Archive for December 22nd, 2011

Going into the week after Christmas basically flat for the year, the market will be counting on Santa Claus to pump up the bullish cheer next week. Stocks have a historical tendency to rise the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day and for the first two trading days of January.

Stocks Hold Near Session Highs; Akamai Surges

U.S. stocks drifted higher Thursday, as a better-than-expected reading on unemployment boosted investor optimism.

Stocks rose in another thinly traded session on Thursday, putting the S&P on track for its third straight advance after data pointed to ongoing improvement in the labor market and reinforced expectations for a rally into the end of the year.

I love cars and I love investing.  If there is a way that I can combine the two, I jump at that opportunity.  Telsa Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA – News) is not one of those opportunities. If you are unfamiliar with Tesla, …

Among the stock activity stories for Thursday, Dec. 22, from AP Business News: — Shares of Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. fell after Wal-Mart pulled a batch of its infant formula from more than 3,000 stores when it learned about the death of a newborn.

A look at Nasdaq 10 most-active stocks at 1 p.m.: Akamai Technologies Inc. rose 17.9 percent to $31.44 with 16,433,900 shares traded.

Again investors were conflicted over the potential of a Santa Claus rally into year’s end. For a ‘tell’ the Fast Money pros say watch the financials.

PHH Corp.’s shares plunged more than 17 percent on Wednesday as Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered some of the mortgage company’s credit ratings, saying it is concerned the company may not be able to repay $423 million in debt due in March 2013.