The Twitter-24/7 Wall St Market Report (5/17/2011) Glencore IPO, Wal-Mart Earnings, Housing Starts

Twitter  has, by most estimates, 175 million members, which makes it one of the largest social networks in the world. All major media companies are on Twitter and some have more than one million Twitter users. It raises the question of whether there is wisdom in crowds.

24/7 Wall St. will look at the Twitter posts at Reuters Biz, WSJ, Financial Times, CNN Money, MarketWatch, CNBC, and 24/7 Wall St. each day to see which stocks are most frequently mentioned. It is clear that in this area of social media these tweets are a sign of which companies the Twitter universe is interested in. Together, these financial sites are followed by nearly 1,000,000 Twitter users, which makes them a sizeable sample of Wall St.’s interests. In some cases, we will publish the actual tweets from the sites.Twitter  has, by most estimates, 175 million members, which makes it one of the largest social networks in the world. All major media companies are on Twitter and some have more than one million Twitter users. It raises the question of whether there is wisdom in crowds.

NYT: H.P. Profit Up 5%, but PC Sales Are Declining http://nyti.ms/lB6MAY

BBC: Overseas sales bolster Wal-Mart http://bbc.in/lzR7b9

Bloomberg: International sales boost Wal-Mart’s first-quarter profit | http://bloom.bg/j7sqTx

NYT: U.S. Housing Starts and Permits Fell in April http://nyti.ms/iDylii

WSJ: CFOs Expect Modest Recovery http://on.wsj.com/iDDZzQ

Zerhedge: The Quadruple Dip: Housing Starts, Permits Drop, Miss Expectations; Houses Under Construction At New Record Low http://is.gd/Ht6Ux2

Reuters: Glencore set to be priced at 530p or above: sources http://reut.rs/mr0WJI

MarketWatch: U.S. housing starts fall 10.6% in April http://on.mktw.net/kIVlbW

WSJ: Overseas Sales Buoy Wal-Mart http://on.wsj.com/lhSrxI

Douglas A. McIntyre