Six-month prices

The volatility of the stock market is being reflected in the values of 401k retirement funds.  Your Third Quarter statement for 2008 will be a shocker.  Your savings of the last two or three years have been wiped out by the falling values of index funds like the S&P 500 which is the basis of many retirement plans.

The companies that have survived the financial collapse of the sub-prime mortgage industry may offer some opportunities for investment.  Warren Buffet has a good track record of investing in solid companies.  Warren Buffet just bought General Electric (GE) stock.  In October 2007, a share of GE stock was above $41 Dollars.  Today, a share of GE is at $22 Dollars.  GE is a diversified company involved in technology, media, and financial services.  It pays a dividend of $1.24 per share which translates to 5.1% at today’s prices.  This is not bad considering that bank savings accounts are paying miserable rates way below 2%.  GE is a good buy with a Price-to-Earnings ratio (P/E) of 10.31 and $2.15 earnings per share (EPS).