Celtics Rally,But Not Enough

The Boston Celtics staged a spirited rally against the Chicago Bulls Friday night,but could not close the deal in the end,losing by a score of 88-79.At one stage of the game,they had been down by 20 points,but climbed to within one point of the Bulls in the 4th quarter.
The win moved the Bulls to a record of 11-2,with seven of their wins on the road.Celtics coach Doc Rivers said we're a defensive team.We've got to get stops.That's the game.Commentator and NBA legend Magic Johnson described the Celtics as being too old and non-athletic.It doesn't look good.
Standouts at the TD Garden matchup in Boston included Derrick Rose of Chicago with his 25 points;and Ray Allen,who notched 16 points for the Celtics.
Stocks closed modestly higher for the week,with the S&P up about 1%.The S&P futures closed down 3.30,however,as Standard&Poor's announced it had downgraded the credit of France,Spain,Italy and others.Bond index futures rose.
A number of the financials will report earnings next week,including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs,as well as GE,which gives its results out on Friday.U.S. markets are closed Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday,but global markets will be open.
General Electric(GE),Citigroup(C),Goldman Sachs(GS)

Europe Still Drives Market

Wall Street's obsessive concern with the Euro debt crisis continued to shape results this week;nor is any change in the offing.Even though U.S. banks actually have only limited exposure to Europe,traders think they will suffer greatly from European failures.In the end,it's what traders perceive that determines market direction.
Optimism about the crisis was the prevailing wind by the end of the week as Euro-zone finance ministers approved of the next round of aid to Greece and a series of European Union summits will be held beginning Sunday.For the week,the Dow gained 1.41,while the NASDAQ lost 1.14 and the S&P rose 1.12.Decent earnings reports from Honeywell,GE and Microsoft also gave the broader market a final nudge upward.GE stock declined for its manufacturing results,but the company did issue a positive outlook and a satisfactory overall report,which helped stem any sell-off tendency.
Next week,the results of the EU summits may be all-consuming.Any hint of failure would seem likely to derail equities,and EU success could ignite a major rally.
The S&P futures were up strongly Friday evening,rising 25.25,and bond index futures fell.
At the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic at Lake Buena Vista,Florida,a three-way tie for the lead occurred among American Justin Leonard;Swede Henrik Stenson;and South Korean Bio Kim,all coming in at 12 under par.Leonard,39,has scored 12 career PGA Tour wins and more than 30 million dollars in career earnings.
General Electric(GE),Honeywell(HON),Microsoft(MSFT)

Big GE Week,Knicks Cuffed

It was a big week for GE as the manufacturing titan reported a great Q4.GE had a big jump in orders and its first revenue increase in two years.It's a sign of rising capital expenditure and a recovering industrial base as companies purchase GE's broad range of big products.
The New York Knicks had a small Friday night in San Antonio as the Spurs dealt them a 101-92 loss at AT&T Center.The Spurs have the best record in the NBA at 37-6.Tony Parker shot 21 points with 13 assists for the victors on a pleasant Texas night.It was the Spurs' eighth straight win.For the Knicks,Danielo Gallinari shot 16 points,while Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and Raymond Felton 18,respectively.
The Mid-Atlantic region was partly cloudy and chilled into the teens or single digits Friday night,with Saturday night expected to fall likewise.
For the week,the Dow rose 84.46,while the S&P dropped 9.89 and the NASDAQ stumbled 65.76,or 2.4%.The S&P futures pointed up 3.50 Friday evening,and the 10 year bond futures yield rose as well.Next week,Caterpillar and American Express will report their earnings.
General Electric(GE),Caterpillar(CAT),American Express(AXP)

Market Disappointed,Oosthuizen Pleased

The market recorded a weekly loss,disappointed by a string of poor data on consumers and manufacturing,as well as revenue misses by leading companies.Google,General Electric,Citigroup and Bank of America discouraged investors with their sales and outlooks.Confidence is low as we enter the heart of earnings season,with 12 Dow components and 122 S&P firms reporting next week.The Dow dropped 1.0 this week,while the NASDAQ fell 0.8 and the S&P slipped 1.2.The trading range is indeed keeping its grip on the faltering market.
Tiger Woods is still in the running at the Open Championship in St.Andrews,Scotland.He shot a 73 on Friday for a -4,tied for fifteenth.The field was led by Louis Oosthuizen(pronounced Westhizen),27,of South Africa,a protege of Ernie Els,who is ranked #54 in the world and 22nd on the European money list.Oosthuizen shot a 67 for a -12 on Friday.Fifty year-old Mark Calcavecchia also shot a 67 on Friday for a -7,putting the American in second place.
The prospect of all those earnings reports,as well as housing data,had the Dow futures falling off a cliff at -233.00 this evening,with the NASDAQ following suit at -47.25 along with the S&P at -27.30.Bond futures also retreated.BP investors were feeling relieved as the latest attempt to cap the oil spill looked very promising.
General Electric(GE),Citigroup(C),Bank of America(BAC),Google(GOOG)
Update:Louis Oosthuizen continued to lead by several strokes in the final round,with the U.K.'s Paul Casey in second,as of Sunday morning Eastern.Tiger Woods had dropped to thirty-first.