Stocks Inch Lower as Retailers Sink

There's No Business Like FOX Business

Stocks were slightly lower Monday afternoon as enthusiasm for a rebound in the financial sector was offset by worries about the strength of the holiday shopping season.

Today’s Markets

As of 3:01 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.91 points, or 0.09%, to 10301.53, the S&P 500 slid 1.80 points, or 0.16%, to 1089.62 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.40 points, or 0.35%, to 2131.02.The FOX 50 lost 1.15 points, or 0.14%, to 808.66.

The Dow had been up by nearly 60 points earlier in the day as regional banks like PNC Financial (PNC) rallied and fears about the Dubai debt crisis appeared to fade. The blue-chip index fell 154 points during Friday’s holiday-shortened session on fears Dubai World's request for a six-month standstill on its $60 billion in debt could spark another leg of the credit crisis.

“I think some of the emerging world fears have settled down,” said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global.

Most of the Dow's 30 components were in the red, led by Home Depot (HD) and AT&T (T). The index's biggest gainers were financial giantsBank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM).

The retail sector led the markets into negative territory as shares of Macy's (M) and Saks (SKS) fell sharply amid the initial reports on Black Friday. According to the National Retail Federation, 195 million people shopped over the Thanksgiving weekend, up from 172 million in 2008, but they plan to spend 8% less per person. Black Friday sales rose 0.5%, according to ShopperTrak. It wasn't all bad news for the sector as shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) gained 2% and hit an all-time intraday high.

Meanwhile, fears about Dubai appear to have lessened as the U.A.E. central bank said it will work to provide fresh funding to the country's local banks that may be exposed to debt issued by Dubai.However, the central bank did not offer a blanket bailout for Dubai.

Last week Dubai shocked world markets by saying it will need a six-month payment standstill on an estimated $60 billion in debt issued by Dubai World, its investment company. After diving last week, Asian markets soared overnight while European stocks slumped modestly. Stocks in Dubai plummeted 7.3% after being closed for a holiday.

Monday's earlier rally was led by the financial sector, which rebounded from Friday's selloff by gaining more than 1%. Regional banks like Regions Financial (RF) and PNC Financial (PNC) saw even heavier buying.

Crude oil spiked ahead of the close of trading amid new signs of tension with Iran. British officials said five Briton have been detained in Iran after their racing yacht might have accidentally crossed into Iranian waters. Crude, which slumped almost 2% last week, settled at $77.28 a barrel, up $1.23, or 1.62%. Capping off its biggest monthly gain in a year, gold gained $6.90 a troy ounce, or 0.59%, to $1181.10

Corporate Movers

Delta Petroleum (DPTR) announced it has retained Morgan Stanley (MS) and Evercore Partners to “evaluate and advise” on “strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value.” This includes exploring a sale of some or all of the company, partnerships, and joint venture opportunities.

Abercombie & Fitch (ANF) was upgraded to “outperform” by investment bank FBR, which cited “extraordinarily strong channel checks” over the Black Friday weekend. FBR said all three A&F brands showed a “material improvement” in both traffic and conversion over the weekend from a year ago.

UnitedHealth (UNH) reaffirmed its 2009 EPS guidance of approximately $3.15, which would miss the Street’s view by a penny. The health-care giant also said it sees earning between $2.90 and $3.10 a share in 2010 on revenue of $88.5 billion to $89.5 billion for 2010. Analysts had been forecasting 2010 EPS of $3.08 on $89.4 billion in revenue.

Global Markets

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 1.05% to 5190.68, France's CAC 40 lost 1.11% to 3680.15 and Germany's DAX sank 1.05% to 5625.95.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 2.9% to 9345.55, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 3.25% to 21,821.50 and China's Shanghai Composite gained 3.2% to 3195.30.

Stocks decline in early morning tradingEyeing Dubai, Dow Drops 154 on Debt Fears, Dollar

U.S. Investors curb Risk Trades as 2009 Nears End

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. fund managers decreased their heavy exposure to stocks in November while increasing their cash allocations ahead of 2009's close and on signs that economic recovery may be slow, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.

Based on 11 U.S.-based fund management firms, surveyed November 12-27, firms raised cash holdings for a second consecutive month, to an average of 2.7% of their assets, compared with 1.9% in October and 1.6% in September.

November's figures include one more fund, but on a like-for-like basis, the overall group's direction is the same.

The increase in cash positions could accelerate as investors begin to unwind higher risk trades in the wake of the Dubai debt crisis, which began as final polling was taking place.

Fears of a possible debt default at a state-linked Dubai conglomerate could serve as the catalyst for an "overdue correction" in equities and risk assets, including corporate and high-yield junk bonds, Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of bond firm Pacific Investment Management Co., told Reuters.

Already, money managers have been taking down exposures in such markets because they had surged so fast.

"We're scaling back in stocks," said Keith Wirtz, chief investment officer at Fifth Third Asset Management, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based firm that oversees $20 billion.

"When you see an asset class rise 60% from its bottom, you have to reassess. There isn't a lot of conviction that we will see another year of huge returns," Wirtz added.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index .SPX has rallied over 61% since its March low, while rising more than 5% in November alone.

Yet economic conditions still look vulnerable: U.S. third-quarter GDP was revised lower to a 2.8% growth rate, from the first reported 3.5% rate; and real consumption growth was revised down to 2.9% from 3.4%.

The 11 U.S.-based fund management firms held an average of 62.6% of their assets in equities in November, down from 64.5% the previous month but higher than the 60.6% at the start of the year.

Stripping out the new fund in November, the remaining firms which responded this month and last held an average of 63.9% of their assets in equities in November, down from 64.1%. For bonds, the group of 10 managers held an average of 32.4% of their assets in bonds, up from 30.2% in October. In cash, these managers held an average of 2.6% in November, up from 2.1% the previous month.

"While many have acknowledged in the last few weeks the growing wedge between market valuations and economic and corporate realities, few have been willing to take their equity exposure down in the absence of a correction catalyst," El-Erian said. "The Dubai announcement is serving as this catalyst."

Middle Tennessee Electric says bills should drop in Nov.Positive GDP Doesn’t Mean the Recession Is Over

Cooler Heads Should Prevail in Dubai Debt Mess

The revelation of Dubai’s debt mess rattled already easily rattled U.S. markets on Friday, dropping as it did into a news vacuum on a traditionally slow trading day.

The announcement wasn’t entirely unexpected, however, and many traders and analysts believe global markets are prepared to digest the news calmly once some perspective is applied.

“I believe people did see this coming and I think come Monday it will level out a bit. Already, commodities crushed over night have come back,” said Kevin Kerr, a commodities analyst with Kerr Trading International.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial average was down as much as 230 points early Friday, but recovered about 80 points to end the session only154 points lower.

Late Wednesday, Dubai sought to defer for at least six months at least some of $60 billion owed to creditors by Dubai World, the emirate's chief investment arm. Investors are clearly worried that a default by a government investment company in Dubai could have a ripple effect in global markets, one that could thwart the fledgling recovery from the worst financial crisis in decades.

But Kerr said doubts have existed for years toward what he described as Dubai’s “excessive overbuilding” and an apparent “if we build it they will come” attitude on the part of the Middle Eastern emirate’s leaders.

Kerr said he expects the government of Dubai to intervene and prevent a default of the debt.

That seems to be the case. Late Thursday, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of Dubai's Supreme Fiscal Committee, stressed that the announcement was “carefully planned” and aimed at taking decisive action.

Ahmed's statement, issued late Thursday, came a day after the Dubai government announced a restructuring of Dubai World and said it would ask creditors to delay debt repayment until at least May. The announcement came Wednesday, on the eve of a three-day Islamic holiday, apparently aimed at blunting the impact of the move in the region.

"Our intervention in Dubai World was carefully planned," Ahmed said in the statement. "The government is spearheading the restructuring of this commercial operation in the full knowledge of how the markets would react."

Still, the initial announcement raised fears that if an investment entity in an oil rich country like Dubai is having trouble paying it debts, it could happen anywhere, and world markets responded accordingly.

Oil prices dropped near $74 a barrel in Asia on Friday as investors curtailed their risky bets on commodities amid uncertainty over the extent of Dubai's financial woes. And Asian stocks slumped for a second day. European stock markets appeared to be stabilizing, meanwhile, after a heavy sell-off a day earlier that saw bank shares take a pummeling over possible exposure to Dubai debt.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, explained the short-term fallout: “It’s not Dubai, it’s Dubai’s impact on the U.S. dollar,” he said.

On Thursday and in early trading Friday, investors feared that European banks which lent money to Dubai World might be on the hook for billions of dollars. That combined with fears that “there are other ‘Dubai’s’ possibly out there” led investors who had recently embraced riskier investment to dump those positions, according to Kloza.
Consequently, the dollar jumped and crude oil fell by more than $5 a barrel.

There’s “still plenty of worry, but the panic for now has been arrested,” said Kloza. “No one was really selling oil because of Dubai -- they were selling oil because they had long commodities/short dollar positions and were getting hammered.”

Other analysts noted that the situation in Dubai had similarities to the events in Thailand in 1997 that led to the Asian financial crisis.

“Dubai was a carbon copy of Thailand’s disastrous foray as an ‘international financial center’ in the 1990s,” said Paul Schulte with Nomura Securities in Hong Kong in a note. “Happily, the U.A.E. has oil. Thailand did not.”

The big question is whether Dubai’s oil-rich sister kingdom Abu Dhabi will come to the rescue of Dubai.

