Stocks are taking a rest today after a volatile week. Approval of the economic stimulus package did not excite the markets. Earnings reports keep coming but are giving mixed signals. Tiffany (TIF), up 2.59, reported good earnings & is optimistic about 2008. However, Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) reported a large loss for Q4 & indicated the outlook for 2008 is uncertain leading it to end the div, down 0.21 (3%). Weyeraeuhouser (WY), down 2.31, reported lower earnings from the weak housing market & gave a gloomy outlook. Analysts are trying to figure out if we are in a recession already. Maybe!
MLPs rebounded significantly from their lows a couple of weeks ago. The Alerian Index dropped from over 300 to a low of 275. This week it snapped back to 300 but retreated 296 in the last couple of days. There's nothing wrong with the pipeline business, but this is the tough market we're in. Some of their yields are over 10%, unfortunately there is a fair amount of tax hassle with their distributions. I still like them.
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