Money & Investing – Banks.com

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U.S. stocks have been sputtering today, thanks to a huge mess of economic data. While things appeared to be going okay for a while, all three major stock indexes are in the red, with Research in Motion dragging the Nasdaq down. Economic data has been disappointing, with new home sales data and durable goods orders not making the progress expected. Indeed, as the economy has been showing signs of life, expectations for data have increased. And the numbers just aren’t delivering.

G-20 Summit affecting the stock market as well

The G-20 is rocking some boats right now. Leaders in the U.S., France and Britain are demanding that Iran open up its nuclear fuel facility so that international inspectors can verify that the secret operations there are related only to domestic use, and are not actually creating nuclear weapons. The demand has some investors worried that tensions between Iran and Western governments could flare up.

On top of this, world leaders also agreed that banking rules and bonus practices need to be addressed. To this end, a statement will be released later today. The statement is expected to deal with the fact that leaders are agreeing to outline a plan to tie bank executive bonus compensation to risk. Additionally, capital requirements are expected to tighten. This new round of regulation has Wall Street jittery, since many investors believe that regulation stifle the ability to make profits. (While this may be true to some extent, most of the stifled profits are those that are unsustainable and lead to widespread instability. Perhaps smaller profits that lead to better stability would ultimately be better in the long run.)

Wall Street has a lot to digest on this, the last full week of September, and it will be interesting to see how today’s events influence next week stock performances.

Disclaimer: I am not an investment professional. Nothing in this piece or on this Web site should be construed as investment advice. Before making investment decisions, do your own research and/or consult with an investment professional. All investment comes with the risk of loss. You are responsible for your own investment decisions and any loss that may result from your decisions.