Stock Markets Santa Rally Fails to Materialise

By: PaddyPowerTrader

Stocks obviously don't know it's Christmas time. They finished with their fifth straight day's loss as the Dow shed 1.2% in extremely skinny volume. The banks & GM led the way down again.

Today's Market Moving Stories

• To be filed under “tell us something we didn't already know”: U.S. consumers are falling deeper into debt according to Equifax.
• Japanese manufacturing confidence has slumped by the most on record .
• And HOUSING is still getting HOSED. In the latest instalment in of diabolical economic news from the U.S., we learn that home prices are falling at near a Depression-era pace . Recall that this is where we came in; housing is at the very root of all our woes. So if 16 or so months into this debacle we haven't reached a bottom it looks like 2009 could be real rough, Bruce.
• Back from their holidays and the Tokyo market dropped 2.6% in a delayed reaction to the bad news from Toyota and profit warnings from Bridgestone and Hyundai.
• Another big-name company feeling the chill and being forced to economize is Google .
• While you are watching reruns of Brewster's millions over Xmas, think of Paulsen's billions and where that may have gone. But ssssh, it's a big secret .
• Wanna buy a car? There are plenty about.
• More hedge fund hell as another fund puts limits on withdrawals.
• The infamous Henry Blodget has some food for thought on tech stocks .

Data For Trainspotters Today
If anyone cares there is some data due from across the pond today, although U.S. markets do actually close early at 6pm London time. Weekly mortgage applications are at noon; durable-goods orders, weekly jobless claims and personal income/spending at 13.30; and at 15.35 there are the weekly crude and natural-gas inventories.

And Finally
One last-minute bailout, for the day that's in it. Take a look, it's well worth the laugh.

And also

I'll be back with MarketWatch in the new year. However others will be blogging on paddypowertrader over the holidays.

So, until then, Beannachtaí an tSéasúir agus Nollaig Shona Daoibh

Disclosures = None

By The Mole
PaddyPowerTrader.com

The Mole is a man in the know. I don’t trade for a living, but instead work for a well-known Irish institution, heading a desk that regularly trades over €100 million a day. I aim to provide top quality, up-to-date and relevant market news and data, so that traders can make more informed decisions”.

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