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July 25, 2011 Watching Washington In This Week’s Brief • A Busy End to July • Maria’s Most Popular • Poll: Debt Deal or No? Last week, it seemed as if the stock market followed the thermometer’s lead across the country — mostly rising and rising as earnings heated up and there were developments relating to sovereign debt here in the U.S. and in Europe. As we kick off the last week of July, the focus is definitely on the U.S. debt ceiling. Despite some optimism last week, there is still no agreement to raise the amount the government can borrow or on a long-term plan to reduce the budget deficit. The urgency is mounting, as it’s possible the U.S. could start defaulting on at least some of its debt next Tuesday, August 2. I interviewed Caterpillar (CAT) CEO Doug Oberhelman last week, and he mentioned that part of the reason the company’s earnings came in lower than expected was because of the uncertainty in Washington. He also believes t

October 11, 2010 Happy Columbus Day! Although the markets do not have the day off like some of you, this is traditionally a quiet day on the Street, at least in terms of economic events. For me, it’s an exciting and anything-but-quiet day because I have the honor of serving as the Grand Marshal of the New York City Columbus Day Parade. As you may remember, I participated in the festivities last year, too. The parade dates all the way back to 1929 and is the world’s largest celebration of Italian-American culture, with more than 35,000 marchers and nearly one million spectators. This year’s theme is “Honoring Old Glory,” and the event will also pay tribute to some big names in the business world, including CEO of JP Morgan Chase Frank Bisignano and Jason DeSena Trennert, founder of Strategas Research Partners. Things will pick back up on Tuesday, as this is the first full week of earnings season. Let’s talk more about that and other items the Street will be watching thi

This Week On The Street September 27, 2010 You’ve probably heard the old Wall Street saying that the market is “climbing a wall of worry” when stocks go up in the face of concerns. That seems to be an accurate description of the third quarter we wrap up this week. As of today’s close, the S&P 500 is 11% higher than where it ended the second quarter. A good chunk of that has come this month, which, so far, has been by some measures the best September for stocks since 1939. Right now the wall of worry is steep and firm: an anemic recovery, persistently high unemployment, threats of deflation and/or a double-dip recession, Europe’s debt crisis (which we’ll talk more about below), not to mention U.S. mid-term elections in just six weeks that could alter the balance of power in Washington. You may want to fasten your seat belts on Friday morning as the fourth quarter kicks off. I think it's going to be a fascinating and busy finish to the year, and I look forward