Nothing Much

As one can plainly see from the headline numbers below, not much happened on stock markets today. Thin trade in a fairly tight range was the order of the day as BP agreed to set aside $20 billion in a separate escrow fund to pay for costs associated with the Gulf of Mexico spill. The company also announced it would not pay out the upcoming quarterly dividend.

Dow 10,409.46, +4.69 (0.05%)
NASDAQ 2,305.93, +0.05 (0.00%)
S&P 500 1,114.61, -0.62 (0.06%)
NYSE Composite 6,976.08, -13.80 (0.20%)

Decliners finished ahead of advancers, 3756-2723. New highs bettered new lows, 154-72. Volume was light.

NYSE Volume 5,653,750,500
NASDAQ Volume 1,946,411,125

Crude oil futures gained 73 cents, to $77.67. Gold lost $3.90, finishing at $1,229.30. Silver shed 14 cents, to $18.43.

I found out how to legally force banks to walk away from your mortgage. It's called "right of recision." Interesting stuff.