Both kingdoms are part of the United Arab Emirates, a nation comprised of seven closely-linked city-states. Sources close to the Abu Dhabi’s government told Dow Jones Newswires that it is unlikely that Abu Dhabi would allow Dubai to default on its debt as it would damage the reputation of the U.A.E. internationally and economically.

Worries about bad debt remain fresh in investors' minds after the collapse of the U.S. brokerage Lehman Brothers in September last year pushed the world overnight deeper into recession as banks halted lending on fears of a domino effect of bad loans.

Investors are being forced to ask whether the troubles in Dubai will usher in a new period of financial instability and put in danger an eight-month rally in the stock market.

At the very least, it will lead U.S. fiscal leaders to continue their policies of low interest rates and “easy money” said Axel Merk, manager of the $400 million Merk Hard Currency Fund and author of the recently published book "Sustainable Wealth".

“It shows that this is not a clear recovery. Things are more complex than that,” he said. “The Fed will keep interest rates low and continue to print money because there are still a lot of issues out there.”

Eyeing Dubai, Dow Drops 154 on Debt Fears, DollarAnalyst says recovery in works

Personal Spending Rises by Better-Than-Expected 0.7% in October

In a potential positive sign ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season, personal spending grew at a faster-than-expected pace in October.

The Commerce Department said personal spending rose 0.7% last month, beating economists’ forecasts for a 0.6% increase. The government also said personal income increased 0.2% in October, doubling estimates for a 0.1% rise.

The bounce in spending represents a rebound as spending declined by a downwardly revised 0.6% in September. It also comes in the face of a 26-year high for unemployment and forecasts for a sluggish economic forecast.

The better-than-expected report helped buoy sentiment on Wall Street as the premarkets extended their gains in part on the news.

In another sign that inflation doesn’t appear to be a near-term threat to the recovery, personal consumption expenditures excluding food and energy rose 0.2% last month. Economists had forecasted a 0.1% rise.

The government also revised its September personal income estimate to reflect an increase of 0.2%, up from an unchanged reading earlier.

The increase in consumer spending could bode well for the holiday shopping season, which retailers like Macy’s (M) and Best Buy (BBY) rely on for much of their annual profits.

The spending report comes a day after the Federal Reserve said it upgraded its 2009 and 2010 forecasts for gross domestic product.

Jobless rate is even worse than thoughtWeek Ahead: Data, Not Earnings, Ahead of Thanksgiving

Eyeing Dubai, Dow Drops 154 on Debt Fears, Dollar

There's No Business Like FOX Business

Wall Street closed well off its worst level of the day on Black Friday but still suffered its worst session of November amid fears about the fallout from Dubai World’s $60 billion in debt and a dollar-induced dive for commodities.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154.48 points, or 1.48%, to 10309.92, the S&P 500 lost 19.14 points, or 1.72%, to 1091.49 and the Nasdaq Composite sank 37.61 points, or 1.73%, to 2138.44.The FOX 50 dropped 12.15 points, or 1.48%, to 809.81.

Overshadowing mixed early reports about Black Friday, the U.S. markets had their first chance to react to the news that state-owned investment company Dubai World will postpone payment on tens of billions of dollars-worth of debt for six months. The U.S. markets were closed for Thanksgiving a day ago and also closed early Friday.

While the losses on Wall Street were nothing to sneeze at, they were less than one-half what Europe and Asia suffered a day ago on the Dubai news. Friday’s selloff was driven by commodity-related stocks and the financials, which lost ground on worries about their exposure to Dubai.

“People are clearly going to be looking to reduce risk in all asset classes as a result of the uncertainty being raised out of the situation in Dubai,” said Michael James, senior equities trader at Wedbush Morgan Securities. “The fear is a combination of the unknown and that this mushrooms into other problems in the financial world. It’s going to result in a sell-first mentality across the board today.”

Some traders found reason for hope since the Dow had been down as much as 233 points before rallying back as the dollar pared its gains. At one point the index was down less than 100 points.

“I think this is a little anomaly. People were looking for a reason to sell off stocks,” NYSE trader Jason Weisberg of Seaport Securities told FOX Business.

All 30 blue-chip stocks closed in the red, led by Bank of America (BAC), Caterpillar (CAT) and Alcoa (AA).The Dow, which had its three-week win streak snapped, suffered its steepest one-day decline since diving 250 points on Oct. 30.

Friday's NYSE floor trading volume was slightly heavier than the typical Black Friday but still marked the lowest since Dec. 2008.

Fears about the implications of Dubai defaulting on its estimated $60 billion in debt weighed on banks like HSBC (HBC) and forced a horde of cash to flee to the relative safety of the U.S. dollar, which soared as much as 1% before retreating.

As the U.S. dollar's rally lost momentum, crude oil, gold and stocks like BHP Billiton (BHP) and U.S. Steel (X) trimmed their losses. Even though it’s a long-term positive to have a stronger dollar, the tumbling greenback has proved to be a bullish catalyst over the past several months by making U.S. goods cheaper overseas and lifting commodities.

Gold, which had been down more than $50 earlier, was down $12.80 a troy ounce, or 1.08%, to $1174.20. Friday marked gold's first decline in 10 sessions. Oil also bounced off its session lows of $72.39, sinking $1.91 a barrel, or 2.45%, to settle at $76.05.

Reflecting the concern about bank exposure to Dubai, the financial sector sank more than 2%. European banks like HSBC, Barclays (BCS) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are believed to have more exposure to Dubai than U.S. banks.

While Dubai World had been struggling for several months after overextending itself during the credit boom, it had been expected that it would receive a bailout from its government or possibly Abu Dubai. The Dubai debt repayment delay highlights the concerns around the world about the commercial real estate market and underscores the fragility of the financial system in the wake of the worst credit crisis since the Great Depression.

Meanwhile, the S&P retail sector slid more than 1.5% amid mixed reports on Black Friday, which traditionally is the kick off to the all-important holiday shopping season. Department store operator Macy's (M) was particularly weak after CEO Terry Lundgren told Reuters the early signs are good but that he doesn't "think necessarily that customers are going to spend more than last year."

Corporate Movers

ING (ING) may wish it chose a different day to raise cash as the Dutch bank’s $11.2 billion rights issue came in at a 52% discount amid a plunge in global markets sparked by Dubai’s debt crisis. The Amsterdam-based bank issued 1.768 billion new shares at 4.24 euros each, compared to its closing price of 8.916 euros on Thursday. ING’s shares slumped to $10.12.

Global Markets

In the U.K., the FTSE 100 gained 0.99% to 5245.73, France's CAC 40 rose 0.21% to 3721.45 and Germany's DAX advanced 0.40% to 5685.61.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 plunged 3.2% to 9081.52, the Hang Seng plummeted 4.8% to 21,134.50 and China's Shanghai Composite fell 2.36% to 3096.26.

Stocks decline in early morning tradingWall Street’s Comeback Comes Up Short

Early Market Movers: Incyte, J. Crew

Stock futures were pointing higher ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday after the release of better-than-expected initial jobless claims numbers.

Here are some of the early market movers for Wednesday.

Incyte Corporation (INCY)

Shares were up 14.7% in pre-market trading after the company announced it has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Novartis for two of its in development hematology-oncology therapies, INCB18424, and INCB28060.

J Crew Group Inc. (JCG)

The retailer released third-quarter results, beating the Street with earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue of $414.1 million. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 58 cents per share on revenue of $407.99 million. Shares were up 7.2% in pre-market trading.

Satyam Computer Services (SAY)

The agency handling the federal probe of accounting fraud against the computer software company in India filed additional charges late Tuesday against 10 people accused of falsifying client accounts and receiving illegal loans from the company. Shares dropped 12% in pre-market trading on Wednesday.

Dataram Corporation (DRAM)

The data memory manufacturer posted a loss of 18 cents per share for the second quarter after the bell Tuesday, widening from a loss of 4 cents from the same period last year. Shares were down 13% in pre-market trading Wednesday.

Coldwater Creek Inc. (CWTR)

Shares of the women’s specialty retailer were down 7.3% in pre-market trading Wednesday after posting third-quarter results late Tuesday. The company reported a non-GAAP loss of 4 cents per share on revenue of $266.7 million. Analysts had been expecting a loss of 3 cents per share on revenue of $232.24 million.

Conn’s Inc. (CONN)

The home appliance and consumer electronics manufacturer posted a wider loss than expected reporting a loss excluding items of 29 cents per share on revenue of $182.8 million for the third quarter. Analysts had been expecting a loss of four cents per share on revenue of $191.67 million.

Dollar General shares up in the first day of tradingEarly-Market Movers: IMS Health, Whole Foods Market

Initial Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Since Lehman Collapse

In a bit of positive news for the struggling job market, the U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday that the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 last week.

According to government figures, initial jobless claims fell by a seasonally-adjusted 35,000 claims to 466,000 for the week ending Nov. 21. It was the first time that unemployment claims were below 500,000 so far this year.

Last week's initial claims fell by more than the 5,000-person drop that economists had forecasted, according to data by Thomson Reuters.

Continuing claims, which are people unemployment insurance for more than a week, fell by 190,000 to 5.423 million according to the Labor Department.

Initial claims also cross another psychological threshold in this report, now lower than they were before the September 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers. While most of the news in the labor market has been dismal – the nation registered a 10.2% unemployment rate this month – most economists believe real-time indicators like jobless claims are starting to show real progress.

