Week in Review 
For the week 4/28/2008 - 5/2/2008
Brian Trumbore
President/Editor, StocksandNews.com

Wall Street

Wednesday was the big day of the week as the initial advance estimate on GDP for the first quarter came in positive, up 0.6%, the same meager rate as Q4. Which means at least for now your editor can not say his prediction from year end 2006 that we would have a recession in '08 has panned out, but I hasten to add that the figure for growth was positive for one main reason: there was a huge build-up in inventories (as well as some help from exports) and if you strip that out, GDP was down 0.2%. The simple fact is in the current quarter inventories will fall (or we have a lot of incredibly stupid executives out there). Business accumulated the inventory levels it did never thinking demand would slow, as it did at quarter end in a big way. So much for 'just in time inventory.'

I think you'd also agree that while back to back quarters of 0.6% growth aren't exactly recessionary, it's darn close to it and the numbers gods who officially weigh in down the road on whether or not we are (were) in a recession take other factors into consideration, such as employment.

On this front, with the release of Friday's jobs report for April, down 20,000, we have now had four consecutive months of job contraction, thanks in no small part to a collapsing construction industry and ongoing losses in manufacturing. So I hardly feel like I've truly missed it with my forecast.

I did, however, say any recession would be 'mild,' but I'm not prepared to say the more conventional 'shallow and brief.' I just believe we are in for a long period of well-below par growth, worldwide, and in most developed markets in particular it will sure feel like recession.

But what of the Federal Reserve? It lowered the short-term funds rate another ?-point as expected to 2.00%, but then in its accompanying statement didn't talk of a 'pause' as the Street wanted and instead left its options open, which is all well and good, seeing as it has eight weeks of data to absorb before it gathers again, but at the same time there are many who are saying 'enough is enough!'

Instead, the Fed offered the same pabulum that inflation will moderate in coming quarters (I do not disagree with this), there is a deepening housing contraction (I agree with this, too), and there is a weak labor market (ditto).

So there's little disagreement with the Fed from any quarter concerning the evidence, and after having its head in the sand last spring and summer we are grateful they are now dealing with reality, but continuing to lower interest rates has done a number on Americans at many different levels. To wit:

Editorial / Wall Street Journal?prior to the Fed's move:

"So Federal Reserve officials are whispering to reporters that they will consider a 'pause' after another interest-rate cut this week. Perhaps we should be more respectful, but this sounds like the alcoholic who tells his wife he'll quit drinking next weekend, after one more bender. What Chairman Ben Bernanke needs isn't a gradual withdrawal from easy money but membership in Central Bankers Anonymous.

"Eight months into the Fed's most recent rate-cutting spree, the evidence is overwhelming that it has been a major policy mistake. Aggressive rate cutting - taking the fed funds rate to 2.25% [now 2.00%] from 5.25% last September - has had little effect on the banking crisis it was supposed to ease.

"The recent progress on that front has come principally from the Fed's discount window innovations, especially its lending to investment banks in the wake of the Bear Stearns rescue. That is the kind of targeted liquidity that helps the financial system handle fears of bank failure and solvency without risking inflationary side-effects. The shame is that the Fed didn't do more of this earlier, along with tougher regulatory oversight of the likes of Citigroup. The way to save a troubled banking system is to focus on specific problems via dividend cuts, new management, losses in shareholder equity, rights offerings and other new capital, and if need be public money through the FDIC."

Instead, the Fed's actions encouraged a weak dollar.

"The practical impact (of this) has been to send energy and food prices soaring. This is a direct tax on both the world's poor and America's middle class. Just when the U.S. economy needs a resilient consumer given the fall in housing prices, these price increases have eviscerated consumer pocketbooks. In its attempt to help Wall Street and the financial system, Fed policy is punishing average Americans."

And it's killing those of us who like to save a little and hold cash in a money market fund or CD, let alone those on fixed income.

Noted strategist Jeremy Grantham in an op-ed for the Financial Times.

"Not believing in bubbles and/or being unwilling to risk unpopularity by moving against them leaves the two Fed bosses [Greenspan and Bernanke] with no alternative but to give free rein to speculators on the upside and focus on the downside. But, even on the downside, did they have to be so generous?

