Our First Assignment

Consumer (Cyclical)

a. Consumer (Cyclical) - A reference to the overall business cycle, perhaps trends or cycles of things. Demand for heavy machinery are affected by economic conditions, making companies that are in this sector cyclical. Cyclical consumer products are items that are not necessities. They are more luxury than necessity.

b. Influential Companies -

Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) : TM (NYSE)

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (ADR) : HMC (NYSE)

Daimler AG (USA) : DAI (NYSE)

Panasonic Corporation (ADR) : PC (NYSE)

NIKE, Inc. : NKE (NYSE)

Sony Corporation (ADR) : SNE (NYSE)

Nissan Motor Corporation Ltd. (ADR) : NSANY (NASDAQ)

FUJIFILM Holdings Corp. (ADR) : FUJI (NASDAQ)

PACCAR Inc. : PCAR (NASDAQ)

Genuine Parts Company. : GPC (NYSE)

c. Recent Trends and Why? -

At the moment, Consumer (Cyclical) is down 3.42%. This because the whole sector is comprised of products that aren't absolute necessities, and when people become scared that the markets are going down, they don't buy luxury items and products that aren't absolutely neccessary. This sector is directly affected by that.

d. Subcategories -
Apparel/Accessories

Auto & Truck Parts

Photography

Appliance & Tool

Footwear

Recreational Products

Audio & Video Equipment

Furniture & Fixtures

Textiles - Non Apparel

Auto & Truck Manufacturers

Jewelry & Silverware

Tires

e. Top Five Gainers for the day-

General Motors Corp. : GM

PACCAR Inc. : PCAR

Titan International : TWI

Pool Corporation : POOL

Sturm, Ruger, & Company : RGR

f. Top Five Losers for the Day -

Liz Claiborne, Inc. : LIZ

TRW Automotive Hldgs : TRW

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. : CTB

Tenneco Inc. : TEN

Kenneth Cole Productions : KCP

Most Actives of the Day -
Nike Inc. :NKE
PACCAR Inc. :PCAR
Harley-Davidson Inc. :HOG
Coach Inc. :COH
Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.:RL

h. Reference to two news stories associated with this sector + link to the news article-

Please click here to see the article called "GM may run out of gas before Obama arrives"
Please click here to see the article called "Nissan to further Production in Japan"

*images from Google.ca