Morning trade halts stock rally
Submitted by WC Power Tech Fund
100 points off for the Dow before lunch as markets in North America prepare for National Holidays. Canadian Markets close tomorrow for Canada Day while Americans prepare for the 4th of July weekend leaving markets in trading flux for the week. Today’s decline was pushed in part by a lower reading of consumer confidence for the month of June. May highs in consumer confidence retreated partly in June, putting some traders on edge over the supposed recoveries in consumer spending expected this summer.
The world media has seen its share of tragedy this past week with the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and the King of Pop Michael Jackson. The ‘Thriller’ singer’s death has overshadowed many noteworthy market moments of the past few days due to the sheer global reach of Jackson’s fame. The legacy of this great singer, and polarizing personality, will be up to debate seemingly forever.
At the top of the market pages was the sentencing of Bernie Madoff, responsible for the biggest individual Investment Fraud of all time, now getting his just due, with a sentence of 150 years in prison and the forfeiture of virtually all his related assets.
Other noteworthy market swings included a further decline of housing prices and a drop in Oil. Housing prices tumbled 18% year over year, as well as 0.6% month over month in April and Oil retreated back below $70, settling around $69 a barrel.
