Karen has a host of events, programs, and broadcasts in which she is involved. She was the moderator for the Inaugural Black Business & Economic Forecast Luncheon for Chicago GBS, she was the moderator for the 13th Frankklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Distinguished Lecture , and she is currently featured in a webinar, sponsored by the Chicago Board of Trade. If you would like to view her upcoming social engagements, click on the above picture or click onto the Links page to view her Calendar of Events.
Contact KG! Karen has an extensive professional background in the financial arena and would like to share her wealth of knowledge with the general public. Click onto the picture above or the Contact KG link to ask Karen for advice. Within this page, Karen also offers our participants a brochure containing vital information regarding the current market.
Get to know KG Karen has created a page to share her pictures and professional history, recording her rise through the "male-dominated," financial industry. Walk down memory lane with Karen and read about her professional history. Click onto the picture above or the Home page link to view this page. |
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JULY 19, 2010
After months of wrangling, Congress agreed on measures to protect consumers, rein in those “too-big-to-fail” institutions, make derivatives trading more transparent, create a financial services oversight council, and establish a clearer line of accountability – eliminating what many have called regulatory arbitrage, the ability of a firm to shop around for the most favorable regulatory treatment. Time will tell whether these moves will insulate us from the next financial crisis. Financial institutions have a unique way of mitigating the effects of regulation with “new and improved” innovations that will let them make and keep billions of dollars. History leads me to believe that some are already staying up all night trying to figure out how to get around this new legislation. Goldman Sachs, reviled for its role in the financial meltdown, settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $550 million, a drop in the bucket when compared to its second-quarter net income of $3.44 billion reported last week. Expect business as usual for the Wall Street titan. The second-quarter earnings parade started out well, then stumbled when Google, General Electric and Bank of America disappointed investors and guidance going forward appeared lackluster. 91 days into the Gulf Oil spill, BP’s latest attempt to cap the gusher appears to have held, but a permanent solution is still elusive. Shares of BP, hammered since the collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, bounced smartly, up 10% for the week (despite a nearly 5% drop on Friday) and now 40% higher from the lows touched in late June. Stir into the mix a cautious consumer. Consumer confidence fell as the economic recovery appears in doubt. An uncertain jobs outlook has many consumers paying down debt and saving for the next rainy day instead of spending. That reluctance to spend and its impact on the economy translated into sluggish retail sales and sent treasury security prices higher and the yield on the two-year note to record lows. The FOMC’s most recent minutes reveal that the Federal Reserve is considering options for a worsening economy. The dollar remains under pressure, trading at $1.30 to the Euro; the housing market remains in the doldrums despite record low mortgage rates, while crude oil and gold prices remain volatile, trading at $76/bbl and $1188/oz respectively.
Against this rather discouraging economic backdrop, investors will be hard-pressed to find enthusiasm. Not only is the summer heat enervating, the economic and earnings calendar is packed. 139 S&P 500 companies are on tap to report earnings this week alone. So far, most of the companies reporting have beat earnings and revenue estimates, but the big question will be; can the momentum carry over into the third quarter? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appears before the Senate banking committee on Tuesday for his semi-annual, two-day Humphrey Hawkins testimony on the economy. Bracketing his appearance will be data on June housing starts and existing home sales, with the Conference Board’s leading economic indicator series released on Thursday. . The following week has more data on the housing market, with June new home sales numbers out on Monday, July 26 and the Case-Shiller housing index out on Tuesday, July 27. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, durable goods orders and the Fed’s beige book (a survey of economic conditions in the twelve Federal Reserve regions) prime the pump for the Friday, July 30 release of the first look at second quarter gross domestic product. Uncertainty undermines investor confidence and erodes the stock market. Until the data decisively points to a growing economy on a strong foundation, expect continued volatility. It might be a good time to go to the beach to beat the heat and the market. |
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