Traders-Blog.com

We have done our best to record the calls for you, but remember that the show is fast moving, and sometimes Cramer bangs on the sell! sell! sell!, bull roar, train wreck, suicide jump, hallelujah chorus, backing up truck, creepy house of pain voice, machine gun, fanfare, toilet flush, all aboard, applause, cash register, bear growl, bowling pins, and submarine diving alarm buttons all at once, while he is screaming.

Please do your own research, and verify all information before acting on it. This summary of Cramer’s picks is not intended to replace watching the show, where his comments about the stocks often include advice about entry and exit points.

Bullish
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (MDRX) r *
American Express (AXP) r *
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) !
ATI Technologies (ATYT) *
Broadcom (BRCM) r *
Cendant (CD) r *
Cerner (CERN) !
Chico’s FAS (CHS) !
Cypress Semiconductor (CY) !
Darden Restaurants (DRI) !
Dell (DELL) r *
Encore Wire (WIRE) *
Exxon Mobil (XOM) !
FedEx (FDX) *
Frontier Oil (FTO) r *
Genentech (DNA) !
Google (GOOG) *
Greatbatch (GB) *
L-3 Communications (LLL) !
Matrixx Initiatives (MTXX) *
Microsoft (MSFT) !
Motorola (MOT) r *
Nucor (NUE) !
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) !
OraSure Technologies (OSUR) !
Powerwave Technologies (PWAV) r *
Psychiatric Solutions (PSYS) !
SanDisk (SNDK) r *
Sprint Nextel (S) !
St. Joe (JOE) !
Starbucks (SBUX) !
SunPower (SPWR) !
Swift Transportation (SWFT) *
United Parcel Service (UPS) *
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) r *
Urban Outfitters (URBN) !
W.W. Grainger (GWW) !
Werner Enterprises (WERN) *
Yahoo! (YHOO) *
Yellow Roadway (YEL) *

Bearish
Amazon.com (AMZN) *
Andrew (ANDW) r *
BellSouth (BLS) !
Cisco Systems (CSCO) !
EFJ (EFJI) !
Ericsson (ERICY) r *
Ford Motor (F) !
GM (GM) *
Henry Schein (HSIC) !
IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) !
McDonald’s (MCD) !
Micron Technologies (MU) *
Nokia (NOK) r *
Pioneer Drilling (PDC) !
Red Hat (RHAT) !
SBC Communications (SBC) !
Scientific-Atlanta (SFA) !
SFBC International (SFCC) r *
Sybase (SY) !
TOP Tankers (TOPT) !
TurboChef (OVEN) !
United States Steel (X) !
Usana Health Sciences (USNA) *
Verizon (VZ) !
ViroPharma (VPHM) !

! called during Lightning Round on Mad Money TV show
* discussed on the Mad Money TV show
r ! called during Lightning Round on RealMoney Radio show
r * discussed on the RealMoney Radio show

“The top performer in 2004 is Fredhager.com, up 150.3 percent….also the second-performing letter in 2003, up 119.8 percent.”
– Peter Brimelow, CBSmarketwatch

Having trouble writing down all of Cramer’s picks? Free daily recap newsletter to your inbox

A one-month advance sent the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to four-and-a-half-year high with strength in energy, financials, homebuilders and aerospace overshadowing worries about General Motors. Analysts proclaimed a late-year rally and the Dow Jones Industrial Average turned positive for 2005 for the first time since March.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 53.95 or over 0.5% to 10,820.28, and got into positive territory for the year for the first time in eight months. The Dow 30 ended 2004 at 10,783.01. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished up 6.58 or 0.6% to 1,254.85, and the Nasdaq composite index finished up 13.99 or over 0.6% to 2,241.67. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P closed at fresh four-and-a-half-year highs.

The market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers nearly 20 to 12 on volume of 1.55 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by 18 to 11 on volume of 1.69 billion shares. Seeing that the market has gotten so far so fast, a pullback was expected; but probably a lot of portfolio managers feel there is an end-of-the-year rally which everyone wants to participate in.

The biggest news was from GM with the Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announcing that GM will close five assembly plants, two stamping plants, two power-train facilities and three services and parts operations, eliminating 30,000 jobs. Additionally, a third shift would be eliminated at two other assembly plants. These restructuring plans appear essential to return North American operations to profitability as soon as possible. Shares of GM slipped after the announcement.

