Kraft Prices Competitive

I feel very good about our prices relative to our competition,Irene Rosenfeld said.Our prices are up significantly in response to the high input costs,but we do expect to see our volume growth improve from Q2.Our stock has been hit less than many stocks in the Dow and the S and P 500.If we can continue to do what we do well,then our stock will follow,the Kraft CEO predicted.

Final Results for 2008

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 33.84% for 2008,its only gainers being Wal-Mart and McDonald's.The S and P 500 Index dropped 38.49 for the year,while the NASDAQ Composite Index plunged a record 40.54%.The Toronto benchmark was off 35.03% for 2008.In North America,Mexico's stock market fared best,with a drop of just 24.23%.Of the 20 most widely held stocks in the U.S. markets,Johnson and Johnson lost the least,with a decline of 10.3%.

Rate Decision Today

Today the Federal Reserve issues its interest rate decision at about 2:15 PM Eastern.This could move the markets.The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 3% month to date, while the S and P 500 Index is down 3.09% month to date.

Top Performers

The top performers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average for Q1 2008 were IBM,up 7.04%;Caterpillar,up 5.73%;and Wal-Mart,up 5.15%.All are still well-regarded.

Big Decision Today

Today at 2:15 PM Eastern,the Federal Reserve will issue its short term interest rate decision,which affects credit card rates and savings accounts.The Fed is expected to cut rates again,and the stock market wants a full percentage point cut,down to 2%.If it doesn't get a full point,it may behave badly.Ahead of the decision,it was euphoric this morning,gaining more than 200 points on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Whitecaps On Wall Street

Rough seas have reached Wall Street.There seems little chance of a quick return to the bull market of July,when the Dow Jones Industrial Average crested the 14,000 mark.On Monday,the world's central banks continued to inject liquidity into the credit market.The European Central Bank gave 65 billion dollars,while Japan chipped in 5 billion and the U.S. Federal Reserve added 2 billion more.This succeeded in arresting the decline of stock prices in the short run.Just how the market will progress remains unclear.Robert Stovall of Wood Asset Management says we are in a small credit crunch.This could continue into the fall.Michael Metz of Oppenheimer predicts that institutional investors will shift from elite funds to big cap stocks.U.S. spending has exceeded income,so there will be a major tempering of spending,causing a recession by early 2008.Mark Sunshine of First Capital sees a lot of risk ahead,on account of years of over-leveraging and under-capitalized lending.Many funds were invested in the lowest form of securities.In consequence,fund redemptions will cause downward pressure on stock prices.There could be a series of big redemptions over the next 6-9 months as investors flee to quality.ING Direct offers a no-minimum savings account that is currently yielding 4.52%.Among stocks,Johnson and Johnson(JNJ) and Honeywell(HON) are also good options.