Review of our Portfolio November 23 to 27

We made no purchases or sales this week. This is due primarily to the fact that our stock is in the toy industry and toy stock is likely to go up with the holiday season closely approaching. Our total equity went down substantially by about 3000 dollars, as of November 30 our equity is at $98770.44 and we are ranked 432 out of 962.

Black Friday Effect

Many people went out to shop on the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, the weekend after Thanksgiving. Americans spent $41.2 billion which was comparable to last year. Many more people went in 2009 than in 2008. Although there were more people, the amount spent did not increase. The amount spent per person actually went down. Many stores will probably keep around different deals to keep the money coming in. A good indicator of the spending to come will be the amount of products bought on Monday, Cyber Monday, where people can begin to shop online. The National Retail Federation predicts that sales will go down by 1 percent this year compared to last. Hopefully people keep buying so the stock market can keep going up possibly.

Review of the Economy 11.30.09

The economy seems to be on the rise. The Commerce Department has reported that personal spending is up .7% this month, after falling .6% in October. Today started with the lowest amount of new jobless rates since September of 2008. Retail stores have boomed recently, thanks to Black Friday. Continuing success can be seen in the housing market. In October, the housing market rose 6.2%, and reports are expected to show an increase in sales for November. Overall, the economy is on the rise and seems as if it might stay that way.

Review of the Market November 23 to 26

S&P 500-The S&P had a downward trend this week in the market. It sank from 1106.24 to 1087.27. This downward trend was at its lowest on Thanksgiving where the markets were closed at preceded to open on the next day at a low. The highest point of the S&P was on the 25 at 1110.63 and its lowest point was on the 27 at 1087.27.

NASDAQ-The NASDAQ also had a downward trend this week. It sunk from 2176.01 to 2138.44. The trend was the most substantial between the days of 25 and the 27 due primarily to the holiday. The highest point of the NASDAQ was also on the 25 at 2176.05 and at its lowest as well on the 27 at 2138.44.

Dow Jones-The Dow Jones had another bad week in the market. It sank from 10450.95 to 10309.92. It also was at its steepest fall between the days of 25 and the 27 because of the holidays. The highest point of the Dow Jones was on the 25 at 10464.40 and at its lowest point on the 27 at 10309.92.

Review of our Portfolio

For the week of November 16-20:

We made no buys or sells for the week of November 16-20. We did get dividends of $50 from Capital One Financial and $200 from Hasbro Inc. Our total equity on November 23, 2009 is $101,416.34.

Movies Help Boost Hasbro's Sales

Transformers and G.I. Joe sales have been skyrocketing since the first quarter, says Hasbro. These sales can be directly related to the releases of the two huge blockbuster hits, G.I. Joe and Transformers 2. Stock has been on the up and up for Hasbro ever since the release of the two movies, raising each stock by .26 from last year. In the United States and Canada alone sales rose five percent from 784.3 to 792.2 million dollars. With both movies debuting this summer sales during Christmas can also be expected to rise because of the influence on children and collectors by the movies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/business/21hasbro.html?_r=1

USA Today 11.23.09 - GM Forecasts Pickup in Truck Sales

As the housing economy begins to rebound, General Motors hopes that its truck industry will do the same. Just how far has the housing economy slumped this year? As of October, it has dropped 32.5%. General Motors hopes dearly for an increase as many of its truck customers are very loyal to the company. These auto buyers also use their trucks for strenuous activities, needing to replace them often. A blow suffered to the hopes of economists stems from the fact that truck buyers have held on to their older trucks longer than usual, to compensate for the down economy. The dropping gas prices throughout the United States has also increased the hope of auto dealers, as well as economists.

Review of Markets

For the week of November 16-20:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow began the week at 10,406.96. It jumped the first day to 10,437.42. The Dow dropped the last three days to 10,318.16.

NASDAQ Composite: The Nasdaq began the week at 2,197.85. It jumped the first day to 2,203.78. The Nasdaq dropped the last three days to 2,146.04.

S&P 500 Index: The S&P 500 began the week at 1,109.30. It jumped the slightly the first day to 1,110. 32. It dropped the last three days to 1,091.38.

All three markets began the week by jumping. They all dropped the last three days. None of the markets did too great for the week of November 16-20.

Market Review (Nov. 9 - Nov. 14)

Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow began the week at 10,226.94. This was a pretty good increase from last week's average of 10,023.42. After increasing Tuesday, the Dow Jones took a hit on November 12th, dropping to 10,197.47. It rebounded quickly though, finishing the week at 10,270.47.


NASDAQ: The NASDAQ arguably had a better week than the Dow Jones. It began the week at 2,154,06. After dropping to 2,151.08 on Tuesday, it rose to 2,166.89 on Wednesday. It fell again on Thursday to 2,149.02, but rose to 2,167.88 on Friday, finishing the week strongly.


S&P 500: The S&P 500 also did well but it did not do quite as well as the Dow Jones or the NASDAQ. It began the week at 1,093.08. It continued an even trend, spiking at 1,098.51 on the 11th of November. From there it took a hard hit, dropping to 1,087.24 on the 12th. the S&P 500 rebounded nicely however, finishing the week at 1,093.48.


All of the markets increased this week. This recent trend hopefully will continue, allowing for the stock market to continue to rebound.

Competitors

For the week of November 9-13:

Capital One Financial Corp. which is the stock we hold dropped from 39.78 on Monday to 38.37 on Thursday. Capital One jumped the last day to 38.80.

One competitor of Capital One, American Express Company, jumped from 39.05 on Monday to 40.05 on Wednesday. American Express dropped on Thursday to 39.50. AXP jumped on Friday to 40.35 gaining on the week.

