Despite the questionable economic environment for many, the stock market continues to ignore the somber news. Today is the 1-year anniversary of when the market bottomed during the sell-off that wouldn’t stop. The S&P average has rebounded over 70% from those bottom levels. We have gone nearly straight up since that time and that is what has us a bit worried. It’s hard to build a good foundation without a decent “backing and filling” effect, but the market has not listened in a sense. We continue to navigate the best way we know how and that is to keep on as much exposure as we are comfortable with, until we sense things will begin to get nasty. Chasing the tape here is a bit dangerous from where we stand. We will continue to be selective and “ride the wave” for now. As for today’s action, Yum Brands ( YUM ) did well on an analyst upgrade. Also doing well were names like Coach ( COH ) , Capital One Financial ( COF ) , and United Technologies ( UTX ) . On the downside today was Texas Instruments ( TXN ) which pulled in the reins on the company guidance a bit. Toyota Motor ( TM ) was down on negative Wall Street chatter. Volume finished at 5.18 Billion shares on the NYSE and 2.47 Billion shares on the NASDAQ. We’ll keep subscribers updated as to any changes we make to our “recommended” list as soon as we make them. In the meantime, enjoy the gains, but be careful to not lose your discipline. Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks , as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here .

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Market Wrap-Up for Mar.9 (YUM, TM, COH, COF, TXN, UTX, more)

I was plying the interstate highways of New England this weekend — there is no sane way to get from Albany, New York, to the vicinity of Middletown, Connecticut, by public transit — marveling at the vistas of normality all around me: the freeway lanes with their orderly streams of happy motorists, the chain stores floating like islands on the gray undulating landscape, the corporate towers of Springfield, Mass, and then Hartford, gleaming in the persistent pre-spring sunshine, as though they physically represented the wished-for dynamism of economies in recovery. “I see dead people…” said the kid in that horror movie. I see dying ways of life. There was no denying the spectacular weather for us long-suffering northeasterners. A week ago, it was like living in a banana daiquiri around here. Now, it was sixty-two degrees in East Haddam, CT, along a very beautiful stretch of the Connecticut River somehow miraculously unmarred by the usual mutilations of industry or recreation. On a few hillsides facing south, daffodils were already up with blossom heads ready to pop. The mind could go two ways: into the past, when wooden sailing craft were built in yards along the river; or into the future, when it would be easy to imagine wooden sailing craft being built there again, only twenty miles or so from the great sheltered mini-sea of Long Island Sound. Whatever else one thinks of how we live these days, it’s hard to not see it as temporary, historically anomalous, a peculiar blip in human experience. I’ve spent my whole life riding around in cars, never questioning whether the makings of tomorrow’s supper would be there waiting on the supermarket shelves, never doubting when I entered a room that the lights would go on at the flick of a switch, never worrying about my personal safety. And now hardly a moment goes by when I don’t feel tremors of massive change in these things, as though all life’s comforts and structural certainties rested on a groaning fault line. It had been one of those …

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Oil Prices Will Eventually Change Everything Drastically

Supermarket chain operator The Kroger Co. ( KR ) said Tuesday that its fourth quarter profit fell 27% from last year, despite higher sales, but results still beat analyst estimates. The Cincinnati-based company reported fourth quarter net income of $255.4 million, or 39 cents per share, compared with $349.2 million, or 53 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 7% from last year, to $18.6 billion, aided by higher fuel sales as a result of gas discounts for regular customers. On average, Wall Street analysts expected a smaller profit of 34 cents per share, on much lower revenue of $17.73 billion. Kroger shares fell 70 cents, or -3.1%, amid a broad market sell-off in premarket trading Tuesday. The Bottom Line We have avoided shares of KR since our early June 2008 coverage began, when the stock was trading at $27.30. The company has a 1.66% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $22.90. The shares have technical support in the $19-$20 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $25 price level. We would remain on the sidelines. The Kroger Co. ( KR ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars. Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks , as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here .

