The S&P 500 rose for the 3rd consecutive week, having gained +19.5% (total return) over that stretch of time.  At 816, the stock index begins this week higher than where it closed on the day that President Obama was inaugurated (i.e., 805 on 1/20/09).  Just a week ago today, the S&P 500 gained +7.1% in a single trading day, its 4th best 1-day performance in the last 50 years (source: BTN Research). 
 
The government began the implementation of their plan to buy $300 billion of Treasury notes last week (with maturities from 2-10 years).  Their goal is to purchase approximately $12 billion of US debt per week with an objective to keep bond yields down, thus leading to lower mortgage interest rates.  The real estate industry is anticipating that 70% of all mortgages that will be originated in 2009 may involve the refinancing of existing debt if indeed the government is successful in keeping interest rates down (source: Mortgage Bankers Association).      
 
A report will be released today on the proposed overhaul of the nation's healthcare system.  Insurance companies, medical professionals, and consumers have collaborated to produce the "Healthcare Reform Dialogue."  President Obama heads overseas for his first trip to Europe this week.  After attending the G-20 summit in London (on Wednesday and Thursday), Obama will extend his travels with visits to 3 other European countries, including a town hall meeting at a sports arena in France (source: White House).

 
1.     RATING THE BEST - The number of non-financial   companies  that are Aaa-rated by Moody's has fallen 84% since 1980, leaving only 4 Aaa-rated non-financial companies today (source: Moody's, WSJ).
 
2.     THINGS HAVE CHANGED - 11 of the largest 20 financial institutions in the world were US-based a decade ago (i.e., 1999).  Today, only 4 of the top 20 are US-based.  China, the location of the 3 largest financial institutions in the world today, had zero firms in the top 50 a decade ago.  Rankings were based upon the stock market capitalization of the companies (source: Financial Times).     
 
3      WAS THAT A BOTTOM? - In the 14 trading days since closing at 677 on 3/09/09, the S&P 500 stock index has gained +20.8% (total return).  The S&P 500 has gained +20.8% or more in only 17 of the last 50 calendar years.The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the US stock market.  (source: BTN Research). 
 
4      DUGOUTS OR DERIVATIVES? - The 25th highest paid major league baseball player made $15 million in 2008.  The               25th highest paid hedge fund manager made $75 million in 2008 (source: USA Today, Alpha).

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