By ITMS News on September 2nd, 2010 1:27pm Eastern Time

Spain's sells 3.3 billion euros ($4.2 billion) in five year debt,  helping the euro rise slightly to $1.2820, up from $1.2799 in late trading on Wednesday.

By Nicholas Santiago on September 2nd, 2010 1:25pm Eastern Time

In 2006 and 2007 the stock market saw a lot of merger and acquisition activity. In fact, that was the catalyst for the stock market advance throughout 2006 and it helped support and recover the markets three times in 2007 despite the brewing mortgage crisis. Here we go again in 2010 as the merger and acquisition activity heats up. Hewlett Packard Co (NYSE:HPQ) just won a bidding war for 3 PAR Inc (NYSE:PAR) over Dell Inc (NASDAQ:DELL) today. It is important to realize that Dell Inc started the bidding at $16.00 when the 3 PAR Inc stock was trading under $10.00 a share. Hewlett Packard Inc is now paying $33.00 a share for the stock. That is move of more than two hundred percent in 3PAR stock since August 16th, 2010.

What happens once the takeover mania slows down or even stops? Buyouts were common before the 2007 top and the market still declined. This current situation of merger mania is not any different. Simply put when the stock market struggles at a time when the Federal Reserve Bank has the Fed funds rate at zero percent since December 2008 there are bigger problems on the horizon. We all know about the problems on the surface with the economy such as high unemployment, continued foreclosures, and massive government debt just to name a few. What happens when we face the next big surprise?

It is important to not get caught up in the merger and acquisition mania as many traders and investors did back in 2006 and 2007. Really nothing has changed for the better since that time and until it does this is just short term noise and nothing more. When you think about it mergers and acquisitions are actually negative in the long run as companies will consolidate and decrease the work force which will just add to the employment problem in the United States.




Nicholas Santiago
Chief Market Strategist
www.InTheMoneyStocks.com

By ITMS News on September 2nd, 2010 12:43pm Eastern Time

By ITMS News on September 2nd, 2010 12:10pm Eastern Time

Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades. The average rate for a 30 year fixed loan was 4.32 percent, down from 4.36 percent last week. The average rate on 15-year fixed loan dropped to 3.83 percent from 3.86 percent last week. The lowest on records since 1991.

By InTheMoneyStocks on September 2nd, 2010 11:37am Eastern Time

It has been reported that another oil rig has exploded off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. The rig is reported to be owned by Mariner Energy (NYSE:ME). All workers have been accounted for and no oil is reported to have spilled. Further details have not been released.

By ITMS News on September 2nd, 2010 11:36am Eastern Time

S&P Equity Research  upgraded U.S.-listed shares of Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, to buy from hold. S&P Noted, Petrobras deal to pay Brazil's government $42.5 billion in stock may add near-term pressure on the stock.

By ITMS News on September 2nd, 2010 10:59am Eastern Time

Dell Inc. reports that it will not revise its latest bid for 3Par Inc. ending the month long bidding war. Dell had raised its offer to $32 per share in cash, only to be outbid again by Hewlett-Packard  which raised its own bid to $33. Dell shares were trading up more than 1%.

By Nicholas Santiago on September 2nd, 2010 10:36am Eastern Time

The GDX which is the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF has recovered some yesterday's declines. Yesterday gold and gold miners declined as market fears subsided and the major stock indexes rallied. The GDX will have short term intra-day resistance around the $53.80 area.

By Nicholas Santiago on September 2nd, 2010 10:19am Eastern Time

Yesterday the major stock market indexes surged higher on the back of positive Chinese data, a positive ISM Index in the U.S., and a severe decline in the U.S. Dollar Index. This sharp reaction higher in the stock market obviously caught many short traders and investors off guard in the short term. Recently many talking heads in the media had been talking about the bearish Hindenberg Omen. This bearish technical and fundamental setup was actually featured on the Yahoo homepage and also on many local news channels that never feature the stock markets. While the markets could still decline it will rarely do so when the public knows about it. The stock market is just not that easy. Remember if it was everyone would do it. Don't you all remember the 1920's or the so called 'roaring twenty's. What about the more recent 1990's? The tech bubble or the dot com bubble are historic events that will be read by many generations of people to come. This is now a traders market and not meant for the buy and hold investor any longer. The easy money that comes along once or twice in a century has been made already.

Normally after a large point move in the market the next trading session is usually a flat type of trading day. It is natural for markets to often pause or consolidate the gains after a major advance or decline. Tomorrow is also the highly anticipated government non-farm payroll employment report for the month of August. Therefore, today the market indexes could experience very light volume after the first couple of hours of the trading session.

This morning most retail stocks are trading higher helping to keep the markets positive. The Retail Holders Trust (NYSE:RTH) is trading higher by 0.92 cents to $90.60. This ETF surged higher yesterday and remains strong today. Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) is another leading retail stock that is trading sharply higher today. Costco Wholesale Corp is trading higher by 0.91 cents to $58.70. Other leading retail stocks that are moving higher are Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN), and J.C. Penney Inc (NYSE:JCP). When retail stocks rise it is often an indication that the consumer is spending money. This is a positive for the economy because consumer spending accounts for more than 70.0 percent of the gross domestic product in the United States. Should the retail stocks begin to decline then traders and investors must be careful as this would be a sign of contraction in the economy.

In any case we are really not expecting fireworks today before the government employment report. It is also important to remember that the next trading day after a major rally or decline is usually a pause or small consolidation session for the major stock indexes.




Nicholas Santiago
Chief Market Strategist
www.InTheMoneyStocks.com

By ITMS News on September 2nd, 2010 10:03am Eastern Time

Factory Orders for July Increased 0.1%,analyst expected 0.3%.

Pending Home Sales for July climb 5.2%, analyst expected no change.

By ITMS News on September 2nd, 2010 10:01am Eastern Time

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By InTheMoneyStocks on September 2nd, 2010 9:33am Eastern Time

Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke is testifying in front of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission(FCIC). One of the key points so far that Ben Bernanke said, was that low interest rates did not cause the housing crisis. This comment could be highly debated by many trader and investors.

By ITMS News on September 2nd, 2010 9:29am Eastern Time

Private investment firm 3G Capital Management Inc. is expected to acquire Burger King Holdings Inc. for $24 a share, total deal, including both equity and debt, is around $4 billion. Burger King shares are trading up 23% pre market.

By ITMS News on September 2nd, 2010 9:02am Eastern Time

Del Monte Foods Co.reports  first quarter profit rose to $59.4 million, or 29 cents a share, from $58.6 million, or 29 cents last year. Analysts had expected the company to earn 27 cents a share. Net sales for the period dropped to $804.6 million from $813.7 million.

By ITMS News on September 2nd, 2010 8:36am Eastern Time

Productivity falls 1.8% in second quarter, just lower than analyst expectations of  -1.7%.

Labor Costs for the second quarter rise 1.1%, meeting analyst expectations.