Amex Paying Customers $300 to Cancel

American Express is having trouble with some of their riskiest customers and fear these bad accounts will drag down the company profits/losses further. Near the end of February, according to reports, Amex offered $300 to these clients that will payoff their accounts and close them by the end of April. Credit Card companies like American Express are also in fear that customers that loose their jobs will increase their borrowing pushing their accounts into a riskier position and defaulting more often.

Citigroup has made a profit for the first two months of 2009 according to the company's CEO, Vikram Pandit. This news caused a rally of banks across the board including Citigroup, 37%, JP Morgan Chase, 21%, Wells Fargo, 17%, Bank of America, 25%, and Royal Bank of Canada, 16%. This is a similar rally to the bank rally in July of 2008 when Wells Fargo beat estimates and the banks took off for a couple of days after being driven down faster and harder than anything before for a month straight.

Casinos/Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) Free Fall Continuing

With a world-wide economic recession continuing, the major casino operators in both Las Vegas and Macau, China are seeing slowing traffic and decreasing profits. The stocks of casino operators Wynn Resorts (WYNN), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), and MGM Mirage (MGM) all fell Friday. MGM fell 1.5% midway through the afternoon with Las Vegas Sands falling 14% and Wynn Resorts tumbling 8%.

Too Late to Short the S&P 500?

Is it too late to short the S&P 500 index with the rapid and consistent downturn the index has taken over the past month? If you feel the markets will not make a quick turnaround in a V chart formation or you think the markets will continue to drift lower, getting short the S&P 500 would be a possible trade at this time. And you can take a negative position without shorting the index by purchasing an inverse Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) like the Short S&P 500 Proshares (SH).

The Short S&P 500 Proshares ETF has rallied over the past two months beginning near $70.08 a share at the beginning of the year and finishing today at $90.72 a share, the highest mark since December 4th of last year. The index invests in financial instruments that represent the inverse of the S&P 500 index. I like the stability of the single inverse ETF while still enjoying the upside that could occur if the markets continue to adjust lower. Look for a decent early morning market rally to take a small position in proportion to your overall portfolio.

Sequenom Inc. (SQNM) Still up 100% in 52 Weeks

If you're looking for a company that flew high during the biotechnology boom this last year that is now having trouble making money and increasing revenue, Sequenom Inc is a company that is in a downward spiral at this time. The stock has dropped from a three month high of $25.54 to its current level of $14.63. In addition the company has missed it's earnings the past four quarters, never a good sign.

Three Semiconductor Names Give A Negative Signal

Analog Devices (ADI),  Linear Technologies (LLTC) and Intersil (ISIL) all gave negative signals after the close on Monday with their 13 day moving averages crossing below their 50 day moving averages. The Semiconductor sector is one of the first to recover in a normal economic rebound, but the fundamentals are still very weak as the companies have little to no pricing power.

Gold Rallies on Economic Uncertainty

SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) rallied to a three month high today on fear the economy will get worse before it gets better. The ETF which strives to stay inline with the price of Gold Bullion moved from $73.45 a share to an intra-day high of $98.99 share over the past three months as investors seek security.

Huntington Bancshares Inc (HBAN) Tumble

Huntington Bancshares fell dramatically today to near $1.30 a share from a high of $13.58 during the previous year. This prices the company at $479 million in market cap. Quite a demise for the mid-west bank known for assisting companies and metropolitans across the regions it operates in with numerous projects and expansions.

Strong Call Volume for Wellpoint Inc (NYSE:WLP) Friday

Wellpoint Inc (NYSE:WLP) saw strong Call Option buying on Friday with 17,535 contracts traded for the month of February at the strike price of $45. The stock itself finished the day up slightly at $43.75. These options expire at the end of the week prior to the company’s February 22nd earnings announcement. The managed care company could continue to move higher prior to the release of their earnings announcement but beating the current $1.24 estimate is not a given.

Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYGN)

Myriad Genetics is a medical diagnostic company that produces a number of molecular diagnostic and therapeutic products for the health care sector. The company reached a new 52 week high today with the market falling close to 5%.