Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke today before the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. He discussed many economic issues including the slow improvement of the unemployment rate. He mentioned that a “significant amount of time” would be needed to restore all the jobs that have been lost over the past few years. Unfortunately, he also mentioned that financial conditions in the U.S. had become, “less supportive of economic growth in recent months.” (You can read the full statement on the Federal Reserve website.)
This less than enthusiastic discussion of our current economic position caused the Dow Jones Industrial Average to drop 109.43 points and close at10,120.53 today. The S&P 500 closed down 13.89 points at 1,069.59 and the Nasdaq slipped 35.16 points to close at 2,187.33.
The big news in stocks is Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), whose quarterly results far exceeded analyst’s expectations thanks to massive sales of both the iPad and iPhone 4. As a result, their stock went from a closing price of $245.58 on July 19th to $254.24 today—July 21st.
European markets were all up today, Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday, though they may slide downward on Thursday after Bernanke’s statements.
