Salon.com > New York Stock Exchange

Dow Jones closes above 15,000 for first time

Tue, 07 May 2013 20:28:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Dow Jones industrial average is punching through another milestone: its first close above 15,000.

The Dow rose 87 points to 15,056 points Tuesday, a gain of 0.6 percent.

It was another milestone in the market's epic ascent in 2013. Good economic reports, higher corporate profits and support from central banks have eased investors' concerns that another economic slowdown could upend the market.

Two months ago the Dow recovered the last of its losses from the financial crisis. So far this year it's up 15 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose eight points to 1,625, also a record close. The Nasdaq rose four to 3,396, or 0.1 percent.

Three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was light at 3.2 billion shares.

Dow experiences worst day of the year

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:45:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market had its worst drop this year as prices for oil and other commodities fell sharply on concerns about slowing growth in China.

Oil fell to a four-month low, dragging down energy stocks. Mining companies sank after gold had its biggest one-day drop since 1983.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 265 points to close at 14,599 Monday. The 1.8 percent drop was its worst since November.

Other indexes fell even more.

The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 36 points to 1,552, or 2.3 percent. The Nasdaq fell 78 points, 2.4 percent, to 3,216. The Russell 2000 of small-company stocks plunged 3.8 percent to 907.20.

Seven stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was heavy at 4.6 billion shares.

Dow rises for fourth straight year

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 22:55:00 +0000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 7.3 percent in 2012, the fourth straight year in which the leading index maked gains. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that the index is up an impressive 100.15 percent since its great recession low in March 2009.

After climbing in the first three quarters of this year, the Dow dropped in the fourth quarter for the firt time since 2008. Despite ongoing concerns over the fiscal cliff, the Dow climbed 166 points today, its best ever showing on New Years Eve. The broader S&P 500 index had its best New Year's Eve since 1974.

WSJ:

The S&P 500 and [technology heavy] Nasdaq both rose for the eighth year in the past 10, after slipping last year. The S&P stands 111% above its 2009 low, and the Nasdaq is 138% above its.

These astounding gains show that the great recession was a once in a lifetime buying opportunity for those who still had faith in the markets (or money to invest).

Little known company buys New York Stock Exchange for $8 billion

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 20:41:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Stock Exchange is being sold to a little-known rival in Atlanta for about $8 billion, ending more than two centuries of independence for the iconic Big Board.

The buyer, IntercontinentalExchange, a 12-year-old exchange that deals in investing contracts known as futures, said Thursday that little would change for the trading floor in Manhattan's financial district.

The NYSE dates to 1792, when 24 brokers and merchants traded stocks under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street. But its importance today is mostly symbolic. Most trading is done on computers that match thousands of orders a second.

"The cash equities business in America has effectively been obliterated," said Thomas Caldwell, chairman of Caldwell Securities in Toronto and a shareholder in the New York exchange's parent company, NYSE Euronext.

He said that the jewel of the deal is not the New York exchange but Liffe, a futures exchange founded in London.

"The original New York Stock Exchange, it's got a brand name, it's got recognition, but as a business it's a very small part of this thing," Caldwell said.

1 year on, Occupy is in disarray; spirit lives on

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 06:30:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Occupy Wall Street is in disarray a year after the protests against corporate greed and inequality began in lower Manhattan. On Monday, protesters will converge near the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate Occupy's anniversary, marking the day they began camping out in Zuccotti Park.

Marches and rallies are planned in more than 30 cities. About 300 people observing the anniversary marched together Saturday. Police say at least a dozen were arrested.

The movement has lost its ability to organize since New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg evicted the protesters from the plaza last year.

The movement grew too large too quickly for the organization to keep up. Without leaders or specific demands, what started as a protest against income inequality turned into an amorphous protest against everything wrong with the world.

Romney stocks for sale!

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 16:23:00 +0000

Shares of presidential candidate Mitt Romney debuted today on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock, trading under the ticker symbol USA, surged nearly 30 percent before selling off and ending the day at $31.20, slightly above its offering price of $31.00. The campaign raised approximately three billion dollars with the offering.

The IPO of Mr. Romney was underwritten by a number of investment banks including, but not limited to: Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Citibank, Bank of America, Deutsche Banks, Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, Nomura Securities, Allen & Company, UBS, Wells Fargo, Cantor Fitzgerald and Bain Capital. Trading activity indicates that all of the banks sold their Romney shares at today’s peak, while simultaneously telling their clients to buy. “Each of the banks probably pocketed close to a billion dollars,” said one veteran Wall Street trader. “I doubt the SEC will investigate because it will just make Obama look anti-business.”

Smith and Wesson, which manufacturers pistols, rifles and semi-automatic machine guns--many of which are popular with street gangs and terrorists--recently purchased millions of pre-IPO shares of Mitt Romney after the candidate, in response to the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, said that "changing the gun laws won’t make all bad things go away.” Smith and Wesson now owns 18 percent of Mr. Romney.