“While it is always difficult to predict when monthly payrolls will show growth, it is quite apparent that month is closer rather than further away,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist with Miller Tabak.

What to Watch for in the Employment ReportObama calls for jobs forum next month

First Niagara Applies to Become Bank-Holding Company

First Niagara Financial Group (FNFG) announced Friday it has applied to convert to a bank-holding company status.

At the same time, the thrift-holding company said it withdrew its application for approval of the Office of Thrift Supervision to green light its acquisition of Harleysville National Corporation. First Niagara said it will apply for approval of the deal with the Federal Reserve, which would be its new regulator as a bank-holding company.

“Bank holding company status will enhance First Niagara's ability to continue expanding through acquisitions of both thrifts and commercial banks and will give the company more flexibility in how it completes and executes transactions,” First Niagara said in a statement.

Despite withdrawing its application with the OTS, First Niagara said it still sees the Harleysville deal closing in the first quarter of 2010.

First Niagara, which had assets of $14.1 billion as of the end of last quarter and 171 branches, said its conversion to a bank-holding company won’t affect its employees’ day-to-day responsibilities or interaction with customers.

Shares of First Niagara were recently down 0.6%, outperforming a decline of 1.72% on the Standard & Poor’s 500. Still, the thrift’s stock has lost almost one-fifth of its market cap year-to-date.

Early-Market Movers: Telestone Technologies, Medidata SolutionsBank in Florida is 100th to close this year

How About Some Gratitude for Retailers?

If I ever had a doubt that people are thankful for very different things, it became crystal clear while watching Rachael Ray one day last year.

She did a segment on helping guys pick out flowers for the women in their lives and it began with the notion that flowers from the grocery or convenience store are a no-no. From the comments being made, you would have thought that was the equivalent of handing a woman a pile of cow manure.

It elicited a “wow” from me and I remember shaking my head in disbelief. I talked to a few women about it and they couldn’t imagine a guy handing them flowers at the end of the day and feeling anything other than sheer gratitude. Which made me thankful I surround myself with people who appreciate sweet gestures and life’s blessings.

And so that brings me to Thanksgiving, families and the world of retail. One person’s blessing is another’s curse. This is especially true for that quasi-national holiday, Black Friday.

A dear cousin recently asked me to take the greedy retailers to task in a column and I had to, in good conscience, respond by telling her that would make me the ultimate hypocrite. My sister and I have been making a sacred tradition of shopping that day for a long time and we have already had several strategy conversations relating to it.

We hear the naysayers’ comments every year and just shrug them off. We don’t go to places that sell flat-screen televisions or give away fancy gadgets to the first 100 people at the door, so last year’s horrific incident where a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death is completely foreign to our experience. What we see in our interactions is mostly people sharing coupons and enjoying the hunt. No frenzy, just sisterhood at its finest.

But that brings me back to my cousin, whose point about the retailers is understandable because it’s coming from the heart. Her tradition of her family (a daughter, a son, and a boyfriend) spending Thanksgiving at her mother’s house with the rest of their family isn’t going to work this year because her daughter and boyfriend work in retail. He has to open the store at 5 a.m. on Friday and she is working until midnight; the travel would be too much.

Having worked many a Thanksgiving myself, both in retail and as a sports writer, I was fortunate to be in close enough proximity to the big family gathering to make it for at least part of the day. My sister, who runs the daycare at a health club, is actually working Thanksgiving morning this year so its members can still work out despite the holiday (go figure).

My cousin’s final point is apt here.

“I don’t want to deny people that ‘fun,’” she writes. “I just wish the consumer would appreciate it more ... the sacrifices that are made not only by the employee, but their family members too!”

Amen.

How about that brand of gratitude? The people who make our holiday weekend festivities/traditions possible by their work don’t need to hear whining or carping and they certainly don’t need to be referees when two people are fighting over the latest trendy toy. They don’t get paid enough for any of the above. Most of them know that in this economy there’s reason to be thankful that they have a job, any job. Some of them even welcome extra hours because they can use the money.

Of course it’s a given that gratitude is individual. Not just what we’re grateful for, but if we’re grateful at all.

Now that’s something to think about, isn’t it?

Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.

Tennessee retailers link sales to charitable givingAl Lewis: Holiday Sales Could Be Another Bad Rerun

Al Lewis: Selling the Silverdome for Shekels

Barbara Davenport said she was among those who cut the ribbon on the Pontiac Silverdome when it opened in 1975.

Taxpayers paid more than $55.7 million to build it. Never did Davenport imagine it would sell for $583,000, or less than the median salary of a Detroit Lions player.

"When I read that in the paper, that hurt," the 75-year-old community activist said. "We could have made a lot more money if we had torn it down….for scrap."

Pontiac, the great Ottawa chief, is history.

Pontiac, the automobile, will soon be history, too, as General Motors Co. discontinues the line.

Pontiac, the Detroit satellite city, is facing 35% unemployment, a $6 million budget deficit, and a $103 million debt load. It needs to get the empty Silverdome's $1.5 million annual operating costs off its books and onto the books of someone who also can pay taxes.

Davenport, who campaigned for Barack Obama, wonders how it all became so desperate. She moved to Pontiac from Port Arthur, Texas, when she was 10. Her father found steady work in the auto industry.

She grew up to become an anesthesia technician at a local hospital and was part of a civic group invited to participate in the Silverdome's opening ceremony.

"That was a wonderful day in my life," she said. "When we looked up in the sky, there was a white helicopter landing. And there was Johnny Mathis .. and he sang the national anthem."

Elvis performed at the Silverdome on New Year's Eve, 1975. Led Zeppelin rocked 76,229 fans in 1977. The Detroit Pistons played from 1978 to 1988. Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in 1987 with 93,682, a crowd not even topped that year by WrestleMania III's 93,173, who came to see Hulk Hogan battle Andre the Giant.

The Silverdome tarnished into a venue for monster truck rallies and even a parking lot for drive-in movies after 2002. That's when the Detroit Lions moved to Ford Field.

"They left us," Davenport said. "And they're not playing any better."

The city put the Silverdome and its 27 acres up for auction after several failed attempts to sell it. The highest bidder was Andreas Apostolopoulos, CEO of Toronto-based Triple Properties Inc.

"You buy when it's at the bottom," Apostolopoulos said when I reached him by telephone on Monday. "Right now, I don't think you can go any lower than that."

Apostolopoulos, who won the auction last week, said he is more concerned with the Silverdome's annual maintenance costs, which are almost three times the price.

I can relate to the risk he's taking, at least on a smaller scale. When I was visiting Detroit last year, a real-estate broker offered to give me a house that he had listed for $1. Not sell. Give. But, silly me, I didn't want to deal with the costs of carrying an abandoned home in a vacated neighborhood.

Pontiac, along with rest of the Detroit metropolitan area, has long been declining with the U.S. auto industry. And Apostolopoulos is clearly the best game in town.

H. Wallace Parker, an attorney in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., had sued to block the sale to Apostolopoulos, claiming he had a deal to buy the venue for nearly $17 million. City officials said he never put down money and that his contract expired. On Monday, a Michigan judge lifted a temporary restraining order, allowing the sale to go through.

Some media reports have indicated that Apostolopoulos wants to use the Silverdome for soccer games, but the developer told me that's just one of his ideas.

"There are all kinds of different ideas," he said. "We're going to ask the people in the area what they would like to see. Nothing is sure yet."

Here's an idea: How about new reality TV show? "Flip This Superdome."

"I think he's going to sell it," Davenport said. "He can get $15 million to $20 million for that stadium."

The City of Pontiac hopes to net a meager $420,000 from the sale after expenses.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of all the tax dollars the city spent over the years may turn out to be an entrepreneur who was born in Greece and runs a real-estate company in Canada.

Reminds me of old Chief Pontiac, who rebelled against the British just so other white settlers could take his ancestral lands.

"I didn't think about this when we, the taxpayers, built it in Pontiac," Davenport said. "Back then, we had General Motors. Everybody was working."

The Silverdome brought happy times and enormous crowds to the city for decades, generating business and tax revenue it might have never had. But Davenport said it doesn't feel like such a great deal today.

"The way they left us with the stadium .. as I look at it now ... I don't think the citizens should do it again."

(Al's Emporium, written by Dow Jones Newswires columnist Al Lewis, offers commentary and analysis on a wide range of business subjects through an unconventional perspective. The column is published each Tuesday and Thursday at 9 a.m. ET. Contact Al at al.lewis@dowjones.com or tellittoal.com)

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Slim Losses for Stocks as Dollar Flatlines

There's No Business Like FOX Business

A late-day comeback effort came up short on Tuesday as stocks closed with minor losses amid a stabilizing U.S. dollar.

Today’s Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17.24 points, or 0.16%, to 10433.71, the S&P 500 dropped 0.59 points, or 0.05%, to 1105.65 and the Nasdaq Composite sank 6.83 points, or 0.31%, to 2169.18.The FOX 50 lost 0.42 points, or 0.05%, to 820.21.

While the markets ended firmly in the red, the losses erased just a slice of Monday's 133-point gain and left the Dow fractions of a percentage point away from its highest closing level of the year.

And the markets battled back from a near triple-digit selloff earlier in the day that was caused by a stronger dollar. The action in the currency markets mostly overshadowed a surprise up tick in consumer confidence in November and an upgraded economic forecast from the Federal Reserve.