The best rally was from Boeing Co. that reached its their highest level since May 2001. The company booked more than $13 billion in jetliner deals at the Dubai Air Show. The company has a firm order from Emirates Airlines for 42 Boeing 777 wide-body jets valued at $9.7 billion and an additional purchase right on 20 jets. Its stock closed up $2.05 or over 3% to $69.00, which is a four-and-a-half-year high.

Exxon Mobil closed up $1.12 or over 2% to $59.37, American Express finished up $0.99 or 2% to $50.90, on an upgrade from “neutral” to “buy”. Micron Technology ended up $0.02 to $14.20, and Intel closed down $0.05 to $25.25, on an announcement that they were forming a company to make flash memory chips. Most of these would be for iPods from Apple which closed up $0.40 to $64.96. SanDisk which is a rival flash memory maker closed down $9.36 to $46.84, on expectation that Micron and Intel partnership could hurt SanDisk.

U.S. light crude oil for January delivery rose 49 cents to settle at $57.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter

We have done our best to record the calls for you, but remember that the show is fast moving, and sometimes Cramer bangs on the sell! sell! sell!, bull roar, train wreck, suicide jump, hallelujah chorus, backing up truck, creepy house of pain voice, machine gun, fanfare, toilet flush, all aboard, applause, cash register, bear growl, bowling pins, and submarine diving alarm buttons all at once, while he is screaming.

Please do your own research, and verify all information before acting on it. This summary of Cramer’s picks is not intended to replace watching the show, where his comments about the stocks often include advice about entry and exit points.

Bullish
ABB (ABB) !
Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) *
Alvarion (ALVR) )))) !
American Science & Engineering (ASEI) )))) !
American Science & Engineering (ASEI) !
Amgen (AMGN) !
Autodesk (ADSK) )))) !
Bill Barrett (BBG) !
Black & Decker (BDK) !
Bodison Biotech (BBC) )))) *
Broadcom (BRCM) )))) *
Broadcom (BRCM) !
Capital One Financial (COF) !
Capstone Turbine (CPST) )))) *
CheckFree (CKFR) )))) *
Chesapeake Energy (CHK) !
Dow Chemical (DOW) !
Fortune Brands (FO) !
GameStop (GME) )))) *
Gilead Sciences (GILD) )))) !
Grey Wolf (GW) )))) *
HDFC Bank (HDB) )))) !
HealthExtras (HLEX) *
Intel (INTC) !
Koor Industries (KOR) )))) !
Microsoft (MSFT) )))) *
Motorola (MOT) )))) !
Motorola (MOT) !
Online Resources (ORCC) )))) *
PPG Industries (PPG) !
Qualcomm (QCOM) )))) *
Qualcomm (QCOM) !
Radiant Systems (RADS) *
Ruth’s Chris Steak House (RUTH) !
Southwestern Energy (SWN) !
Starbucks (SBUX) *
Texas Instruments (TXN) )))) *
Toyota Motor (TM) !
Ultra Petroleum (UPL) !
Under Armour (UARM) )))) *
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) !
VeriSign (VRSN) !
Yahoo! (YHOO) )))) !
Zumiez (ZUMZ) !

Bearish
Abgenix (ABGX) !
Akorn (AKN) )))) *
Amazon.com (AMZN) !
Applied Micro Circuits (AMCC) !
aQuantive (AQNT) )))) !
BASF (BF) !
Caremark Rx (CMX) *
CyberSource (CYBS) )))) *
DaimlerChrysler (DCX) !
Fidelity National Financial (FNF) !
First Israel Fund (ISL) )))) !
HCA (HCA) !
j2 Global Communications (JCOM) !
Leggett & Platt (LEG) !
MBNA (KRB) !
Medco Health Solutions (MHS) *
Sniffex (SNFX) )))) !
Theragenics (TGX) )))) *
Tommy Hilfiger (TOM) !
Valero Energy (VLO) !

