November 14, 2008

November 14, 2008

Friday, November 14th, 2008

Diamonds
Anheuser-Busch (BUD) is the diamond of the day as they are all but guaranteed to be purchased before the end of the year by InBev of Belgium. BUD is up 51 cents to $68.44 as most stocks are down on the day. BUD shareholders approved the buyout on Thursday. Another great American company is no deposit, no return.

Dogs
Retailing stocks were marked down all day today as the consumer is gone the way of Woolworth's. JCP is down over 7% to $17.85 after they registered a 52% drop in profit. Along with the sharp drop in third quarter numbers, JCP also managed to disappoint investors about the up-coming season. The Retail Index is down over 4% today.

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

Diamonds
Stocks went on Mr. Toad's wild ride today, closing up 6% on the day, after trading almost 5% lower up until about 1pm. With stocks retesting the lows of October 10th, trading below 8,000, the market staged a remarkable recovery to finish on the highs. Most stocks were higher, but Walmart (WMT) was a big winner, closing up $2.31 after they earned $3 billion for the quarter. WMT is the only Dow stock up for the year as of now as the world's largest discounter is benefiting from the consumer cutting back.

Dogs
Crocs, Inc. (CROX) fell to a new low today. Actually it can't fall much lower, as the stock finished the session at $1.05 down 84 cents for the day. CROX is an example of a great product but bad stock. It was a fad that Wall Street let get out of control. CROX lost $148 million in the quarter.

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Diamonds
Stocks traded lower on the day, losing 411 points in the Dow 30. One diamond for the day was Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG) which grew by 12.8% to $27. SMG rose over $3 on the news that a major rival pulled out of the home grown market. SMG is down 28% on the year, so this good news was worth cultivating with investors.

Dogs
How bad can it get? Citigroup, symbol C, fell to single digits, $9.64 as the financial crisis rages. C is trading at a 12 year low, with apparently no bottom in sight, as the empire built by Sandy Weil is quickly falling apart. C was once worth over $300 billion and now trades at about $48 billion. It has been a weapon of wealth destruction.

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Diamonds
Stocks dropped again on Tuesday, the Dow fell 176 points and the Nasdaq and S&P are trading near their October lows. How about this? A mortgage company, Thornburg Mortgage (TMA), actually showed a profit for the quarter. The decimated stock traded up 37 cents to $1.47, but hey, it beats bankruptcy.

Dogs
Starbucks (SBUX), the Seattle based coffee monster, traded like grunge today, closing down 21 cents or 2% to below $10 per share. SBUX reported a 97% drop in profits, which rounded for a tip is 100% lower for the quarter. SBUX stock trades for the cost of two lattes and a paper. Store traffic slowed as consumers rethink the price of getting wired.

Monday, November, 10th, 2008

Diamonds
Stocks started the week on a down note, falling just under 100 points. McDonald's (MCD), the future employer of most of Wall Street, followed their lead on the dollar menu, and gained a buck on the session. MCD has strong sales gains as the weak economy not only translates into job opportunities for stock brokers, but attracts cost conscious consumers as well.

Dogs
General Motors (GM) is on its way to zero, as the auto maker lost $1 to finish at $3.36. GM lost $2.5 billion, but that is nothing to what they have lost and to what they owe investors. President-Elect Obama is heading into a car wreck over the next six months.