As the first decade of the 21st century winds to a close, a reflection upon the year for the stock market quickly brings back memories of 12 months of ups and downs that brought about record highs, record lows and moments that will go down in infamy as the U.S. economy continued to plug away in its quest to recover from a recession that seems now to have begun so long ago.
Fortunately, although much to the surprise of most of the world, it was declared in September by the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research that the recession actually officially ended in June 2009, only 18 months after it officially began.
Be that as it may, time seems to have a way of making us forget or, perhaps, simply grow accustomed to the way things are now. Despite record low interest rates and home prices, the housing market and financial institutions continue to try and find anything that can be construed as solid ground as foreclosures continue to surge to record levels; topping 930,000 through the third quarter of 2010.
Unemployment is still looming over a scary figure of 9%, all while the stock market bulls continue to kick indexes on an upward trajectory. As the year rolled on, the Dow stumbled back to 9,614 in July shortly after many analysts were declaring that we’d never break below 10,000 again when the Dow broke through 11,000 in April. All that seems like old news when looking at the numbers, the Dow looks to be in great shape during the last week of the year holding onto yearly highs.
Which moment or event was the most memorable or impactful for 2010 is certainly open for debate, as the year was chock full of noteworthy occurrences, but no list can go without mentioning the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The catastrophe far outreaches the words of any simple article recapping the year as not only did in have immeasurable impact on the environment and surrounding community, but it also translated to higher costs and had an economic impact on a more global level.
Just when people wondered if the government was done injecting money into the economy to promote further recovery, the idea of "QE-2" came about and was confirmed through more funding to the tune of roughly three-quarters of a trillion dollars throughout the first half of 2011. Further on the government front, North America sat on the edge of its seat in anticipation to what was going to happen as the President Bush tax cuts were set to expire this year.
A cumulative sigh of relief was heard from the majority as news of extensions was brought about in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, courtesy of President Obama.
The dollar stumbled, the euro fell apart and the yen stayed strong despite repeated efforts by the Japanese government in the latter part of the year to curb the ongoing strength of the nation’s currency. The strong yen hurting exporters took a back seat on the currency front as world leaders, including President Obama, met to discuss with China its purported selfish efforts to stifle the global economy through its import/export practices, to no avail.
Despite chaos on a variety of levels, huge successes were exhibited in a multitude of areas of the market. Google is trending right around $600 per share after touching $630; the second highest level ever for the Company. Apple is at all-time highs, over $325 per share, with analysts saying that $500 is not out of the question. The S&P 500 has officially regained everything that it lost during the 2008 crash of Lehman Brothers. Riding on the same path to new highs, the Dow Jones is again over 11,500. At 2,662, the tech-rich NASDAQ is pushing on highs for the year as well.
Just as many of the stocks in the big boards saw large gains, so went it with many of the small and mid-cap stocks brought to the AllPennyStocks.com community throughout the course of 2010.
For the 11th straight year, we succeeded at turning our spotlight on several dozen undervalued companies and bringing their details to our members.
Two stocks stood out in particular in 2010 for the AllPennyStocks faithful: Boerne, Texas-based consumer goods company Tootie Pie Company, Inc. (OTCBB:TOOT) and Tarpon Springs, Florida-based industrial goods company MagnaGas Corporation (OTCBB:MNGA).
Since Tootie Pie Company was first highlighted in April 2010 at 20 cents, the Company has been on a classic stair-step climb ever since. With the closest comparison of Tootie Pie’s business model being the world-renowned Ben and Jerry ice cream franchise, the Company still has unparalleled potential even though it is currently trading at $0.70, up 250% since first profiled.
Even though it is eight months later, savvy investors that played the chart and never were given a reason to sell on any technical level are still holding huge gains as the stock is just shy of its 52-week high of $0.74.
2010 has brought about important milestones for Tootie Pie and its shareholders. The Company has produced sales every month this year that have outperformed the year prior month.
Additionally, Tootie Pie has now opened five café locations in its portfolio that generate revenues through sales of Tootie Pies, coffee, bagels, gourmet sandwiches, pastries and other comfort foods. Members that did decide to sell at the top of $0.74 earlier this month realized gains of a whopping 270% this year.
MagnaGas Corporation came later in the year and was spotlighted in August when it was still trading at eight cents per share and did not disappoint those that saw the hidden value in the Company. The producer of a metal working fuel and natural gas alternative made from liquid waste has made the transformation from a purely developmental company to now being in regular production and sale of equipment and fuel.
Shares of MNGA provided investors with a thrill ride from the August through September, in which a steady climb finally produced a launch which sent the price per share up to $0.34, producing 325% gains for those who caught it from bottom to top. While not all traders were fortunate enough to maximize gains perfectly, the stock provided many opportunities over the remaining three months of 2010 to extract gains of well over 100%. Even as we enter 2011, investors still holding are comfortably up 43.75%.
So, while the small cap world has once again taught us that there are some solid companies that trade on the Over the Counter exchange and that huge gains are possible when careful selections are made, MagnaGas quietly reminds us that securing profits when they are presented is always in order.
The bottom line of 2010 is that the stock market, our economy and events in our world are the epitome of life in general. Some trends are up and some trends are down, but overall it’s the most fun when the bulls are in charge. While we appear to be putting together a firm recovery, it’s still a work in progress and speculation about what will come in 2011 is just that; speculation. Trade smart and have a safe, happy and prosperous New Year.
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