The Traderszone Network

A few highly rated stocks bucked market weakness Thursday and scored new highs in heavy trading. Signet Jewelers (SIG) rallied 8.34, or nearly 8%, to 116.37 in five times average trade. Thursday marked its best performance in six months. Signet gapped above a 113.28 buy point from a flat base. Before Thursday’s open, the operator of Kay Jewelers and Jared The Galleria of Jewelry reported second-quarter earnings of 72 cents a share ex items.

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Russian relations with the West frayed even thinner Thursday, as North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials reported direct assaults by Russian forces on the Ukrainian military. A U.S. State Department spokesman on Wednesday said military movements assisting Ukraine’s rebels “indicate a Russian-directed counteroffensive.” The news sent the ruble to its lowest level against the dollar since March. Moscow’s benchmark Micex index dropped 1.7%.

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Traders may exit August positioned defensively, locking in some of the market gains as headline risk from Ukraine remains high.

Americans are so dour, by some measures, they seem to be looking past opportunities as if programmed to see only pitfalls. Prosperity doesn’t come from the places many people seem to be seeking it, and if the middle class is, in fact, in decline, a large part of the reason may be a lost instinct for how to get ahead.

Stock holdings, family businesses and real estate have left these lawmakers flush with cash.

Submitted by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog,

That was quick! Last November Snapchat was valued at $2 billion in the private VC market; by Q1 that had risen to $7 billion; and yesterday it soared to $10 billion. Gaining $8 billion in market value in just nine months is quite a feat under any circumstance – but that’s especially notable if you’re are a company with no profits, no revenues and no business model.

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced stricter punishments for players accused of domestic violence.