This Month in Stocks: 12/1 - 12/28/07

**Show-me** · 12-26-2007, 12:29 PM

AP
Stock Futures Edge Lower
Wednesday December 26, 8:16 am ET
By Lauren Villagran, AP Business Writer US Stock Futures Indcate Flat to Lower Opening on Wall Street Amid Weaker Holiday Sales

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock futures slipped Wednesday as investors returned from the holiday to news of weaker than expected retail sales.

The International Council of Shopping Centers said its index of retail chain store sales rose 2.8 percent last week, rounding out a sluggish December performance that puts retailers on track for a smaller sales gain than the trade group originally expected. Still, there is some hope sales will rebound as shoppers start spending with holiday gift cards.

Other reports released Christmas Day were disappointing. Target Corp. indicated its sales may have fallen in December. The nation's No. 2 retailer scaled back sales projections, saying same-store sales for the five weeks through Jan. 5 would range from a 1 percent increase to a 1 percent decrease versus earlier expectations for a gain of between 3 percent and 5 percent.

MasterCard Inc. said holiday spending -- including credit, cash and checks -- climbed a modest 2.4 percent between Thanksgiving and Christmas, weighed by a slowdown in sales of women's apparel. That compares with a rise of 6.6 percent over the same period last year.

The news could raise concerns about the strength of consumer spending and in turn the economy. However, it was widely expected that holiday sales would be slow.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071226/wall_street.html

**Show-me** · 12-26-2007, 12:34 PM

IMO on the S Fund is that it is getting overbought. Five up days in a row and 6 or 7 are the high end for S Fund runs. Seasonality is showing itself but picking the right day to jump in will be to difficult.

**Show-me** · 12-27-2007, 08:15 PM

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071227/citig...ritedowns.html

AP
Citi May Write Down $18.7B, Analysts Say
Thursday December 27, 3:39 pm ET
By Madlen Read, AP Business Writer Citi May Write Down $18.7B, Goldman Analysts Say, Which Could Force Bank to Slash Dividend

NEW YORK (AP) -- When Citigroup warned in early November that it was likely to write down its portfolio by $8 billion to $11 billion in the fourth quarter because of exposure to bad loans, investors recoiled at the size of the losses. Some now say those early estimates appear drastically understated.

Citigroup Inc. could write off as much as $18.7 billion in the fourth quarter, wrote Goldman analysts William F. Tanona, Betsy Miller and Neil C. Sanyal in a note to investors late Wednesday. If it does, they say, the bank may be forced to lower its dividend by 40 percent.

**Show-me** · 12-27-2007, 08:23 PM

The subprime crap is not over yet. Anyone notice that for the first time when we had a major geopolitical event that shocked the market, the US Dollar went down instead of UP.

We have become weak. Would you like the French Fries with that burger Monsieur tourist? Merci Beaucoup.