Blog Category Results

AR Index     505.69  -32.17  (-5.98%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  74.67  -2.00 GM        1.20    -0.06 Ford      5.39    -0.55 Dow 8339.01  -273.12   (-3.17%) My focus today (pardon the pun) is on how Ford has gotten itself back into the game over the last couple of months, at least as far as its part in contributing to the AR Index. Just before the end of March it appeared that both GM and Ford were on the rebound a bit, but then came the government fingers in the pie forcing out Rick Wagoner at GM, followed by the bankruptcy all that money we threw down a black hole was supposed to stave off, and you can see the result. If GM continues to run in a flat line, I may have to consider another stock to replace it as a gauge of the health of the auto industry...

AR Index     537.85  -29.74  (-5.24%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  76.67  -3.18 GM        1.26    +0.05 Ford      5.93    -0.45 Dow 8612.13  -152.36   (-1.74%) One factor affecting the AR Index that's really starting to bug me is the run up in prices at the pump. The average price at the pump has increased every day since April 29 and for no apparent reason other than speculation on the commodity markets. No actual supply or demand issues that would warrant the increase...

AR Index     567.60  +12.66  (+2.28%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  79.85  -1.87 GM        1.21    +0.46 Ford      6.38    +0.25 Dow 8764.49  +43.05   (+0.49%) Perhaps it's an abberation, but the move in GM stock this week (even though it's now on the pink sheets) kept the Index moving into positive territory again. At first I thought we might be looking at a "dead cat bounce", but it seems more like people must be convinced that even though GM is going to drastically change, there's still going to be a GM that comes out at the other end of the tunnel and the stock price makes it worth taking a chance on.

AR Index     554.93  +48.67  (+9.61%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  81.72   +6.40 GM        0.75      -0.68 Ford      6.13     +0.87 Dow 8721.44  +444.12   (+5.37%) With all the semi-uncertainty last week about whether GM would file bankruptcy and what would happen as a result, GM stock lost almost half its value in the last week. It's actually not quite to penny stock territory, but that 75 cent price tag might induce some speculation, even by small investors, in the GM that might emerge out of all this. Speaking of speculation, the current run up at the pumps, for no apparent underlying supply or demand reasons, shows that those commodity markets are still not quite right...

AR Index     506.26  -10.37  (-2.01%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  75.32   -1.15 GM        1.43     +0.25 Ford      5.26     -0.24 Dow 8277.32  -226.76   (-2.67%) Just days until the deadline for GM to come up with a plan and GM has clearly separated itself from the other components of the Index, and not exactly in the way you'd like as the chart for 2009 year-to-date clearly shows. Not sure what I'll do with the index if GM takes the bankruptcy route. Maybe I'll take a poll to see what everyone thinks is representative of the auto industry and retool the numbers.

AR Index     516.63  -31.31  (-5.71%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  76.47   -0.32 GM        1.18     -0.26 Ford      5.50     -0.58 Dow 8504.08  +85.31   (+1.01%) Today's chart is the AR Index vs the Dow for 2009. While the auto stocks are certainly more volatile than the Dow, the index is still generally moving in the direction of the Dow, and that volatility itself would seem to show that people haven't run away from the auto stocks and are still trying to make a play with them. Remember, even when people are dumping a stock and seeming to run away from it, there are buyers on the other side who think just as strongly that they're getting a bargain by purchasing the stock before it goes up.

I bet you thought I forgot it was Tuesday and my AR Index reporting day, didn't you? OK... so you were right, so what!..

AR Index     560.87  +40.49  (+7.78%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  81.59   +3.00 GM        1.81      -0.23 Ford      5.88     +0.77 Dow 8426.74  +401.74   (+5.01%) While the news lately has been plastered with stories about Chrysler and GM, things aren't as bleak as the headlines it takes to sell newspapers might make you believe. Year-to-date, the AR Index, shown in today's chart, is up 51%, powered by a 26% rise in Toyota and a skyrocketing Ford, which is up 127% this year, offsetting the 51% drop in GM stock over the same period. I know that nobody seems to want to believe it, but business is cyclical, and what's down will eventually swing up, even if a company disappears along the way in the survival-of-the-fittest business world...

AR Index     520.38  +79.02  (+17.90%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  78.59   +2.80 GM        2.04     +0.38 Ford      5.11     +1.42 Dow 8025.00  +183.27   (+2.34%) Another good week for the index, but I thought the focus should be on Ford this week and the stock performance over the last year. Since they announced they wouldn't be taking any bailout money the stock has been like an explorer in the mountains on an expedition seeking higher ground. When car sales start to rebound, Ford will find themselves in a fair lane headed for quite a fiesta!

AR Index     441.37  -35.92  (-7.53%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  75.79  -2.92 GM        1.66    -0.05 Ford      3.69    -0.57 Dow  7841.73  -216.08   (-2.68%) About five weeks to go until the deadline for GM to come up with a plan for restructuring and investors are reacting to the uncertainty just as you might expect by staying away from GM stock. Just looking at that chart of GM's share price over the last year lets you know that something has to change and change soon. I've said it before and I'll say it again...