"It created an extreme form of moral hazard: it allowed risk takers to win too big and too easily; it helped spawn a huge hedge fund industry; and, worse still, it helped turn formerly discreet bankers into speculators. If you even partially bail out Bear Stearns - leveraged at 40 to 1 - next time someone will try 50 to 1.

"The Fed must show backbone. If you always take the friendly way out, no bubbles will ever be pricked and we shall always be reacting to crises in an increasingly speculative world. Paul Volcker, the Fed chairman before Mr. Greenspan, had the character to do tough, unpleasant things where necessary. His two successors have not.

"Both men were in a position to be powerful naggers in protecting financial standards; to question the quality of new financial instruments, not praise their ingenuity as Mr. Greenspan did; and to question and review mortgage quality and off balance sheet financing. None of this nagging was done?.

"Let me end with Mr. Greenspan's full and contrite repentance: 'I have no regrets on any of the Federal Reserve's policies that we initiated back then.'

"What can you say to that?"

Not much. All you can do is shake your head and order another drink.

One other thing is for sure; Europe is slowing rapidly by almost any measurement. Official forecasts of growth for both the 15- nation eurozone and 27-nation EU show projected growth figures of below 2% for both 2008 and 2009, a big comedown from estimates of just a few months ago, as some major European multinationals such as Michelin and Siemens warned on the impact the U.S. slowdown is having on their operations, as well as other signs the jig is up on the continent.

You want to know how dicey it's getting across the pond? Check out Spain's retail sales figure for March, down a whopping 8.7% on an annualized basis. That, my friends, is what a bursting of a world class housing and credit bubble will do to an economy and similar results can be expected in other nations over the next two years. Speaking of housing, a Bank of England analyst said UK home prices could fall 30% before it's Over, but then long-time readers already knew that.

Here in the U.S., the latest S&P/Case-Shiller housing index for 20 major metropolitan areas showed a 12.7% year over year decline in February, while RealtyTrac reported foreclosures rose 112% in the first quarter. It's so bad in Nevada that 1 in 54 homes received a foreclosure notice.

As for food and energy, oil was headed for a mini-correction to the $110 level when it suddenly spurted higher Friday afternoon and closed above $116, thanks primarily to misplaced confidence that the global economy isn't all bad and demand may rise again. Gasoline futures, which last week hit $3.05, had dropped to $2.80 but then they too came back and closed the week at $2.95. Unfortunately, $3.60+ at the pump, as you've been hearing is the nationwide average now, is the norm unless we get gas futures to decline below $2.80 and stay there. Even so, you'd need about $2.30 before you could kiss $3.00 gas goodbye across much of the country. [Don't worry, my California friends. I know your prices are much higher at all levels.] Per the above commentary from the Journal, oil producers are going to continue to demand higher prices to make up for a weak dollar. And one note on the greenback. You'll have to forgive me if I refuse to get excited with the euro going from 1.60 to 1.54. Wake me when we're below 1.40. Better yet, wake me when it's back to 1.20.

Regarding food, this is another bubble, pure and simple. I know, we've had some dreadful harvests and I know corn-based ethanol is impacting prices, but it's speculation, number one, that is driving them. Heck, all you need to know is I told you the explosion in the price of rice was a bubble, plain and simple, and since then we had a 20% decline in the span of six days. Now what happened on the supply/demand front in that period? Nothing. Nothing has happened in the last three months, in fact, except speculators running wild, hoarding, including at the government level, and massive corruption. You know, you can harvest rice three or four times a year so one bad harvest doesn't kill supply. There is no shortage of rice!

Having said this, I do not deny that short-term shortages in some foodstuffs can be an increasing issue over time, but understand that the way our markets work these days, speculators drive prices parabolic. This same action can also lead to collapses in the prices of many goods over time. Brush up on your Wall Street history, if you doubt me. I just posted another piece on the tulipmania of the 1630s. The similarities to today are striking.

Lastly, back to the employment report, average hourly earnings for April were up a meager 0.1%. Today's economic environment is about a global housing bubble, the resultant credit crunch, and stagnant real wages around the world, with the middle class, be it in America, Britain, Russia or Australia, taking it on the chin in a disproportionate fashion due to the real cost of living. I can't simplify the Big Picture any more than that.

