Stocks were mixed (up) again. The averages hardly changed & advancers equaled decliners, a very neutral day. After another 6B in writedowns, Merrill Lynch (MER) reported their 3rd straight quarterly loss. The loss was 2.19 per share vs 1.99 forecasted by analysts. Moodys said they might have to cut MER debt ratings. MER was up 1.82, most of the other big name financials were also up. I dunno! After hours, Google (GOOG) reported higher earnings for Q1, 4.12 vs 3.18 last year. The markets liked this report, sending the stock up 74 after hours (after declining 5 in regular trading). GOOG tweaked their online business (whatever that means) plus were aided by strong overseas growth. This should give NAZ & maybe the Dow a nice start tomorrow, although Asian markets are down a little as of this writing.
Gas prices keep going up, passing 3.40 to 3.42 on their march towards $4 at the pump. Doesn't sound good. Oil continues trading just under 115. Tomorrow we'll see if optimism on company reports will trump dreary economic news.
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