Stocks barely up after afternoon rally

The morning was dominated by gloomy news & grim outlooks for bank earnings. The Dow sunk to down 200 at the low. However the PM brought buyers back, taking the Dow up for an 86 point gain at the high & settled back to a 12 point gain. Not bad all considered.


Dow Jones Industrials --- YTD




This year, markets have gotten off to a very bad start, worse than last year. Below is a review of the first 15 days for the Dow (10 days of trading, last year vs this year):

12/31/07......13,264
01/15/08......12,501___down_5.7%


12/31/08.......8,776
01/15/09.......8,212___down_6.4%


Today, advancers were 20% ahead of decliners & NAZ was up 22 despite the negative news at Apple (AAPL) - we all wish Steve Jobs a speedy recovery.


S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX rebounded off their lows, trimming the loss to 7, at 133. Oil sank below 35 despite the extremely cold weather in the northern hemisphere.

On a day when banks saw heavy selling, I'd like to mention US Bancorp (USB), an S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat, closing at 19.02 - down 2.05. They raised the div to 1.70 for this year, yielding 9%. They've avoided dreadful times bigger banks are going thru. But they are still getting pinched. Earnings this year & next are projected to only cover the div. This a bank in which Warren Buffett has a large investment. Obviously, USB is not for those weak of heart. Their fundamentals appear to be strong (whatever that means in today's world) & might appeal to the brave of heart.

MLPs have put in a strong showing this year. The Alerian MLP Index began the year, at 176, with a nice pop on the first trading day. Since then, it has been trading sideways, above 190.

Alerian MLP Index --- YTD




General Motors (GM), still in the Dow, lowered its estimate for the auto sales in 2009, from 12M to only 10½M. Gloomy for them & even gloomier for the rest of the economy.

•GM Says U.S. Industrywide Auto Sales May Tumble to 27-Year Low on Economy