- Commentary -

December 28, 2009 (FinancialWire) (By Genevieve Hawkins) Perhaps the bailouts of AIG (NYSE: AIG), Citigroup (NYSE: C), GM and others paid off. Barring a catastrophic fall, 2009 should end as a good year for stocks, although the climb will not make up for 2008’s catastrophic drop.

Heading into the decade’s final week the S&P 500 is up 24.7% for 2009, while the Dow has risen 19.9% and the Nasdaq increased 45%. With a quiet week on tap it’s unlikely that stocks will move substantially in either direction.

For the coming week investors will be watching the Treasury’s auction of $118 billion, which may affect the direction of the U.S. dollar. Although a strengthening of the greenback is good for the economy in the long run, such a move could cause stocks to sink. Volatility may be exaggerated in the holiday shortened week, but in the end it is unlikely that there is a lasting move either up or down.

Wall Street is set to celebrate due to the 2009 gains. Many investors are predicting that the new decade is a strong one for equities.

[Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=genevieve+hawkins to see more commentaries by Genevieve Hawkins.]

The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Treasury auctions 3&6-month bills (11 a.m.), Treasury auctions 2-year notes (1 p.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases U.S. President Barack Obama attends the U.N. Climate Change Conference

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.tournamentofroses.com/

Quote of the Day: “Microsoft isn’t evil; they just make really crappy operating systems.” Linus Torvalds

Today is: National Chocolate Day, Proclamation Day (South Australia).

Happy Birthday: Woodrow Wilson, Sir Arthur Eddington, Cliff Arquette, Stan Lee, Nichelle Nichols, Edgar Winter, Denzel Washington, Linus Torvalds, Patrick Rafter, Mackenzie Rosman.

Today in History: John C. Calhoun, in 1832, became the first Vice President of the United States to resign. South Australia and Adelaide were founded in 1836. Iowa was admitted as the 29th U.S. state in 1846. An earthquake rocked Messina, Sicily, in 1908, killing over 75,000. The U.S. Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance in 1945. The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, was born (Norfolk, Virginia) in 1981. A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hit Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, in 1989, killing 13 people. U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announced it was going out of business in 2000 after 128 years.

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Free annual reports and company filings for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Investrend Information Syndicate (at http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279). Recently issued reports and filings include F & C Capital & Income Investment Trust PLC (LSE: FCI), Sarantel Group PLC (LSE: SLG), Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC), Niusule Biotech Corp. (OTCBB: NIUS), JPMorgan European Investment Trust PLC (LSE: JFF), Ecofin Water & Power Opportunities PLC (LSE: ECWO), Invesco Property Income Trust Ltd. (LSE: IPI), Hansa Trust PLC (LSE: HAN) (OTC: FSBTF), Perpetual Income & Growth Investment Trust PLC (LSE: PLI), New India Investment Trust PLC (LSE: NII), JPMorgan Fleming Smaller Japanese Companies Investment Trust PLC (LSE: JPS), Edinburgh Investment Trust PLC (LSE: EDIN) (OTC: EHITF), Armour Group PLC (LSE: AMR), Bravo Venture Group Inc. (TSX Venture: BVG), Bellway PLC (London Stock Exchange: BWY) (OTC: BLWYF), Chase Corp. (AMEX: CCF), Continental Materials Corp. (AMEX: CUO), Amcon Distributing Company (AMEX: DIT), Eaton Vance Enhanced Equity Income Fund (NYSE: EOI), Majedie Investments PLC (London Stock Exchange: MAJE) (OTC: MJENF), Morgan Stanley Income Securities, Inc. (NYSE: ICB), Grainger PLC (London Stock Exchange: GRI) (OTC: GRTGF), Eaton Vance Insured Municipal Bond Fund (AMEX: EIM), PIMCO High Income Fund (NYSE: PHK) and Shaw Communications, Inc. (NYSE: SJR).

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