Winning streak for Dow comes to an end

Dow was trying for its 9th consecutive gain, the best performance since 1996. But that wasn't meant to be. Sellers decided to take profits ahead of the weekend. IBM (IBM) & McDonald's (MCD) were the biggest losers, each down 1+. Dow dropped 36, decliners barely ahead of advancers & NAZ was up only 1 despite an upward revision by Intel (INTC) for its earnings. Banks muddled along & managed to eke out another 2009 high, helped by speculative fervor for AIG & Citi.

S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX

Value 198.13

Change 0.30

% Change 0.2%

MLPs keep plodding along as they've done all month. Today the Alerian MLP Index was off .28 while the Dow Jones REIT Index was up 1. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell 1 basis point to 3.45%.


Alerian MLP Index --- YTD




Dow Jones REIT Index --- YTD




10-Year Treasury Yield Index - YTD





Oil was firm & finished strong, remaining close to its yearly high.

CLV09.NYM

..Crude Oil Oct 09

..73.00

.. 0.51 ......(0.7%)

AIG (AIG) & Citigroup (C), 2 troubled, monster financial companies, have been fliers in the last month to say the least. AIG was up 2½ & Citi gained 18¢. Each has a very large short position & the shorts may be getting squeezed. In these kinds of markets, it's always difficult to figure out what's going on. Their fundamentals have not changed appreciably in the last month. AIG has a new CEO who is vacationing on his estate in Europe while Citi is the same lumbering giant that saw its market value pretty much wiped out in the last year. In an odd twist of events, the US being the largest shareholder of these stocks, benefits from increased stocks prices. The venturesome who like playing with fire might want to try making money in the chaos. All that's necessary to be successful is to figure out whether to buy or sell.

•U.S. Stake in AIG Deemed `Highly Speculative' in Draft Treasury Document
AIG Posts Best Winning Streak Since 2007, Burning Short Sellers

• A.I.G. Rises, and Many Ask Why- NYT

AIG --- 1 month




Citigroup --- 1 month





This was a bland type of day, what is to be expected at the end of Aug (especially on Fri). But the wild gyrations for AIG & Citi are significant. Without fundamental reasons behind their sharp advances, the excitement in their stocks is worrisome.

Dow Jones Industrials --- YTD