! called during Lightning Round on Mad Money TV show
* discussed on the Mad Money TV show
)))) called during Lightning Round on RealMoney Radio show
)))) * discussed on the RealMoney Radio show

“The top performer in 2004 is Fredhager.com, up 150.3 percent….also the second-performing letter in 2003, up 119.8 percent.”
– Peter Brimelow, CBSmarketwatch

Having trouble writing down all of Cramer’s picks? Free daily recap newsletter to your inbox

Stocks ended the week with the Nasdaq and the S&P at their four year high after a week of gains fueled by a rally in the technology sector, a drop in crude-oil prices and a decline in long-term interest rates. All three major stock gauges have gained for four weeks in a row. Therefore, it cannot be discounted that after such a run, stock investors may need a breather. Next week being a holiday week, the volume will possibly be light, and after four up weeks up, the market may have a cause to pause.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 46.11 or 0.4% to 10,766.33, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended up 5.47 nearly 0.4% to 1,248.27, and the Nasdaq composite finished up 6.61 or 0.3% to 2,227.07. For the week, the Dow Jones closed the session at an eight month high gaining 0.8%, the tech-rich Nasdaq index ended at a 4 1/2 year high, with a weekly gain of 1.1% and the S&P broad gauge gained 1.1%.

The market breadth was positive and volume was robust. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by more than 19 to 13 on volume of 1.80 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners 9 to 6 as 2.04 billion shares changed hands.

Shares in General Electric Co. rose $1.09 or 3.1% to $35.75, a four-month high after the conglomerate lifted earnings estimates and said it will sell most of its Insurance Solutions reinsurance division to Swiss Re for $8.5 billion, after losing $700 million from that side of the business over the last five years. Additionally, the company plans to lift its share-buyback plan to $25 billion through 2008 from an earlier plan of $15 billion through 2007.

After a long time, General Motors Corp. was the biggest percentage gainer rising 6.3% to $24.05 after the Chief Executive Rick Wagoner told employees in a memo Wednesday that it doesn’t plan to file for bankruptcy reorganization. However, the company may announce a restructuring plan with about 25,000 job cuts as soon as next week.

Hewlett-Packard rallied after the computer and printer maker raised its profit outlook after posting earnings, excluding restructuring charges, that handily topped expectations. The stock rose 40 cents to $29.40. Shares of Marvell Technology Group closed up $6.55 to $57.04, after reporting quarterly earnings that more than doubled from a year earlier and beat estimates.

Amongst losers, Walt Disney fell 3% to close down $0.79 to $25.20, after reporting lower quarterly profit in its movie business. The net income for the fourth quarter fell more than 25% due mostly to underperforming films. Autodesk also closed down $8.36 or 18% to $38.74, after issuing fourth-quarter earnings and revenue guidance that was shy of forecasts.

Amongst the deals today, Cisco Systems Inc. said it is buying cable television set-top maker Scientific Atlanta Inc for $6.9 billion. Cisco shares ended down 2% to $17.02. Scientific Atlanta’s stock rose 1.7% to $42.15. Apparel company Liz Claiborne Inc. also stated that it has offered to buy J. Jill Group’s Inc. for about $366 million. Liz Claiborne shares rose 1.4% to $36.10 while shares of J. Jill Group shot up more than 40% to $18.51.

Oil prices ended at a five-month low, amid easing supply concerns. Crude for December delivery was down 20 cents at $56.14 a barrel in New York trading. On the week, the benchmark contract fell 2.4%. Analyst’s opine that the supply picture is robust, and prices should continue to move lower.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter

We have done our best to record the calls for you, but remember that the show is fast moving, and sometimes Cramer bangs on the sell! sell! sell!, bull roar, train wreck, suicide jump, hallelujah chorus, backing up truck, creepy house of pain voice, machine gun, fanfare, toilet flush, all aboard, applause, cash register, bear growl, bowling pins, and submarine diving alarm buttons all at once, while he is screaming.

Please do your own research, and verify all information before acting on it. This summary of Cramer’s picks is not intended to replace watching the show, where his comments about the stocks often include advice about entry and exit points.

Bullish
Alvarion (ALVR) *
American International Group (AIG)
Anglo American (AAUK)
Apple Computer (AAPL) ))))
Biogen Idec (BIIB)
Broadcom (BRCM)
Capstone Turbine (CPST) *
Coldwater Creek (CWTR) ))))
Conexant Systems (CNXT)
CyberSource (CYBS) ))))
Eagle Materials (EXP) *
Electronic Arts (ERTS)
Encore Wire (WIRE)
Everest Re Group (RE)
Exxon Mobil (XOM)
GameStop (GME)
LeapFrog (LF) *
LeapFrog Enterprises (LF)
Oneok (OKE)
Pike Electric (PEC)
Royal Gold (RGLD)
South Financial Group (TSFG) ))))
Starbucks (SBUX) ))))
Target (TGT) ))))
Terex (TEX) *
TurboChef Technologies (OVEN) ))))
Wal-Mart (WMT) *
Walgreen (WAG)
Xcel Energy (XEL)
XM Satellite Radio Holdings (XMSR)

