SAIC has been selected to become a component of the S&P 500 stock index. The giant defense contractor, which has moved its headquarters to the Washington, D.C., area but still has a huge presence here in San Diego, will be joined by Ross Stores, Visa and Mead & Johnson Nutrition. Companies no longer meeting the capitalization qualification to be part of the S&P 500 and therefore will be removed from the list include Ciena, Dynegy, KB Homes and Convergys.
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The Dow Jones industrials closed out another profitable week Friday. The index gained 0.8 percent for the week and has been higher in five of the past six weeks. With only 13 trading sessions left in 2009, the Dow is up 19.3 percent. The big winner so far this year is the Nasdaq, up more than 39 percent and the S&P 500 has gained 22.5 percent.
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The Fed kicks off its last meeting of the year tomorrow and will make an announcement on Wednesday morning about the economy and interest rates. Rates will have remained unchanged at practically zero but the formal announcement could suggest a possible change in policy, leaving the door open for rate hikes in 2010. Of course, there is always anticipation before the Fed announcement and most of the time it turns out to be a non-event.
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Another event that will guarantee excitement will take place tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. Pacific time when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner finally goes wheels up. Over the weekend the company announced it had completed all pre-flight tests including a run down the runway at Everett, Wash., at 150 miles per hour. They lifted the nose gear during the test but kept the other wheels on the ground. It should be quite a sight to see.
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A new survey finds that six out of 10 Californians will use cash to pay for holiday purchases this year, proving evidence of a new normal in consumer behavior according to the Citi California Pulse index. It also found that 52 percent of Californians believe that their holiday spending will be forever changed as a result of the recession. I bet the people who did this survey haven't been near a mall or shopping center this season. Even in the pouring rain of Saturday, the parking lot at North County Fair in Escondido was completely packed as was the case at other local centers. By the way, the Citi survey also say they don't see any signs the economy is improving. Here's a suggestion: get your head out of the sand and open your 401(k) statement. Then compare it to where it was last December. Knock off the bah humbug stuff, OK?
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Speaking of grouches, a group of billionaires -- or at least multi-millionaires -- will hold a teleconference tomorrow to encourage Congress to strengthen the estate tax laws before the end of this year. Bill Gates Sr., father of the Microsoft founder and co-chair of the Gates Foundation, along with John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard family of mutual funds, and Richard Rockefeller, great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller, want Congress to pass a one-year extension of the estate tax that will disappear in 2010. The group would prefer that a permanent tax be enacted to set the exemption level at $3.5 million per person. The only person missing from the panel is Warren Buffett, who has long endorsed an estate tax. Buffett, of course, has given most of his money to the Gates Foundation, thereby avoiding having to pay any estate tax.
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