The Financials Review For the week of October 17, 2011 By Frank LaMantia For the past few weeks, stocks have been up on hope which in this trader's books does not constitute reason enough for a rally. Today, the market is down but could turn green due to Citibank's higher third quarter profits. The bank showed a $2.2 billion in revenues and does not need as much to cover bad loans. Well Fargo showed a 22% gain in profits but did have a decrease in revenue. The protest on Wall Street, Times Square, and Zuccotti Park has funding of over $300,000 and they have supplies. (1) This is also spreading to other countries. In Rome protesters caused millions in damage to property. Some have good intentions but when masses of people congregate it just takes one to spark a riot. Kinder Morgan has agreed to buy El Paso Corp. for $21.2 billion which would create the largest pipeline of natural gas in the United States. Barclays PLC has offered to lend Kinder Morgan the funding it needs to transact the purchase. It is estimated to be around $11.5 billion in cash.(2) The euro is down against the dollar as a resolution is postponed until the Oct. 23 summit. The euro is down 0.7% to $1.3790 and was high as $1.3917. It was up 3.8% last week. (3) Earnings and the euro crisis could send the market in either direction quickly so one must be ready to act. 1) http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daniel-gross/morning-reading-ows-rome-114746359.html 2) http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...buy-el-paso-for-21-billion-in-cash-stock.html 3) http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...sees-no-quick-resolution-for-debt-crisis.html ***chart courtesy Gecko Softwareâs Track nâ Trade Pro Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Disclaimer: Past performance is not indicative of future results. Trading futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Fundamental factors, seasonal and weather trends, daily news, and other current events may have already been factored into the markets. The use of stop loss or contingent orders may not protect profits and may not limit losses to the amount intended. Certain market conditions make it difficult or impossible to execute such orders.