{"id":5912,"date":"2012-08-23T07:39:21","date_gmt":"2012-08-23T12:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leavittbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=5912"},"modified":"2012-08-23T07:39:21","modified_gmt":"2012-08-23T12:39:21","slug":"before-the-open-aug-23-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.leavittbrothers.com\/?p=5912","title":{"rendered":"Before the Open (Aug 23)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning. Happy Thursday. <\/span>
\nThe Asian\/Pacific markets closed up across the board (except for South Korea). Hong Kong was the sole 1% winner. Europe is currently mixed; there are no 1% movers. Futures here in the States point towards a slight down open for the cash market.
\n<\/span>
\nThe dollar is down slightly. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are up. <\/span>
\nThere are more signs from China their economy is slowing. The flash PMI readind dropped again, and the Bank of China posted its smallest quarterly profit growth in more than three years. <\/span>
\nThe German Chancellor and French President will meet today to discuss the Spanish and Greek bailouts.<\/span>
\nChicago Fed President Charles Evans made dovish comments reguardng QE3. He said: “I don’t need to see any more data to know that I think we should have more accommodation. I certainly would applaud anybody who takes action in order to strengthen their economies.” Evans is not on the FOMC, although he does attend the meetings. <\/span>
\nHPQ released earnings…in addition to yesterday’s 3.7% drop, the stock is down another 4.3% in pre market trading.<\/span>
\nBIG is down 18%…earnings related. The stock will open just above its 52-week low.<\/span>
\nSony is laying off 1,000 employees in its mobile division.<\/span>
\nCRM is also out with earnings this morning, but I don’t have the numbers yet or a see the stock trading. <\/span>
\nFrom a technical standpoint the market remains in decent shape. The indexes took out highs two days ago but failed to follow through or hold the levels. That’s fine because the highs were made after an extended move, and it’s hard to pile gains on top of gains. The market is entitled to rest. I maintain my conservative stance. This isn’t a time to let positions run with a loose stop; be aggressive taking partial profits. Don’t let a profit turn into a loss. Don’t let a loss turn into a big loss. Preserve capital; better times are coming soon. More after the open.<\/span>
\nheadlines at Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/span>
\nheadlines at MarketWatch<\/a><\/span>
\ntoday’s upgrades\/downgrades<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Earnings<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Economic Numbers<\/a><\/span>
\n