Wall Street was higher after remarks from both President George W. Bush and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.

In early afternoon trade the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 1.19 percent to 13,396.43, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.05 percent to 2,592.16 and the S&P 500 was 1.29 percent higher to 1,476.46.

Mr. Bush called on congress to send him legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration, which provides mortgage insurance through private lenders, but said that the government will not bail out what he characterized as “speculators”.

He also asked lenders to work with homeowners to renegotiate mortgages at lower interest rates.

Mr. Bush’s plan also calls for the creation of a program called “FHA-Secure”, which will allow the FHA to refinance the loans of homeowners with good credit but who have not been able to make all their payments due to rising interest rates.

Mortgage lenders saw gains in the wake of these comments. Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) was 14 cents higher to $19.78, while Accredited Home Lenders Holding (NAS: LEND) gained $2.38, or 37.72 percent, to $8.69 after Lone Star Funds said it is willing to purchase the subprime lender at a lower price than previously agreed.

Banks also benefited from the marks from the President and the Fed chairman.

Citigroup (NSYE: C) added 53 cents to $46.76, while JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) gained 65 cents to $44.62 and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was 73 cents higher to $46.76.

Wall Street was mixed Thursday, with the Nasdaq higher but the Dow and S&P in decline.

By the end of the session, the Nasdaq managed to hold on to some gains, ending 0.08 percent higher to 2,565.30, while the Dow ended 0.38 percent lower to 13,238.73 and the S&P 500 closed at 1,457.64, a decline of 0.42 percent.

Research in Motion (NAS: RIMM; TSX: RIM), maker of the BlackBerry, added $1.05 to close at $82.87 on new rumors that Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) could be interested in making a bid. Microsoft dropped 14 cents to $28.45.

Cisco Systems (NAS: CSCO) closed up 43 cents to $31.43, while IBM (NYSE: IBM) gained 80 cents to $115.37 and Apple (NAS: AAPL) was up $2.17 to $136.25.

In the retail sector, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) dropped 87 cents to close at $43.32 after Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) used worries about operating margins to cut its recommendation on the discount retailer from “neutral” to “sell”.

Home improvement retailers, however, were higher on the session. Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) was up 12 cents to $30.27, while Home Depot (NYSE: HD) added 49 cents to $37.04.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade Wednesday as investors hunted bargains after Tuesday’s big declines.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.85 percent to 13,152.73, while the Nasdaq Composite was 1.03 percent higher to 2,526.49 and the S&P 500 gained 0.94 percent to 1,445.83.

The oil sector was higher after the US Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil and gasoline inventories both fell more last week than had been anticipated.

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) was $1.25 higher to $84.25, while ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) added $1.63 to $80.44 and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) gained $1.77 to $86.07.

The retail sector also saw gains after companies at both ends of the spectrum revised their outlooks in a positive direction.

Closeout and overstock retailer Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) was up $2 to $28.30, while upscale housewares, cooking utensils and food retailer Williams Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) gained $2.58 percent to $32.15.

Elsewhere among retailers, discount retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) added 27 cents to $43.67, while home improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD) was $1.13 higher to $36.18.

Fabrics and crafts retailer Jo-Ann Stores (NYSE: JAS) was up $2.16 to $24.40.

Wall Street was lower at midday on Tuesday as investors waited for the release of the minutes from the most recent meeting of the US Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.09 percent to 13,176.87, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 1.27 percent to 2,528.67 and the S&P 500 had dropped 1.17 percent to 1,449. 69.

Analysts and investors were interested in what the Fed minutes had to say in order to see if they provide any hints about where interest rates might go in the future, especially in light of recent comments from officials that they are willing to do whatever is necessary to retain stability in the markets.

A new report from the Conference Board, showing consumer confidence down from a revised reading of 111.9 percent in July to 105 in August did not help, although the reading was a bit better than the 104.5 that had been expected.

