- American Express, -21%
- J. C. Penny, -23%
- GE, -15%
- Boeing, -15%
- BancAmerica, -20%
- Hewlett Packard, -12%
- Talbots, -47%
- Austria, -18%
- Russia, -14%
- Intel, -9%
The above share price declines are not for a year……. but for last week. This wealth destruction cannot be over stated in any way. The ripple effects of owning the shares of the above companies, or almost any company’s shares, is pervasive. Imagine the declines in the 401k accounts of 327,000 GE employees this week! I would bet many, many employee accounts are loaded with GE stock. Everyone is feeling poorer, everyone has stopped spending. Earnings estimates are too high and will be ratcheted down. Why would anyone want to catch this safe? The lone encouraging news is the lower volume. This perpetuates the idea that sellers are exhausted. Nah.
This week watch for earnings from Lowes, Target, Saks, Men’s Wearhouse, Gap and Dell, among others.