Most blue-chip stocks ended the day in negative territory, led by Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM). The Dow's biggest percentage gainers were telecoms Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T).

“I think we are still going to see stocks trending higher for the rest of this week and the rest of the year,” Robert Heller of Chapdelaine Brokerage told FOX Business.

Despite a plethora of economic data, trading volume was once again light as Thanksgiving and the end of the year near.

Stocks briefly turned positive after the Fed released the minutes from its early November meeting, which revealed the central bank upgraded its 2009 and 2010 gross domestic product forecasts. Still, the Fed warned the recovery will likely be modest, taking “five or six years” for the economy to get back to full health.

But much of the focus remained on the U.S. dollar, which tends to move in the opposite direction of the market. Basic materials stocks trimmed their losses but closed lower as the greenback flatlined. Still, gold rallied for the 16th time of the last 17 days to another record closing high. Gold gained $1.20 per troy ounce, or 0.10%, to $1165.50.

Energy stocks also pared their losses as crude settled off its worst levels. Crude fell $1.54 a barrel, or 1.99%, to $76.02.

Data Dump

For the most part, the markets shrugged off a deluge of largely upbeat economic data.

The Conference Board said November consumer confidence unexpectedly rose to a 49.5 reading and upwardly revised its October reading. While this is a key reading on sentiment ahead of the holiday season, confidence reports haven’t recently reflected how consumers have continued to spend despite high unemployment. Underscoring the difficult job market, the jobs hard-to-get index rose to the highest level since May 1983.

The U.S. economy grew more slowly than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said in its latest GDP estimate. The government said GDP grew at a 2.8% annualized rate in the third quarter, which was 0.1 percentage points better than economists had expected but down from an earlier estimate for 3.5% growth.

At the same time, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index rose in September for the fourth-straight month. The group’s 20-city index rose 0.3% from August. The index was down 9.4% from the year before -- the smallest decrease since Dec. 2007.

Corporate Movers

American International Group (AIG) slumped 1% even after The Wall Street Journal reported that federal officials are pressing Kenneth Feinberg, the White House’s pay czar, to ease compensation restrictions for execs at the bailed-out insurer. AIG execs and some officials worry that the salary cuts will spark a mass exodus that could hurt the U.S.’s $180 billion investment in AIG.

General Motors said its sale of Saab to Koenigsegg Group was terminated at the buyer’s request. The bailed-out auto maker said it will take the next several days to assess the situation.

American Eagle (AEO) disclosed a 39% jump in third-quarter net income and said it is “poised for a continued recovery” in 2010, sending the apparel retailer’s stock up 3%. The company’s non-GAAP EPS of 21 cents beat estimates by a penny. Overall, the retailer’s sales fell 1% to $749 million, narrowly exceeding the Street’s view of $748.32 million.

Dollar Tree (DLTR) said its earnings rose 58% to 76 cents a share last quarter, exceeding Wall Street expectations. The discount retailer said its sales rose 12% to $1.25 billion and also forecasted EPS of $1.30 to $1.39 a share, roughly in line with expectations.

Medtronic (MDT) reported a better-than-expected 59% increase in fiscal second-quarter profit and a non-GAAP profit of 77 cents. Analysts had been forecasting a profit of 74 cents a share. The medical device maker also upgraded its full-year earnings guidance.

H.J. Heinz (HNZ) posted an adjusted-profit of 76 cents a share on $2.67 billion in revenue, topping the 69-cent profit and $2.63 billion in revenue that analysts were looking for. The ketchup company also boosted its full-year EPS projection to $2.72 to $2.82.

Zale (ZLC) issued a wider fiscal first-quarter loss of $1.80 a share but analysts had been bracing for an even deeper loss of $2.02 a share. The jeweler’s sales slumped 9.6% to $329.2 million, topping the Street’s view of $319.20 million. Zale said it does not plan to offer the same level of deep discounting this holiday season as it did in 2008.

Hormel Foods (HRL) reported a better-than-expected 53% jump in fiscal fourth-quarter profit. The maker of Spam meat and Chi-Chi’s salsa reported a 10% drop in sales to $1.68 billion, missing estimates. The company also issued a forecast for the full year that would top analysts’ estimates.

Global Markets

European markets closed modestly lower. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 0.59% to 5323.96, France's CAC 40 fell 0.75% to 3784.62 and Germany's DAX dropped 0.55% to 5769.31.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 declined 1.01% to 9401.58, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.53% to 22423.14 and China's Shanghai Composite dropped 3.45% to 3223.53.

Wall Street’s Comeback Comes Up ShortStocks decline in early morning trading

Monday Market Magic Continues: Dow Adds 133

There's No Business Like FOX Business

Monday continues to be an extremely bullish day of the week for Wall Street as the Dow climbed more than 130 points to fresh 2009 highs thanks to yet another dive for the U.S. dollar, which triggered more gains for commodities.

Today’s Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 132.79 points, or 1.29%, to 10450.95, the S&P 500 gained 14.86 points, or 1.36%, to 1106.24 and the Nasdaq Composite picked up 29.97 points, or 1.40%, to 2176.01.The FOX 50 added 12.35 points, or 1.53%, to 820.63.

Fueled by a 0.7% drop for the greenback against the euro, crude oil flirted with $80 a barrel before backing off and gold surged 2% to new record highs. That in turn boosted commodity-related stocks like Schlumberger (SLB) and Hecla Mining (HL).

“Investment decisions are being made solely due to the direction of the U.S. dollar,” Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak, wrote in a note to clients.

The Dow, which has surged 6,547 points, or 59.63% since March 9, settled at its highest level since Oct. 2, 2008. Almost all 30 blue-chip stocks closed in the green, led by Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T) and General Electric (GE). On the other hand, Alcoa (AA) and Merck (MRK) ended slightly lower.

“Things are starting off pretty good but the volume really has been abysmal at best. Either direction the tape takes, I don’t think we can put any true stock in it,” NYSE trader Jason Weisberg of Seaport Securities told FOX Business.

Volume has tapered off in recent weeks as the end of the year draws near and portfolio managers look to maintain their gains. That's likely to continue this week amid the Thanksgiving holiday.

With the latest gains, the Dow has now closed higher every Monday this month, adding a combined 546 points during those days. The markets had been stuck in a slump, ending last week in a rare three-day losing streak.

Once again Wall Street’s gains were driven by the currency markets as the dollar tumbled after a Federal Reserve official said the central bank should extend its mortgage-related assets purchase program. The comments put pressure on the dollar as they are the latest to suggest the Fed has no plans to turn off the liquidity tap that has weakened the greenback any time soon.

Lifting mining stocks like Freeport McMoRan (FCX), gold climbed to new all-time highs on the currency action. Gold gained $17.90 per troy ounce, or 1.56%, to $1164.30. The precious metal has rallied in 15 of the last 16 sessions -- the longest streak of its kind.

Energy stocks were also strong as crude oil neared $80 a barrel before paring its gains late in the day. Crude rose 9 cents a barrel, or 0.12%, to $77.56.

Stocks hit session highs after the National Association Realtors said existing home sales jumped 10.1% in October to an annualized rate of 6.1 million units. Economists had been projecting a rate of 5.7 million units. The industry group also said the median existing home price fell 7.1% from a year ago to $173,100. The better-than-expected report sent shares of home builders like DR Horton (DHI) and Pulte Homes (PHM) solidly higher but that rally lost steam.

Corporate Movers

News Corp. (NWSA) and Microsoft (MSFT) are in preliminary discussions that could lead News Corp. to “delist” its newspaper content from Google’s (GOOG) search engine and instead feature it on Microsoft’s Bing search engine, The Wall Street Journal reported. It is not clear how the deal would work financially for the two companies, but it comes as News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch repeatedly said Google’s pay structure for content providers is financially inadequate.

Cadbury’s (CBY) stock hit a record high after the Journal reported late Friday that Hershey (HSY), with the backing of its trust, will push to buy the British candy company. At the same time, Swiss food giant Nestle is considering various options including a possible bid that would challenge Kraft’s (KFT) original offer, Bloomberg News reported.

Tyson Foods (TSN) beat the Street with a non-GAAP profit of 28 cents a share on revenue of $7.21 billion.

UPS (UPS) said it will raise shipping rates by an average of 4.9% starting Jan. 4. Last year the shipping giant raised rates by 5.9%.

Eni (E) announced plans to acquire stakes in Ugandan oil fields from British oil company Heritage Oil for $1.35 billion.

LDK Solar (LDK) soared more than 6% after the Chinese solar wafer maker reported a profit of 27 cents a share. Analysts had been projecting a loss of 10 cents a share. The company’s sales fell from $541.8 million last year to $281.9 million.

Global Markets

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 1.98% to 5355.50, France's CAC 40 jumped 2.25% to 3813.17 and Germany's DAX climbed 2.44% to 5801.48.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng soared 1.41% to 22,771.39 and China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.92% to 3338.66. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was closed for a national holiday.

Gas prices will continue to rise before leveling offWall Street’s Comeback Comes Up Short

Wall Street's Comeback Comes Up Short

There's No Business Like FOX Business

Thanks to a last minute rally, stocks ended off their lows on Friday but it wasn’t enough to prevent Wall Street from falling into a three-day slump.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14.28 points, or 0.14%, to 10318.16, the S&P 500 sank 3.53 points, or 0.32%, to 1091.37 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 10.78 points, or 0.50%, to 2146.04.The FOX 50 dropped 2.65 points, or 0.33%, to 808.28.

