U.S. stocks tumbled Thursday as concerns about a subdued economic recovery played in the minds of investors.  Safer bets like dollar strengthened and oil prices slumped.  As investors turned to safe havens, Treasury prices rose, sending corresponding yields lower.  Yields on three-month bills, considered one of the safest bets, turned negative for the first time since December.  A Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgrade of semiconductor industry also added to the downward pressure.     

The spike in bond prices came even as the Treasury announced plans to auction a record $118 billion in new notes next week – an auction schedule of $44 billion 2-year notes on Monday, $42 billion 5-year notes Tuesday, and $32 billion 7-year notes on Wednesday.

The Dow, which had plunged as much as 170 points during the session, ended down 93.87 points, or 0.9%, to 10,332.44.  The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 14.90

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Recently, the federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued an overall bullish report, showing a smaller-than-expected build in crude stockpiles. Further, the data showed that gasoline inventories were down as predicted, while distillate stocks also declined, though fell short of expectations. In its release, the agency said that crude inventories rose by 1.3 million barrels for the week ending October 16, much lower than analysts' expectations. This is the second successive week in which the crude buildup has been lower than originally anticipated. A major contributing factor to the modest increase can be attributed to a fall in crude oil imports, which dropped to the lowest level in two months. Current crude oil stocks, at 339.1 million barrels, are 8.9% above the year-earlier level and remain above the upper limit of the average for this time of the year (depicted in the first EIA chart below). The ...

Yesterday, the U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed a less-than-expected build in crude stockpiles. However, the headline news was centered on a sharp drop in gasoline stocks and refinery utilization that pushed oil prices to a fresh 2009 peak and lifted energy stocks. The federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 400,000 barrels rise in crude inventories for the week ending October 9, much less than analyst expectations. The modest increase can be attributed to scaled back operations by the refiners (prompted by weak profit margins) even as imports fell. This follows last week’s report, which showed an unexpected rise in oil supply figures, against consensus forecast of a buildup. Current crude oil stocks, at 337.8 million barrels, are 9.6% above the year-earlier level and remain above the upper limit of the average for this time of the year (depicted in the first EIA chart ...

Yesterday, we got a bullish report from the federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), showing a surprise decline in crude stockpiles. However, the data also showed a buildup in gasoline and distillate inventories, thereby somewhat neutralizing the positive impact. In its weekly release, the agency reported a much bigger-than-expected 5.9 million barrels drop in crude inventories for the week ending September 4, as imports fell and refiners raised demand. This follows last week’s release, which also reported crude drawdown but were below expectations. Current crude oil stocks, at 337.5 million barrels, are 13.3% above the year-earlier level and remain above the upper limit of the average for this time of the year (depicted in the first EIA chart below). The supply cover decreased from 23.6 days in the previous week to 22.9 days of supply, but it remains above the year-earlier level of 20.3 days.  ...

Stocks swung back into action Wednesday after a two-day retreat as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s optimistic comments at the end of a two-day meeting re-energized investors and bolstered hopes that the recession is finally easing.  The Central Bank’s observation that the economy appears to be “leveling out" was optimistic but its subdued outlook on unemployment and inflation took some sheen off that optimism.  The Fed also announced plans to slow the pace of its program to purchase $300 billion worth of Treasury bonds, adding the full amount will be bought by October.

The 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average finished 120 points, or 1.3%, higher.  The broad S&P 500 index rose 11 points, or 1.1%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ composite advanced 29 points, or 1.5%.  On the New York Stock Exchange 1.23 billion shares exchanged hands and advancing stocks outpaced those that fell five-to-two.

Stocks seesawed after the Fed’s announcement, with

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Today we are featuring top-performing "Global" equity mutual funds, which invest in equity securities of companies from all over the world.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank Global Equity Funds.3 Solid Picks

Buffalo USA Global (BUFGX) was incepted in May 1995. The fund seeks long-term capital growth.

The fund invests in well positioned and well managed companies based only in the United States that stand to benefit from international expansion. It believes operating in the most capitalistic environment in the world enables U.S. companies to hone their competitiveness.

The fund's key holding include McDonald's Corp. (MCD), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB).

Palantir Fund (PALIX) seeks long-term capital appreciation with capital protection is a secondary objective.

Regardless of

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We highlight Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT), Ensco International, Inc. (ESV), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) and Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (DO).In its weekly status report today, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a greater-than-expected drawdown in crude oil and gasoline inventories. Despite the weekly drawdown, crude oil inventory levels remain close to their highest level since 1990.The demand picture also remains very weak. Total refined products supplied over the last four-week period, a proxy for overall petroleum demand, was down 7.6% from the year-earlier period, with gasoline down 1.2%, distillates (includes diesel) down 12%, and jet fuel down 9%.The market has been looking beyond these weak near-term fundamentals, taking solace from the growing optimism about the economic landscape. Our view has been that oil should be able to hold on to its recent gains and consolidate around ...

The fund filings are out. If you're wondering, these are the funds I like to track, and sometimes follow by buying the same stocks:br /br /-George Soros (Soros Fund Management)br /-Seth Klarman (Baupost Group)br /-John Paulson (Paulson amp; CO.)br /-Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway)br /-David Einhorn (Greenlight Capital)br /-Bill Ackman (Pershing Square Capital Management)br /-Steve Cohen (SAC Capital Advisors)br /br /Today, I'm going toa href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchiveamp;sid=a_RT.rEuHt4M" take a quick look at Soros' holdings/a.br /br /blockquoteSoros Fund Management LLC, the investor’s hedge-fund firm, sold 5 million U.S. shares of Petrobras, as the Brazilian company is known, according to a filing today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The New York-based firm’s remaining 32 million shares of the state-controlled oil company were valued at $963 million at the end of the quarter.br /br /The hedge fund also held 5.6 million shares of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Potash at the end of the quarter, compared ...

Highlights include Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO), Schlumberger, Ltd. (SLB) and Transocean, Ltd. (RIG).Today's better-than-expected inventory report helps crude oil hang onto recent gains, even in the face of otherwise bearish news on the economy's front and equity market weakness. Given the continued weak demand and bloated inventories in the country, it remains to be seen if this favorable move on the inventories front, the first drop since February, can be sustained in the coming days.In its weekly inventory report released earlier today, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that commercial crude oil stocks dropped a surprising 4.7 million barrels from the previous week. This contrasted with market expectations of 1.3 million barrels build during the week. Reduced imports offset the impact of the increased refining utilization rate.As the above EIA chart ...

With U.S. employers cutting fewer jobs in April and banks' stress test results throwing up less-than-expected surprises, U.S. stocks advanced helping S&P 500 erase this year's losses and tech-heavy Nasdaq recorded its ninth straight weekly gain.  Reassuring signs emerging from the employment front indicated the economy is starting to find its footing as even a $75 billion deficit in capital failed to deter investors.  Stock buyers helped broad-based S&P 500 end the week 5.9% higher - the index is up 37% from a 12-year low hit on March 9. During the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 362.24 points, or 4.4%, to 8,574.65. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a measure of market volatility, declined 9.2% to 32.05. Volume on the NYSE was a heavy 1.9 billion as advancing issues outpacing declining stocks by a five-to-one margin. Among S&P sector groupings, financials were the leading gainers

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