Paul Shread

A much anticipated speech on corporate accountability by President Bush failed to appease investors, who turned a modest gain when the speech began into a rout that erased Friday’s massive gains. Bush himself has come under fire lately for insider sales he made in the early 1990s as a director at Harken Energy Corp., which […]

Not even an investment in the battered telecom sector by Warren Buffett could stop traders from selling on Monday, as accounting worries at Merck and an earnings miss by Alcoa set the tone. The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ lost 3 to 102, and the Nasdaq fell 42 to 1405. The S&P 500 gave back 12 to 976, […]

Stocks came back from another sell-off on Wednesday, as investors overcame fears about possible Fourth of July terrorist attacks to send stocks higher. The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ rose 4 to 100, and the Nasdaq gained 22 to 1380 after breaking its October 1998 low of 1357 during the day. The S&P 500 added 5 to 953 […]

The stock market revisited some old lows on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing just above its September low and the Nasdaq just above its October 1998 low. The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ fell 3 to 96, and the Nasdaq lost 45 to 1357, less than a point above its October 1998 intraday low. The S&P 500 […]

WorldCom plunged 92% on a record 1.5 billion shares on Monday, accounting for half of the Nasdaq’s 3-billion share day. The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ fell 7 to 99, and the Nasdaq dropped 59 to 1403, the index’s lowest close in 5 years. The S&P 500 fell 21 to 968, just 3 points above its September closing […]

Tough talk from SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt and a stock buyback announcement from Pfizer sent stocks higher on Thursday, but not before rumors of accounting problems at GM almost derailed the rally. The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ gained 4 to 105, and the Nasdaq rose 29 to 1459. The S&P 500 climbed 17 to 990, and the […]

News of massive accounting fraud at WorldCom sent stocks sprawling in early trade Wednesday, but stocks rallied off their worst levels and almost ended the day in positive territory. In a move that was widely expected, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and said that the economic recovery has begun to moderate. The ISDEX […]

Stocks flip flopped again on Tuesday, only they went from up to down this time. The Federal Reserve is meeting today and tomorrow and is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged. The decision will be announced at 2:15 p.m. tomorrow. The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ lost 3 to 101, and the Nasdaq fell 36 to 1423. […]

Optimism that Microsoft will meet or beat estimates sparked a turnaround in stocks on Monday. The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ gained 1 to 105, and the Nasdaq climbed 19 to 1460, 46 points off its low for the day. The S&P 500 added 3 to 992 after coming within 5 points of its September 21 close of […]

There was no place to hide on Friday, as investors sold even safe havens like tobacco and drug shares in the third straight high-volume sell-off for the market. The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ lost 2 to 103, and the Nasdaq fell 23 to 1440. The S&P 500 dropped 17 to 989, and the Dow lost 177 to […]

Stocks fell on rising volume for the second straight day on Thursday, as a rising trade deficit and a warning from Genzyme outweighed a positive manufacturing report. The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ fell 3 to 106, and the Nasdaq lost 32 to 1464. The S&P 500 dropped 13 to 1006, and the Dow fell 129 to 9431. […]

The day opened with bad news and it just got worse. Before the markets opened, CPU manufacturer AMD said revenue for the current quarter will be in a range of $620 million to $700 million, significantly down from earlier estimates of $820 million to $900 million. “As we have seen in previous statements from a […]