Bearish
Accredited Home Lenders (LEND) *
Akamai Technologies (AKAM)
Beazer Homes (BZH) *
Calpine (CPN) *
CommScope (CTV)
Gymboree (GYMB)
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO) *
Marvel Entertainment (MVL) *
Nextel Partners (NXTP)
OmniVision Technologies (OVTI) *
Playboy Enterprises (PLA)
PNC Financial Services (PNC) ))))
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) *
Ross Stores (ROST)
United Online (UNTD) ))))
UTStarcom (UTSI)
Winnebago Industries (WGO) *

all stocks called during Lightning Round unless marked as follows:
* discussed during Mad Money with Jim Cramer TV show
)))) discussed on the RealMoney Radio show

“The top performer in 2004 is Fredhager.com, up 150.3 percent….also the second-performing letter in 2003, up 119.8 percent.”
– Peter Brimelow, CBSmarketwatch

Having trouble writing down all of Cramer’s picks? Free daily recap newsletter to your inbox

What an AWESOME day and what GREAT PICKS we made. All our positions are in the green and today’s pick CRM is already 10% up from our entry price. The Model Portfolio is up 15% for the month and all our members are having a great ride.

Nasdaq reached its best level since June 2001, in a market buoyed by a drop in crude-oil prices and declining long-term interest rates. Tech gains, falling oil prices and reassuring comments from General Motors helped fuel an advance. This is likely to lead to an end-of-year run-up. Analyst feel that this is also tied to the end-of-year sector rotation, with investors starting to pull money out of energy and put it into financials, technology and other sectors.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 45.46 to 10,720.22, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended up 11.59 or nearly 1% to 1,242.80, and the Nasdaq composite index finished up 32.22 or 1.5% to 2,220.46. This is the highest point since June 7, 2001, when it closed at 2,264.0.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers three to one on volume of 1.69 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by close to three to one on volume of 1.84 billion shares.

A spate of reports helped the cause of the boost. First-time filings for state unemployment benefits dropped to their lowest level since April, new construction of homes fell 5.6% in October, building permits dropped 6.7%, industrial production rose an expected 0.9% in October, and capacity utilization climbed slightly in October to 79.5%.

General Motors continues to be hit by woes. The company has lost a stunning $2.2 billion in the first three quarters of this year. The automaker is getting hit by bad news, such as gasoline prices, issues at its former parts unit, Delphi, accounting questions, health care and pension costs. While its 9% dividend yield may seem tempting the company won’t be able to keep paying $2 a year to shareholders much longer. However, the stock of the company jumped +6.3% after the CEO posted a letter on the internal Web site saying that talk of bankruptcy is overblown.

Amongst the gainers, Google zoomed up to cross the $400 mark for the first time to be up $5.30 to $403.45, Yahoo gained $2.19 to $42.23, Brocade Communication Systems gained almost 4%, ADC Telecommunications closed up $1.77 to $20.07, Adtran ended up up $2.29 to $29.29, and Tellabs gained $0.53 to $9.69.

Amongst the losers, Altria closed down $2.09 or 2.8% to $71.80, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock on concerns that the company’s proposed break up could be delayed due to ongoing litigation. Applied Materials closed down $0.43 to $17.34, after reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that fell from a year earlier, and Taro Pharmaceutical Industries ended down $7.50 or 34% to $14.40, after reporting weaker quarterly earnings that missed forecasts.

U.S. light crude oil for December sank $1.48 to settle at $56.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after having risen in the early morning.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter

We have done our best to record the calls for you, but remember that the show is fast moving, and sometimes Cramer bangs on the sell! sell! sell!, bull roar, train wreck, suicide jump, hallelujah chorus, backing up truck, creepy house of pain voice, machine gun, fanfare, toilet flush, all aboard, applause, cash register, bear growl, bowling pins, and submarine diving alarm buttons all at once, while he is screaming.

Please do your own research, and verify all information before acting on it. This summary of Cramer’s picks is not intended to replace watching the show, where his comments about the stocks often include advice about entry and exit points.

