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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

STOCKS BARELY FALL: Here's What You Need To Know, March 21, 2012

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The bulls and the bears faced off today.

First the scoreboard:

Dow: 13,124.6, -45.5, -0.3%
S&P 500: 1,402.8, -2.6, -0.1%
NASDAQ: 3,075.3, +1.1, +0.0%

And now the top stories:

The low volatility in the stock market belied the war going on between the bulls and the bears. On the bullish side was Goldman Sachs' Portfolio Strategy Research team led by Peter Oppenheimer and Matthieu Walterspiler. In their 40-page report titled The Long Good Buy; The Case For Equities, the analysts made a monster long-term bullish case for stocks, arguing from the perspective of the equity risk premium. In short, it was an argument saying that stocks are almost certainly more attractive than bonds. The note also argued that the period from 2010 to 2019 would be the best decade global growth compared to any other decade between 1980 to 2050.
Three of the most notorious bears in the world were also out in full force. David Tice was on Fox Business last night warning that central bank balance sheet expansion would ultimate end with gold climbing to $2,500 and the S&P 500 falling to 1,000. SocGen's uber-bear Albert Edwards argued the exact opposite of what Goldman was arguing. Edwards thinks 10y+ government bonds are the place to be in the near-term. Nomura's perma-bear Bob Janjuah also chimed in. He thinks the Dow and gold are headed for a 1 to 1 ratio. Specifically, Janjuah believes that the Dow and gold will converge at 7,000 "in the next year or two." Here Are 11 Quotes From Albert Edwards That Scared The Crap Out Of Us >
February existing home sales came in at 4.59 million at an annualized basis, missing economists' estimate for 4.61 million. However, the January number was revised up to 4.63 million from a previous read of 4.57 million.
Oil prices climbed back above $107 per barrel today, which may have put some pressure on stocks. On the plus side, Citi analysts project that progress in fossil fuel extraction technologies will spark a new "industrial revolution" in the U.S., one day potentially making North America "the new Middle East." For now, we'll still have to wrestle with high gas prices. How $5 Gasoline Will Change Every Aspect Of America >
Shares of LinkedIn jumped today on an upgrade from Goldman Sachs. The analyst slapped a $135/share price target on the stock saying it offers almost 47 percent upside for investors.
Don't Miss: Here's Why Peter Luger Is The Best Steakhouse In New York City >