There will be blood all right and not just in oil which suffered a steep drop to fall for the first day in four. As Twilight tweens screamed to see another gory story at the box office S&P 500 equities endured their worst bloodbath of the month. This after the Big Board’s opening bell was rung by big wigs at a Beijing based blood bank. Suffice to say its shares slid in common with myriad other banks after more mortgage-backed pessimism from Meredith.Meanwhile analyst advice against bottom fishing for chips caused semis to slide. See also Inventory in Semiconductors ...

After more than a month of range-bound volatility, the U.S. markets have broken out to start the week. In the process, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index cleared the headline 1,100 mark, confirming its uptrend as detailed below.

A roundup of business and financial stories breaking before the opening bell on Wall Street.

Editor's Note: This content was originally published on the Buzz & Banter (click here for a free trial). It's being reposted here for the benefit of the Minyanville community.After some initial follow-through buying this morning shares of Union Pacific (UNP) and CSX (CSX) have now turned lower on the day. Yesterday I established a short position in Union Pacific for the OptionSmith portfolio. While I was a little early pulling in the trigger -- I sold shares at $58.90 -- I think my thesis for a short-term trade is still valid and today’s early reversal has soothed my nerves ...

Transports stocks jump after getting a vote of confidence from investment guru Warren Buffett, whose investment firm doled out $44 billion to buy railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe.