Markets 12/27

ron · #1 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 02:55 PM

Mrkts opened lower today on reports that ex-Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed by a suicide bomber.

ron · #2 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 02:56 PM

on the economic front: The Dept. of Commerce reports that November durable orders rose 0.1%, which was less than the consensus estimate of 2.0%. Separately, there were 349K initial jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 22. Economists expected 340K claims.

ron · #3 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 02:58 PM

Goldman Sachs said that Citigroup (C) may cut its dividend by 40% and may write-down $18.7 billion in debt, which is higher than the previous estimate of $11 billion. Goldman also said it expects a larger write-down at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Merrill Lynch (MER)....news however, did not have much of an effect on the broader market.

ron · #4 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 02:59 PM

out n wires, the Conference Board said December consumer confidence rose to 88.6. A reading of 87.0 was expected.
Energy Information Administration reports that for the week ended Dec. 27 crude oil inventories slipped by 3.3 million barrels. Analysts expected a smaller stockpile drop of 1.5 million barrels. Crude oil for February is trading higher.

ron · #5 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 03:02 PM

mrkts remain in negative territory , with all ten economic sectors posting a loss. There has been a number of profit taking catalysts including Goldman Sachs raising its write-down estimates on a number of Wall Street banks, weaker than expected economic data, and the killing of a former Pakistani Prime Minister......Dow -142 Points, Naz -28.24, S&P -14.28, NDX -15.33 rtq.