Americas:

• DJIA +1.5%, S&P 500 +1.8%, NASDAQ +2.3%

• Another month, another FOMC statement and Q&A. This month’s however was pretty meh; little has changed since the March meeting and aside from the Bernank saying that he’ll scramble the choppers when shit hits the fan, there’s barely anything to go on with this one. Definitely not the statement QE3 fans have been hoping for.

• Meanwhile, real GDP figures for the US have slipped from 3% to 2.2% (2.5% expected). And while personal consumption, home sales, and consumer sentiment figures all jumped to the upside, jobless claims were still pretty high.

Americas:

Americas:

• The NASDAQ and the S&P barely finished in the green, gaining 1.1% and 0.1% respectively while the DOW finally cut its 3-week long hot streak, losing 0.5%.

• Not sure how you would've missed it, but anyway, the Fed announced that they'll be keeping rates near zero until late 2014, and 5 year note yields drop to their lowest, ever.

Americas:

• US markets clocked in another week in the green (its third in a row) as the S&P rose another 2%, the DOW another 2.4%, while the NASDAQ climbed 2.8%. Awesome. A few surveys however are pointing out that retail investors as well as financial advisers are largely bullish, meaning that the public is now in on this. Ugh.

• It wasn’t just the US that scored though; Canada’s TSX index also gained 1.32%, rate cuts in Brazil sent its index 9% higher for the month, 16.4% for Argentina’s Merval, while Mejico’s IPC was up 2% for the week.

Americas:

• US markets finished higher this week despite downgrade rumors and an uncharacteristic profit miss by JPM. The S&P ended the week 0.9% higher, 0.5% for the DOW, while the NASDAQ posted a 1.4% gain. Canada’s TSX also snapped gains this week as their benchmark fell around 40 points Friday. They did manage to eke out a 0.35% gain though.

• Mexico’s IPC on the other hand closed 2.2% lower, -2.4% for Argentina’s Merval (down 0.6% for the week), -0.2% for Chile’s IPSA, while the Brazilian BOVESPA, despite a downturn in metals, finished 2.3% higher for the week.

• Good news for the bulls, US consumer sentiment is currently at a new high. But will they act on it?

Europe:

Americas:

• The January effect? Who knows? Nevertheless, US indices ended the first week of 2012 with the S&P gaining 1.6%, the DOW 1.2%, while the NASDAQ spiked a pretty good 2.5%. Bonds dropped.

• The same couldn’t be said for the others though; while Argentina’s Merval index rose 12.5% and Canada’s TSX jumped 1.95%, Brazil’s BOVESPA only managed a surprise 0.1% gain, and Mexico’s IPC lost 0.7% for the week.

• While the Fed’s keeping things steady, consumer confidence is on the up, ISM manufacturing figures are on a high, and jobless claims fell to its lowest since ’08. Refi applications and December retail figures are looking bad though; and the debt to GDP ratio?

Europe:

Americas:

• This week was chock-full of ups and downs thanks mostly to the rumor mill but nevertheless, US indices ended the week in the black with the S&P up 0.9%, the DOW 1.4% higher, and the NASDAQ up 0.8%.

• Business growth seems to be gaining some traction. Add a somewhat stabilizing housing sector, an uptick in consumer sentiment as well as an expanding use of credit, things should be on the up (if we were to believe the Ben Bernank). The bummer though is that the ISM services index dropped to its lowest since January ’10, which doesn’t bode well considering how big a chunk the services industry is to the economy.

Americas:

• Wall Street hit its biggest week since March ’09 when the DOW surged 7%, the S&P 7.4%, and the NASDAQ 7.6%, bringing November into positive territory after the past week's bloodbath.

• The Fed cut liquidity swap rates to OIS +50 bps, making it easier for Central Banks around the world to grab dollars should shit hit the fan.

• S&P downgraded 37 banks.

Belated Happy Thanksgiving monkeys! Here’s what went on while you were drunk and face deep in turkey.

Americas:

• Punching in one of the worst Thanksgiving weeks in history, the DOW fell 4.8%, the NASDAQ 5.1%, while the S&P slipped another 4.7%. Canada’s TSX also dropped to a 2 month low (down over 6% MTD), while Brazil and Mexico are also in the red, falling 3.3% (down 6% MTD) and 4% respectively.

