The Daily Intelligencer from Doylestown, Pennsylvania • Page 39

vWvw.phlllyburbs.com/lht6ll To Place a Classified Ad Call 215-538-6362 the Intelligencer Sunday, October 21,2007 E3 1,500.63 NASDAQ 7 2,725.16 366 94 30-YR T-BONDS 4.69% CRUDE OIL $88.60 6-MO T-BILLS 4.06% 1.4296 GOLD $764.00 Markets The Week Ahead I "nvestors will learn more in the week ahead about the strength of corporate earnings, the weakness In the housing market, and the difficultly of guessing what the Federal Reserve will do about interest rates. Ring's from Inc. (AAPL), dtfe out after Monday's session, will be first affidng major technol- this week. TtttM Mlfetiffttfitl IrtC. fTXN, Monday.

ArhittOn.com reports on Tuesday. Corp. (MSFT, arid Motorola Inc. JMOT, release results Differ Thursday's session. $170.42 so 06: 07 Mil ID 04 01 O2 03 04 Source: Thciffison Financial the housing market More bad news is expected from the market in the week ahead.

3oth existing home sales, due out Wednesday, and new home sales, Sxpected Friday, are predicted to continue their steady decline. MONTH April May June August Sept. (eat.) EXISTING 6,010 5,980 5,760 5,750 5,500 5,300 NEW 907 861 835 867 795 785 Source: Thomson Financial Dow Industrials 31 Aside from Microsoft, a handful of Jones Industrial average components are due out with earnings in the coming week. Merck out Monday, Is expected to post a percent jump In profit on a share basis. Other Dow companies li; out With earnings Include AT4T (t and chemical maker DuPont Co.

(DD, SO.S2/$0.49), both outtuesday, and aircraft maker Boeing Co. on Wednesday. ktorck ft Co. (MRK) $53.11 i $6 '06i'07 I 50 40 EPS Durable goods orders MO. CHG.

A 1.0% 1.8 6.1 MM est. Q3 04 Q1 Q2 03 Source: Thomson Financial Hie economy The other economic reports due out this week should give Wall Street few rlues as to what the ed may decide on merest rates at its Oct. aven Fed Chairman 3en Bernanke said riday assessing the economy "remains a formidable chal- enge." Orders for durable goods, or big- ticket factory Items, are expected to gain in September after a very weak August, in a report due Thursday. Oil prices will likely move again on Wednesday's Energy Department inventory report. The Labor Department its weekly report on first-time unemployment claims oast week's claims were surprisingly the University of Michigan ssues its final October consumer sentiment index on Friday.

Stest.) 1.5 Source: Thomson Financial Michael J. Martinez, E. Flach AP FundFocus This mid-cap growth fund has four teams picking stocks, each using their own investing style. The diversity helps the portfolio hold up even when certain strategies underperform. Vantagepolnl Ajgrflpp VPAOX VALUE BLEND GROWTH Momingstar Ownership Fund centroid represents weighted average of stock holdings 3 CATEGORY Mid-Cap Grovrth MORNINGSTAR ASSETS EXP RATIO MANAGER SINCE RETURNS 3-MO YTD 1-YR 3-YR ANNL 5-YR-ANNL $1,455 million 1.04% 0.

Mason Hawkins 2002-07-31 till TOP HOLDINGS PCT DirecTV, Inc. 1.9 1.89 Nil Holdings. Inc. 18 Dell, Inc. 1-79 Fairfax Financial Holdings, Lid.

1 75 2,700 1,500 1,450 1,400 500' i Close: 1,500.63 i StocksRecap NYSE NASD Vol. (in mil.) 4,052 2.325 Pvs. Volume 3,129 1,934 Advanced 520 481 Declined 2776 2504 New Highs 67 46 New Lows 144 190 DOW DOW Trans. DOW Util. NYSE Comp.

NASDAQ 500 400 Russell 2000 Wilshire 5000 HIGH 13888.47 4913.18 510.37 10174.59 2799.32 1540.00 900.55 825.03 15570.71 2,600 2,500 2,400 LOW 13511.94 4801.36 498.66 9918.80 2725.16 1500.26 878.87 798.17 15170.34 Nasdaq composite' Close: 2,725.16 CLOSE CHG. WK MO QTR YTD 13522.02 4801.36 498.66 9920.27 2725.16 1500.63 879.07 798.79 15174.59 A A A BLACK MONDAY 20 years later wenty years ago, on Oct. 19,1987, the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 22.6 percent its single largest percentage drop ever. Since then, regulators and market participants have taken steps to prevent such a dive. While those steps are widely considered positive, "there will always be events that, by their very nature, are unpredictable," says Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors, who had a front-row seat to Black Monday as a strategist for First Albany Corp.

