Stocks gained on signs that lawmakers are edging toward a deal that would help the U.S. avoid the "fiscal cliff." Indexes shrugged off an early loss and rose in afternoon trading Wednesday. The Dow closed up 106.98 points at 12,985.11. It had been down as much as 112 points in early trading.
Monday is the only day the stock market is more likely to fall than to rise. The Dow Jones industrial average has been down 10 of the past 11 Mondays. And the two worst days in market history are both known as Black Monday.
As for downgrades, is the worst over for America? Standard & Poor's managing director John Chambers said just Sunday that another U.S. downgrade can't necessarily be ruled out. 24/7 Wall St. says the U.S. isn't the only country that should put on the watch list.
Standard & Poor's downgraded Ireland's debt rating by one notch on Wednesday due to concerns over possible increased capital requirements by the country's banks.
After an exhaustive examination, DailyFinance's legal reporter comes to a clear verdict. Banks have done three things to create the massive glut of foreclosures choking America's legal systems and laying waste to its real estate markets.
Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's are both considering downgrading their ratings on U.S. debt because of rising interest-to-revenue ratios, the nation's jobless recovery, and rising Social Security and health care costs, among other factors, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Standard & Poor's is revamping its credit rating methodology for banks and financial institutions in a way that may cause about 40% of rated banks to get a downgrade, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Standard & Poor's lowered the credit ratings for AT&T and Verizon Communications on Monday, saying that increased competition will make it harder for the two largest phone companies to pay down their long-term debt.
Portugal's credit rating may be on its way down. Standard & Poor's warned Tuesday that a downgrade may be coming based on the government's failure to create policies that will boost productivity and cut the country's deficit.
Investors hungry for higher yields are flocking to the credit markets, putting junk-bond issuance on a record-setting pace. And lenders are loosening credit standards, while companies take on debt just because it's cheap. Sounds like a familiar scenario.
Citing the country's "wealthy and diversified economy, ample fiscal and monetary policy flexibility" and other factors, S&P affirmed the U.K.'s sovereign credit ratings Monday. However, it also maintained the negative outlook it has had since May 2009.
Federal prosecutors are looking into whether banks misled investors about their roles in mortgage-bond deals. Targeted banks include Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and UBS. At the same time, New York's Attorney General is launching a separate probe of whether some banks misled ratings agencies.
Stocks held on to gains as the Fed left its key lending rate unchanged and on better-than-expected news from economic reports on housing starts and import prices. The S&P500 continued its climb, finishing at a 17-month high set in October 2008, at 1,159.46, up 8.95 points.
Overall U.S. home values declined again in the fourth quarter of 2009. While prices in some markets appear to have hit bottom, values are slipping again in many parts of the country, even in some areas that had seen some gains.