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Kroger’s Q4 Profit Plunges 27%, Still Beats View (KR)

Microchip maker Texas Instruments Incorporated ( TXN ) late Monday raised the low end of its first quarter guidance, and said it was struggling to keep up with higher-than-expected chip demand. The company said it now expects first quarter earnings of 48 to 52 cents per share, compared with prior guidance for 44 to 52 cents per share. It also forecast first quarter revenue to range from $3.07 billion to $3.19 billion, up from earlier estimates of $2.95 billion to $3.19 billion. On average, Wall Street analysts currently expect 49 cents per share for the quarter, on revenue of $3.084 billion. Despite the raised guidance, Texas Instruments shares fell 34 cents, or -1.4%, in premarket trading Tuesday. The Bottom Line We have avoided shares of TXN since our early 2008 June coverage began, when the stock was trading at $31.24. The company has a 1.94% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $24.69. The stock has technical support in the $20-$22 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $26-$27 price levels. We would remain on the sidelines for now. Texas Instruments Incorporated ( TXN ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars. Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks , as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here .

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Texas Instruments Raises Low End of Q1 Guidance (TXN)

Tax preparation company H&R Block, Inc. ( HRB ) said late Monday that its fiscal third quarter profit rose 7% from last year, despite fewer tax returns filed. The Kansas City-based company reported fiscal third quarter net income of $50.6 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with $47.4 million, or 14 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 6% from last year, to $934.9 million. On average, Wall Street analysts expected a slightly smaller profit of 14 cents per share, albeit on higher revenue of $949.6 million. The company said that the total number of tax returns it prepared through Feb. 28 were down 9.4% from last year. As a result, HRB refused to provide fourth quarter or full-year guidance. That refusal seemed to worry investors, as H&R Block shares fell 84 cents, or -5%, in premarket trading Tuesday. The Bottom Line We had removed shares of HRB from our “recommended” list last Oct.6, when the stock was trading at $23.72. The company has a 3.58% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $16.74. The stock has technical support in the $15 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $20 price level. We would remain on the sidelines for now. H&R Block, Inc. ( HRB ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars. Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks , as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here .

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H&R Block Q3 Profit Rises, but Filed Returns Plunge 9% (HRB)

Washington’s Blog March 9, 2010 Tim Geithner claims : We saved the economy but kind of lost the public doing it. Simon Johnson wrote : a more accurate essay entitled: They Saved The Big Banks But Kind Of Lost The Economy Doing It. My take on it is pretty straightforward: We can save the economy, but only if we kind of lose Geithner. As I have repeatedly pointed out, Geithner and Summers are the worst possible economic leaders for our country. See this , this , this , this , this , this , this , this and this . Congressman DeFazio summed it up pretty well last November: We think it is time, maybe, that we turn our focus to Main Street … Unfortunately, the President has an adviser from Wall Street, Larry Summers, and a Treasury Secretary from Wall Street, Timmy Geithner, who don’t like that idea. They want to keep the TARP money either to continue to bail out Wall Street…or to pay down the deficit. That’s absurd… “[Obama] is being failed by his economic team … We may have to sacrifice just two more jobs to get millions back for Americans.

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Geithner: ‘We Saved the Economy, But We Kind of Lost the Public Doing It’ | Me: We Can Save the Economy, But Only If We Kind of Lose Geithner

We continued to see some of the high-beta (tech, commodities) areas of the market lead the action. We are monitoring the overbought nature of certain sectors and are not of the mindset to chase the move. As we mentioned last week, we may have been a bit too cautious on the growth side (low-dividend yielding plays for the most part), but we are getting good price movement from our “recommended list” with numerous companies bumping up dividend payouts as well. Today’s market action finished a bit mixed. Metlife ( MET ) was up on news the company is acquiring a division of AIG. McDonald’s ( MCD ) was also up on the back of solid February sales. Volume was a touch lighter as we finished with 3.77 Billion shares on the NYSE and 2.12 Billion shares on the NASDAQ. Positive Wall Street chatter is helped lift shares of Sempra Energy ( SRE ) and U.S. Steel ( X ) . There is momentum in financial shares, with buying in Goldman Sachs ( GS ) , Visa ( V ) , and Mastercard ( MA ) . Coal-related names dipped a bit, with Consol Energy ( CNX ) and Peabody Energy ( BTU ) trading lower. Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks , as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here .

