Another Day, Another Rally

Stocks dip early, then tick closer to even ahead of mid-afternoon announcement

(NEWSER) - Stocks swung upward after big opening losses today, the Wall Street Journal reports, helped by speculation that the Federal Reserve might step in to help AIG and cut interest rates. The Dow, down 155 early, was just barely negative before noon, with a similar pattern from other indices. “We're in uncharted territory,” one funds manager told Bloomberg. “There's no real historic precedent for what we're going through.” More»

Emerging markets upswing could mirror '98 tech boom

(NEWSER) - With the Fed’s rate cut in place, Wall Street has visions of another bubble—this time in emerging markets. The Dow skyrocketed 2.5% on news of the cut, but even that was dwarfed by 4.2% gains in the Bombay Sensex and 4.3% in Brazil’s Bovespa. Fast-growing economies could benefit most, the Journal explains, from easy-flowing cash. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks rallied in early trading today after the Federal Reserve shaved a half-point off of one of its key interest rates, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow initially shot up more than 300 points; after settling some, it was up 150.46 by midmorning. European stocks were buoyed as well, with London's FTSE 100 jumping 2.1% after a disastrous plunge yesterday. More»

Dow sinks below 13,000 as credit tremors continue

(NEWSER) - Major indexes sank again after a volatile day, as analysts continue to speculate on a possible interest-rate cut. The New York Fed put about $7 billion into the system with an overnight repurchase agreement, which put an early bounce in the Dow before it lost 167.45 later in the day to close below its historic 13,000-point benchmark at 12861.47, mainly on credit jitters that bled into Asian markets overnight. More»

Investors worried about Europe again

(NEWSER) - President Obama might be getting good reviews for his plan to shore up the US economy, but investors are far more worried about Europe, reports MarketWatch . The Dow was down more than 300 points at midday to below 11,000, and both Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were each down more than 2.6%. A Bloomberg report that Germany is preparing a contingency plan to protect its banks from a Greece default is contributing to the malaise. More»