Germany’s economy is the third largest in the world in terms of GDP, after the United States and Japan, with a $3.3 trillion GDP in 2007.  Here are stats and stocks from Germany.   Read More

Commodities and inflation remain the main story, and while stocks are well off their July lows, the advance remains tentative due to concerns about a slower global economy.    Read More

A year after the credit crunch started what, if anything has changed, and more importantly what have banks learned? (Hint, not a lot.)    Read More

Despite their record breaking profits, Exxon Mobil dragged the Dow lower Thursday after its earnings fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Also comments from Alan Greenspan made on CNBC added to the downward momentum.   Read More

Deutsche Bank's $450 million film financing deal with Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom is falling through. The financing deal was meant to pay for up to 30 films, with Deutsche Bank proviing a 25 percent equity stake in each movie   Read More

We are getting just the kind of trading that would be expected: modest rally on shreds of good news, met with selling (or just buyers stepping away) midday. Remember the basic facts of the market: 1) stocks are oversold, 2) traders are extremely bearish, and 3) "sell into rallies" remains the dominant trading motif.    Read More

The most important news this morning comes from Europe: Deutsche Bank is up 5 percent pre-open after staring they would make a profit in the second quarter and would not require more capital. Yesterday UBS also said it would not require more capital.    Read More

Auto stocks are notably weaker here, with new lows for GM, CarMax, and AutoNation; Ford is down 7 percent but not at a new low.   Read More

European bourses are lower today as European banks are continuing to report poor earnings--this morning Deutsche Bank reported its first loss in five years, abandoned its 2008 profit targets and wrote down over $4 b in mortgage-related assets. Allianz also said that their profit targets would be harder to attain.    Read More

On Friday, General Electric surprised, now it's Wachovia Bank's turn. They missed by a mile: a loss of $0.14 from continuing operations, consensus was a gain of $0.40. They are cutting their dividend 41 percent and seeking to raise $7 b in capital, so the poor earnings will be diluted even more.   Read More