It’s unfortunate that European countries are not more like big banking firms in the sense that downgrades increase their valuations. That’s exactly what happened to a group of large international banks; one day after Moody’s downgraded 15 of the world’s largest financial firms, 13 soared higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
Index | Gain/ Loss | Gain/ Loss % |
---|---|---|
Dow Jones Industrials | 53.51 | .43% |
S&P 500 | 4.33 | .33% |
August WTI Futures | .57 | .73% |
Source: Yahoo! Finance
Internationally, good news came out of Spain, where external auditors determined that the country will need to supply its banking sector with $78 billion to survive the worst-case scenario. Although this number is astronomical, it’s considerably lower than originally thought. Spain’s IBEX 35 increased 1.5%, as the 10-year Spanish note dropped -.27% on the news.
Benchmark WTI crude oil prices moved back into the $80 range, with August futures prices increasing 2.5% today. The price increase was buoyed up by positive investor sentiment about a viable solution to the euro-zone debt fiasco. Both big oil and small benefited from the stiff increase in price. Kodiak Oil and Gas
The recently spun-off Philips 66
Keep a long term focus
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