Street Bytes

--It was a third straight week of gains on the better than expected GDP number and yet another one where all the gains came in one day, in this case Thursday. The Dow Jones finished up 1.3% to close at 13058, its high for the year, and is now down just 1.6% for '08. The S&P 500 rallied 1.2% to 1413, a bit of a technical breakout here, and Nasdaq finished up 2.2% to 2476, or still more than 50% from its all-time close of 5048. [Sorry.]

Earnings were once again merely so-so, though much was made yet again that Big Oil's profits were sky high as ExxonMobil earned $10.89 billion, Royal Dutch Shell $9.08 billion, BP $7.62 billion and Chevron $5.17 billion. But when you look at the earnings on the basis of revenues, the percentage is minimal compared to other industries. Just don't ask any Democratic politicians in particular to look at the facts. And as for Exxon, one thing that is worrisome for its future is that some analysts now believe its production will be flat for the next five years?zero growth. That's not good for anyone and is the result of it not only being tougher to find oil these days, with virtually all the big fields having been discovered decades ago, but also the impact of state-owned operations whose demands often make it unprofitable for an outside, independent partner. Saudi Arabia is an obvious example, but look at the mess in Russia the past few years as the Kremlin exhibits total control and there are few foreign operators left in the country.

--U.S. Treasury Yields

6-mo. 1.69% 2-yr. 2.45% 10-yr. 3.86% 30-yr. 4.58%

You can not come as close to virtually unchanged as the bond market was this week over last, with by my calculations a combined total of five basis points difference across the four securities listed above. The Federal Reserve did make another move aside from lowering the funds rate, that being a further expansion of its auction window for financial institutions, with the Fed now accepting sports memorabilia in return for federal loans, as long as it is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. [As alluded to above in the Journal editorial, these auctions are indeed working.]

--U.S. auto sales from the Big Three were absolutely putrid in April, with GM, Ford and Chrysler all down double digits while Toyota, Nissan and Honda gained some?and thus more market share. Car buyers are finally shifting from trucks and SUVs to little clown cars in order to save money on fuel.

--Breaking news?.Microsoft's talks with Yahoo are heating up! ?????..yawn???..

--Aside from the international notes mentioned earlier, Japan continues to ratchet down its growth forecast, Australian business sentiment has fallen to its lowest level in seven years, and in Ireland, the Celtic Tiger is turning into a tabby cat as growth forecasts here are being lowered rapidly amidst a big time consumer slowdown. Most experts (frankly, I'm as much of one as anyone else when it comes to this country) believe Ireland is now in recession off the past six months' performance.

Separately, Dell Computer is laying off 250 at a plant outside Dublin. Dell was one of the first to take advantage of Ireland's corporate incentives, and a smart workforce, to build extensive facilities here and now you see the flipside. Ireland's high labor costs are starting to kill it.

--The International Energy Agency warned that the recent uproar over biofuels is dangerous in that biofuel production has been critical in meeting current, and future, fuel demand. The IEA reports that biofuels make up about 50% of the extra fuel coming to the market from sources outside OPEC and any retreat will only lead to another surge in prices. It's also important to note the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization says biofuels are not a major cause of the current food crisis, and that they account for 10% of the price spike, as reported by the Financial Times.

--On the whole energy issue in the United States, economist Robert Samuelson had the following simple explanations in his Washington Post column.

"Unsurprisingly, all three major presidential candidates tout 'energy independence.' This reflects either ignorance (unlikely) or pandering (probable). The United States imports about 60% of its oil, up from 42% in 1990. We'll import lots more for the foreseeable future?.The basic cause of exploding prices is that advancing demand has virtually exhausted the world's surplus production capacity?.Combined with a stingy OPEC, the result is predictable: Any unexpected rise in the demand or threat to supply triggers higher prices.

"The best we can do is to try to exert long-term influence on global balance of supply and demand. Increase our supply. Restrain our demand. With luck, this might widen the worldwide surplus of production capacity. Producers would have less power to exact ever-higher prices, because there would be more competition among them to sell. OPEC loses some leverage; its members cheat. Congress took a small step last year by increasing fuel economy standards for new cars and light trucks from 25 to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. [And yes, we need a gradually rising fuel tax to create a strong market for more-efficient vehicles.]?.

"But it's hard for the United States to complain that other countries limit access to their reserves when we're doing the same. [Ed. by not drilling in ANWR, for example.] If higher U.S. production reduced world prices, other countries might expand production. What they couldn't get from prices they'd try to get from greater sales?.