"With all the innovation you have in financial markets, you also end up with things you never expect, and they're the ones that will ultimately come back to bite you." The Federal Reserve For the first time in modern market history, the Federal Reserve took an active role in soothing the market after Black Monday, creating a playbook it has followed since. Before the market opened Tuesday, the Fed said it would provide liquidity to the financial system. Fed chairman Alan Greenspan then cut two key interest rates and Ur 9 ed neads of ma or banks to keep lending through the crisis. 'This was the first time that the Fed really came out. openly as a trusted source of liquidity and watchfulness," says Wayne Luthringshausen, CEO of Options Clearing Corporation.

"You can see them using the same tactics (this past) It works." Circuit breakers The '87 crash was followed by an almost equal drop early the next day; trading in several stocks was suspended, as was index futures trading. The suspension of futures trading helped stabilize stocks, allowing some to resume trading that afternoon. The success prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission to implement "circuit breakers" to stop trading entirely. How they work: drop in the Dow 1-hour halt before 2 p.m 30 minutes from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m no halt after 2:30 p.m.

drop in the Dow before 1 -hour halt between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. market after 2p.m. Note: 30 percent drop market closes for the day Share buybacks In response to Black Monday, New York Stock Exchange officials urged listed companies to buy back their shares, says William Brodsky, CEO of the Chicago Board Options Exchange. The Dow closed 5.9 percent higher Tuesday afternoon.

"It showed that the market participants could play a very strong role in propping up their stock price and, indeed, the whole market," Brodsky says. Buybacks have since become a C9mmon practice. SOURCES: The Federal Reserve; Thomson Financial; New York Stock Exchange Michael J. Martinez, Kristen Girard AP Should investors take Altria out for a spin? Atepid response to better-than-expected quarterly earnings, indicates investors In cigarette-maker Altria Group Inc. (MO) are looking ahead to next year.

Specifically, several analysts say, to the Jan. 30 board meeting that should decide details of the spinoff of its lucrative Philip Morris International division. Altria spun off Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) earlier this year and both shares are up since the March 30 split. Analysts Com OS tne atest deal will unlock value for both domestic and international cigarette divisions.

apulllgni Citj nvestment Research analyst Bonnie Herzog values the domestic business at about $26 per share and the international business around $53 per share. Combined, thaf more than 10 percent higher than Altria's current price. This leaves investors with a question on timing. Credit Suisse analyst Filippe Goossens sees investors keeping to the sidelines for a period. Momentum investors may wait until close to the board meeting, he says.

Those eyeing the international business may wait until the spinoff occurs, SOURCE: the company possibly in April. Long-term investors, meanwhile, are already fully invested. "Why waitr says Deutsche Bank analyst Marc Greenberg, who sees "compelling value" in Altria shares "right now." Higher prices help offset weak domestic sales volume, while international sales of cigarettes remain strong. Goldman Sachs analyst Judy Hong is skeptical, however. She agrees pricing looks good, but she has concerns about domestic sales trends and international growth.

