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The Dow Jones posted a 6th straight gain heading into the end of the week, rising to 10,291, a new high for 2009. However, that ended on Thursday when stocks had a slight pullback even as the unemployment reports came in lower than expected. The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell last week to 502,000, the lowest level this year, based on a Labor Department report released Thursday. Gold closed at an all-time high of $1,114.60 an ounce Wednesday. Gold has been up more than 25% this year easily going over $1000.00 an ounce last month. Oil slipped this week to $77/barrel as demand slowed and the dollar firmed up.
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This week we picked 2 well known companies for our Bull & Bear review. Our Bullish pick has been a company that looked at the recession early this year as an opportunity to gain market share and has improved revenue. We like the outlook of this company as it continually raises the bar on products and service, as well as keeping their employees hungry and satisfied. Our Bearish pick has consumers and investors very excited as the launch of a much awaited product has its stock price soaring. The problem is, the advertising campaign has been less than stellar and is not creating the much needed buzz as their top competitive rival just lowered the cost of their main product. Once the market leader in this space, our Bear pick has a tough road ahead to unseat the current leader even if the new product is as strong as anticipated. |
 Panera Bread Company (PNRA) - We have always like Panera since it seems to have something for everyone. It’s a place for loners to come and spend hours using their free WiFi while snacking on the diverse menu (better than Starbucks). It is a good meeting place for business people and students, either traveling or just getting lunch. There are menu items for both the pastry lovers as well as the healthy gourmet "foodies". Looking at it from an investor’s POV, revenue has increased 6%, to $335 million, and company-owned same-restaurant sales increased by 3.3%. The company is not afraid of expanding and taking risks during down times, which is a big reason for its continued growth.
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 Motorola (MOT) - It seems that Motorola's new Droid phone is the next competitor that is going to take down the iPhone. The problem is that although the device itself does receive good reviews from the tech critics, the comparison to the iPhone shows that its advantages are few and not substantial. We do believe that Motorola is a strong company which should thrive in the Asian market in 2010, but the current surge in its stock price is based on the success of the Droid and the belief that it will cut into the iPhone market. Apple recently dropping the price for the iPhone for the holiday season, and the poorly-received ad campaign for the new Droid, are both factors that will most likely keep the iPhone on top of this mountain.
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