"Perhaps oil prices will drop when some long-delayed projects begin production or if demand slackens. But the basic problem will remain. Though dependent on foreign oil, we might conceivably curb the power of foreign producers. But this is not a task of a month or a year. It is a task of decades; new production projects take that long. If we don't start now, our future dependence and its dangers will grow. Count on it."

But where has the presidential leadership been the past two decades, from both parties? We need to do everything, drill and promote alternative energy projects, and in some cases, tax credits for both alt energy and Big Oil. And we may have to pay higher taxes on gas at least in the short-term to finance some of it. But Americans are fed such a bunch of baloney on this topic that they can't see the truth.

--Bank of America is refusing to guarantee $38 billion in Countrywide Financial debt, after acquiring the near bankrupt mortgage giant for a mere $4 billion. Countrywide's operations have continued to tank since the acquisition and now its bondholders can no longer rest easy that B of A will necessarily backstop them as the Street had felt all along. Late Friday, S&P downgraded Countrywide debt to 'junk' status because of the uncertainty.

--The New York Times had a piece concerning the great Robert Rubin, vice chairman at Citigroup and former Treasury Secretary, and it's pretty amazing how, as he put it, "I don't feel responsible" for any of the problems Citi faced, in particular with the mortgage market. Whatever, Bob.

[Citi had to raise another $4.5 billion in capital this week, this time in stock, while CEO Vikram Pandit's own hedge fund is under severe distress?a huge embarrassment.]

--Wachovia Corp. has had a tough stretch lately. Aside from all the losses it's been reporting, necessitating the raising of gobs of fresh capital of its own, it was forced to fork over $144 million in a settlement with the U.S. government over a telemarketing scheme that harmed hundreds of thousands of elderly, and then we learn, via the Journal, that it's the focus of a broad probe of alleged money laundering involving Mexican and Colombian drug gangs. [Other banks are implicated as well.]

--Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts reported soft results in their Vegas properties and in the case of LVS, disappointing results from Macau (which I've told you is yet another bubble waiting to happen?it's just not that great a place, having been there twice in the past few years). And when it comes to Vegas, you'd have to be an idiot not to believe that the slowdown has hit and will only accelerate.

--I get this publication, Links magazine, that is generally nothing but ads for lavish golf resorts and communities and I'm thinking, how many of these will really survive? Be very, very careful in buying property on a golf course these days. You could take a bath, especially in the start-up phase.

--Thailand, the rice king, is looking to form a rice cartel with fellow producers Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar as a way of maintaining high prices. Oh brother.

--Interesting tidbit in a column by the Journal's Justin Lahart. "In 1980, finance workers made about 10% more than comparable workers in other fields, estimates New York University economist Thomas Philippon. By 2005, that premium was 50%." And what did these finance folks create that was of such great value? Not much.

--Vincent Reinhart, a former Fed official, said in a Journal op-ed that the Bear Stearns bailout "eliminated forever the possibility the Fed could serve as an honest broker" and should have pursued other measures first instead of using its own money.

--New York City projects its revenues will fall 7% in fiscal 2009, which starts in July, thanks to declining profits from Wall Street and job losses.

--Sun Microsystems shocked the Street with a horrible earnings report and will now lay off up to 2,500 more, on top of the earlier extensive carnage at this company the past few years.

--Here in D.C., George Washington University has the most expensive tuition in the country, $39,240. [That's just tuition.] Kind of surprising.

--The average circulation at the 10 largest newspapers fell 3.6% for the six months ended 3/31. Of this group, only USA Today and the Wall Street Journal reported flat sales.

--The New York Post had a story that regulators are warning investors to study their brokerage statements because there has apparently been a surge in ATM theft. A former NASD regulator, Bill Singer, told the Post's John Aidan Byrne that "Brokers are electronically transferring customer funds, ostensibly at their request, but in reality the money is going into the brokers' accounts," all via forged client signatures.

One rep wired $2.65 million to his personal checking account from the bank account of a limited liability partnership he controlled. On a smaller scale, a broker was barred in January, accused of forging a customer's name to obtain an ATM replacement card to withdraw $5,000.

