Stocks extend September rally after Jobs Report

As a result of positive economic news, the overall stock market ended its only winning week in an entire month.

The Dow Jones average rose 128 points on Friday, which marked its fourth day in a row of gains. This strong beginning to September indicates a turnaround from the bleak performance in August.

The latest happy news on the economy was reported with an improvement in employment on Friday. Following this and signs of a gaining in manufacturing in China and the US, stocks also rose earlier in the week.

Weak Numbers Cause Wednesday Slump

On Wednesday stocks fell after what was a disappointing report regarding durable goods which only added to the concerns people have about the current pace of the country’s economic recovery.

In trading, early this morning, the Down Jones fell about 34 points.  This has led nervous investors to try to again move their money out of the stock market and into Treasury bonds, which is driving interest rates even lower.

Credit Card Debt Reaches 8 Year Low

In the second quarter this year, the amount owed by consumers on their credit cards fell to a low we have not seen for more than eight years. In this uncertain economy, those with credit cards went right along paying off their balances.

In the three months ending on June 30th, the combined debt (on average) for credit cards issued by a bank - for example those including a Visa or MasterCard logo - fell more than 13 percent, from $5,719 same time last year to $4,951, as is reported by TransUnion.

Reporting on credit, the agency said this was the first quarter in which they saw card debt decrease under five thousand dollars since the first three months of 2002.

Lowes 2Q Results

Hot weather was a help and a hindrance to Lowes sales in early summer. The big home-improvement retailer reported that heat probably boosted sales for outdoor grills and air conditioners, helping to increase 2Q net income by 10 percent. However, the heat kept away other customers as well as the continued anemic economic recovery.

The observations by Lowes, the second largest home improvement chain in the nation, echo the attitude of a great many companies who are not seeing any signs that create any expectation of dramatic increases in consumer spending. The company has adjusted its annual revenue projections because of the troubling lack of progress in the nation's economic recovery.

HP Chief Resigns During Sexual Harassment Investigation

Hewlett Packard (HPQ) recently announced the resignation of Mark Hurd, Chairman, President, and CEO of HP Corporation. Hurd's resignation comes following the sexual harassment claims leveled at the former HP executive and the HP company by a former contractor.

Upon investigation, HP determined the sexual harassment policy of its Corporation had not been violated, though it appeared there were violations against  the HP "Standards of Business Conduct".

Transocean (RIG) Beats Earnings For Quarter

Transocean (RIG) announced their earnings for the quarter ending in June after-hours tonight and beat analyst estimates depending on considerations. The consensus estimate was $1.68 per share while the company actually earned $2.22 a share. Revenue was soft for the off shore drilling company. They brought in $2.5 billion in revenue while the street was expecting $2.56 billion. This was down from the same quarter last year when revenue was $2.88 billion. Shares rallied throughout the day in addition to the days leading up to the announcement. The stock is up slightly after the announcement.

FedEx (FDX) and Housing Boost Indexes

The indexes have regained their positive trends according the technical indicators on ClearStation.com. Today saw good news in the form of housing starts coming in better than expected (330,000 v. 310,000 expected) and FedEx (FDX) giving a current quarter and current year estimate that was better than the provided just 6 weeks ago. FedEx stock gained 5.6% today while United Parcel Service (UPS) also gained, up close to 2%.

The official figures for Microsoft's fourth quarter of 2010 are out which is 16.04 billion US Dollars. With the announcement by Apple last Tuesday, it was expected in several quarters of the country that Apple would over take Microsoft in the net revenue generation and that would be the first time in the recent history. But Microsoft proved most of them wrong. Though Apple had reported 15.7 billion US Dollar last quarter, Microsoft crossed that with ease at 16.04 billion US dollar.

Apple Inc (APPL) Has a Record Quarter

The analysts were telling us that the quarter coming from Apple Inc would be very good with their regular increases in earnings estimates but the street was surprised at how good the quarter turned out to be. For the third quarter ending in June, Apple reported revenue of $15.7 billion and a profit of $3.25 billion. This beat street estimates by 12.5%. The company’s fifth quarter in a row of surprising to the upside on earnings.

The popularity of Apple products is increasing everyday. With the release of the iPhone 4 from At&t the demand is now higher than ever to have this fancy cell phone. However, news broke that there was a slight defect in its network. Apparently there is a limit on the amount of data uploads in certain areas. Users will now have to wait longer to send video, pictures, and other content.