Weekly Wrap

Yeee haaa... the market wraps are back! I promise there will be no more unexcused absences in getting the weekly stock news to you. I have no idea what happened to the last few weeks (ahem, okay, more than a few), but I'm good to go again.

By the way, I'm on location. That's how we speak in the "news" field. I drove seven hours Friday to Chicago to bring the kids here to see their father. (Remember he was traded from the Calgary Flames to the Chicago Blackhawks this fall? No wonder I have been missing... being a single mother of four sure makes time fly.) Anyway, he lives down on the Navy Pier and I'm peering at Oprah's condo as I type. Who wants to write about the market when I'm keeping my left eye open for Stedman. Lord knows I'd hand him the Chicks' book and beg him to slip it to his better half.

Okay, onto to this week's market news...

It's only right that I start writing about the market again now that it's worthy of talking about. How many weeks have we suffered? Well, put on your saddle shoes and get out the pompoms, the Bulls are back in town! (Not to be confused with the Chicago Bulls. Who wants to watch them when there's a skating team who is on a tear?!) Throw your hands up in the air, as the Dow was up 3.1% and the Nasdaq soared 4.8%. I'm feeling much better. You know how the Chicks (and Buffett and Lynch) keep preaching this "long-term, be patient, the market will come back" approach. Well, I was getting tired of being patient and smiling. We just may be out of this rut. As you know, all bull markets start in bear. (No one has ever accused me of being profound.) Speaking of the Bears, they play the Green Bay Cheeseheads, I mean Packers, this Sunday here (on location) at Soldier Field. I am sure Wisconsin native Chick Kristin will be glued to her television as she's been upset ever since the Minnesota Vikings kicked the Packers curds.

Oooops, sorry... got carried away with sporting news when we were talking about market bulls and bears.

The industries with the biggest gains this week were a bit surprising.
Pollution Control led the way as it perfumed its way to a 9.8% gain. Following, but not too closely behind, were Casinos, up 8.8%, and Broadcasting, up 8.4%. Biggest Losers, (not mentioning the Vancouver Canucks who were defeated by the Hawks Friday night 3-1), were Gas Utilities, down 6.5%, Toys, down 4.2%, and Precious Metals, down 3.0%.

Speaking of precious, the tenth time seems to the charm. The Federal Reserve slashed key interest rates for the tenth time this year. This week's slash was half of a percentage point, bringing the target rate for federal funds to its lowest since 1961! That's down 6.5% since the beginning of this year. This should lead to lower interest rates on variable-rate credit cards, home equity lines of credit and short-term business loans. It won't have much impact on long-term loans, but those rates are already falling because of the Treasury Department's recent decision to stop issuing 30-year bonds. The thinking is, if people can keep more cash in their pocket, they might spend it and boost the economy. So far, at least this past week, it's working.

It didn't work fast enough for the airline industry. They are in trouble. Need I tell you this? Ever since September 11th, we have been warned they'd be merging, laying off, and trying to find some cash, and if they didn't, they'd be going under. The nation's six largest airlines (Northwest, American, Delta, United, USAir, and Continental) have lost a combined total of $2 billion for the quarter ending September 30th. The current quarter doesn't look much better. On Friday, Sun Country Airlines, based in Minnesota, announced they are up for sale. Very sad for the local snowbirds who counted on the airlines for the lowest fares to sunny destinations. The face and smile of the company, Bill LaMacchia Jr., has moved his residence back to his hometown of Milwaukee and is working for the family business, Mark Travel. Sad to see one of People Magazine's Most Eligible Bachelors leaving town, but it seems he still holds a special place in first class for the Twin Cities. Word on the street has it that he was at the Mall of America picking up a piece of local legend Charles Schulz's Charlie Brown characters. Sixty-two statues were auctioned this past weekend and I'm told Mr. LaMacchia walked off with the Chuck titled "Vacation." Apropos.

This weekend is big for the Chicks as we are reevaluating the stocks in our portfolio and pitching our next buy for December 3rd. Things are looking up for the Chick-held Cisco (CEO) as they announced their first quarter results which were better than expected. In the past, CEO John Chambers hasn't exercised caution when predicting the future, but in a press conference this week he stated, "Compared to the first five months of this year, it's a lot different feeling," but went on to say, "we're optimistic, but the short term remains very challenging." Thanks for keeping a tight lip, John.

When Chick Kristin can pry herself away from the TV on Sunday, she will be posting her company's Chick's Dozen on our Message Board. Genentech (DNA) is her stock to research for the next Chick Buy and on Friday, the biotechnology firm announced that they will be buying back as much as $625 million of the company's common stock over the next 12 months. Remember, we like it when a company values its stock so much that it wants it back. We'll have to wait for her Dozen to see what's making the blood so rich over there.

I'm hoping we're through the slump and I will be able to continue to bring you good market news. Next week, I'll give you a run down on the companies the Chicks are looking at, a portfolio update, and a week in the market review. Who knows what the Chicks will decide, but one thing is a given: we're not going to let the pompons sit so long in the closet ever again. Give me time though, my splits aren't what they used to be.

Til then... keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. (I'm listening to American Top 40 as I type so I had to say it.)

Chick Karin