--In a surprise move, Continental Airlines has opted to stay independent, rather than merge with UAL, a big blow for the latter. Continental CEO Larry Kellner said in a letter to employees, "The risks of a merger at this time outweigh the potential rewards." This takes guts. Go Larry! [Your editor only cares about his frequent flyer program, seeing as I just got a notice I was upgraded to first class for my flight home today?. yippee!]

But Continental employees can't rest easy and now there's word British Airways may make a run at it. As for UAL, they are probably forced to merge with US Airways?which would be a sloppy deal.

--Mars Inc., makers of Snickers and M&Ms, is buying Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., which makes Doublemint gum and Life Savers, for about $23 billion in cash. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is participating in the deal by purchasing a minority stake as Wrigley would become a subsidiary of Mars. Mars would then surpass Britain's Cadbury Schweppes as the world's largest purveyor of sugar, massive consumptions of which will kill you.

The key to the whole deal, though, is that Mars will remain private and won't have to worry about pleasing public shareholders.

--Jay Gregg of the University of Maryland put out some research on emissions of CO2 in China vs. the United States as China has now surpassed us. Back in 2001, China was emitting 3.4 billion tons vs. the U.S. 6.5 billion. Then in 2006, we were tied at 6.6 billion. It's safe to say that today, 2008, China is well over 7.0 billion. What's remarkable about this is that just four years ago, the above-mentioned IEA said it would take 'decades' for China to surpass the U.S.

Foreign Affairs

Iraq: Oil revenues are now projected to be double what was initially forecast for 2008, $70 billion, so Congress has every right to demand Iraq at least share in some of the reconstruction costs. April also proved to be the deadliest month for U.S. soldiers since last September with 50 dead.

Iran: Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen used tough language in warning Iran that it shouldn't take U.S. involvement in Iraq to mean the U.S. can't still respond to actions Iran has been taking to arm and train insurgents there. It was clear Mullen was talking about strikes inside Iran.

Separately, the U.S. is concerned that the sanctions regime against Iran is falling apart under a potential wave of European investment into Iran's natural gas sector. Chinese and Malaysian outfits are already in there and the existing sanctions pertain to the nuclear program and banking, but not energy, which is where Iran gets its money anyway.

Afghanistan: President Hamid Karzai was the subject of an assassination attempt in Kabul. But while no doubt the U.S. and NATO has actually made more progress here than it is being given credit for, the comment that the assassination plot, just like the recent attack on the main hotel for westerners in Kabul, merely showed how desperate the Taliban are is beyond absurd. They broke through heavy security in both cases, for crying out loud.

Syria/North Korea/Israel: U.S. credibility, already low, is being questioned with the release of the photos on the suspected nuclear plant that the North was building in Syria and which Israel took out in an airstrike last September. The story is likely true, but this is where many look to Colin Powell's discredited presentation on Iraqi WMD at the UN.

Meanwhile, the London Times had a disturbing story on North Korea's military machine.

"North Korean military engineers are completing an underground runway beneath a mountain that can protect fighter aircraft from attack until they take off at high speed through the mouth of a tunnel."

[The project was identified by an air force defector and captured on a satellite image, according to South Korean reports, as the North, despite its food crisis, is ramping up military spending.]

Regarding the Syria/North Korea connection, the Times reports that "nuclear experts were puzzled by the timing and quality of the evidence released by the Bush administration?..However, analysts in Seoul see the American disclosures as a sly way to keep the negotiations alive." The CIA, in essence, has done Kim Jong-il's work for him by orchestrating a "full declaration" that allows Pyongyang to "make its declaration without losing face," commented the Korea Herald.

But, on a different matter, it's always been clear that North Korea has been providing Syria with missile technology, and that Syria has a long-existing chemical weapons program.

So Syria has more than 100 Scud missiles, purchased from North Korea, and in the 1990s added cluster warheads that experts say are intended for chemical weapons. The concern now is that Syria's missiles are set up for a devastating first strike on Israel.

Regarding Israel, the Egyptians have convinced 12 Palestinian groups to accept a ceasefire in Gaza, but the ball is now in Israel's court. Israel believes Hamas will just use the time to improve its military capability. There was also a report this week that a new intelligence assessment concludes Iran will have nuclear weapons technology by year end. Something is going to happen on this front by this fall.

