.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 2229 | Up Vol 541 |
| Declining | 1040 | Down Vol 256 |
| Ratio | 2.14 | 2.11 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1920 | Up Vol 672 |
| Declining | 1133 | Down Vol 302 |
| Ratio | 1.69 | 2.22 |
Stocks in the News
Chiron
(
CHIR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) said it delayed its flu vaccine because some lots did not meet
sterility standards.
Conoco Phillips
(
COP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) may buy 25% of
Russian oil company Lukoil.
Novellus
(
NVLS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) guided lower after
the close yesterday.
American Airlines
(AMR)
said its outlook for Q3 “has worsened.” The company may have to spend
an additional $1 billion on fuel this year.
Google options
begin trading tomorrow in the March cycle under the symbol GOQ. Initial strikes
will range from 80 to 140, in 5-point increments.
TiVo (TIVO)
beat by 0.12 and beat on revenues.
Tech Data (TECD)
beat by 0.03 and beat on revenues.
Brice Wightman