Is Stock Rally Over? Pros Say Gains Are Done for This Year

Major world stock markets will likely stutter to the end of the year after a strong push since March to try to wipe out massive losses from a stinging global recession, Reuters polls found.
Quarterly surveys of over 180 equity strategists globally showed leading stock markets in New York, Tokyo and London would all end the [...]

U.S. Q2 GDP shrinks less, private jobs fall in Sept

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy contracted at slower pace than previously thought in the second quarter, but a further decline in private payrolls in September was another indication that recovery from recession would be patchy.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday gross domestic product fell at a 0.7 percent annual rate instead of the 1.0 [...]

Cramer: Washington Finds a New Villain

Someone must know something – “maybe something big,” Cramer said Tuesday – about the health-care bill presently working its way through the Senate. The stock charts of some of the biggest health maintenance organizations have broken down over the past couple of weeks, and that’s usually a sign that someone’s got the inside scoop.

Unitedhealth Group [...]

Consumer confidence unexpectedly falls in Sept

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. consumer confidence fell unexpectedly in September as the worst job prospects in 26 years fueled worries over personal finances, according to a report released on Tuesday.
The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 53.1 in September from a revised 54.5 in August.
Analysts polled by [...]

A Cheery Prognosis for Health-Care Stocks

Laggards through the market rally, health-care stocks offer a fine blend of value and growth, says Barron’s Mike Santoli.

Hot Stocks: Pharmaceuticals
Drug companies’ stocks climb Monday after Abbott Laboratories says it will buy the pharmaceutical unit of Solvay for about $7 billion. MarketWatch’s Christopher Hinton reports.

Dow 10,000: A Morale Boost, But Probably Not Much MoreJ.M. Spallanzani, of Alcott Capital Managmenet, and Peter Costa, of Empire Executions, discuss when we’ll hit Dow 10,000 and where the market will go after that.

J.M. Spallanzani, of Alcott Capital Managmenet, and Peter Costa, of Empire Executions, discuss when we’ll hit Dow 10,000 and where the market will go after that.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is chasing its next big benchmark—10,000—a signal to many investors that market has nearly recovered from last year’s meltdown.
Oliver P. Quilla for CNBC.com
NYSE Traders
Though the [...]

Art Cashin: Jewish Holiday, Dollar, M&A Driving Stocks

The S&P 500, Nasdaq and the Dow were each rising Monday morning — the latter up as much as 125 points. Cashin said that upsurge may be driven, in part, by patterns surrounding Monday’s Yom Kippur holiday.
“There’s old Wall Street folklore that says, ’sell’em on Rosh Hashanah, buy’em back on Yom Kippur.’ I don’t know [...]

US May Face ‘Armageddon’ If China, Japan Don’t Buy Debt

The US is too dependent on Japan and China buying up the country’s debt and could face severe economic problems if that stops, Tiger Management founder and chairman Julian Robertson told CNBC.
“It’s almost Armageddon if the Japanese and Chinese don’t buy our debt,” Robertson said in an interview. “I don’t know where we could get [...]