Stock Market Commentary

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed at $566.71 last Friday, marking a flat performance for the week. The stock has yet to recover from the $600 level, which was last reached in late April. While Apple is still up 40% for the year, it has been on a downward trajectory since the start of May. Recent trends suggest that the stock may continue to consolidate over the next few trading weeks since its recent intra-day high of $618 just after its earnings announcement in April.

The Facebook IPO saga continues to seize the public imagination. In fact, many analysts and traders are now speculating that the “jubilation” over the IPO would even outride any negative repercussions in the financial markets from developments in Europe or the JPMorgan Chase’s losses. Meanwhile, Facebook, which is already assured of becoming one of the most valuable companies when it goes public, has been on an intense marketing drive in the run-up to its expected trading launch on NASDAQ on 18 May.

Elections held on 6 May in Greece unfortunately brought about no greater clarity than before. Neither the pro- nor the anti-bailout camp won enough seats to form a ruling coalition, resulting in a hung parliament. To make things worse, neither side has been willing to compromise, further exasperating voters who are already hard pressed by tax hikes and wage cuts.

People in Europe are having their say, electing political parties that are promising spending and a move away from austerity. This has caused uncertainty in markets, which has led to another week of falls in equity markets around the world.

Last Friday, Itau Unibanco Holding SA (NYSE:ITUB), the largest financial conglomerate in the Southern Hemisphere and the world’s 10th largest bank by market value, closed at $14.85, marking a 5.8% drop for the week. Seemingly with no end in sight, the stock has been on the decline after peaking at $21.70 in early March. The stock is also currently down 19% for the year.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) closed at $2.16 last Friday, marking a 2.3% decline for the week. While the stock is currently up 18.7% for the year, it has been trading around $2.14-$2.40 for the past two months. Moreover, after peaking at $2.40 in early April, Sirius Radio has been declining ever since.

Last week, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) posted a decline of 3.7%, closing at $41.75. This meant that much of the gains for the past six weeks have been erased, although the stock is still up 24.9% for the year. After peaking at $46.27 in late March, JPMorgan has been generally on a downward trajectory, though there had been occasions when it spiked above $44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) continued its decline last week, closing at $7.74 on Friday, marking a 6.2% drop for the week. The stock has been on a downward trajectory since peaking at $9.93 in late March. (On the other hand, the stock remains in positive territory for the year, having risen by 41.7% since last December.)

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) closed at $25.10 last Friday, marking a 47.6% drop for the week. The stock dramatically fell by 48% last Thursday, after Wall Street expressed its loss of confidence when the company cut its outlook and missed sales estimates again. This was the company’s lowest point in about two years, compared to a lifetime high of $115.98 only last September. Its earnings announcement last week gave credence to critics who alleged that the company had been inflating sales and that its high-growth figures were no longer sustainable.

Though Facebook's IPO date has not been made official, analysts and journalists have been saying that the social media giant is aiming for an IPO sometime in May. However, recent events, such as Facebook’s billion-dollar Instagram acquisition or its $550 million patent deal with Microsoft, might have pushed the IPO to June instead, as the company now needs to make more financial disclosures.

Networking gear manufacturer Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), which is reporting its third quarter earnings after the market close on Wednesday (9 May), closed at $19.42 last Friday, marking a 3% drop for the week. The stock has generally been on the decline since peaking at $21.19 in early April. Cisco, which is currently up 4.7% for the year, has a 52-week low of $13.30 and a 52-week high of $21.30.

Poor economic statistics from both sides of the Atlantic, along with political concerns in Europe, combined to send stocks sharply lower around the globe this week.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) fell 5.3% last Friday to close at $57.43, after the announcement of its second-quarter financial performance. The stock, which has been on an upward trajectory, is currently up 23.6% this year.

While Starbucks increased its net income by 18%, its sales figures showed weakness in parts of Europe. Earnings for the second quarter reached $309.9 million or 40 cents per share, compared to $261.6 million or 34 cents per share a year ago. Revenue rose to $3.2 billion, up from $2.79 billion a year ago.

Online social games provider Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) fell by 9.5% last Friday to close at $8.52. This also marked a 0.9% drop for the week. Zynga has been on a price decline since peaking at $14.69 in early March. (The stock is currently down 9% for the year.) Zynga’s dismal stock performance came even after it reported better-than-expected first quarter results last week.

