Diamonds and Dogs

Diamonds & Dogs


Friday, August 21, 2009
Diamond
Citigroup (C) has finally started to lose its reputation as the "sick man of Wall Street" today after rallying 30 cents or about 6%. Analysts have begun to acknowledge the fact that the banking giant was undervalued at 4 dollars and CNBC analyst Jim Cramer set a price target for the stock of $12 by 2012. Today's rally brought the stock to $4.75, a level the bank hasn't experienced since January.

Dog
Solar companies failed to see the light today after many of the industry leaders were downgraded by Jefferies and Co. Jefferies provided a continued decline in pricing and a loss of demand to explain these downgrades. First Solar Inc. (FSLR) led the losers' pack today after falling almost $7 today, approaching their lows for the year, and pulling the sector down with them.

Thursday, August 20, 2009
Diamond
Bon-Ton (BONT) experienced some much needed success today, soaring over 28%, bringing the stock to a new 52 week high. The CEO reported a sales decrease of over 9 percent and the net loss increased to over $1 million, but they improved their outlook for the year and that was all it took. The recent success of many retailers is a very good sign for the future of the market.

Dog
Despite Bon-Ton's success, another retailer, Sears Holding Corp. (SHLD) dropped drastically after reporting a loss of $94 million or 79 cents a share, versus the profit of 50 cents a share a year earlier. The weak earnings sank the stock, dropping it 11% on the today. But don't worry the government is coming. The cash for clunkers is over, but later this year we should get rebates for purchasing energy star appliances. That's good for Sears.

Diamonds and Dogs market commentary is a journal of daily observations on anything that happens to be of interest to our author. Obviously, our primary focus is the stock market and world economic events, but for this page we have no defined topics. We want this page to be dedicated to the interests, concerns, and possibly to the financial gain of our clients and friends. All comments contained herein are for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as a solicitation to buy or sell any security. The firm does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information or make any warranties regarding results from it's usage.