News from the Fed over the wire:

• DJ Philadelphia Fed June Business Index 13.1 Vs May 14.4
• DJ Philadelphia Fed June Price Paid 48.7 Vs May 55.3
• DJ Philadelphia Fed June Employment 6.8 Vs May 1.1
• DJ Philadelphia Fed June New Orders 17.7 Vs May 2.7

Gold fell 7.3% to 563.40 in Tuesday’s trading. This is the greatest decline in a single day in the last 15 years of gold trading. There are numerous reasons for this large decline.

• U.S. fears of increasing Fed rates
• Decreased liquidity in U.S. commodities markets
• Decreased liquidity in global reserve banks for commodities
• Corrections in U.S. and global stock and commodities
• U.S. baby boomers liquidating or selling their investments (I find this semi-questionable)

I feel the next few weeks of equities and commodities trading will be crucial for the overall global markets. The next few weeks will determine if we will be heading continually lower, or if the correction will be coming to an end, signalling a new rise in prices.

We have already experienced a correction in the U.S., which is “defined” as a 10% drop in overall market prices. I see gold continually decreasing as this great fall in global markets has shaken and scared many investors and traders.

Are any readers buying gold? Any selling? What are your opinions?

Today after the close look for the following companies to report: ASHW, COO, DSW, LZB, MATK, and VTS.

Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report: ABWD, ALOG, UTIW, and MTN

I came across an article about the possible NYSE and Euronext merger on Yahoo! news: NYSE Euronext Would Offer 12 Trading Hours If the merger proceeds, NYSE Euronext would be trading across 2 continents during 12 hours of trading. I think this would be fantastic. This would cause a lot more action in the markets with the potential for a lot of new traders and an inflow of capital. I’m waiting for the coming day of 24 hour trading - non-stop trading action. I believe 24 hour trading is still another 5 to 10 years away. What are your thoughts?

MasterCard (NYSE: MA) shares jumped in it’s IPO on Thursday. MasterCard ended the day up +14% with shares instantly surging from the opening price of 40.20 to the closing price of 46.00.

MasterCard’s IPO has been the strongest IPO debut of 2005 and 2006.

The fundamentals are looking good - MA holds $1.3 billion in cash and another $1.3 billion in stockholder equity. MasterCard’s IPO has raised over $2 billion for the company.

I should have analyzed MasterCard’s fundamentals and reports a lot sooner. Long term I think MA can be a solid investment. Revenues are up from 2005 and I see this trend continuing for a number of years. Short term, I think MA still has potential for profitable trades with such a strong debut. The next few days will be key for short term traders.

Anyone get in on the MA IPO? What are you thoughts on MA short term or long term?