Wall Street's November rally has run into resistance in recent days, with the Dow sinking more than 100 points since soaring to 13-month highs on Tuesday. Friday’s mini slide was driven by sinking energy stocks and the tumbling tech sector, which was hurt by Dell’s (DELL) ugly quarterly report.

“It’s not a very positive signal. All the signals we’re looking at are pretty bearish,” NYSE trader Ben Willis of VDM Institutional Brokerage told FOX Business.

Still, the Dow managed to close in the green this week for the third-straight time -- the longest weekly win streak since the one that ended in early August. And the pullback is relatively small compared to the 6.8% surge on the benchmark index during a 10-day stretch that ended Tuesday.

The Dow was led lower by Caterpillar (CAT) and General Electric (GE). The index's biggest percentage gainers were drug giants Merck (MRK) and Pfizer (PFE), which led a strong session for the pharmaceutical sector.

The Nasdaq Composite, which ended the week more than 1% lower, slumped much further than the broader markets as tech stocks fell amid PC maker Dell's weaker-than-expected results. Dell plunged nearly 10% after missing estimates with a 54% drop in net income to 17 cents a share. Analysts had been expecting a profit of 27 cents a share.

It's worth noting that Friday's pullback came amid very light trading. In fact, consolidated volume, which encompasses more than just NYSE floor volume, came in at the third-lowest level of the entire year.

Without any major economic reports on the agenda, the focus was once again on the U.S. dollar, which has rebounded in recent days after having plunged throughout the fall. While a long-term positive for the economy, a rallying dollar has put pressure on crude oil, and the energy sector.

Energy stocks were the biggest drags on Friday, sinking roughly 1% as crude oil fell for the second day in a row. Individual stocks like XTO Energy (XTO) and Schlumberger (SLB) slid even further. Crude settled at $76.72 a barrel, down 74 cents, or 0.96%.

Despite the dollar's strength, gold rallied 14th day of the last 15 -- the longest streak of its kind in exchange traded history. The precious metal rose $5.00 a troy ounce, or 0.44%, to $1146.40.

Corporate Movers

J.M. Smucker (SJM) jumped 5% and hit 52-week highs after the jam and jelly company reported a quarterly profit of $1.22 a share, well above the $1.04 expected by analysts.The company also upped its full-year earnings view to $3.95 to $4.05 a share and said its revenue rose by a better-than-expected 52% to $1.28 billion

DR Horton (DHI) fell 15% after the home builder disclosed a loss of 73 cents a share, which was more than double the loss analysts had forecasted. The second-largest U.S. home builder also said its revenue slid 42% to $1 billion, missing the Street's view by $100 million.

Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS) announced it will begin paying its first-ever quarterly dividend and said it authorized a $200 million stock repurchase program. The maker of Dr. Pepper and Mott’s apple juice said it plans to pay a 15-cents-a -share dividend to shareholders of record on Dec. 21., costing the company $38 million.

Global Markets

European stocks slumped as the U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.31% to 5251.41, Germany's DAX lost 0.68% to 5663.15 and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.82% to 3729.36.

Asian markets closed lower overnight. Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.54% to 9497.68 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 0.83% to 22455.84.

Stocks decline in early morning tradingMarket Winners & Losers: International Game Technology, AIG

Bank of America, Stimulus Jobs - Week in Review: November 16-20, 2009

Monday

The official TARP watchdog, Neil Barofsky, said there was more officials at the Federal Reserve could have done to reduce the costs of the AIG bailout. The Special Inspector General for the TARP program said the Fed missed opportunities to lessen taxpayer exposure, failing to use its “considerable leverage” when negotiating the insurer's responsibility to pay out contracts.

The Dow added 136 points Monday afternoon, hitting 13-month highs. This came as news spread that the Federal Reserve’s easy money policies will remain in place for some time, despite the plunging value of the U.S. dollar. The average closed at 10407, adding on to the 250-point rally from last week.

GM CEO: Won’t Generate Cash in 4Q
General Mills CEO: We Have Topline Growth
What’s the Deal With China?
GE Seeks Stimulus-Funded Projects
Nationwide Average
$2.64 a gallonTuesday

Last April, FOX Business reported that Bank of America (BAC) did not have a legal basis to threaten the government with walking away from the Merrill Lynch acquisition. FBN followed up on the story and obtained internal documents from the bank. Now Congress is planning on grilling executives from Bank of America on whether they used that threat to obtain $20 billion in taxpayer money to buy the brokerage.

Car of the Year Dept.: Motor Trend announced its winner for car of the year Tuesday, giving the honor to the Ford (F) Fusion for 2010. The magazine’s editor-in-chief Angus Mackenzie called the car “a truly competitive offering in one of the most competitive industry segments.”

FOXBusiness.com put together a slideshow of all the finalists for car of the year here.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/slideshow/markets/industries/transportation/motor-trend-finalists/

ISI Director: Growth Will Lead to Jobs

Murdoch: U.S. Caught in Economic Trap

Murdoch on Future of Online Content

Routine Mammograms No Longer the DealWednesday

Wednesday began with news that Hershey (HSY) and Ferrero are each considering a rival bid to nab Cadbury (CBY). This comes shortly after Kraft Foods (KFT) launched a $16 billion bid that was rejected.

In other M&A talk, rumors circulated that Colgate-Palmolive (CL) might merge with Reckitt Benckiser Group, a household-product manufacturer in Britain. This sent shares of CL to a record high.

Broadband-Enabled Devices Next Big Thing?

AmEx CEO, Revolution Money Chair on Deal
More Missed Stanford Clues

Mammogram Plan Cuts Ability to Stop CancerThursday

A report from the Government Accountability Office showed that stimulus jobs numbers, reported by the Obama Administration, have been inaccurate because of flawed reporting from the money’s recipients. Roughly 10% of the jobs said to have been created thanks to the $787 billion program were created by projects that have not even spent any of this money, according to the GAO. And as much as 10% of the recipients of stimulus money did not report anything to the agency tracking the money.

The Dow lost 94 points Thursday afternoon as tech stocks fell and the U.S. dollar rose. In the average’s steepest point drop of the month, it closed at 10332.

And FBN welcomes new viewers in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, as our network is now available on Cablevision (CVC). Cablevision subscribers can now see FOX Business in standard definition on channel 106 and in HD on channel 772.

Wal-Mart.com CEO: We’ll Keep Lowering Prices

Rep. Calls for Geithner Resignation
Americans Drinking More Wine than Ever

Not a Deal for the Rich
Friday

Bank analyst Dick Bove said Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis might actually stick around as CEO. This despite that fact he is set to leave the company by year-end. There have been no named successors for the spot as of yet and several high-profile candidates have rejected the job publicly.

Chrysler Dealer Troubles Dept.: Chrysler could end up losing over 100 dealerships if these dealers can’t find a way to reach new financing deals with GMAC. Chrysler, however, was optimistic that all or most of the dealerships would be able to find financing by the end of November.

Nintendo Debuts Super Mario Bros. for Wii

Goldman Investors Call for Lower Bonuses

Breaking Down the Reid Health-Care Bill
Oprah to End Show After 25 Years

  

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FOXBusiness.com’s Week in Review: Oct. 19-23$1.5B sought for Stanford investors

Market Winners &amp; Losers: King Pharmaceuticals, MBIA

The major indexes fell for the second day in a row, with the Dow closing down 0.9%, the S&P 500 falling 1.3% and the Nasdaq slipping 1.7%.

Here are Thursday’s winners and losers:

Winners

King Pharmaceuticals Inc. (KG)
The pharmaceutical company saw its stock jump 5.1% to a yearly high. KG shares last traded at $11.76, a gain of 57 cents on the day.

NetApp Inc. (NTAP)
The data-storage solutions provider climbed 4.1% after the company reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit. NTAP shares closed at $30.83, up $1.21 on the day.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI)
The green grocer added 2.9% to its stock price after an upgrade by BMO Capital Markets. WFMI shares finished trading at $36.97, a gain of 76 cents on the day.

GameStop Corp. (GME)
The video-game retailer’s stock gained 1.7% as higher video game sales boosted its profit in the third quarter. GME shares ended Thursday’s session at $24.50, up 41cents on the day.

Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC)
The cable provider rose 1.5%, bucking sector trends. TWC shares last traded at $43.02, a gain of 65 cents on the day.

Losers

MBIA Inc. (MBIA)
The insurer sank 6.5%, with shares closing at $3.57, a loss of 25 cents on the day.

ProLogis (PLD)
Shares of ProLogis fell 6.2%, leading the sector lower. The stock finished trading at $13.24, down 88 cents on the day.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR)
The semiconductor manufacturer’s stock dropped 5.6%, continuing its downward plunge. WFR shares ended Thursday’s session at $12.35 a loss of 73 cents on the day.

Rowan Cos. Inc. (RDC)
The drilling service provider closed down 5.5% following sinking oil prices. RDC shares last traded at $25.41, down $1.48 on the day.

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR)
The drilling contractor lost 5.4% Thursday following a dip in crude prices. NBR shares closed at $21.04, a loss of $1.21 on the day.

Market Winners & Losers: Advanced Micro Devices, Eastman KodakDollar General shares up in the first day of trading

A Dollar Primer: Why All the Fuss?

Maybe it’s the way reports of the dollar’s value are worded each day that gives rise to the visceral response when the U.S. currency tanks once a decade or so.

The dollar is often written about as if it is the home team, and when foreign currencies rise in value against it, the narrative often seems to suggest that the home team is being challenged by an upstart underdog.