Tech giant Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose above the $600 level last week, closing at $603 on Friday. This was also the company’s best stock performance over the past six weeks. Nonetheless, while last week’s performance represented a 5.2% gain, the stock is still away from the $644 peak achieved in early April. Nonetheless, after announcing a much better than expected second-quarter performance that was primarily boosted by strong iPhone sales, Apple shares soared by 9% last Wednesday. This was also Apple’s biggest one-day gain since November 2008.

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) reversed a two-month slide last week, closing at $40.66, a 1% gain for the week. Last week’s stock performance was a much-welcomed improvement after the stock has been falling from $49.46 since late February. The stock is currently down 10% for the year. The gold producer will be announcing its first-quarter results on before the market open on 2 May.

Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) closed at $14.17 last Friday, marking at 13.2% gain for the week. The casino-entertainment company, which will be announcing its first-quarter results on 1 May, reversed its downward slide last week but is still down 7.9% since its IPO in February this year.

Last Friday, Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE:AUY) closed at $14.79, marking a 5.7% gain for the week. The gold producer, which will be announcing its first-quarter results after the market close on 1 May, has been on the rise again since bottoming out in mid-April at $10.30. While the stock is currently up 1.1% for the year, it is still far from the $17.97 achieved in late February. According to Thomson Reuters, the average price target for Yamana Gold Inc. is currently $20.91. How Yamana Gold Inc. will perform largely depends on how it copes with the strong headwinds in the industry.

Although US and international economic news was mixed at best, equity markets put in solid performances with the Nasdaq once more starring with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) gaining strongly on its results.

Yesterday the Federal Reserve issued an FOMC announcement and stated that it did not intend to make any changes in interest rate policy right now. In the statement they upgraded their economic forecast for this year saying that they now expect the economy to grow between 2.4% and 2.9%, which is better than the estimate they gave back in January for growth in the 2.2% and 2.7%.

Even if the economy were to grow at 2.9% though that wouldn't be enough to spur a huge improvement in the unemployment rate or make people really feel better.

I just did this podcast with Michael Panzner, the author of Rules of the Stock Market Jungle, Financial Armageddon, and When Giants Fall. You can get his books at his Amazon author page.

Stocks rose this week in a choppy market, snapping recent reversals, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased its outlook for the global economy but US economic activity seemed to ease.

I did this podcast with Reggie Middleton of www.boombustblog.com.

Reggie is a private individual investor who made a fortune in real estate and the financial markets and hired a team of analysts to work for him. He uses that research to discover more profit opportunities and shares it with high net worth clients and institutional investors at his website www.boombustblog.com.

Last Friday, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed at $605.23, continuing a downward trend for the week. The stock fell by 4.5% in the course of last week. After peaking around $643 in early April, Apple has been falling ever since. While the stock is up 49.4% for the year, some are now wondering if Apple has peaked for now. The impression was further reinforced when Apple fell again on Monday this week by 4.15%, marking five consecutive days of decline.

Last Friday, General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) closed at $18.88, marking a 3.1% decline for the week. Over the past month, GE has been trading around $18.73 – 20.35. While the stock has been somewhat directionless in recent months, it is currently up 4.5% for the year. GE will be reporting its first quarter financial performance this Friday (20 April) before the market opens.

E-Trade Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC) closed at $10.06 last Friday, marking a 5.6% drop for the week. Over the past month, the financial services company has been trading around $10 - $11.50, although it has been on a downward trajectory since peaking in mid-March. (The stock is currently up 26.2% for the year.)

E-Trade will be reporting its first quarter financial performance this Thursday (19 April). In the run-up to the earnings announcement, the stock has been experiencing heavy trading volume, particularly on Friday when it suffered a 2.5% drop.

I did this podcast with Dave Skarica of addictedtoprofits.net.

In it we talked about the current action in gold stocks and how so many people seemed to be too scared to buy them right now. Gold is down today and the GDX is up almost a percent as I write this. I got one stock up 3% today and almost all of the mining stocks I have recently bought are paying 2% plus dividends.

This is the time to buy but it seems no one can muster the courage to do it.

Last Friday, eBay closed at $36.12, marking a 1.4% gain for the week. The auction giant will be reporting its first quarter earnings this coming Wednesday (18 April). Over the past month, eBay has traded around $35.41 - $38.08. The stock is currently up 19% for the year.

Yes gold stocks are cheap. Watch this video and you'll see why they are cheaper than you probably thought they were. Once you watch it you will understand why the stocks are in such an incredible position right now.