3Q revenue by region 2006 2007 GROWTH United States 2.4%L£g|ii Western Europe 6.46 6.83 5.8 Asia 2.59 2.81 8.8 Latin America 1.05 1.27 21.1 Eastern Europe, 2.61 .331 27,0 Middle East, Africa Stan Choe, Elizabeth Flach AP NAME TICKER 52LO AdvantaB ADVNB 23.32 Amer Fncl Rlty Trsl AFR 6.17 Astea Intl ATEA 3.90 Bio-Imaging Tech BITI 4.23 Technologies CHP 3.70 Charming Shop CHRS 7.50 CollaGenex Pharma CGPI 6.SO Comcast Cp A CMCSA23.08 Discovery Labs DSCO 1.90 Oorman Products Inc DORM 9.69 Environ Tectonics ETC 1.90 Exelon Corp EXC 57.83 Fox Chase Inc FXCB 10.36 Gen Motors GM 28.49 Harleysville Gp HGIC 27.57 Harleysville Nail Cp HNBC 13.79 Harleysvlle Sav Fn HARL 13.30 ICT Group Inc Immunicon Corp Johnson Johnson Jones Apparel ICTG 13.10 IMMC 0.89 JNJ JNY KLIC MRK MPR 59.72 16.73 Kullcke Sofia KLIC 7.34 Merck Co MRK 42.29 Mel-Pro MPR 12.55 NatlPennBcs NP6C 13.59 Neose Technologies NTEC 1,40 Nutrl System NTRI 29.45 Oplium Corp OPTM 6.64 Orleans Homebuild OHB 5.02 PholoMedex Inc PHMO 0.83 Prudential Fncl PRU 76.17 Qulgley Corporation QGLY 2.92 TF Financial Technilrol Inc Teva Pharm Toll Bros Unisys Cp THRO 25.76 TNL 21.06 TEVA 30.33 TOL 18.85 UIS 5.94 UnivesI Corp ol Penn UVSP 18.00 Verizon Comm VZ 34.00 Wireless Xcessories XWG 1.93 52HI 34.51 12.08 9.33 9.40 7.50 15.57 15.75 30.18 3.75 .14.97 5.90 82.60 14.32 43.20 38.72 21.72 19.93 36.88 4.65 69.41 35.54 12.46 55.14 19.00 20.44 3.00 76.20 27.19 18.98 1.57 103.27 7.99 33.49 32.12 45.50 35.64 3.70 31.50 46.24 4.44 Localsto CLOSE CHG 25.01 6.57 4.40 7.33 4.21 7.41 10.01 23.46 2.44 13.80 2.52 75.14 12.60 37.60 31.83 15.13 14.10 13.96 1.22 64.23 18.64 7.78 53.11 17.62 15.88 1.45 27.82 11.26 6.03 .93 95.88 3.97 27.35 26.72 44.42 20.52 7.25 21.48 44.27 2.37 U.h WK MO QTR A A A A A ATA A A ATA A A A A A A A A A A A A A TAT A A 4 A A A A A YTD CHG 98 8 31 7 1YR VOL CHG (Thous) 221 2254 9 19 97 2233 87 26714 787 3 11 3783 7 19083 50 14651 1740 807 13958 22 270 16 2678 134 17 56 3294 6 283 5177 4680 2605 52 13210 2 13 dd dd 49 dd 11 dd 25 dd 13 dd 26 11 11 13 15 26 dd 18 dd 30 24 19 11 dd DIV 0.85 0.76 1.76 1.00 1.001 0.80 0.68 1.66 0.56 1.52 0.291 0.67b 24 dd 0.08 dd 12 0.951 dd 14 080 19 0.35 19 0.37e 12 dd 11 0.80 21 1.721 11 tocks fell sharply Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping nearly 367 points on concerns about credit problems, poor corporate profits and oil prices that briefly topped $90 a barrel. Mixed earnings' from Caterpillar Inc, Honeywell Inc. and 3M Co. started the selling orr- concerns that a slowing economy could hurt a variety of sectors. The had been about 200 points lower for most of the session, but slumped considerably in late trading after Standard Poor's cut its ratings on more than 1,400 residential mortgage-backed securities.

The Dow finished down 366.94, or 2.6 percent, to 13,522.02. The 500 index lost 2.6 percent, while the Nasdaq composite index dropped 2.7 percent. McDonald's Corp. MCD Tempur Pedic International TPX LOW 52-WEEK HIGH LOW 52-WEEK HIGH Close: $56.42 Vol. 7.7m (8.4m) Market $67.24 Higher sales PAST 3 MONTHS of breakfast 560 items and a weak dollar 55 helped boost the fast-food chain's profit by 27 percent.

SanDisk Corp. SNDK LOW 52-WEEK HIGH Close: $34.04 Vol. 4.8m(1.7m) Market $2.7 A new adver- PAST 3 MONTHS tising cam- 540 paign helped drive the mattress maker's quarterly results above Wall Street forecasts. Caterpillar Inc. LOW 52-WEEK Close: $42.71 44.6m(11m) Market $9.73 Acquisition- PAST 3 MONTHS related charg- seo es weighed down the flash storage maker's earnings, which slid 18 percent.

CAT HIGH 3MCo. LOW 52-WEEK MMM HIGH Close: $86.62 Vol. (3-mo 15.1 (4 m) Market $62 The maker of PAST 3 MONTHS Scotch tape $100 and Post-it i Notes will slash prices on its profitable films for LCD television screens. Close: $73.57 Vol. 19.2m (7m) Market $47.02 The construe- PAST 3 MONTHS tion equip- $85 ment maker reported a rise in third- quarter earnings but lowered its yearly forecast.