Bullish
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF)*
Airgas (ARG)*
Altria (MO)
Aqua America (WTR)*
aQuantive (AQNT)
Broadcom (BRCM)
Chesapeake Energy (CHK)*
Commerce Bancorp (CBH)
Cyberonics (CYBX)
Merge Technologies (MRGE)
MetLife (MET)
Nabors Industries (NBR)*
Pacific Sunwear (PSUN)*
Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN)*
PortalPlayer (PLAY)
Prudential Financial (PRU)
Staples (SPLS)
Starbucks (SBUX)
Too (TOO)*
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)
Volcom (VLCM)*
Wells Fargo (WFC)*
Yellow Roadway (YELL)

Bearish
Agere Systems (AGR)
American Eagle Outfitters (AEOS)*
Corning (GLW)
Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS)
Eastman Kodak (EK)
eBay (EBAY)
Elan (ELN)
Fannie Mae (FNM)
Ford (F)
Gap (GPS)*
General Motors (GM)
Georgia Gulf (GGC)
Iowa Telecommunications Services (IWA)
Landstar System (LSTR)
Marchex (MCHX)
NovaStar Financial (NFI)
Phoenix (PNX)
Quiksilver (ZQK)*
Skechers (SKX)*

*mentioned during show - all other stocks called during Lightning Round

“The top performer in 2004 is Fredhager.com, up 150.3 percent….also the second-performing letter in 2003, up 119.8 percent.”
– Peter Brimelow, CBSmarketwatch

Having trouble writing down all of Cramer’s picks? Free daily recap newsletter to your inbox

A 6% slide in General Motors and a rise in oil prices provided downside pressure that overshadowed a bond market rally and other positive news on the day.

Since the middle of October, the Dow industrials have risen 4.6%; the Nasdaq has gained 6.8% and the S&P 500 has climbed 4.5%. Many analyst opine that we are in a period of the year that historically has had positive seasonal factors, and that combined with solid economic news in the past few weeks and falling oil prices is likely to lead to further gains in equity prices.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 11.68 or 0.1% to 10,674.76, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished up 2.20 or 0.2% to 1,231.21, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.19 to 2,187.93 (almost unchanged from yesterday’s close).

The market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners had a 17 to 15 advantage over advancers as 1.58 billion shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers three to two on volume of 1.72 billion shares. The low trading volume signaled that investors weren’t willing to step in near the top of the market’s recent range. The market has been unable to push past about 1,240 on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

The Labor Department has reported that the retail inflation rose 0.2% on high shelter, food and medical-care prices. The core consumer-price index, which excludes food and energy prices, was ticking up 0.2% after a string of five straight 0.1% readings. This report offers a benign picture on inflation.

Among standout stock movers, shares of General Motors closed down $1.32 or 5.8% to $21.29, amid ongoing worries about the health of the company’s profits and ongoing speculation that it might declare bankruptcy. American Express closed down $0.85 or 1.7% to $50.08, after the credit-card company told investors and analysts that higher write-offs for customer-bankruptcy filings and increased spending would hurt fourth-quarter earnings. Pfizer closed down $0.52 to $21.37, after a study showed that its Lipitor cholesterol-lowering drug didn’t perform much better than Merck’s competing drug Zocor in reducing the number of heart attacks and strokes in long-term users.

Rising oil prices boosted oil stocks. Transocean closed up $2.46 to $59.94, and Baker Hughes ended up $1.60 to $54.07. This resulted in the Philadelphia Oil Services index gaining over 3%.

Google introduced its new publishing feature and rose up $5.35 to $398.15, Yahoo gained $2.39 to $40.04, Tyco International closed up $1.10 or 4% to $28.50, after reporting higher quarterly earnings that beat estimates. Abercrombie & Fitch ended up $4.70 or 8.3% to $61.59, after reporting improved earnings and revenue. Shares of Boeing Co. shares rose 44 cents at $67.44 after declaring that it had reached a tentative agreement with the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace on a new three-year contract.

On news of smaller than expected stockpiles of crude oil and gasoline, oil prices as well as shares rose. U.S. light crude oil for December jumped 90 cents to settle at $57.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter

We have done our best to record the calls for you, but remember that the show is fast moving, and sometimes Cramer bangs on the sell! sell! sell!, bull roar, train wreck, suicide jump, hallelujah chorus, backing up truck, creepy house of pain voice, machine gun, fanfare, toilet flush, all aboard, applause, cash register, bear growl, bowling pins, and submarine diving alarm buttons all at once, while he is screaming.

