earnings reports

Earnings reports for both Google and Microsoft disappointed analysts today sending shares tumbling. In after-hours trading, Google is seeing the worse end of trader's reactions with a nearly instant seven percent drop.

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"The market was feeling the impact of Toyota's reports today, and investors were turning cautious, taking a wait-and-see stance ahead of more corporate results next week"

Japanese shares dropped Friday as selling spread across the board following Toyota's bleak earnings projection.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index sank 287.92 points, or 2.06 percent, to 13,655.34.

'Investors were spooked by Toyota's sluggish earnings reports and its weak profit outlook,' said Tsuyoshi Segawa, an equity strategist at Shinko Securities Co. in Tokyo.

Citigroup and Merrill Lynch put out horrible earnings reports, but they were received well. But Bank of America's bad performance is being pooh-poohed.

How is an investor to know when bad is okay and when it's actually bad? It's all relative, actually...

Kind of a quiet day on Wall Street, with traders wondering if Bank of America's less-than-expected Q1 forecast was a bump on the road to a bull market or a legitimate roadblock.

With the market off 35 points in Monday trading (as of 3 PM EST), after rising four percent last week on big earnings reports from Google and IBM, among others, I'd say that it's more of investors taking a breather today.

This in anticipation of some big economic numbers coming up this week and a new Federal Reserve meeting where Bernanke & Co. weigh another cut in interest rates.

One story I've been following is...

Breakout or Fakeout?

"This is another positive step in the crisis but it also shows that we are not out of the woods yet"

LONDON : Remarkably resilient morale among euro zone investors and businesses will face a reality check this week as first quarter earnings reports from the nonfinancial sector get into full swing. via International Herald Tribune

"This is the first week of earnings reports, and the marquee companies in general have been able to report good earnings, and the banks have been able to raise capital, and the market is responding to that"

Wall Street topped off a strong week with a big rally Friday, after results from companies like Citigroup Inc. via ABC News

Making A Break?

Stocks fell sharply Friday after a series of economic and earnings reports and a further rise in oil prices stoked concerns about the health of economy.

The major stock indexes fell more than 1.5 percent, with the Dow Jones industrials giving up more than 250 points.

Stocks fell sharply Friday after a series of depressing economic and earnings reports and high oil prices stoked concerns about the health of economy.

The major stock indexes fell more than 2 percent, with the Dow Jones industrials at times giving up more than 300 points.