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• Surprising stocks top best of 2008 list

  Posted Jun 26 2008, 01:18 AM by Jon Markman
  Filed under: Investing, Merrill Lynch, Investment Banking, Motorola, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Bros, Valero, stocks, economy, Jon Markman
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  It’s easy to imagine that the 25 best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 Index this year are all oil and gas producers, and the 25 worst-performing stocks are all banks and brokers. Yet as we near the halfway mark in 2008, it turns out that there are quite a few surprises in the mix of best and worst.

  For instance, the No. 1 stock in the benchmark index this year isn’t an oil producer, but a coal miner, Massey Energy.  It’s up 155% so far, rising to $89 from $35 as coal prices have soared in the wake of booming demand in China and India. The No. 2 stock is actually a discount retailer, Big Lots. It’s up 100%, from $15 to $30, as investors speculate it will get a big share of tax-rebate money from low-income Americans.

  Most of the rest of the next best 15 gainers   Read More...

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• Has the market really bottomed? Maybe. Perhaps.

  Posted Apr 04 2008, 07:55 PM by Charley Blaine
  Filed under: Investment Banking, M & A, Lehman Bros, subprime, stocks
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  There are enormous amounts of chatter about whether the markets have bottomed.

  So, what's the evidence?

  The market itself. Down as much as 18% in January from its Oct. 9, 2007 all-time closing high, the Dow Jones Industrial Average's loss has been trimmed to 11%. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index, briefly down 20% on March 17 from October in the turmoil over Bear Stearns, is now off 12.4% from its October peak. And the Nasdaq Composite Index's loss from a peak on Oct. 31 has shrunk from 25% on March 17 to 17% on Friday. OK, let's turn the thought around. The Dow is up 8% from its lows in January. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are both up 9% and 10% off their lows on March 17. Lastly, the S&P 500 moved above its 50-day moving average on March 24, briefly dipped under it and has moved above it again. Moreover, the moving average has started to rise for the first time since November.

  The Federal Reserve. Ben Bernanke & Gang have made it clear they won't allow the financial system to collapse. That was the result the Fed and many on Wall Street had feared would happen if Bear Stearns had been forced to file for bankruptcy protection. Instead, Bear Stearns has agreed to be acquired by JPMorgan Chase   Read More...

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