The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week
The 5 Dumbest Things on Wall Street: May 9
05/09/08 - 07:01 AM EDT
2. Our Fearless Leaders If it wants to help the financial markets, the Bush administration may want to stop making public pronouncements about how healthy they are. This week, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson inspired confidence by proclaiming in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that "the worst is likely to be behind us" in Wall Street's credit crisis. "There's no doubt that things feel better today, by a lot, than they did in March," Paulson said, pointing to the Federal Reserve's decision to rescue Bear Stearns and to provide liquidity to other investment banks as "an inflection point" for the markets. Paulson did concede that there will be "bumps along the road," and the market confirmed this shortly after the interview's publication. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 200 points. Hopefully, the selloff was short-lived, but the response to Paulson's optimism was remindful of the Bush administration's classic performance back on Aug. 8, 2007, at the outbreak of the credit crisis. With his economic advisers gathered soberly around him, President Bush said the turmoil in the housing sector would end with a ''soft landing'' and would not damage the larger economy. ''I believe that markets ultimately look at the fundamentals of any economy,'' said Bush. ''And the fundamentals of our economy are strong. Inflation is down. Real wages are increasing. The job market is a strong job market. People are working. Small businesses are flourishing." The Dow shed 387 points that day.
Dumb-o-meter score: 91. Does Wall Street have the makings of a new contrarian indicator here?
Herbalife's diploma debacle; Wachovia: crank calls and crank dealers; JPMorgan's muni bond blind-siders; Archer Daniels' ethanolism; Scotts' Gro-ing pains.
The Cockapoo of Wall Street; GE's Old Yeller; Nat City adds insult to injury; a Royal Bank's pain; Gray Lady vs. Foxy Lady.
American Apparel -- accounting in peril; Wachovia whacked; Pilgrim's Pride squawks; Buster City: Traders' Ptooy-taries.
Yahoo! is among the most searched stocks on TheStreet.com. Here's what Cramer had to say about the stock recently.
Catch up on his thinking on the hottest topics of the past week.
Investors will have to deal with a Fed meeting and another flood of earnings and economic data.
Ensco International and Echelon have the potential to move higher in coming days.
See who made what calls.
The addition of video is helping telecom companies compete against cable and satellite companies.
The June West Texas Intermediate contract reflects selling pressure ahead of Tuesday's expiration. But stocks in the sector are generally trading higher.
See who made what calls.
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