Honeywell International HON LOW 52EEI HIGH Close: $5832 Vol. 7.9m (4.8m) Market $43.65 The diversified manufacturer raised its full- year forecast after third- quarter earnings rose 14 percent. PAST 3 MONTHS $65 55 so Google Inc. LOW GOOG HIGH Overstock.com LOW 52-WEEK OSTK HIGH Close: $644.71 Vol. 153m (4.9m) Market Robust inter- PAST 3 MONTHS national rev- seso enue helped third-quarter revenue and earnings surpass Wall Street expectations.

SOURCE: SunGard 450 Close: $32.04 Vol. 1.9m(418k) Market $759.83 The online PAST 3 MONTHS discount 540 retailer's third- quarter loss narrowed, helped by lower marketing costs and higher sales. AP Interestrates TREASURIES NET 1YR YEST PVS CHG WK MO QTR AGO Treasury yields slumped amid turmoil in the stock market, which prompted investors to move to the relative safety of government bonds. PRIME FED RATE FUNDS YEST 7.75 4.75 6 MO AGO 8.25 5.25 1YRAGO 8.25 5.25 3-month T-bill 6-month T-bill 1 -year T-note 2-year T-note 5-year T-note 10-year T-note 30-year T-bond 3.84 4.06 4.01 3.78 4.04 4.40 4.69 3.73 4.07 4.11 3.90 4.15 4.50 4.78 5.10 5.15 4.98 4.87 4.75 4.79 4.91 BONDS NET 1YR YEST PVS CHG WK MO QTR AGO Lehman Long T-Bd Idx 4.68 Bond Buyer Muni Idx 4.73 Lehman US Aggregate 5.23 Lehman US High Yield 8.62 Moodys Bond Index 5.64 Bank Index 100.42 DJ Corp Bond 204.61 4.77 4.76 5.28 8.52 5.67 102.87 203.45 1 A A A A A A 4.94 4.74 5.43 8.08 5.54 113.13 191.89 Commodities Crude oil futures settled lower, but only after reaching a new intraday high above $90 a barrel. Gas and heating oil prices also slid.

Gold and silver futures lost ground slightly, while crop futures were mixed. FUELS Crude Oil (bbl) Ethanol (gal) Heating Oil (gal) Natural Gas (mm btu) Unleaded Cas (gal) METALS Aluminum (Ib) Copper (Ib) Gold (oz) Platinum (oz) Silver (oz) AGRICULTURE Cattle (Ib) Coffee (Ib) Corn (bu) Cotton (Ib) Lumber (1,000 bd ft) Orange Juice (Ib) Soybeans(bu) Wheat (bu) CLOSE 88.60 1.66 2.33 7.04 2.17 CLOSE 1.13 3.55 764.00 1449.10 13.55 CLOSE 0.95 1.25 3.70 0.65 23070 1.49 9.83 8.56 PVS. 89.47 1.65 2.35 7.37 2.19 PVS. 1.13 3.53 764.10 1448.10 13.71 PVS. 0.95 1.25 367 0.65 227.80 1.52 992 826 Foreign Exchange The dollar continued its slide, setting a new low against the euro while also losing more ground to the Japanese yen and British pound.

Worries about a lack of action from the Group of Seven meetings fueled the drop. MAJORS CLOSE CHG. USD per British Pound 2.0500 Canadian Dollar .9649 USDperEuio 1.4296 Japanese Yen 114.80 Mexican Peso 10.8078 EAST Israeli Shekel 4.0185 Norwegian Krone 5.3669 South African Rand 6.8050 Swedish Krona 6.4201 Swiss Franc 1.1677 Australian Dollar 1.1176 Chinese Yuan r5093 Hong Kong Dollar 7.7507 Indian Rupee 39.519 Singapore Dollar 1.4630 South Korean Won 915.75 -t68 Taiwan Dollar 32.68 6MO. AGO 2.0019 1.1286 1.3603 118.37 1YR. AGO 1.8777 1.1273 1.2626 118.15 h.23% 10.9967 10.8105 4.0760 4.2733 5.9668 6.6881 7.0426 7.4945 6.7658 7.3202 1.2054 12572 1.1980 7.7165 7.8133 42.072 1.5120 928.51 1.3166 7.9102 7.7874 45.314 1.5727I 955.94 i.