| Schlumberger's (SLB) drooping price action hasn't deterred bullish investors
You know what? Forget Bear Stearns (BSC). It's that lovable lout Jim Cramer who's really having a bad week. It seems that the whole of the financial blogosphere is piling on Cramer in the wake of his regrettable Bear commentary last week � and for once, despite our contrarian nature, we've decided to jump on the bandwagon. In this week's column, we'll explain why Schlumberger (SLB) � one of JC's favorite bullish picks � looks perfectly poised for a downside move. We're not perfect, either Regular readers of this column might remember our bearish stock filter from this mid-January article. Since the column was posted, our highlighted stocks have turned in a performance that we will politely term as "mixed" to spare our own feelings. Kohl's (KSS) has defied our expectations to add 9%, while Virgin Media (VMED) is nearly flat with its January 17 price.
Here's what keeps your savings safe
You've most likely seen the initials ''FDIC'' at your local bank, but do you know much about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., or how it protects your hard-earned money? With the recent financial woes of Bear Stearns (which was an investment bank, different from a depository bank) and speculation that Cleveland-based National City Corp., the biggest bank based in Ohio, was seeking buyers, a few readers have asked about FDIC insurance. How exactly does the federal insurance work and what would happen if a bank would close or fail? Simply put, the FDIC insures all types of deposits at an insured bank, including money in checking, savings accounts, money-market deposit accounts and time deposits, such as certificates of deposit (or CDs). Not covered are stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities, U.S.
Oil Steady After Basra Attack
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Oil prices were steady Thursday after easing slightly from highs prompted by the bombing of a key Iraqi pipeline. Crude prices, which already spiked by nearly $5 on Thursday because of an anemic dollar and lower U.S. fuel inventories were briefly propelled higher by the second bombing in a week in Basra, where Iraqi security forces have been clashing with Shiite militia fighters before falling back to closing levels. After moving up by more than a dollar, light, sweet crude for May delivery was down 8 cents to fetch $105.82 a barrel by afternoon European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $4.68 to settle at $105.90 a barrel Wednesday. The market was apparently reassured by comments from Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani, who said that ongoing clashes would not affect oil exports and drilling operations.
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