Another competitor of COF, Bank of America Corporation, jumped from 15.77 on Monday to 16.43 on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped the last two days to 15.98.

Overall, both competitors of Capital One gained while Capital One itself lost.

China Pushes Solar, Wind Power. Can US Keep Up?

The growing demand for alternative fuels has been growing ever readily. Countries are beginning to find new ways to create fuel without the use of fossil fuels, however, some still seem to be lacking. This is the case of U.S. With China promising more and more alternative power it seems as if the U.S. will have to make significant strides to keep up. Without implementing a green state of awareness within our country we leave ourselves open to be energy dependent. Being energy dependent can lead to many terrible happenings. If we were ever to get in a conflict with one of our energy supplying nations we would find ourselves in a predicament. This is why we need to continue to push alternative fuels across the country. This needs to happen fast and swiftly. Without this movement our nation is not only leaving itself open to bad situations, but also polluting the earth.

Portfolio Review (Nov. 9 - Nov. 13)

In the second week of November we did not purchase any stocks, bonds, or anything of that type. Our portfolio's success has skyrocketed in recent weeks. We are currently ranked in the top 5 percentile in our region. Our total stock value has increased by 2.879% this week. Netflix has been our biggest money maker, earning us $3,832.92 in increases. Our total equity rose this week to $104,215.09. This is quite better than last week's equity of $101,390.32.

Review of the Market (November 2nd to 6th)

Dow Jones: The Dow Jones started at 9,789.44. This was an increase from previous starting points throughout the year. The week was overall positive for the Dow Jones. However, on the third the Dow went through a brief downfall falling to 9,771.91, but by the end of the week the Dow Jones went above 10,000 once again ending at 10,023.42.



NASDAQ: The NASDAQ also had a great week. It started at 2049.20 and ended at 2122.44. This was a substantial increase. The worst day of the week for this market was on the first day of the week where it started at 2049.20.



S&P 500: The S&P also was on the list for having a great week. It started off at its lowest point of the week at 1042.88 and it gained over twenty points ending at 1069.33. It had its best day on the fourth making its largest jump.



All of the markets had a good week this week. They all ended going up hopefully they will keep the pace.

Review of our Portfolio November 2nd to 6th

We did not buy or sell any stocks, bonds, or anything else. Our portfolio is performing very well recently. We have increased our ranking by over 600 and our equity of our portfolio has risen by quite a bit. On November 4th the total equity of our portfolio was $93,252.82 as of November 11 our total equity is at a staggering $101,390.62. This was an increase of over $7,000 which put us back over our starting $100,000 principle.

Small Businesses Struggling

Small businesses have been struggling as unemployment has been going higher. The unemployment rate jumped from 9.8% to 10.2% from September to October. The stock market has also begun to struggle. "Small business tends to lead the way out, and that's just not happening here," says Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com. Many key factors including credit, limited exports, and health care costs have accounted for the struggles of small businesses. Many small firms aren't getting the loans that were before possible. Small firms don't export as much as large companies which doesn't allow them to benefit from good recoveries overseas. Health care costs have also been rising much more for small firms than large companies causing them to worry. If small businesses don't pick it up, the market rally could come to an end.

Review of the Economy (November 2 - November 6)

The awful unemployment number rose to 10.2%, America's highest in 26 years. However, this was not enough to stop the Dow from increasing 17 points, and a 2 point increase in the S&P 500. This is astoundingly wonderful news for the economy considering the bearish times and I believe the economy is on the rise.

Hasbro Earnings Top Estimates

Quarter three for the toy development company Hasbro topped previous estimates by a great amount. Hasbro (HAS) stated that third quarter profits topped 8% from the previous quarters. This was an increase of about 99 cents a stock, which is on average a steady increase. Even though the toy maker said that sales dipped from last year from 1.3 billion to 1.28 billion this still was substantial because of the current market. The analysts all predicted that the stock of Hasbro would only increase to 93 cents a stock and in reality it exceeded this by 6 cents per share. With this rise in third quarter earnings Hasbro will continue to be a good investment for our group.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10613182/hasbro-earnings-top-estimates.html

Review of the Market(October 26-30, 2009)

For the week of October 26-30, 2009

Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow began at 9,867.96. It rose slightly on Tuesday. The Dow dropped on Wednesday to less than 9,800. It spiked on Thursday to 9,962.58 which was the highest price of the week. It ended the week dropping to a price of 9,712.73.

S&P 500: The S&P 500 began the week at 1,066.95. It dropped through the first two days to 1,042.63. It rose on Thursday to approximately the price it began at. It ended the week dropping to 1,036.19.

NASDAQ: The Nasdaq began the week at 2,141.85. It dropped the next two days to 2,059.61. It jumped on Thursday to 2,097.55. It dropped on the last day of the week to 2,045.11.

All of the markets ended the week on a bad note ending with a lower value than what they had started the week with. Hopefully, they will rebound.

USA Today 11.04.09 - Intel Corp. Sued (Review)

After being investigated for nearly two years, Intel Corporation was sued on Wednesday by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who accused the world's largest computer chip maker of paying off, in the form of billions of dollars, computer makers to persuade them into not using Intel's competitors' products. The A.G. also stated that Intel retaliated against companies who continued to purchase computer chips from Intel's rivals. However, the antitrust charges may not come as a shock to some people. Intel was fined $1.45 billion in May the the European Union for similar antitrust violations. Intel has denied wrongdoing.

Review of our Portfolio(October 26-30, 2009)

We began the week of October 26, 2009 by purchasing 100 shares of UltraShort QQQ ProShares at the price of $22.08. This calculated out to a $2,252.16 net cost. Our fees and comissions totaled $44.16 for the week. We have not sold any stock so far. Our current portfolio balance on November 4, 2009 is $93,252.82.