Please do your own research, and verify all information before acting on it. This summary of Cramer’s picks is not intended to replace watching the show, where his comments about the stocks often include advice about entry and exit points.

Bullish
Aflac (AFL)
Albany International (AIN)*
Apple Computer (AAPL)
Best Buy (BBY)
Cemex (CX)*
Colgate-Palmolive (CL)*
Crown Holdings (CCK)*
Dow Chemical (DOW)
Enersis (ENI)*
Google (GOOG)
Halliburton (HAL)
Home Depot (HD)
Kyphon (KYPH)
MetLife (MET)
Microsoft (MSFT)
NutriSystem (NTRI)
Polaris Industries (PII)
Prudential Financial (PRU)
Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM)*
UnumProvident (UNM)
Viacom (VIA)
Vina Concha y Toro (VCO)*
Walt Disney (DIS)
Whole Foods Market (WFMI)

Bearish
Albertson’s (ABS)
Arctic Cat (ACAT)
Compania Cervecerias Unidas (CU)*
Compuware (CPWR)
deCODE Genetics (DCGN)
Embotelladora Andina (AKO)*
ev3 (EVVV)
KFx (KFX)
NL Industries (NL)
Owens-Illinois (OI)*
Rite Aid (RAD)
RPM (RPM)*
Syntroleum (SYNM)
USG (USG)*

*mentioned during show - all other stocks called during Lightning Round

“The top performer in 2004 is Fredhager.com, up 150.3 percent….also the second-performing letter in 2003, up 119.8 percent.”
– Peter Brimelow, CBSmarketwatch

Having trouble writing down all of Cramer’s picks? Free daily recap newsletter to your inbox

Is the party over - stocks today slumped as investors bailed out of some of the leaders of the recent advance. Thus, snapping a four-session winning streak, after receiving mixed signals on inflation and a worrying sales outlook from Target Corp. Analyst believe that the stock market appears to have moved lower on profit-taking following the run up over the last few weeks and that the early strength in energy stocks has given way.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 10.73 to 10,686.44, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished down 4.70 or nearly 0.4% to 1,229.01, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 14.21 or 0.7% to 2,186.74.

The market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers topped winners 11 to five on volume of 1.68 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by seven to three as 1.71 billion shares changed hands.

Reports indicated that inflation is contained with the Producer Price index rising 0.7% in October. However, the core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, fell 0.3%, versus an expected 0.2% rise - this is a good sign. Retail sales fell 0.1% in October, against the expected fall of 0.7%. Overall sales excluding autos rose 0.9%.

Ben Bernanke, President Bush’s nominee to replace Fed chief Alan Greenspan, told the Senate Banking Committee in a testimony that he is in favor of the central bank setting a formal inflation target, but said he would not move quickly. His comments are an indication that he would maintain Greenspan’s fight against inflation.

The new entrant to the S&P 500, Amazon.com Inc surged 7.3% to $45.65 on announcement that it would replace AT& T Corp in the S&P 500 Index. The stock closed out the session, up 4.5% at $44.45. Shares of AT&T finished down $0.04 to $19.87, and SBC Communications that is buying the company closed down $0.06 to $23.89. On the other hand, General Motors closed down $1.13 or 4.8% to $22.61, amid worries about its business. Alcoa closed down $0.35 to $26.26, McDonald’s lost $0.62 to $33.31, and Pfizer closed down $0.36 to $21.89. Target slipped down $4.13 to $54.30, after warning that November sales would fall below its forecast of a 4-6% increase.

Amongst gainers, Johnson & Johnson closed up $2.32 or 3.8% to $62.83, on news that its deal to buy Guidant is being negotiated at a lower price. This led Guidant shares to jump over 8% on the NYSE. IBM closed up $1.17 or 1.4% to $85.53, after its Marketing Chief announced that he was stepping down.

Housing no longer appears to be Hot Property. It has been reported that sell times are up and houses are sitting on the market longer. New homes now take about 4.1 months to sell and existing homes 4.7; both figures are up substantially.

While falling oil prices are good for overall sentiment, they tend to coincide with weakness in the energy stocks. Energy has been the best performing stock sector this year. However, U.S. light crude oil for December fell 71 cents to settle at $56.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter