Fed to make another rate cut? by Corina Ciubotaru

On Wall Street, every little event in the global economy has an impact. A few days ago, a storm hit one of Mexico's oil refineries and suddenly crude oil prices went over $93, giving oil companies like ExxonMobil and Alcoa Inc a boost of stock value; Alcoa rose $1.08, while ExxonMobil rose $1.40. Gold prices are the biggest in 27 years and the Fed is considering another cut in the tax rate, by a quarter-percentage point to buy more time in dealing with the shaken economy. Meanwhile, 300 of the Standard&Poor's index companies posted an average 4.9 percent decline in profit while the index itself rose by 0.37 percent to 1,540.98; Nasdaq composite rose 0.47 percent to 2,817.44 and the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.46 percent to 13,870.26. Other stocks were lowered as consumer confidence showed a massive decrease and hit a two-year low. The Fed has also been pushing money into the economy lately, with $17 billion being brought in temporary reserves on Tuesday, to help the entire economy get over these times of trouble. The rate is its biggest weapon but since the last one brought only slight changes, it's become even more careful in regard to when the new cut will occur. Nobody is now sure how the overall economy will react to the Fed's decision, whichever it may be. In other parts of the stock market, the biggest news is that Merrill Lynch chief executive Stan O'Neal is about to quit after the company had i''s worst ever third quarter.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071029/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street;_ylt=AvYctfNbO0mDzxOCLEi__8Cs0NUE

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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