No DEAL! Nothing was done at the bu Opec/Non-Opec gathering over the weekend, but oil continues to rise.

Earnings are starting to come in and so far there is nothing to get too excited about. Banks are beating estimates, but bad loans are growing and volumes of equity trading and fixed income are plummeting.

 

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Cue the Trumpets! DJIA over 18,000 and S&P 500 over 2100!

NADA in DOHA – No Deal on oil production freeze. Doomed from the start… However… Oil at $42

— Kuwait strike takes 1.6m barrels/day offline

— Nigeria has pipeline issue

— IRAQ production interrupted

Crude Chart

Saudi Arabia – threatened to sell all their U.S. Treasury holdings – estimated at $750 billion my some if the 28 pages of redacted information on the 9/11 report is released. Also pending legistlation that would allow for victims of 9/11 to directly sue… (Not going to pass – or is it?)

IBM now racks up 16 consecutive quarters of declining revenue. EPS beat, but company is still suffering – Stock up near $143 (was $117 in February)

Yahoo! – Verizon still seems to be the front-runner in the “bidding” for Yahoo! assets/company. What does this do for them? Seems like the old Time Warner /AOL deal.

Seeing more sporting goods stores file for bankruptcy – The owner of Eastern Mountain Sports, which has 13 stores in Massachusetts, and Bob’s Stores, which has 11 Bay State locations, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with debts over $500 million.

Sport Chalet has announced the closure of all its stores in the next several weeks. The Southern California-based sporting goods company owns 47 stores in about 50 locations in California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The company issued an online statement saying that its stores have begun the process of closing on April 16, but it offered no explanation. The company stopped selling merchandise online but its retail stores will remain open for several weeks in order for customers to use their rewards and gift cards.

— At the same time there is rumor that Bass Pro Shops is possibly looking to buyout Cabelas (CAB)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average this year, posted a 60 percent drop in profit as the firm reported its lowest revenue for a first quarter since Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein took the top post.

Goldman Sachs Chart

Netflix (NFLX) – earnings out and while the company beat expectations, the outlook was miserable – at best. Stock down 11% to $96 after saying that international growth will expand much less that expected and investors seeing more competition from Amazon and others.

Intel (INTC) earnings were messy. Overall not a good outlook for the next quarter or so. Reducing outlook, cutting 11% of workforce and announced restructuring. Shares slipping again down to the $30 support level.

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DHUnplugged Closest to the Pin Contest for Transocean LTD