• Gold purchases by Central banks have risen three-fold since 2010 while ETFs have also been ramping up their holdings over the year, peaking the day before Turkey Day. Bullish yes, but considering CB’s like Mexico haven’t even seen their own holdings and with repatriations already starting, should we be looking into the old paper/physical gold arb trade again?

Americas:

• US indices were in the black this week with the S&P up almost 2%, the Dow up 2.2%, and the NASDAQ up 2% as well. Brazil’s BOVESPA also posted gains, up 2.1% after several sessions in the red. Canada’s TSX also ended a volatile week up 1.4% while the Mexican Index gained 2.4% after falling sharply earlier in the trading day.

• Things are looking up with the holidays right around the corner; consumer sentiment and spending are on the up, same with exports, home refis and purchases, while unemployment numbers and mortgage rates fall some more.

After a not so brief hiatus, the weekend wrapup is back!

Here's some of the stuff you might have missed:

Americas:

• US markets were on a tear the Dow, the S&P, and the NASDAQ broke through practically every resistance level to soar 3.6%, 3.8%, and 3.8% for the week. Monthly figures are even better, with the S&P breaking through its 200-day MA to end up 12% month to date. Though if you sold on Thursday you could’ve scored its 17 day 20.3% record.

• Was Meredith Whitney wrong? After much ado about munis defaulting right and left, recent figures show that state and local governments are doing a good job cutting down their debt and increasing revenues (an almost 11% rise YoY for state government revenues). A sign of things to come? Still on the fence on that.

Apologies for the delay monkeys, but anyway, here we go...

Americas:

• US markets just had its worse week since 08 with the DOW down 6.4%, the S&P down 6.5%, while the NASDAQ dropped 5.3%. Treasurys, which rallied for most of the week, also fell.

• Precious metals fell like armless skydivers as gold dropped 4%, silver a whopping 8%, and copper 6%. Paulson must be really hurting now.

• Housing seems to be on the up as multifamily permits rise and existing home sales grew higher than expected.

Europe:

• Europe also had a pretty bad week with the FTSE losing around 4%, the CAC 4.4%, while the DAX lost over 4% as well.

Americas:

• Stocks were up in the US with DOW up 76 points to 0.7% while the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ both climbed 0.6%. Latin America also had a good week with Brazil’s Bovespa climbing 1.5% on the Real’s steady decline, same with Mexico’s MEXBOL, which is also up 1.5% for the week. Meanwhile to the north, Canada’s TSX fell 1%, supposedly thanks to RIM.

• While August manufacturing numbers were a little better, practically every other figure was disappointing: jobless claims rose by 11,000 to 428,000 – its highest since June, CPI spiked to 3.8% year on year, reports are saying that foreclosures are set to increase, and all the while consumer confidence as well as spending are tracking lower, hurting sales. Really curious what the short term bulls think is going to happen.

Americas:

• Obama’s first reelection speech failed to impress the markets as the Dow slipped 2.2% from last week while the S&P and the NASDAQ fell 1.7% and 2.4% respectively. Concerns over Europe exacerbated the decline, forcing Bond yields lower (currently at their lowest since God knows when) and pushing the Dollar to a 6-month high. Index futures however point to a worse opening on Monday.

• The US trade deficit surprisingly shrank over 13% with exports currently at record highs. Non-manufacturing ISM numbers also surprised to the upside, great news as far as future growth is concerned and it gives credence to those arguing that the US isn’t in a recession. Whether this will be sustained is the question though.

Americas:

• It’s been another terrible week for US markets with the DOW down 1.6% yesterday, the S&P falling almost 5% for the week, and the NASDAQ slipping almost 7% for the week as well.

• Gold once again is testing new highs, ending 1.7% higher along with silver, which is up almost 1%. Crude on the other hand has slipped together with the indices and is now down 3.7% for the week.