House builders were lower on the report that house prices were down by 3.2 percent in the second quarter, the biggest rate of decline since the S&P housing index was begun in 1987.

D. R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) dropped 45 cents to $14.76, while Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) was down 60 cents to $10.66 and Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) fell 73 cents to $21.27.

Banks were lower after Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) issued a downgrade, from “buy” to “neutral”, to three financial institutions.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) dropped 94 cents to $46.85, while Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) fell $1.49 to $110.71 and Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) was down $2.50 to $55.25.

The New York equities markets were lower in early afternoon trade on Monday after new data showed existing home sales dropped and inventories were higher in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.22 percent lower to 13,349.93, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.49 percent to 2,564.19 and the S&P 500 fell 0.63 percent to 1,469.99.

The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales were 0.2 percent lower in July, while inventories were up by 5.1 percent to 4.59 million homes, a new record.

In addition, home prices were down in July for the 12th consecutive time, by 0.6 percent from a year ago to a median price of $230,200.

Sales were up in the West and Northeast but were static in the South and down by 2.2 percent in the Midwest.

Meanwhile home improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD) added 61 cents to $35.29 after it reached a deal to sell its wholesale unit to a consortium of three private equity firms at a price that was lower than originally planned and requires Home Depot to guarantee $1 billion of the debt the buyers will assume to close the deal.

In other deal news, Taiwan computer manufacturer Acer (TSEC: 2353; LSE: ACID) will pay $170 million for Gateway Inc (NYSE: GTW).

Gateway added 60 cents, or 49 percent, to $1.80.

Elsewhere in the computer sector IBM (NYSE: IBM) added 52 cents to $113.76, but Dell (NAS: DELL; SEHK: 4331) fell 4 cents to $27.70, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) dropped 7 cents to $48.03 and Apple (NAS: AAPL; LSE: ACP; FWB: APC) was down $1.66 to $133.64.

The New York equities markets were up in midday trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.51 percent higher to 13,302.95, while the Nasdaq had added 0.55 percent to 2,555.8 and the S&P 500 was up 0.51 percent as well, to 1,469.92.

With crude oil prices higher, the oil sector saw gains.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was 87 cents higher to $80.27, while ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) added $1.24 to $84.99, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) was up $1.41 to $86.89 and Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) had gained $1.60 to $67.87.

New data on new home sales left the house building sector mixed. The Commerce Department reported that new home sales were up 2.8 percent in July after having dropped by 4 percent in June.

While the report seemed to ease fears that the housing slump could send the US economy into a recession, the fact remained that the sale of new homes was still 10.2 percent behind July sales last year.

Centex Corp (NYSE: CTX) added 16 cents to $32.02 after the report was issued, but Lennar (NYSE: LEN) dropped 3 cents to $29.96, Beazer (NYSE: BZH) was down 14 cents to $10.10 and Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) fell 23 cents to $17.36.

Clothing retailers were mixed on quarterly reports.

Gap (NYSE: GPS) added $1.03 to $18.43 after it said its earnings were up 19 percent and announced a share buyback worth $1.5 billion, but Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) dropped 66 cents to $22.46 after its results didn’t meet analyst expectations.

After an initial gain on enthusiasm about Bank of America’s (NYSE: BAC; TYO: 8648) purchase of $2 billon in preferred stock in mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), Wall Street was lower in midday trade Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.28 percent to 13,199.47, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.71 percent to 2,534.56 and the S&P 500 was 0.44 percent lower to 1,457.61.

Bank of America said Wednesday that it would buy into Countrywide in an effort to help it deal with the increase in defaults on subprime loans was well as to try to keep the larger economy from being dragged down by the subprime mess.

The announcement came on the same day that Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) said it will close its BNC Mortgage unit and cut over 1,000 jobs.

HSBC (NYSE: HBC; LSE: HSBA; Euronext: HSBC; SEHK: 005) and Accredited Home Lenders (NAS: LEND) have also announced the elimination of jobs due to the current crisis.

