Jul 31, 2008 9:37 PM ET
Investors sold stocks after the second quarter economic growth was reported at 1.9% annual rate by the Commerce Department. The department revised economic growth lower for several quarters dating back to 2005 and economy in the fourth quarter 2007 shrank at 0.2% rate lower than earlier projection of 0.6% growth. Exxon Mobil reported a decline in production of 7.5% and technology shares fell after Akamai Technologies lowered its earnings guidance. >>

Jul 31, 2008 12:54 AM ET
U.S. stocks traded lower after the release of weak U.S. economic growth estimate and lowered estimates of the previous years. The economy grew at 1.9% annual rate in the second quarter and growth rate for the first quarter was lowered to 0.9% from 1%. The economy shrank at 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to earlier estimate of a rise of 0.6%. In the earnings news, MasterCard reported a loss on settlement with American Express and Visa reported earnings rise of 41%. >>

Jul 30, 2008 5:13 PM ET
U.S. stocks closed higher for the second day in a row after crude oil price fell $5 a barrel and the Fed offered longer term notes and extended access to the discount window for commercial banks. CB Richard Ellis plunged 25% after it reported 88% decline in earnings. Of the stocks in S&P 500 index, 360 increased, 134 declined and 6 were unchanged. Brazil surged 3.4% and India soared 3.6%. Most European markets gained more than 1.4%. >>

Jul 30, 2008 4:59 PM ET
U.S. stocks traded higher in the early afternoon as crude oil futures rose and financials kept their gains of the day. Crude oil rose more than $5 a barrel after a weekly inventory report showed a larger than expected decline in inventories. Supplies at the end of the last week declined about 5 million barrels. Connecticut sued three bond rating agencies for assigning lower rating on municipal bonds for comparable corporate debt structures. >>

Jul 30, 2008 11:41 AM ET
U.S. stocks edged higher for the second day after financials gained and crude oil futures declined. Banks and mortgage lenders Fannie and Freddie rose after SEC extended controversial trading ban on short selling till August 12. In earnings, Cummins rose after second quarter earnings gained 37% but CB Richard Ellis plunged 19% after earnings fell 88%. An employment survey by ADP showed a gain of 9,000 jobs in July. The Fed extended its access to discount window to investment banks till January. >>

Jul 29, 2008 4:37 PM ET
U.S. benchmark indexes staged a sharp reversal and closed 2.4% higher on a drop in oil, better than expected earnings and Merrill Lynch plan to raise capital. Crude oil dropped $2.54 a barrel dragging energy stocks lower with it. Financials closed higher after Merrill Lynch planned to raise $8.5 billion and sell $30 billion of troubled loans at a steep discount. McGraw Hill, U.S. Steel and Hartford Financial Services were few of the companies reported better than expected earnings. >>

Jul 29, 2008 12:48 AM ET
U.S. stocks traded near high of the day after earnings from U.S. Steel, McGraw Hill, Group One Automotive and Hartford Financial Services. The deal between two Canadian mining companies Teck Cominco and Fording Canadian Coal Trust valued at $14 billion also lifted trading sentiment. However, Merrill Lynch took a surprise write down of $5.7 billion and plans to raise $8.5 billion after saying it has adequate capital only ten days ago. >>

Jul 29, 2008 4:00 PM ET
Teck Cominco increases its stake in Fording Canadial Coal Trust after it acquires the rest of 60% stake in the metallurgical coal miner that it does not own. The deal values the company at $14 billion and will be financed with a short term debt of $9.8 billion and $1.5 billion in equity offering. The merger of two mining companies is expected to be accretive by the end of the year and increase operating earnings by 50% in 2009. >>

Jul 29, 2008 10:08 AM ET
U.S. stocks traded higher in the morning after earnings from U.S. Steel and Amgen beat expectations. U.S. Steel surged nearly 10% after it reported second quarter earnings surge of 55% to $668 million or $5.65 per share. Amgen reported earnings of $1.14 a share. Valero, the largest crude oil refiner reported earnings decline of 67% to $734 million or $1.37 a share. >>

Jul 28, 2008 5:21 PM ET
Another day another sell-off in financial stocks. IMF report warned that the U.S. housing market has yet to reach a bottom and estimated nearly $1 trillion in losses for global banks. The report put investors on the defensive and stocks in financial, home builders and banking sectors fell. Merrill Lynch dropped to a new low in the last ten years. Toyota lowered its outlook for annual unit sales and Honda lowered its earnings estimate for the quarter. UK home prices fell in June. >>