• Fitch affirmed their AAA rating for the US, citing that the USD is still the world’s reserve currency among other things. Outlook isn’t that good though; CPI and PPI figures have risen while Philly and NY manufacturing number dropped significantly. Jobless claims shot over 400k as well. Wonder how the Ben Bernank handles pushing through with QE3 with real rates hitting negative.

Finally on schedule, here the wrapup for this week.

Americas:

• This week was a wild ride as the S&P, the Dow, and the NASDAQ slipped 1.7%, 1.5%, and 1% in what appears to be the second most volatile week since WWII. Hat tip to alexpasch for calling the VIX a couple weeks ago.

• The Ben Bernank issued a statement that they will be holding rates until mid 2013, an effort to drive investors to chase yield again and take back all the wiped out “portfolio balance channel effect” he was striving for. This also washes their hands from any BS Washington will try to pull during the elections next year so with any luck, this should help the politicos get their act together.

Its been a crazy, crazy week monkeys. Just in case you live under a rock though, here's some stuff you need to know.

Americas:

• We finally saw the bottom fall off a topless market last Thursday as jittered investors sent US indices down 5% in a single day – the worst session in three years. The Dow, S&P, and the NASDAQ all ended the week down around 10%.

Sorry for the delay guys, didn't really have the time to put this together yesterday but hey, better late than never.

Americas:

• Thanks to Washington, US indices are once again in the red with the S&P 500 dropping 0.6%, the Dow -0.8%, and the NASDAQ -0.4%.

• Daily holdings of GLD have risen to its highest since January and gold is ridiculous at $1,613 thanks to everyone scrambling for safe havens. Bond yields meanwhile have fallen across the board as well.

Americas:

• Good news from Brussels sent US indices up for the week with the Dow up 2% and the S&P as well as the NASDAQ up 4%.

• Corporate earnings were also good and showed signs of business expansion, offshore earnings look to grow steadily over the next few quarters.

• Manufacturing and Construction sectors have bounced back with Philly Manufacturing figures as well as US Housing starts posting gains. Good news for the economy.

• It wasn’t all good though, Boehner walking out of the deficit talks leaves us without a debt deal with only a few days left until we run out of money. Jobless claims have risen, while home purchase applications as well as existing home sales have declined.

For those of you who actually read this, my apologies. This is way overdue and to make up for it I’ll try to distill everything that has happened in the four weeks that I’ve missed into this single post. Well, not really, that'd be terribly time-consuming. Haha. I'm pretty sure it'll still be worth your while though.

So, without further ado, here’s the Weekend Wrap up for July 16, 2011.

Americas:

• A little over 2 weeks ago, on the 1st of July, the Ben Bernank had the last QE2 market operation done (and the crowd goes wild). He shouldn't be feeling good about himself though; while disappointing figures might egg him to talk QE3, core CPI has snuck up, suggesting that it’s pretty much entrenched and it could be deadly if he fires up the printing presses again.

Americas:

• Financial stocks led US indices into the red again, chalking up another week in the negative and the sixth straight week for the Dow. Equities did rally before the Ben Bernank’s speech though, but dropped significantly afterward when there was no mention or hint to a third stimulus program. To be honest I didn’t think his speech was that strong to produce such a reaction, omission isn’t a categorical denial so QE3 Is still a possibility. Especially after reading this. Whether or not I believe it’ll happen though I’ll save for after the weekend. Interestingly, the USD – S&P correlation seemed to wither as well, signaling that the two may be trading on their fundamentals now.

Bad news in the US, good news in Europe, Chinese droughts, and the Brazilian bikini wax inflation.

Plus a Cartman Q&A.

Just a few of things to chew on for the long weekend.

Americas:

• Bad news across the board has led the Dow and the S&P to its fourth week in the red. The bad news being soft Richmond numbers indicating a continued slowdown in manufacturing as well as deterioration in demand. Add in a historically weaker housing market and higher inflation to offset the rise in incomes, all signs point to lower growth for the second quarter.

• The greenback weakened against most of its rivals following the GS commodity rally and the IMF’s Juncker correction.

My apologies for the delay, things have been pretty hectic here with it being the rapture and all so today's recap will be a little shorter than last week's.

Nevertheless, I have a cool clip for you to check out so without further ado, here's the Weekend wrap up, rapture edition.