Foreign Investors Group

PLS EXPLAIN LONG BUT UNDERSTANDABLE AND EXPLAINABLE.! =]

Recession fears slam stocks:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Stocks tumbled Friday morning after AIG’s record loss and weak readings on manufacturing and consumer sentiment revived recession fears.
Adding to the downbeat sentiment were record-high oil prices, the slumping dollar and reports that a rescue of bond insurer Ambac has hit some roadblocks.
Roughly two hours into the session, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 (SPX) index and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) all fell at least 1.7%.
AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) reported a steep $5.3 billion quarterly loss after the market close Thursday and said it took an $11 billion writedown related to big losses in investments tied to bad mortgage bets. Shares of the Dow component tumbled 7% Friday.
Also late Thursday, Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) reported quarterly profit that fell from a year ago and missed estimates, due to a number of charges it took in the quarter. The company was also cautious on its outlook, saying it was seeing some large customers holding back on purchases. Shares dipped 1.5% Friday.
CNBC reported that a proposed bailout of troubled bond insurer Ambac Financial has hit some significant snags, sending Ambac (ABK) shares 7.5% lower and adding to economic worries.
Meanwhile, investor Wilbur Ross said he was injecting up to $1 billion in bond insurer Assured Guaranty (AGO), whose stock climbed 14%.
Economic news mostly negative. The Chicago PMI, a report on manufacturing in the Midwest, fell more than expected, falling to 44.5 in February from 51.5 in the previous month, a more than six-year low. Economists thought it would fall to 49.5. Any number below 50 indicates weakness in the sector.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index was revised up slightly to 70.8 in February from an earlier read of 69.6, the lowest level since the early 1990s. Sentiment stood at 78 in January.
Both personal income and personal spending rose more than expected in January, the Commerce Department reported. But the report pointed to signs of inflation pressure.
Income rose 0.3% after rising 0.5% in December. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought income would rise 0.2%. Spending rose 0.4% after rising 0.3% in December, versus expectations for a rise of 0.2%.
Core PCE, the report’s inflation component, rose 0.3%, as expected, after rising 0.2% in December. But the measure, which tracks prices paid by consumers for goods other than food and energy, rose 2.2% versus a year ago. That’s above the 1% to 2% range for that indicator that the Federal Reserve is said to prefer.
The Fed has cut interest rates steadily since September, leaving the fed funds rate, a key bank lending rate, at 3%. Wall Streeters expect the bank to cut rates by another half-percentage point at the upcoming meeting on March 18.
However, in recent congressional testimony, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that rising inflation was making it harder for the Fed to continue cutting rates to stimulate the sluggish economy.
On the move. Stocks declines were broad based, with all 30 Dow components sliding, led by AIG. Other big losers included Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), JP Morgan (JPM, Fortune 500) and American Express (AXP, Fortune 500).
Elsewhere in the financial sector, MF Global (MF) slumped 20% in active trade, falling for a second session after admitting it lost $141.5 million after a rogue trader made unauthorized bets. Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and UBS all downgraded the stock and Moody’s and S&P cut their ratings on the company’s debt Friday.
Among other movers, shares of R.H. Donnelley (RHD) plunged for a second session after Bear Stearns and Deutsche Securities downgraded the stock of the phone book publisher and search engine operator. R.H. Donnelley slumped Thursday as well after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that missed forecasts and issuing a first-quarter outlook that is shy of expectations.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers topped winners four to one on volume of 650 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers five to two on volume of 1.07 billion shares.
Other markets. U.S. light crude oil for April delivery fell 64 cents to $101.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after ending the previous session at a record close of $102.59. The front-month contract touched a new trading high of $103.05 in electronic trading.
COMEX gold for April delivery fell $1 to $966.50 an ounce.
Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.57% from 3.66% late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
In currency trading, the dollar touched a fresh all-time low versus the euro before recovering a bit. The greenback hit a three-year low against the yen.

I am managing my families stock portfolio, and based on our long term perspective, how would you rate the following stock portfolio?
MS, NVDA, MGM, RTN, NRG, WMI, GE, SBUX, MYGN, BMY, BDK. All stocks are represented fairly equally, but lighter on MS, MGM, MYGN, and GE.

Thanks in advance!

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B)? Hewlett-Packard(HPQ)? Nucor(NUE)? Northrop Grumman(NOC)? Hess(HES)?

If i earn a profit on forex trading today for instace how do i get my money and when.

Can i get it directly into my bank account and how long will it be before i can with draw it.
Sorry i mean paid!

I filed my taxes with HR Block online e-file, and according to the IRS website my refund is supposed to be direct deposited on March 5th, 2010, tomorrow. I’m wondering if anyone else used SIMPLE PAY from HR Block, and how long that process delayed your IRS refund for compared to what the IRS website says. I expect a day or 2 but any longer than that would be a bit of a waste.

preferrably with maximum leverage.

I have worked hard and invested my money in hopes of watching my money grow! Also if you have any recommendations on books that i should read that would be appreciated. Thank you and good luck all!

I am looking for a good long term stock or stocks to invest in, that will gain a great deal of profit in 5 – 15 years.

Good stocks to invest in for long periods of time include companies that provide everyday services and goods, such as telephone companies, pen companies and computer companies. Speak with an invest…

I see that CitiFX requires only a $10k deposit. How long has Citi been brokering forex on the consumer level like this?

My five year old wants to start investing. She has opened a savings account and I told her when there was a good sum in there we would look at investing it. Since the money she puts in will be her own (from Christmas, birthday, etc) I don’t want it to be earmarked for college. Without a specific goal (college / retirement, etc) where would it be best to invest the money?