A “weak dollar” is “losing ground” to the Euro, yen or yuan, the stories read. It all comes off more as a matter of national pride than of the epic financial give and take that it is.

“Whenever there is talk of a weak dollar, the media tends to over-exaggerate the importance of it,” said Cliff Waldman, an economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, a public policy and economics research organization in Arlington, Va.

That certainly seems to be the case right now.

The value of the dollar has slipped -- precipitously in the eyes of some -- in recent months, and there is growing sentiment that the cause is rising global disenchantment with current U.S. fiscal policies.

The fears driving the dollar down are two-fold: that the U.S. government is printing far too much money in an effort to stimulate its hobbled economy, and that the U.S. national debt is approaching an unmanageable level.

Both situations are contributing to global concerns that the U.S. currency isn’t worth what it once was, and may never be worth that again.

Moreover, if big holders of U.S. dollars, such as China, which owns $767 billion in U.S. Treasury securities, start unloading the currency, all that extra supply will flow back to the U.S. and rampant inflation is sure to follow.

Already some countries such as India are already seeking other kinds of reserves—euros and gold, for example—to replace dollars.

All of this has led to whispers that the dollar should be replaced as the world’s reserve currency, which, regardless of what it might mean to the global economy, would be a huge blow to U.S. pride.

Two points should be made clear, however.

First, the current value of the dollar, similar to the valuations of securities in every other financial market, is tied directly to health of the U.S. economy as it struggles to recover from the worst financial crisis in decades.

In other words, the relatively steep decline needs to be put into historical perspective.

Second, a weak -- or depreciated -- U.S. dollar is often good for the U.S. economy, in the short term, at least. A weak dollar means American goods cost less in foreign markets, which helps boost U.S. exports, be they agricultural or manufactured goods.

The second point is clearly what’s driving U.S. fiscal policy as the Obama administration seeks to stabilize the domestic economy and create jobs.

Clearly sensitive to the concerns, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke addressed the issue earlier this week: “We are attentive to implications of changes in the value of the dollar and will continue to formulate policy to guard against risks to our dual mandate to foster both maximum employment and price stability,” he said in a speech in New York.

Here’s some historical perspective.

Since February 2002 the dollar has been experiencing a secular, or long-term, decline.

Then, a year ago, amid the global financial chaos that followed the collapse of the U.S. housing market, investors seeking safe havens poured money into U.S. Treasury notes, which quickly pushed the value of the dollar sky high again.

But since March, when aversion to risk began to decrease and money started moving back into stock markets, the dollar has fallen 16%.

“Eventually panics end and markets normalize, and that’s what we’re seeing now,” said Waldman. “Global investors, as they’re starting to see relief from the panic, they’re ready to take some risks again and they’re pulling money out of safer Treasury markets and putting it elsewhere. So of course the dollar comes down again. It’s not a crisis. In fact, it would be a crisis if the dollar didn’t come down.”

Waldman noted that as financial cycles goes “this one was a bruiser” because the dollar rose and fell so swiftly. And that explains a lot of the attention.

Ultimately, Waldman said he takes issue with the terms “strong” and “weak” dollar. The more important terms are “competitive” and “non-competitive.”

“We want our goods to be competitively priced in global markets,” he said.

Had the dollar remained at its abnormally high valuations of a year ago it would have been at the expense of U.S. exports, which would be priced too expensive for many foreign markets.

So the dollar’s decline was not only “inevitable” as the panic abated, according to Waldman, it was also “needed as an important boost for economic recovery for the U.S.”

The problem is that no one really knows where the U.S. government should step in to halt the decline in an effort to stave off inflation.

“There is no line,” said Waldman.

Critics of the current policies are urging immediate action.

“The U.S. dollar has become the world’s reserve currency because, over many decades, the U.S. pursued more prudent policies than many other countries. In the meantime, it is in no one’s interest to have a weak dollar,” wrote Axel Merk, manager of the $400 million Merk Hard Currency Fund.

“The fruits of the weak dollar policy may include a lower standard of living, a greater wealth gap, inflation and a rather unstable U.S. and global economy. That’s a high price to pay, even when paid in today’s depreciated dollar,” Merk wrote.

Waldman’s not worried, though.

“At some point some sophisticated investor, either a hedge fund or investment bank, will look at the dollar and see it as a bargain, say ‘It’s time to buy,’ and jump in.”

A U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance? Not QuiteStocks decline in early morning trading

Week Ahead: Data, Not Earnings, Ahead of Thanksgiving

Economic data will take precedence over earnings next week. Home sales, gross domestic product, and personal income and spending will all be released early next week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Economists predict reports on October existing and new home sales, to be released Monday and Wednesday, respectively, both will show growth from the previous month, continuing the general trend since late spring. On Tuesday, the S&P Case-Shiller index will detail September home sales prices in 20 major metropolitan areas.

The government is likely to revise its estimate of third-quarter GDP on Tuesday to 3% growth, from its initial 3.5% figure. Also out that day is the nonprofit Conference Board's November consumer confidence index and the final November figure of the Reuters-University of Michigan consumer confidence index. The next day, the government reports on October durable goods orders and October personal income and spending.

The Federal Reserve will release minutes from the recent meeting of its interest-rate panel Tuesday. Reports on regional manufacturing activities are due Monday from the Chicago Fed, Tuesday from the Richmond Fed and Wednesday from the Kansas City Fed.

Medical-devices giant Medtronic (MDT) will report fiscal second-quarter results Tuesday, and its outlook and recent performance in the implantable heart rhythm-device market will be top issues.

Barnes & Noble (BKS), which reports Tuesday, is expected to post a wider fiscal second-quarter loss, excluding items, than a year earlier on slightly higher revenue. Also reporting Tuesday is rival Borders Group Inc. (BGP).

Deere & Co. (DE), the world's largest manufacturer of farm equipment by sales, will report sharply weaker fiscal fourth-quarter results Wednesday. Demand for tractors and combines held up longer than other types of machinery and capital equipment, but Deere's sales have been cooling rapidly in recent months as prices for corn and other farm commodities retreat from the record high levels in 2008.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D., Nev.) has scheduled a key procedural vote Saturday evening that will allow the Senate to formally consider health-care reform legislation. If Reid secures 60 votes - the number needed to break a filibuster - the Senate will begin debate on the bill after legislators return from the Thanksgiving recess. The $848 billion bill extends insurance coverage to Americans lacking it.

The bond markets could come under pressure next week after the U.S. announced a record $118 billion of two-, five- and seven-year Treasury issuance. Still, foreign demand for long-term U.S. financial assets grew in September from the previous month, according to a Treasury Department report released this week.

Sales hike brightens GM’s future, analysts sayWeek Ahead: Retail Sales, Earnings

Al Lewis: Holiday Sales Could Be Another Bad Rerun

USAA Financial Planning Services has been asking folks what movie title best describes their holiday budget.

"It's a Wonderful Life," said 29% of 1,000 adults polled.

The National Retail Federation is forecasting a 1% decline over last year's not-so-happy holiday sales. Stores from Saks (SKS) to Target (TGT), Kohl's (KSS) and Wal-Mart (WMT) are also bracing for declines. Yet another 19% of folks polled by USAA about their holiday spending plans said, "Jingle All The Way."

There are always pessimists, though, in a nation plagued by double-digit unemployment.

Of those polled, 22% used the movie title "Surviving Christmas" to describe their holiday budget; 15% said "Mixed Nuts," 8% said "Scrooged," and 6% apparently haven't been to the movies lately and answered, "don't know."

Put Target's chief financial officer, Doug Scovanner, down for "Christmas with the Kranks."

"Sell-side analysts are somewhat more optimistic across most of our industry than we believe is warranted in light of the harsh realities of the current environment," he said in an earnings conference call earlier this week.

OK, so maybe he's just trying to curb "The Invention of Lying."

Sears (SHLD) and Kmart are so scared they started Black Friday sales promotions three weeks before Thanksgiving, expanding like never before "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

Some retailers have said they won't discount as deeply as last year, when they needed to clear inventories. Some even warned they may even run out of items. But given vicious retail competition, a return to big blowouts is as recurring a thing as "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel."

USAA's survey says holiday shoppers increasingly will refrain from using credit cards this year to avoid sequels of "The Hangover" and "My Life in Ruins." Of those surveyed, 85% said they plan to use cash.

The "High Road to China" is the path these dollars will take.

Between January and August of this year, the U.S. imported from China $28.6 million worth of fake Christmas trees, $470.3 million worth of Christmas ornaments, and $4.3 billion worth of toys, according to foreign trade statistics from the Census Bureau.

Online sales are expected to rise this year, stimulating yet another industry.

"Cybercriminals appear to be gearing up for a lucrative holiday season," said Mike Kronenberg of Internet security firm Webroot, Boulder, Colo.

"Phishing Trojans, which can steal credit-card numbers, passwords and other information," are on the rise, Kronenberg said.

Phishing Trojans? What movie title best describes these practices? "Meet the Fockers," "Inglorious Basterds," or maybe from the perpetrators' perspective, it's just "Capitalism: A Love Story."

The movie title I would associate with my own holiday outlook is "2012."

If the world indeed ends on Dec. 21, 2012, this is one of only three Christmases left.

What better way to say you care than a stack of cases of canned food?

Santa Claus is already trying to hoard swine flu vaccines.

