Market Update – Ford (NYSE:F), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Exxom (NYSE:XOM), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C)

Data released today indicates that the US economy grew approximately 3.2% during the last quarter.  Although this is slightly less than economists were predicting, it still offers further evidence that the United States is recovering strongly from the downturn in 2008.  This is the third straight quarter of economic growth in America; though the recession hasn’t yet been accepted as ‘over’ by the general public, empirical evidence indicates that the US has reached a point of sustained growth.  Last year, the economy shrunk 6.4% during the first quarter.

The European Commission announced that a final Greek bailout agreement could be finalized this Saturday.  The so-called “rescue plan” would loan Greece enough money to keep their debt levels from collapsing the nations economy.  A spokesman for the European Monetary Affairs Commissioner has been quoted saying “The end is in site” and that Greece’s “entire economy is going to have to be overhauled, root and branch”.  The Dow is up today on both these stories.

Ford Motors (NYSE:F) announced higher than anticipated earnings for the first quarter of 2010 earlier this week.  The stock rose accordingly, but has declined back down to earth today.  The American auto-giant is launching it’s European-favorite, the sixth-generation Fiesta, in the United States soon, and this year gained the largest market share in the United States.  Despite this, Credit Suisse recently lowered Ford’s stock rating to “underperform”, saying the companies long-term profitability shouldn’t be judged on a strong first quarter.

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The good news continued to the oil giants, as Chevron (NYSE:CVX) has released news that their first quarter earnings have reportedly doubled from this time last year.  Their profits have beat analysts predictions, in part due to high commodity prices and larger production capacities.  The company has announced $4.33 billion in profits, compared to $1.84 billion last year.  Competitor Exxon (NYSE:XOM) has also boasted strong profits for this quarter, but fell short of analyst projections.  (Read Oakshire’s latest article on oil investing by clicking here)

Finally, in banking news it’s being reported that Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had a strong quarter to start 2010 as well, and announced on Wednesday their investor’s dividends for the first quarter.  Common stock will receive $0.01 per share, payable on June 25^th for shareholders on record for June 4^th.  In other banking news, the US Treasury announced this week that it was beginning it’s sell-off of Citigroup (NYSE:C) in an ‘orderly fashion’.  The United States Government owns 7.7 billion common shares of Citi, and is expected to turn a profit from its bailout investment between $23 and $177 million.

That’s all for the day.  Be sure to CLICK HERE to continue exploring Oakshire Financial