U.S. stocks were lower for a fifth day Thursday, as investors continued to fret about Greece”s future in the euro-zone.

The Dow Jones Industrials closed down 156.06 points, or 1.2%, to 12,442.50

The S&P 500 demurred 19.94 points to 1,304.86. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index capsized 60.35 to 2,813.69.

Retail giants Wal-Mart and Sears Holdings were among the biggest gainers. Wal-Mart, the nation”s largest retailer, posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and sales.

Rival Sears also reported a profit, even as sales declined, thanks to a boost from selling real estate assets. The retailer also announced it was looking at a partial spinoff of its Canadian operations.

Other retailers due to report results Thursday include Gap and Aeropostale, both due after the closing bell.

Also reporting after the close is Applied Materials, the manufacturer of chip making equipment, whose earnings are forecast to decline.

But the big tech news after the market close will come from Facebook, which is expected to price its initial public offering. Trading will begin Friday.

The social networking site upped the target price range for its stock earlier this week to between $34 and $38 U.S. per share. It announced Wednesday that 25% more shares of the company will be sold than previously announced.

The additional shares, disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could fetch an extra $3 billion U.S. — bringing the total raised through Facebook”s offering to as much as $16 billion U.S., making it the most valuable tech IPO in history.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase fell Thursday, a day after the director of the FBI confirmed his agency had launched an initial investigation into a $2-billion U.S. trading loss suffered by the bank.

Meanwhile, concerns about Greece”s future in the euro-zone continued to weigh on investors.

European leaders voiced support Wednesday for keeping Greece in the euro-zone, but cautioned the debt-ridden country must stick with unpopular austerity measures if Greece is going to continue to receive help. A new vote is set for June 17.

Greek voters rebelled against those measures in the May 6 elections, denying the ruling coalition — which had agreed to the bailout terms — the votes needed to form a new government. Greek voters will go to the polls again on June 17.

Though the ability to form a governing coalition remains uncertain, the main fear is that an anti-austerity ruling party could cause the bailout deal to unravel, leading to a Greek default and an exit from the euro.

Citing the “heightened risk that Greece may not be able to sustain its membership of Economic and Monetary Union,” Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece”s credit rating by one notch to CCC.

Adding to those concerns, the European Central Bank has suspended its lending to some Greek banks that need to sufficiently boost their capital.

Meanwhile, a growing number of depositors are withdrawing their money amid worries that their savings could be converted to a devalued currency if Greece drops the euro.

Economically speaking, initial jobless claims were unchanged in the week ended May 12 from the revised figure of 370,000. The number came in weaker than expected.

A Philadelphia Fed report showed that regional manufacturing unexpectedly plunged in May for the first time in eight months. The Philly Fed index fell to -5.8 from 8.5 in April. Economists were expecting the index to increase to 8.8. Any reading below zero indicates weakness.

Elsewhere, the index of leading indicators, which gauges the economy”s performance over the next three to six months, was also discouraging. The index fell 0.1% in April, disappointing economists who expected it to rise 0.2%.

The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, pushing the yield down to 1.70% from Wednesday”s 1.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The price of a barrel of oil fell moved back 52 cents to $92.29 U.S.

Gold futures for June delivery rose $37.10 to settle at $1,573.70 U.S. an ounce.

Winning Brands Corporation (Pink Sheets: WNBD) reported that it has received its first order for delivery of 1000+™ Stain Remover, World’s Most Versatile Cleaning Solution™, to a military facility, in Canada.  1000+ is manufactured by the Niagara Mist Marketing Division of Winning Brands.  The first order is for product to be used at Read More

Totowa, New Jersey-based Premiere Opportunities Group, Inc. (OTCQB: PPBL) has signed an advisory agreement with Flex Fuel Technologies Inc. to assist the company with its strategic planning, EPA testing and budget planning for the future introduction of its products into the automotive Read More