The Associated Press reports that Ernest Berger, president of a group called Santa America, has asked a congressman to designate Santas as a priority group for vaccine supplies.

Berger complains that in addition to being around potentially infected children, most Santas are overweight, and that obesity is a risk factor for swine flu.

But why should all these mall imposters be first in line? The real Santa would have no fear of a child's runny nose. Who do these fakers think they are? Wall Street bankers?

Didn't they read that Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C) and Morgan Stanley (MS) were already among the first employers in New York to receive vaccines from public health authorities while millions across the nation waited patiently in line at clinics and hospitals?

Reminds me of yet another movie title, "Bad Santa."

(Al's Emporium, written by Dow Jones Newswires columnist Al Lewis, offers commentary and analysis on a wide range of business subjects through an unconventional perspective. Contact Al at al.lewis@dowjones.com or tellittoal.com)

Tennessee retailers link sales to charitable givingWeek Ahead: Retail Sales, Earnings

Cavuto: The Beast Always Needs More Feeding

Missed Thursday's Cavuto ? Catch "The Deal" right here on FOXBusiness.com

Say this about the rich...They're kind of like the gift that keeps giving.

Here's the deal:

Not a deal for the rich.

Because while there's no big, old 5.4 percent wealth tax slapped on 'em like the House bill...

This Senate health-care bill everyone's been pouring through....doesn't exactly let the rich...Rest.

It just finds more creative ways to go after 'em.

First, by taxing their pricey private health-care plans.

Then, hiking their Medicare taxes while they're at it.

Then, for good measure, imposing a 5 percent excise tax on their cosmetic surgery, should the rich find themselves quickly aging because of it.

I think you get the gist of it.

Because forget all these sorted details, if there's one thing coming through loud and clear in this health-care debate...It's that there's no debating who's footing the bill.

Which is helping these guys sell this bill.

By insisting it won't be your bill.

Just the rich folks' bill.

Leaving aside, for the moment, the other half of the bill paid supposedly through savings we've never seen in government...

What makes you think simply taxing the well-to-do will do the rest for the government?

What makes you think it ends at the rich?

And what makes you think history won't repeat itself?

The alternative minimum tax ring a bell?

Remember how it was supposed to just rope in the rich avoiding taxes?

Now millions more sucked into paying AMT taxes.

How about Medicare itself?

Remember what a disappointment it was back in 1965 with that measly $65 million first-year budget that liberals claimed was barely a budget at all?

Now more like $400 billion and it still ain't enough.

That's the thing about feeding the beast.

The beast always needs more feeding.

And more people to feed it.

And if history is any guide, not just rich people.

Pretty soon...well...all people.

I know, beastly.

But...

True.

Health bill seeks early end-of-life decisionsCavuto: For the Rich, the Tax Apocalypse May Be Here

Taxpayers May Not Be Activist Shareholders, but Goverment Is

"One person, one vote" is a phrase steeped in history, but it has its limits.

It’s unlikely that millions of Americans next year will pack into the annual shareholder meetings of the many bailed-out companies in which the U.S. government holds significant stakes.

In the first place, if taxpayers, all of them indirect shareholders in troubled firms such as Bank of America (BAC), American International Group (AIG) and Citigroup (C), showed up, where would the firms put them?

The companies in question could hold their annual meetings in football stadiums, but that seems impractical.

In the second place, experts believe taxpayer outrage will continue to focus on broader reforms – excessive pay across-the-board on Wall Street, for example – rather than honing in on the practices of any particular bailed-out firm.

Taxpayers “are mad as hell, but there isn’t a mad-as-hell box on shareholder ballots,” said Ralph Ward, editor of BoardroomInsider.com, an online newsletter that covers corporate governance issues.

Ward believes actual activist investors such as labor groups and socially conscious investment funds will “have a field day” at shareholder meetings next year due to disclosure reforms implemented in 2006 that will provide them with plenty of ammunition to back up their arguments in favor of reforms, especially in the area of executive pay.

“There’s a perfect storm coming in 2010,” he said.

But Ward thinks average retail investors and the millions of new indirect stakeholders via government bailouts are unlikely to make much noise at upcoming shareholder meetings.

If populist outrage does target annual meetings, “I think it will be rather spotty and erratic,” he said.

“There’s a lot of populist outrage, but unless there’s a specific item on the ballot that catches the public’s attention, it probably won’t manifest itself at shareholder meetings,” Ward added.

Three of the biggest recipients of bailout dollars – Bank of America, AIG and Citigroup – said in response to inquiries that their 2010 annual meetings were too far off to answer specific questions.

“We have not yet started to plan the annual meeting so we cannot answer your questions,” Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri wrote in an e-mail response.

A Citigroup spokesman said only that the company has not yet set a date for its annual shareholders meeting, and an AIG spokeswoman said the same.

But anyone wondering how their interests as shareholders in these companies are being represented by the government need look no further perhaps than the Obama administration’s recent crackdown on executive pay.

Consider the results of a recent ABC News/Washington Post survey in which 71% of the respondents said they supported the president’s plans to restrict pay for top executives at companies that received significant amounts of bailout money.

Clearly aware of public sentiment toward Wall Street in general and bailed out banks specifically, the Treasury Department, which actually owns the government’s stakes in troubled firms, has taken on the role of an activist shareholder.

Treasury’s point man, mediator Kenneth Feinberg, sent shock waves through the U.S. banking system last month by ordering pay cuts averaging 50% at the seven bailed out companies for which he was charged with setting compensation rates.

Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve has cracked down on banks and credit card companies, reigning in service charges and late fees assessed to consumers that used to generate billions of dollars in revenues for the firms.

This, apparently, is the government’s answer to how it will vote its shares now that it owns sizable stakes in these companies: it will affect change through leverage and actual legislation.

Calls to the U.S. Treasury seeking comment were not returned.

But many are uncomfortable – to say the least – at the rising level of intervention into the private sector that has been a direct result of these unprecedented government equity stakes.

J.W. Verret, a law professor at George Mason University, has written extensively on the unintended consequences of the U.S. government’s activist role as a major shareholder in bailed out companies.

In essence, he has argued that the leverage held by the government is simply too powerful for the firms to resist, and that reforms demanded by the government will in many cases be sought for political purposes rather than the long-term good of the companies. In particular, he has been a vocal critic of government-imposed pay restrictions.

“Pay restrictions will also limit banks in their competition for top talent, which risks exacerbating the banking crisis,” he said in testimony last summer before Congress. “Immediately following the announcement of compensation restrictions by the Obama Administration, Bank of America indicated that Deutsche Bank poached 12 of its highest performing executives and other reports indicated that UBS was hiring financial advisors from TARP firms with compensation increases as high as 200%. In a global environment, restrictions may place American banks at a competitive disadvantage,” he added.

All of this has raised the profile of pending legislation that would establishing an independent trust to oversee assets acquired by the government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Proposed specifically to depoliticize the process, the legislation would allow the president to appoint three independent trustees to serve as fiduciaries to represent the taxpayers’ interests.

Bank in Florida is 100th to close this yearFOXBusiness.com’s Week in Review: Oct. 19-23

Early-Market Movers:Vivus, Exelixis

Stock futures were pointing to a lower opening ahead of the release of retail sales numbers.

Here are some of the early-market movers for Wednesday.

LDK Solar Co. (LDK)

In a move to strengthen is financial position on lower solar power demand, LDK Solar agreed to sell a 15% stake in a polysilicon plant to Jiangxi International Trust & Investment Co. for $219 million. Shares gained 14.1% in pre-market trading.

Vivus Inc. (VVUS)

Shares were up 14.8% in pre-market trading after the company announced trials of its erectile-dysfunction treatment showed positive safety and effective results in a late stage trial, positioning the company to file a new-drug application by early 2011.

Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PARD)

The company announced positive efficacy data from trial on its Pcoplatin treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer late Tuesday. Shares were up 10.9% in premarket trading Wednesday.

China Sunenergy (CSUN)

The solar power company released third-quarter results beating analyst estimates.The company reported earnings of 19 cents per share on revenue of $80.1 million.Analysts had been expecting earnings of two cents per share on revenue of $70.55 million.Shares were up 9.9% in pre-market trading.

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK)

The software company posted third-quarter results above expectations after the bell Tuesday reporting non-GAAP earnings of 27 cents per share. Shares were down 8.1% in pre-market trading Wednesday however the company lowered fourth quarter profit expectations below current estimates.

Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL)

Shares of the pharmaceutical company were down 5.7% in pre-market trading after a downgrade to “neutral” from “buy” from analysts at Merriman Curhan Ford.

Early-Market Movers: IMS Health, Whole Foods MarketDollar General shares up in the first day of trading

Investing in Mentoring Youth

If you take nothing else away from this column, take this: Your check for $1, $5, or $25 would mean something to an organization you find worthy this holiday season and beyond.

Michael A. Corriero, the executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters [BBBS] of New York City, could not have been more clear on that this week at “Two Legal Minds: A Conversation on America’s Youth” at his organization’s Manhattan headquarters.

“I get checks for two dollars, five dollars, one dollar and change, and I remember those people,” said Corriero, a former New York State Supreme Court judge and champion of children in the criminal and juvenile justice system.

The other "legal mind" joining Corriero was Karen Mathis, the newly appointed CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and a former president of the American Bar Association who created its Youth at Risk program.

“The idea of volunteering is very uniquely North American,” Mathis said. “If you go to the continent of Europe, where I just spent the last year [as executive director of the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative], you find very, very little understanding of volunteerism. The concept of mentoring is mostly a North American idea. They don’t even have the concept really in the UK.

