Cisco Guidance, Retail Sales Disappoint Investors

The declines this morning were not as bad as some had feared after Cisco (CSCO) disappointed investors last night when it gave revenue guidance that was below consensus expectations.

Actually, the market bounced for a while and had completely erased its early losses, but it has since dipped back into the red.

Retail sales were also mixed, but for the most part they were not strong. That said, a handful of stocks have traded higher after reporting, which indicates that maybe these stocks are washed out and due for more of a rally. I'll have more of a retail sales roundup in a bit.

The exchange stocks (CME, NMX, ICE) are getting a big bounce after several upgrades, as well as the CFTC coming to their defense and saying that the DoJ comments were off base.

The Bank of England got on board with a 25 basis point rate cut, while the ECB has held rates steady at 4.00%, as expected. I think the ECB is falling behind the curve, and will experience more slowing like the U.S. is experiencing now. They should look at what is happening here, and get ahead of the curve.

Bond insurer MBIA (MBI) raised $750 million in capital from a stock offering, which might help them retain their AAA rating. This is helping the bank index buck today's weakness and trade higher.