Tag - Nxst

The markets reversed yesterday's sell-off close up just slightly. The Dow closed at 9,539, up 30 points; the Nasdaq finished at 2,024, up 6 points; and the S&P 500 stood at 1,028, up just over 2 points. 

Stocks on the Russell 2000 finished up 3 points ending the day's session at 583, its highest close since October 2008. 

Advances lead declines by a margin of 3 to 2 on the NYSE; 5½ to 4 on the Amex; and 5 to 4 on the Nasdaq. 

Small-cap price gainers trading over one million shares include Willdan Group (Nasdaq:WLDN), up 120%; CAS Medical Systems (Nasdaq:CASM), up 84%; Nexstar Broadcasting Group (Nasdaq:NXST), up 38%; and Reddy Ice Holdings (NYSE:FRZ), up 35%. 

*****As if there had been any doubt, Fed Chief Ben Bernanke was nominated for a second term. This is a good move in my opinion. Especially now, switching horses midstream would seem like a dangerous move. Plus, my biggest gripes about the various stimulus plans and bailouts are with Congress, not the Fed.  

Congress is responsible for turning the bailouts into a cash-grab for their favorite constituents. Of course, some programs were necessary, like the efforts to modify mortgages to keep people in their homes. Even the Cash for Clunkers program helped automakers and dealers.

There's been some criticism that much of the rebate money in the Cash for Clunkers ended up going to foreign car makers. But Toyota, Honda and all the rest hire American workers to work in their U.S. based factories. And if Cash for Clunkers helps these companies keep workers on the payroll and off unemployment benefits, them it's a good thing.  

*****You gotta give economist Nouriel Roubini, aka Dr. Doom, credit for his consistency. Now that growth for the global economy is widely expected by economists, and home values are improving slightly, Roubini is now warning about the potential for another round of recession.  

To be fair, Roubini called the depths of the recession pretty accurately.
And even his double-dip recession scenario makes sense. He believes that food and energy prices are rising faster than demand should warrant. At some point, like oil at $100 a barrel, prices will further depress demand.  

Not only that, loose monetary policy will have to be tightened at some point. And it's likely that growth in the U.S. will only be in the 2% GDP growth range when the Fed is forced to raise rates.  

And, on top of that, unemployment is likely to remain high for a few years. That's a natural cap on demand and a big reason why GDP growth in the U.S. is expected to top out around 2%.  

Come to think of it, Roubini expectations sound a lot like mine. I call this situation "Managed America." And I'm currently focused on buying the companies that can grow in an environment of slow growth and weak demand. For more about Managed America and how you can profit form it, click HERE.  

*****If you're on the Preferred List, you love Goldman Sachs. But as an ordinary individual investor, you probably feel like Goldman represents all that's wrong with Wall Street.  

Regulators are investigating Goldman's practice of sharing short-term trading ideas with top clients that sometimes differ from the firm's stated fundamental stance.  
In other words, Goldman's analysts might tell top clients to short oil, even while Goldman is publicly bullish on prices.  

We all know that Wall Street's interests are rarely aligned with that of individual investors. This is just one more example of why it's critical that investors be careful out there.  

Best Regards,

Ian Wyatt
Editor
Small Cap Investor Daily

P.S. Speaking of Wall Street not looking out for your interests, yesterday I mentioned my Recovery Portfolio advisory service where I share with you what I'm investing in. I've put $100,000 of my own money on the line and share all my trades with readers. A bunch of you signed up yesterday to start profiting alongside me. If you missed yesterday's Small Cap Investor Daily or just want to learn more, CLICK HERE.

P.P.S. My book The Small-Cap Investor: Secrets to Winning Big with Small-Cap Stocks is coming out on September 14 - visit www.smallcapbook.com to learn more. You can also follow me on http://twitter.com/ianwyatt 

Ian Wyatt is the Chief Investment Strategist of SmallCapInvestor.com and author of The Small-Cap Investor: Secrets to Winning Big with Small-Cap Stocks. You can learn more about his book and receive small-cap stock picks at www.smallcapbook.com.

Palm Harbor Homes Inc (Nasdaq:PHHM), Kohlberg Capital Corp (Nasdaq:KCAP) and Transcat Inc (Nasdaq:TRNS) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

MAP Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:MAPP), Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (Nasdaq:SCR) and Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc (Nasdaq:NXST) are also among the biggest percentage losers.

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small caps kicked off the second half of the year sharply lower in morning trading and remained in the red midday after the credit crunch’s aftershocks resurfaced and gripped the market.

At 12:27 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) had sold off 8.46, or 1.13%, at 739.82, while the Dow is down 150.95, or 1.19%, to 12,487.37.

Small caps saw a broad sell-off Monday as major financial firms disclosed unsettling management shifts. Wachovia (NYSE:WB) said this morning that it is replacing CEO Ken Thompson with Chairman Lanty Smith on an interim basis, while Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) reported that Kerry Killinger will leave his post as chairman, but will retain his position as CEO of the bank and home lender. Shares of Wachovia plunged to their lowest level since 1995.

Across the pond, Britain’s largest mortgage lender to residential rental units Bradford & Bingley (LON:BB) said that the housing market was getting worse and that it will slash the amount of cash it was initially expected to raise through a rights issue. Private equity firm TPG is expected to take a 20% stake in the hard hit lender.

Economic news out today added to market jitters, painting an austere macro picture. Construction spending sputtered to 0.4% in the month of April, below the 0.5% economists were expecting.

InterOil Corp. (AMEX: IOC), Ceragon Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: CRNT) and Globalstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: GSAT) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage losers:

U.S. stocks are trading lower following Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke’s words on subprime loans and a drop in leading economic indicators.  Among small caps, shares of OPNET Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPNT) fell on news that quarterly profit missed the mark, while Flow International Corp.’s (Nasdaq: FLOW) stock price declined after news the company will continue to be independent.

At 11:32 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had lost 4.75 points, or 0.58%, to 815.45.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9.26 points, or 0.07%, to 13,478.27.

These are the biggest percentage gainers among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Stocks opened lower across the board, despite news of an unexpected drop in weekly jobless claims.

At 9:59 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was down 4.32 points, or 0.53 percent, to 815.88.  Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 27.55 points, or 0.20 percent, to 13,459.98.

The number of American workers filing jobless claims in the week ended March 12 fell 5,000 to 293,000, the Labor Department said before the opening bell.  That’s the fifth straight week of declines and a sign of string job growth.  Economists were expecting jobless claims to increase 18,000 to 315,000.