A DESCRIPTION OF LAST week’s market performance offered by one journalist was “June Swoon”. By the numbers, for the week ended Friday, June 3, 2011, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 12,151, down 290 points, or 2.3%. The Standard & Poor’s 500 closed at 1300, down 31 points, or 2.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite closed at 2732, down 2.3%.
Nokia is having a rough go of it. Last Tuesday, they warned that second quarter revenue would miss targets due to sliding sales and prices. In addition, they suspended their full year forecast for 2011.
Microsoft is showing off Windows 8, which appears to be heavy on touch-screen features, and is running on devices using ARM-based chips. Microsoft appears serious about catching rivals Google and Apple.
Groupon has filed for an IPO, saying it expects to raise as much as $750 million. The company will need to do better than its first quarter loss of $146 million, in order to continue to impress investors.
It appears that doctors across the country will spend an average of $40,000 on software to build digital databases of patient records, responding to government led efforts tied to the 2009 economic stimulus plan. Questions remain as to whether these efforts will allow doctors to send patient records to other doctors who could benefit from having rapid access to medical histories. Altruism aside, one key business question is how one physician directly benefits from being able to forward this information on a timely basis to another physician.
Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a no-confidence vote in parliament. The European Central Bank and the IMF are attempting to determine what to do with Greece. Portugal’s elections have given the winning edge to a fiscal conservative, Pedro Coelho, of the Social Democratic Party, with the Socialist government of Jose Socrates admitting defeat.
Other economic news remains consistent, with new unemployment claims staying just over 400,000 from one week to the next, official unemployment just north of 9%, and home prices very soft. This continued uncertainty is reflected in the lack of direction in the publicly traded markets.
In spite of news that could be considered disheartening, life is good for most of us, especially compared to conditions of many around the world. In addition, there is always opportunity, especially if we are inclined to look for and prepare for it.
According to CBS News, the Nyergers of Collier County Florida paid cash for their home. About five months ago, Bank of America filed foreclosure papers on their home. In court, the homeowners were able to prove they didn’t owe BofA anything on the house, and were able to confirm that they had never had a mortgage on the property.
A Collier County judge agreed with the Nyergers, and ordered BofA to pay the couple’s legal fees. Five months after the judge’s ruling, BofA still hadn’t paid the legal fees, so the couple’s attorney foreclosed on the bank. Sheriff’s deputies, movers, and the Nyergers attorney went to the bank, padlocked the doors, and began removing desks, computers, filing cabinets, and teller trays. About an hour after being locked out of the bank, the branch manager handed the attorney a check for the legal fees, with apologies for the misunderstanding.
Quote of the week:
“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”
Albert Schweitzer
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