Career News 24/7: STOCKS GO NOWHERE AND TREASURIES TANK: Here's What You Need To Know, March 14, 2012

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

STOCKS GO NOWHERE AND TREASURIES TANK: Here's What You Need To Know, March 14, 2012

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Who's Greg Smith?

First the scoreboard:

Dow: 13,194.1, +16.4, +0.1%
S&P 500: 1,394.2, -1.6, -0.1%
NASDAQ: 3,040.7, +0.8, +0.0%

And now the top stories:

Shortly after the markets closed yesterday, the Federal Reserve released the results of its highly anticipated bank stress tests. Remember, the announcement came out two days earlier than scheduled. Of the 19 banks that were reviewed, 15 "passed."
The big shocker in the results was that Citigroup was one of the four banks that "failed." In a statement, Citigroup said it would be submitting a revised capital plan to the Federal Reserve later this year. Shares of Citi sold off today.
Goldman Sachs was among the banks that passed the stress test. But their PR department had a whole different kind of headache to deal with. An employee–now former employee–named Greg Smith, wrote a scathing op-ed for The New York Times trashing Goldman Sachs. Among other things, Smith said the firm's managing directors called their clients muppets. For full coverage on the matter, head to Business Insider's Clusterstock.
Treasury securities sold off sharply. The 10-year note yield exploded to 2.27 percent. The 30-year yield surged north of 3.4 percent. So even though, stocks didn't move much, the sell-off in Treasuries seems to be evidence of a major risk-on trade.
Apple was one stock that surged to new all-time highs. Earlier today, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty set her 12-month price target at $720, while also noting that the stock could surge as high as $1,000. However, hedge funder Doug Kass produced a chart showing that Apple's current trajectory is very similar to that to of Google right before shares of the search giant collapsed.
Mike D'Antoni, coach of the Knicks, unexpectedly announced that he was quitting. Shares of Madison Square Garden tumbled on the news. However, they're still up substantially since point guard Jeremy Lin exploded onto the scene.
In rare earth news, China responded to the world's complaint regarding the country's export restrictions. China's official position is that they were imposing the restriction "out of consideration for the environment and the sustainable utilization of resources." Fortunately, China isn't the only player in rare earths. Here Are 11 Major Rare Earth Projects Outside Of China >
Don't Miss: 12 Wall Street Interview Tips Straight From Goldman Sachs >