(As of 7:15 am pacific)
The market is reversing course after a bit of a relief
rally yesterday. Comments over the
weekend by President Obama and congressional leaders were enough to give the
market a brief boost, but investors are looking for substantive plans to
resolve the issue. Housing data released
today showed that construction on new homes in October rose to the highest rate
in more than 4 years. Housing starts are
up 42% from this time last year. On the
other hand, building permits (a sign of future demand), fell 2.7% in
October. Overall, the tone is that the
housing market continues to slowly and steadily recover as consumers take
better control of their balance sheets.
In company news, shares of Hewlett-Packard are getting crushed today as
the company missed earnings and disclosed accounting errors made by a firm it
acquired in 2011. European stocks are
mostly down as Moody’s downgraded the credit rating of France one notch late
Monday. Asian markets are slightly lower
as well. It appears yesterday’s rally
was short-lived.