The announcement by Bank of America sent its shares up 16 cents to $51.81, while shares in Countrywide added $1.27 to $23.09.

Elsewhere, Hot Topic (NAS: HOTT) dropped 80 cents to $7.95 after the retailer said it suffered losses in the second quarter. Several other clothing retailers, including Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), are scheduled to report after the close of trade today.

Meat processor Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) added 16 cents to $34.56 even though it said its profits in its fiscal third quarter were down by 4 percent.

By early afternoon Monday the New York equities markets were up even though many banks were lower again.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.59 percent higher to 13,167.93, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.67 percent to 2,538.25 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.49 percent to 1,454.17.

Banks were lower after Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) and Wachovia (NYSE: WB) each said they had borrowed $500 million from the Federal Reserve.

Bank of America was 24 cents lower to $51.06, while Wachovia fell 31 cents to $48.93, Citigroup dropped 53 cents to $47.53 and JP Morgan Chase was down $1.06 to $45.14.

Elsewhere in the sector, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) was 41 cents lower to $175.07, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) fell 99 cents to $75.12 and Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) had dropped $1.23 to $56.31.

Futures exchange operator Nymex Holdings (NYSE: NMX) added $7.10 to $125.88 on reports that it has had early discussions toward some sort of deal, while MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) gained $6.23 to $80.55 on speculation that it is a bids target from Dubai World.

In the house building sector, Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) added 80 cents to $21.89 even though it said its profits in the fiscal third quarter were down on more cancellations than expected and on large writedowns but still came out better than analysts had anticipated.

The gains didn’t help the rest of the sector much, however.

At just past 1 p.m. New York time, Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) was up just 1 cent to $11.96, while Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) had dropped 3 cents to $17.26 and DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was down 29 cents to $16.05.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.04 percent higher to 13,126.39, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.48 percent to 2,520.55 and the S&P 500 was up 0.25 percent to 1,449.22.

The oil sector declined as oil prices fell below $70 per barrel in New York as Hurricane Dean weakened with no lasting damage to oil production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) was 20 cents lower to $84.69, while ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) dropped $1.21 to $78.65 and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) fell $1.28 to $83.25.

The declining oil prices sent AMR (NYSE: AMR), the parent company of American Airlines, $1.34 higher to $23.55.

Most banks were higher after Senate Banking Committee Chairman and Democratic presidential candidate Christopher Dodd said after a meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that that Mr. Bernanke said that he was willing to do whatever necessary to calm the markets.

This led some analysts to speculate that there will soon be a cut in US interest rates.

While JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) was 1 cent lower to $46.48, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) had added 31 cents to $62.97, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) was up 74 cents to $75.64 and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) had gained $3.74 to $176.50.

The telecommunications sector was also higher.

Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S) was 15 cents higher to $18.41, while AT&T (NYSE: T) had added 46 cents to $39.11.

Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was back down below the 13,000 level to trade at 12,993.32, a decline of 0.66 percent, just before 1:30 pm in New York, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.64 percent to 2,489.1 and the S&P 500 was 0.99 percent lower to 1,431.6.

The retail sector was mixed.

Rite-Aid (NYSE: RAD) was even at $4.88, while Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) had dropped 25 cents to $43.24.

Home improvement retailers, however, saw gains after Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) reported that its earnings were at 67 cents per share in the second quarter, against expected earnings of 61 cents per share.

Despite dropping its forecasts for the third quarter and the full year, Lowe’s added $1.51 to $28.38, while rival Home Depot (NYSE: HD) gained 19 cents to $33.50.

The financial services sector saw declines.

Troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) was down $1.43 to $20.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) dropped 61 cents to $36.63, while Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) fell 84 cents to $61.39, Citigroup (NYSE: C) was 86 cents lower to $47.95 and Bank of America was down 96 cents to $50.80.

JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) fell $1.44 to $45.57, Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) was down $1.78 to $56.30, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) dropped $2.01 to $74.03, and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) was $3.87 lower to $171.13.