Every industry or sector has pioneers that worked at the forefront of the field to shepherd new technologies into the mainstream. Oncology, for example, took huge steps forward as a result of the efforts of Dr. Sidney Farber, earning him the titles of “the father of the modern era of chemotherapy” and “father of modern pediatric pathology”. What Dr. Farber was doing seventy years ago changed the landscape of cancer therapies. Fast forwarding to today, there are leaders in the regenerative medicine (sometimes called “tissue engineering”) field that one day may be referenced in the same manner as Farber. Henri Termeer, who retired from his post as CEO at Genzyme last year when the biotech leader was bought by Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) for $20.1 billion; Geoff MacKay, CEO at privately-held Organogenesis, Inc.; and Gil Van Bokkelen, CEO at Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHX) are each recognized as innovators in regenerative medicines that demonstrate the skill, tenacity and Read More

There is a lot of activity surrounding social media stocks with the Initial Public Offering of Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) coming on Friday.  The new listing, which could see the company valued at as much as $100 billion, has investors and analysts already concerned that the world’s largest social network could be overvalued from the get-go.  Rather than try to ride that wave, savvy investors are looking to other social media and networking-related stocks that may offer a larger upside potential.  An assessment of book value to price and shareholder equity/deficit of companies such as LinkedIn Corporation (NASDAQ: LNKD); IZEA, Inc. (OTCQB: IZEA); and CrowdGather Inc. (OTCBB: CRWG) reveals some stark differences and showcases where true value propositions may be found. Read More

After a large run from 11 cents to 51 cents, the CrowdGather chart has been consolidating in a range bound channel. Support is in place at 28 and 27 cents with limited resistance if the pps can move through 36 cents, which offers a better than 20 percent upside just to that point. The MACD is ready to drop a bullish cross and key indicators of momentum, such as the Full Stochastics and the Relative Strength Index are signaling that upward pressure is at hand. The stock price is holding the 200 day simple moving average, a sign a strength in the chart with the 50 dma just ahead at 31 cents. The consolidation is getting Read More

Typically the market sees a sell off in May.  The saying “Sell in May, stay away” hasn’t missed this year.  Last October the DOW saw a low of 10,404.49. May 1st ended a rally with the Dow reaching a high of 13,338.66. After reaching a new high there have been corrections to consolidate that put the lows of the corrections back under the lower bollinger and then the market begins a move back up. This poll is to see how many of you think this correction is finished and the DOW starts moving back up. Some in the media don’t think so.

Poll question: Does the DOW move back to test the high? I’m not expecting it to move up without another correction along the way, maybe if we get a summer rally.  I am often on my own with some of the picks I make and certainly am no expert.
My vote is yes, today. Futures were breaking below 12,600 earlier this morning so still being cautious but I think there is a 50/50 chance. Hence the poll.

Comments are welcome! Or a simple “You’re nuts!”, or a yes or no.

Please note: This is not a buy or sell recommendation.  I am not an investment advisor.

Many Wall Street Veterans have taken this path at some point in their careers, it comes with the volatile territory they ply…and Ina Drew …..Head Risk Honcho…. at JP Morgan & Chase (NYSE: JPM) is no different than the countless number of Wall St execs who have climbed the mountain and literally fell down the backside in their careers. Unfortunately for Ina, ALL of Wall St is watching Read More

Fibrocell Science, Inc. (OTCBB: FCSC), an autologous cellular therapeutic company focused on the development of innovative products for aesthetic, medical and scientific applications, announced this morning that is has submitted to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) the company’s Phase II clinical study protocol to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Fibrocell’s lead therapy, azficel-T, in improving the range of motion, function and flexibility, in patients with existing restrictive burn Read More

After a monster move from $0.0005 to $0.0231, shares of KMA Global International (Pink Sheets: KMAG) have seen some profit taking. Ending last week with two green closes, technical traders will be watching for a potential continuation of a bounce off support at $0.006. Technically speaking, it is important for the chart to hold these support levels (bottom of that support at $0.0055) and push back ahead of the 50 and 200 day Read More