Markets
stock markets struggled towards the end of the month in April. Yousuf (2012) reports that the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat for the month, the S&P 500 posted a minor loss and the NASDAQ dropped 1.5%. All three indices were down for the final week of the month. One of the reasons why the markets struggled during the week was that a report revealed that the GDP grew at 2.2%, a slower rate than was expected by some observers (Censky, 2012). The report also noted that the GDP was being dragged down by government spending cuts. There was a report on Thursday from the Boston Consulting Group that investment banks would need to cut employees in order to achieve profitability targets, in part because the market for deals is generally down, and expected to stay that way (Reuters, 2012).
Despite the economic weakness, there were some deals that helped to buoy markets last week. Barnes & Noble opened the week by announcing that it sold a 17.6% stake in the Nook e-reader to Microsoft. In another deal, Energy Transfer Partners announced the purchase of Sunoco for $5.3 billion.
In general, the markets did not have any major new drivers, and therefore simply drifted lower, following the trend for the month. It was noted that in May there is an expectation for sales as the markets prepare for summer. The lack of major news drivers indicates that there is a lack of conviction in the markets, so the minor moves over the past week cannot be taken as particularly indicative of future trends.
In commodity markets, gold prices continued their decline of the past three months. At $1,660 an ounce, gold is now down 4% for the year (Harvey, 2012). Gold's value is declining because it is starting to lose its status as a safe haven. The signs of economic growth in the U.S., however slow, are eroding the safe haven status of gold, and...
Recession Effect of the recession on upon financial market, the real economy and over everyday lives Recession is defined as the economic slowdown or decline characterized by slowing down of trade, a magnitude decline in the GDP, and a decrease in employment usually lasting between 6 months to a year. This was the situation in the U.S.A. The hardest times being from 2008 through 2009 and the early months of 2010.
Behavioral Finance and Human Interaction a Study of the Decision-Making Processes Impacting Financial Markets Understanding the Stock Market Contrasting Financial Theories Flaws of the Efficient Market Hypothesis Financial Bubbles and Chaos The stock market's dominant theory, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) has been greatly criticized recently for its failure to account for human errors, heuristic bias, use of misinformation, psychological tendencies, in determining future expected performance and obtainable profits. Existing evidence indicates that past confidence in the
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch would have to be separated and Goldman Sachs could no longer be a bank holding company. "Commercial banks would take deposits, manage the nation's payments system, make standard loans and even trade securities for their customers -- just not for themselves. The government, in return, would rescue banks that fail. On the other side of the wall, investment houses would be free to
Financial Accounting Personal Financial Situation This essay examines the personal financial statements of Manny Harris, part-time student and part-time sales associate at Wal-Mart. Manny is considering three significant life events that will affect details of his financial statements. The first significant change in his personal circumstances that Manny is considering is whether to apply for a loan so that he can afford to attend college full-time. Manny is concerned with the trade-offs involved;
Had the organization employed the techniques of activity-based costing, they would have realized the need to change their approach and had started manufacturing small size and fuel efficient engines, as most of the customers were requiring these items. "If Ford [...] had used activity-based costing, they would have realized early on the utter futility of their competitive blitzes of the past few years, which offered new-car buyers spectacular discounts
3.2.3 Portfolio Diversification of Investment in Global Property Markets Because the global property markets are affected by globalization and specific country / regional factors, means that the overall amounts of risks will vary, the most notable include: transparency and efficiency. Where, each country / region has different on laws and regulations pertaining to the real estate markets. This means that the risks in a number of different markets will depend upon
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