First Week of 2012 Is a Hit! — Friday’s IP Market Recap

The first trading week of 2012 kicked off with a lot of overall positivity, and
despite trailing off by Friday's end, the markets finished at least these
first four days in the black. Tuesday got off to a rousing start that showed
itself in numerous places. Just by the numbers, the Dow Jones got a 1.5% boost
that especially jump-started 2011's losers, the financial sector. And one of
the ugliest performers of them all Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) caught fire
and finished the week up almost 11%. Potentially more important, two major Dow
indices hit new breakouts and the dollar met with some difficulty early bullish
signs as seen by technical analysts. U.S. automakers continued the positivity
through the week, with the Detroit Big 3 reporting their operations were all
profitable for the first time in eight years. Chrylser's sales gained a
whopping 37% in December, mostly on the strength of its Jeep brand, while Ford
(NYSE: F ) sales were up 10% and General Motors ' (NYSE: GM ) were up 4.6%.
However, not all was hunky-dory for the week. Iran's threats to close off the
Strait of Hormuz which could send oil prices sky-high had energy markets
flustered all week. However, off-put investors still have numerous avenues
through which they can navigate the energy sector. Not the least of these are
exchange-traded funds which can be used to profit off volatility , or just
bought as part of a regular growth portfolio . Here were some other headlines
from the week: (Mostly) Positive Jobs News Friday capped a week of mostly
positive jobs data with the Labor Department's announcement that the U.S.
created a better-than-expected 200,000 jobs in Decembe r, knocking the
employment down to 8.5%. Also on Thursday, ADP said U.S. companies beat
economists' forecasts of net hires by increasing payrolls by 325,000 on the
month, and weekly unemployment claims dropped 15,000 from the previous week's
387,000 while the four-week average declined by 3,250. Still, that news had a
couple of unsightly gray hairs. PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP ) said it was mulling
eliminating about 4,000 jobs and reducing pension contributions to boost
earnings figures, and Boeing (NYSE: BA ) made a stir by announcing it would be
leaving Wichita, Kan. , after more about 90 years a move that would affect
2,160 workers there. The plan would, however, create about 200 more jobs in
Puget Sound, Wash. Everything's Going Up! Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX ) rang in
the new year by ringing its customers' bells to the tune of a dime. The
company said rising prices for milk and coffee was forcing its hand, and it
would raise prices in stores throughout the Northeast and Southwest. For anyone
wanting a 12-ounce cup of coffee, that'll be another 10 cents. And starting in
a little more than a week, everyone's favorite high-risk retirement plan is
about to get more expensive, too. The national lottery Powerball said this week
that tickets would double in price , from $1 to $2. However, there was one
doubling this week that went over well at least with investors. Macy's (NYSE:
M ) announced its next quarterly dividend would be raised from 10 cents to 20
cents , the second time in as many years the retailer has upped its payout. Iowa
Caucus The 2012 Republican primary got off to an undecided start this week with
the Iowa Caucus. Mitt Romney was the voters' choice, but it was hardly a
runaway. Rick Santorum lost by just eight votes, and Ron Paul finished in a
not-too-distant third. In fact, very little was decided in Iowa, though we do
know a couple of things: Romney likely will get the backing of the GOP elite
because of his relative national appeal, and at least for now, we probably can
stop talking about Michele Bachmann, who dropped out of the race. Three Up
Friday Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN ): Up 16.3% ($1.73) to $12.35. ( Read more about
Dendreon here .) Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX ): Up 8.8% ($6.99) to $86.29. Marvell
Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL ): Up 3.2% (49 cents) to $15.72. Three Down Friday RF
Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD ): Down 19.5% ($1.10) to $4.54. Kodiak Oil (NYSE:
KOG ): Down 4.16% (43 cents) to $9.91. Banco Santander (NYSE: STD ): Down 3.22%
(23 cents) to $6.91. As of this writing, Kyle Woodley did not own a position in
any of the aforementioned stocks.