The stock market was higher for the 5th straight day today though trading was more choppy than previous days. After such a move higher many are placing their bets that this short term run may be running out of steam. The major indices have now recovered over 65% of last weeks wild declines. The Dow 30 was higher by 300, the S&P 500 added 32, and the Nasdaq 100 gained 111.
McDonalds (NYSE: MCD) shares were lower on the day as they reported that they would no longer include cheeseburgers in their happy meals. In an effort to put a more "healthy" menu out to families, McDonalds is looking to have at least half of their happy meals at 600 calories or less by 2022. According to CNBC, 30% of orders at McDonalds are "Family" orders which include happy meals. Investors were concerned about how this may affect their bottom line in the meantime.
Fannie Mae (NASDAQ: FNMA) announced a net loss of $6.5 billion for the previous quarter which they blamed on the new tax laws. Many Wall Street analysts had expected this but now the question is how much money they will ask for from the government. Expectations are around $3.7 billion at the moment. Remember they already borrowed $187 billion during the financial crisis, of which they have repaid just over $100 billion.
Investors got their first look at Warren Buffett's latest stock purchases today. Berksire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) reported on their 13F that they had increased their position in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), while reducing their position in Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) as the Federal Reserve has restricted them. They also reduced positions in American Airlines (NYSE: AAL), General Motors (NYSE: GM), and most notably IBM (NYSE: IBM) which they almost eliminated completely. Their cost basis on IBM is now around $170.
In other news, Google (NASdAQ: GOOG) will start blocking ad they don't see as "user friendly" in what many see as an attempt to push their own ads. With $3 of every $10 in ad revenue going to Google directly it seems like a smart move.