“So you start with the fact that Americans volunteer more than any other people in the world and then add to it we all have life cycles. Maybe you have small children, maybe you’re starting a new career, maybe you have a new employer, and it may not be the best time to volunteer, but I’d like to think you can always do something. We really are a donor-supported volunteer organization.”

While not everyone is in a financial position to write a check to support a BBBS “match” for a year (about $1,000-$2,000), the idea here is it shouldn’t dissuade someone from giving even $5 if this is an organization that speaks to them. Corriero points to the election of Barack Obama as an example of how getting people to donate $10, $15 or $25 can help amass a significant amount of money.

“Regardless of your politics, his election had tremendous symbolic power,” Corriero said. “His message has always been as a community organizer and that a community has to take responsibility.”

Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has been making the rounds promoting what is a refreshingly bipartisan cause – the administration’s $4.3 billion Race to the Top Fund for education. Duncan was joined by Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton on Meet the Press last weekend and they talked about how they have been doing appearances together to advance this mission.

So where might mentoring come into play in all that?

“We have met, not me personally, but people from [BBBS] national have met with Secretary Duncan and some of his very senior aides,” Mathis said. “I think one of the things we don’t tell the story of well enough is just how much our programs impact education.”

For instance:

~ 89% of mentored youth report that the program helped them improve their school attendance and performance

~ 93% of mentored youth said that the program influenced them to finish high school and go to college

~ 73% of mentored youth stay out of trouble with the law

~ 70% of mentored youth would have gone on to commit criminal offenses except for effective intervention

Heartening, right? Now for some bad news. Among Mathis’ extensive experiences is working with all five branches of the United States military. So it was with particular passion that she cited this disturbing statistic:

“The United States military now estimates that 75% of America’s youth are not fit to serve in the military,” Mathis said. “They don’t have enough education, they can’t read at a sufficient level, they don’t have critical thinking skills and they’re physically unfit.”

And then back to hopeful: Mathis related a story of a “big” – the BBBS term for a mentor – who is an Air Force Staff Sargeant with an eight-year relationship with his “little.” The pair recently attended a Veterans Day ceremony to help launch BBBS expansion into mentoring military families. Mathis said when he visited the boy’s school in his uniform, the boy’s friends surrounded him and marveled at his medals.

“He was having an impact not just on his little,” Mathis said. “That’s why I think it’s fair to say we affect millions of young people’s lives.”

While tough economic times mean much of the emphasis for organizations like BBBS is on raising money, there is also nothing quite like the joy of volunteerism. So often we get into ruts and feel like we’re not in shape to help anyone else.

“Give yourself over to divine service while you are still a mess,” Marianne Williamson said to a crowd at an Open Center event in New York last week.

“That’s right,” Corriero said. “You can’t wait until you’re perfect to become a volunteer … I think volunteering is the only way to perfect yourself as a human being.”

And wouldn’t that, or writing a check however big or small, take your holiday season – and by extension, your spirit – up a few notches?

Yes, I believe it would.

Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.

Giving It Away is the American WayNashville business calendar

Early-Market Movers: Sprint Nextel, Citigroup

Stock futures were pointing to a higher opening after the release of better-than-expected retail sales numbers.

Here are some of the early-market movers for Monday.

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (NABI)

Shares jumped 40% in pre-market trading after the company announced it had entered into a licensing agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for Nabi's experimental nicotine additction vaccine, NicVAX. The deal will give Nabi $40 million initially and up to $500 million in additional fees and milestone payments.

Sprint Nextel Corp (S)

Analysts at Credit Suisse raised their rating to “outperform” from “neutral.” Shares were up 9.3% in pre-market trading.

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SVA)

The company announced it was selected by the Shanghai Government to supply its Healive hepatitis A vaccine to the public. The deal is valued at $3 million over the next 12 months. Sinovac shares were up 5% in pre-market trading.

Euroseas Ltd. (ESEA)

The ocean transport services company released third-quarter results reporting a loss of one cent per share which matched analyst estimates. Revenue of $17.2 million came in above estimates of $13.89 million. Shares were up 4.4% in pre-market trading.

Citigroup Inc. (C)

Citigroup shares were up 4% in pre-market trading after the company announced preliminary numbers that show its efforts in Florida have successfully helped distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure at nearly three times the rate from a year ago.

China Advanced Construction Materials Group, Inc. (CADC)

Despite posting record quarterly revenue, shares of the Chinese concrete manufacturer were down 23% in pre-market trading after reporting a loss of 44 cents per share for the first quarter. The company had posted earnings of 10 cents per share for the same period last year.

Early-Market Movers: IMS Health, Whole Foods MarketDollar General shares up in the first day of trading

Giving It Away is the American Way

“Americans are incredibly generous,” says Eileen Heisman, CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust [NPT], the 4th largest donor-advised fund in the United States. Since the founding of this country, she says, Americans have been forming associations and rallying around a variety of causes.

In fact, according to Heisman, most charities have been started by groups of private individuals who saw a problem or need and decide to do something about it. It could be alleviating hunger, protecting animals, housing the homeless, promoting the arts or education, finding the cure to a particular disease, or just reaching out to those hit by a natural disaster.

“It’s part of the fabric of who we are… you don’t see it anywhere else in the world,” says Heisman, who also teaches a university course on philanthropy. When she discusses the topic with people from other countries, Heisman says they’re literally “startled by it. They can’t believe Americans give voluntarily out of their pockets.”

Of course, our generosity is encouraged by public policy which allows us to take a tax deduction for charitable donations. This is not the case in other countries - England and Germany, for instance. In many cultures, individuals don’t step up because they consider a particular issue to be the responsibility of the government. “When you expect the government to take care of something,” says Heisman, “there is no private philanthropy.”

Still, the tax deduction U.S. taxpayers get for their charitable donations doesn’t explain why most of us are so willing to part with some of our bounty to advance a cause we believe in or help those less fortunate. The fact is, many Americans don’t see any benefit from the charitable deduction, either because they don’t itemize or don’t bother to keep track of their contributions or lose part of their deduction because their income is above a certain threshold.

Americans, it turns out, are just plain generous. A survey by Bank of America (BAC) four years ago underscored this. When high net-worth individuals were asked how they’d react if the charitable deduction were eliminated, 53% said it would either have no impact at all on their giving or would cause them to increase it. According to the Giving USA Foundation, which conducts research and education to promote public understanding of philanthropy, “the most important factor in how much people give is how committed they are to the purpose” of the organization making the request.

As predicted, last year’s one-two punch of the meltdown in the financial markets and the bursting of the real estate bubble led to a drop in charitable contributions - the first (in inflation-adjusted dollars) since 1987, another notably bad year for the markets.Despite last year’s 2.2% decline, donations topped $307 billion, with 75% of that coming from individuals.

Ironically, of course, the current 10% unemployment rate means many Americans have less ability to give at the same time that demand for the kind of services charities provide has increased. Even non-profit organizations not directly tied to meeting the needs of humans are impacted. Humane associations report an increase in the number of animals being left on their doorsteps because their former owners can no longer afford to care for them.

Right now charities are holding their collective breath, wondering if donors will come through and whether they will be more, less or as generous as they were in 2008. The lion’s share of charitable donations comes in the fourth quarter, so the verdict’s still out. Heisman says she’s noticed that there’s “still a lot of caution about parting with large sums of money.”

However, the year-to-date recovery we’ve seen in the stock market is giving nervous philanthropic organizations a glimmer of hope that things might improve. The Giving USA Foundation says, “Time and time again, it has been shown that when wealth is created, giving increases.”Heisman thinks potential donors are waiting to see how the financial markets - and their portfolios - look closer to the end of the year.

If that describes you, Heisman suggests using the time to identify which organizations/causes are most important to you. Notify each charity that you identify and let it know that you plan to make a gift before the year is out. That will relieve some of the stress most are feeling. “Charities are struggling, especially the smaller ones.” If you can afford to give something now, she says, “don’t hold back.” Make whatever size donation you can afford today and follow through with the rest next month.

If you don’t have the cash or appreciated assets to donate at the same level as you have in the past, Heisman says there’s always the “old-fashioned American way: volunteer.” Dishing out turkey and trimmings at a local food kitchen or your place of worship can be both a humbling and incredibly rewarding experience- especially for children. It makes you vividly aware of the blessings you still have.

She suggests that small business owners who can’t afford cash contributions consider giving in-kind services instead. A printing company could offer to provide brochures, a bakery could donate baked goods, a hair salon might provide a certain number of free haircuts. You get the idea. We’ve all got something we can share.

In the end, says Heisman, “Private philanthropy exists because capitalism is successful.” In order for people to give away some of what they’ve got, “they have to perceive they have more than they need to live.”

But the most important reason to give without expecting anything in return is the simplest and most basic:

It makes you, the donor, feel good.

Ms. Buckner is a Retirement and Financial Planning Specialist at Franklin Templeton Investments. The views expressed in this article are only those of Ms. Buckner or the individual commentator identified therein, and are not necessarily the views of Franklin Templeton Investments, which has not reviewed, and is not responsible for, the content.

If you have a question for Gail Buckner and the Your $ Matters column, send them to: yourmoneymatters@gmail.com, along with your name and phone number.

Millions of Americans may have to repay tax creditCavuto: For the Rich, the Tax Apocalypse May Be Here