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Market Wrap-Up for Mar.8 (MET, MCD, X, GS, V, BTU, more)

Fast food giant McDonald’s Corporation ( MCD ) said Monday that its February global same-store sales rose a better-than-expected 4.8%. On average, Wall Street analysts had expected a smaller same-store sales increase of just 2.1%, according to two analysts surveyed by FactSet Research. Same-store sales are considered a key indicator of a retailer’s health, since they measure the performance of stores open at least 13 months. In the U.S., same-store sales rose 0.6%, and jumped 5.4% in Europe. The biggest jump was in the company’s Asia, Middle East and Africa segment, where same-store sales surged 10.5%. Total sales rose 11.2% from last February, or by 6.4% when excluding the impact of currency fluctuations. McDonald’s shares rose 61 cents, or +1%, in premarket trading Monday. The Bottom Line We have been recommending shares of MCD since Aug.12, when the stock was trading at $56.02. The company has a 3.46% dividend yield, based on Friday’s closing stock price of $63.67. McDonald’s Corporation ( MCD ) is a “recommended” dividend stock, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks , as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here .

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McDonald’s Feb. Same-Store Sales Rise 4.8% (MCD)

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is the “father of the subprime crisis” and his aggressive attacks on Wall Street could make him dangerous to the banking sector if he becomes the next governor of New York, well-known banking analyst Dick Bove told CNBC. “One of the key reasons why (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are] bankrupt today, and why the government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in supporting them, is because of the edicts pushed through by Mr. Cuomo,” said Bove, of Rochdale Securities, in a live interview. “It's also thought by many that the hundreds of… Original Article: Forum: News/Activism

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NY’s Cuomo Is ‘Father of Subprime Crisis:’ Bove

My Big Fat Greek Deficit Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research Saturday, March 6, 2010 Wall Street seems obsessed with pigs these days. PIIGS, that is – Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain – the smaller economies in Europe. Many people worry whether these countries can honor their sovereign debt because of high, already-existing debt levels. And the U.S.

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My Big Fat Greek Deficit

Biography: Simon Avery has covered telecom and technology for the Globe since 2004. Previously, he was a staff reporter for The Associated Press in Los Angeles and for The Wall Street Journal in San Francisco. He covered the boom and bust in Silicon Valley for the Financial Post between 1998 and 2001. Mr. Avery holds Related posts: Tax and Estate Planning Advice with Regards to RRSPs and TFSAs with Wilmot George of Mackenzie Financial The Economic Link Between Canada and China with Economist Dr. Gary Russell

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An Insider’s Perspective on George Cope, CEO of Bell Canada (BCE) with Simon Avery of the Globe and Mail

� � � According to the Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA), U.S. residential mortgage originations will plunge 40 percent this year to the lowest level in a decade. Per the downgraded forecast, lenders will underwrite only $1.28 trillion in home loans in 2010, down considerably from the $2.11 trillion originated in 2009. That would be the lowest volume figure since loan officers cranked out $1.14 trillion in 2000. Even still, new purchase originations are expected to rise slightly to $776 billion from $742 billion in 2009. � That leaves refinance originations as the market that will likely take the biggest beating. In fact, according MBA projections, the dollar volume of loans being refinanced this year will fall to just $502 billion from $1.372 trillion in 2009. That equates to a 63% drop in refinance originations alone—-a massive downturn. The reason for this is simple: Low rates or not, millions of homeowners can’t refinance…. From The Wall Street Journal by Nick Timiraos entitled: Borrowers Miss Out on Billions in Savings “The Federal Reserve has pushed mortgage rates to near half-century lows, but millions of U.S. homeowners haven’t benefited from that because they can’t-or won’t-refinance. Falling home prices have left many owners with little or no equity, making it harder to qualify for refinancing. Moreover, stricter lending standards and higher fees by banks and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and declining incomes have made it tougher and less attractive for borrowers to seek new loans. Around 37% of all borrowers with 30-year conforming fixed-rate mortgages-who collectively hold about $1.2 trillion of home loans-have mortgage rates of 6% or higher, according to investment bank Credit Suisse. Many could reduce their rates by a full percentage point if they refinanced at current rates, about 5%. More than half could lower their rates nearly three-quarters of a percentage point, according to Credit Suisse. But new refinance applications in January stood near their lowest levels in the past year. Weekly data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association also…

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Underwater Homes Trap Borrowers into Higher Rates