Dow gained 29.82 points to 11,896.44

Bloomberg: U.S. stocks rose, reversing earlier losses and preventing the longest Dow Jones Industrial Average slump since 1978, as investors speculated the Federal Reserve will start another stimulus program. Treasuries 10-year notes erased gains, and the dollar slid.
The Dow halted an eight-day drop, gaining 29.82 points to 11,896.44 at 4 p.m. in New York. The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent, rebounding after yesterday’s plunge drove it to the cheapest price-earnings ratio in more than a year. 
Speculation the Fed will embark on a third round of asset purchases to stem off a recession grew after the Wall Street Journal said three former central bank officials support the approach. More than $2.3 trillion had been erased from the value of global equities since July 22, and Treasury yields set 2011 lows, amid concern the economic recovery is faltering.

Stock markets have terrible day; Dow drops 500 points


Worries about the state of the economy in the U.S. and around the world slammed stocks on Thursday, driving the Dow Jones industrial average to close down more than 500 points. It was the Dow's worst drop since October 2008.

U.S. Stocks Rally After Jobs Growth Report

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 126.58 points, or 1.1 percent, to 11,510.26 after sinking 512.76 points yesterday.
“Anything better-than-expected is going to be positive in light of the tumble that we’ve seen in equity prices,” Kevin Caron, market strategist in Florham Park , New Jersey , at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., said in a telephone interview. His firm has $115 billion in client assets. “The numbers may not be strong enough to make for a strong recovery, but better than what the market was bracing for.”

Americans & Europeans shd wake up to the harsh reality: all that debt is eroding their future. time to start saving!


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WASHINGTON: Standard & Poor's cut the US credit rating for the first time in history Friday, saying the country's politicians are increasingly unable to come to grips with its massive fiscal deficit and debt load.

S&P cut the US rating from its top-flight triple-A one notch to AA+, and added a negative outlook to it, saying there was a chance it could be downgraded again within two years if progress is not made cutting the huge government budget gap.

It was the first time the US was downgraded since it received an AAA rating from Moody's in 1917; it has held the S&P rating since 1941.

The rating came after a strong push back from the White House, which called S&P's analysis of the economy deeply flawed.

A Treasury spokesperson alleged that there was a "two trillion dollar error" in the S&P analysis, without offering any immediate explanation.

Warren Buffett says S&P erred .... I wish there was more elaboration from the news stories on what he said.




Billionaire Warren Buffett said S&P erred when it lowered the U.S. credit rating and reiterated his view that the economy will avoid its second recession in three years. The U.S. merits a “quadruple A” rating, Buffett, 80, said Aug. 6 in an interview with Betty Liu at Bloomberg Television.
“Financial markets create their own dynamics, but I don’t think we’re facing a double dip recession,” said Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. “Clearly what stock markets do have is an effect on confidence, and this sell-off can create a lack of confidence.”

The greatest investor would not be buying big time if he thought the US is gonna go down. There is yet hope for equity markets --- u just read these excerpts:



Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) , whose top three shareholdings declined by about $1.6 billion last week, disclosed its biggest quarterly purchase of equities in almost three years.
Berkshire bought $3.62 billion of stock in the three months ended June 30, the most since it spent $3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2008, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said late Aug. 5 in a filing. Equity purchases exceeded acquisitions of fixed-maturity securities for the first time since 2009.