U.S. Stocks Falter Following Last Week's Rise

Stocks ended the week with a bang at the Friday closing bell. The NASDAQ led the charge with a 1.48 percent (34.04 points) gain, followed closely by the S&P 500 (1.40 percent, 15.72 points). The Dow Jones Industrial Average tagged along further behind, but it still gained 1.16 percent (122.06 points) on the day.

Analysts with CNNMoney.com, expected to see stocks surge in the morning. Stocks were indeed up after more than an hour of trading, but the jump was far lower than many had anticipated. Stocks around the world have been somewhat mixed in trading today. Asia markets were largely up, but European indices are in flux across national borders and even within countries themselves.

According to Reuters, the global market outlook is much better today than it was just one week ago. For the most part investors are beginning to let fears ease about the possible collapse of Greek debt.

Investors also seem content with the U.S. employment situation. Obviously the preference would be for no debt and perfect employment, but in this time of crisis all we can truly ask for is some semblance of stability.

In other news, embattled Wall Street insurer American International Group has apparently reached an agreement to sell another branch of its rapidly disintegrating operation.

According to CNNMoney.com, AIG will be selling its American Life Insurance Co. unit to competitor MetLife for $15.5 billion. This is the second largest sale in just over a week for AIG, and another small step toward achieving stability and repaying the roughly $130 billion in taxpayer handouts that began in 2008. The acquisition includes almost $9 billion in MetLife stock, which will give AIG a nearly 20 percent stake in the company.

Rounding out the daily preview, according to Bloomberg News, American unemployment peaked in October 2009. This may seem like old news to some, but Lakshman Achuthan’s prediction that the October figures are the peak of this recession do offer some hope. A key Republican talking point in the past several months has been “where are the jobs?” If Achuthan’s prediction is accurate we will start seeing appreciable job relief in the short term. We may take years to return to pre-recession levels, but positive trends will be enough to indicate some degree of recovery. For Americans struggling day-to-day with economic woes any positive movement will be greatly appreciated.