But?on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was questioned in an ongoing, very serious corruption investigation. Late word is that there is no way Olmert survives, which obviously throws any Middle East peace initiatives into a ditch, though the impact on planned operations against Iran is unclear.

Russia: Vladimir Putin steps aside to hand over the keys to the presidency to Dmitry Medvedev this week, though don't look for any changes, as in Putin will very much be puppet master. All you need to do is look to Georgia, where Putin is adding troops to what was to have been a peacekeeping force only in the breakaway republic of Abkhazia. No one should be surprised to wake up one day to news of a clash here between Russian and Georgian forces, or over the other restive republic, South Ossetia. The West is warning Putin to behave, but will it act in the event of a war?

Putin and his country, though, have a bigger problem; a long range one. The UN now says the population could fall from 142 million to 100 million in 40 to 50 years. Staggering.

[Shorter-term, Putin faces 12-13% increases in food prices. The public is satiated for now, but for how much longer? Pensioners are getting killed.]

Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe allowed for a recount in the March 29 voting and, presto, he now admits that opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai did indeed pull in more votes, but not the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. Instead, the election commission has said the vote was 48 to 43. Tsvangirai has yet to say whether he'd participate in another round.

In the interim, Mugabe continues his renewed reign of terror, with anywhere from 10 to 20 opposition leaders having been killed according to various reports. [The higher figure is the result of some just disappearing and presumed killed.]

Lebanon: This nation has been without a president now since last October, and there's no real reason to believe recent talk that the various parties will reach a solution to the crisis in another week. What is worrisome, though, are calls by al-Qaeda's Ayman al- Zawahri to attack the UN peacekeepers, who've largely been useless, as in they haven't prevented a massive rearming by Hizbullah, but nonetheless it's better they are there than not.

China: I've got to tell you, this time I agree with Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, when he says "You don't obtain anything in China with a loud voice?.It took us 200 years to evolve from the French Revolution. China started in 1949?It was only 40 years ago that we gave liberty to the colonies. Let's be a little more modest."

Look, I've said before that China never should have been granted the Games in the first place, but once they were, live with it. I also firmly believe there are two sides to the recent unrest in Tibet, and I believe the Dalai Lama is overrated?.the mere writing of which has undoubtedly just cost me a few readers.

I hope President Bush, who in this instance has done all the right things thus far, shows up for the Opening Ceremonies and the first day or two of competition. And while I don't know if you can compare the Chinese and South Korean experiences, Jacques Rogge correctly notes that South Korea was a military dictatorship when it was awarded the 1988 Games, which "played a key role (in turning the South into a vibrant democracy) by the presence of media people."

This last point is key this coming August. China has promised extensive press access. They better keep it.

Britain: An awful week for Prime Minister Gordon Brown as his Labour party was routed in local elections, with the Tories (Conservatives) taking 44%, the Liberal Democrats 25% and Labour a mere 24%. Plus, in London, two-term leftist Mayor Ken Livingstone was defeated by conservative Boris Johnson.

Austria: What a world we live in where a father can imprison and assault his own daughter, father seven children with her, and get away with it for 24 years. I've loved my trips to Vienna and can't wait to go back, but years ago I wrote of taking a train ride to an outside village just to walk around and of how spooked I was by the experience; a general sense of foreboding I haven't felt elsewhere.

Mexico: So here I write again last time of the ongoing violence in this country that is discomfortingly close to home, and then on Sunday 15 died in a battle in Tijuana among rival drug traffickers. 15! One of the problems, though, is the ongoing code of silence and days after, victims had not even been identified in the press over fear of reprisals. Give me one reason why Americans should risk going to any of the areas where violence has been extensive in Mexico. Time's up.

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Pray for the men and women of our armed forces.

God bless America.

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Gold closed at $858
Oil, $116.30

Returns for the week 4/28-5/2

Dow Jones +1.3% [13058]
S&P 500 +1.2% [1413]
S&P MidCap +0.8%
Russell 2000 +0.5%
Nasdaq +2.2% [2476]

Returns for the period 1/1/08-5/2/08

Dow Jones -1.6%
S&P 500 -3.7%
S&P MidCap -0.9%
Russell 2000 -5.3%
Nasdaq -6.6%

Bulls 40.9
Bears 31.8 [Source: Chartcraft / Investors Intelligence]

Have a great week. I appreciate your support.

Brian Trumbore

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