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8B Daily News – Monday, August 29, 2011 NEW YORK (AP) — Maybe Warren Buffett can strike a deal to buy the entire stock market, too. At least the markets plan to open Monday, but after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced no new pro- gram Friday to lift stocks, investors sold lots of them. That set at least one Wall Street economist to musing whether Buffett might be willing to lend a helping hand instead. ''He could buy the entire S&P,'' Mizuho Securities' Steven Ricchi- uto said in a nod to how Buffett's $5 billion invest- ment in Bank of America Corp. sent its stock soar- ing just a day before. ''But I don't think even he has enough money to do that.'' In the event, no savior was needed, at least on Friday. spoke at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., the As Bernanke After 4 weeks of losses, stocks rise. Can it last? Wall Street Dow Jones industrial average fell hard, then reversed course to close at 11,284.54, up 4.3 percent for the week after being down the past four. Investors apparently rein- terpreted the lack of any news of a new Fed stimu- lus to mean the central bank wasn't so worried about the economy after all, and maybe they shouldn't be either. Still, investors are down 13 percent in a month, and few expect market turmoil to disap- pear soon. The good news for stock investors is that most security exchanges said by Sunday afternoon that they planned to oper- ate normally Monday, and stocks appear relatively cheap. Companies in the Standard & Poor's 500, a broader index than the Dow, are now trading at an average 11 times what Wall Street analysts expect them to generate in per-share earnings over the next twelve months. The long-term average is 15 times. These earnings ratios are only one gauge of value, and analyst expec- tations of what companies can earn sometimes prove too high. So far, if any- thing, they've been too low. A report from research firm FactSet released Friday said 75 percent of companies that have reported earnings for the second quarter have beaten estimates. More encouraging, the earnings themselves were up an average 11.8 per- cent. That is the seventh quarter in a row of gains greater than 10 percent. The question is whether companies can keep increasing profits at such a fast clip despite high unemployment in the U.S., Europe's struggles with mounting govern- ment debt and sputtering recoveries in both places. On Friday, the Com- merce Department added to the grim picture with a new estimate that the U.S. economy grew at a 1 per- cent annual rate in the three months through June, weaker than its pre- vious estimate of 1.3 per- cent. Nine of the past 11 recessions since World War II have been preceded by a period of growth of 1 percent or less. Count Bernanke among the optimists. In his speech, the Fed chair- man talked of the long- term strengths of the U.S. economy, saying that they ''do not appear to have been permanently altered by the shocks of the past four years.'' Next week could shed light on whether he's right. The big news is the payrolls report on Friday, Win WinWin Win You could $100* Just for sharing your local shopping and media preferences! Take the Pulse Research survey online only at: www.pulseresearch.com/redbluffdailynews Do it today – Survey will end when enough surveys are completed. *$100 gift certificates will be awarded to four individuals selected at random from among those completing the survey. Those selected may choose any store or business in Tehama County at which to redeem their gift certificate. Individual survey responses will not be shared with any third party. D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY when the unemployment rate for August will also be released. There is plen- ty of other data that could move stocks leading up to that day. Personal income and spending figures for July are released Monday. Spending by consumers typically accounts for 70 percent of the economy. Lately they're saving more: $5.40 of every $100 of after-tax income, up from a less than zero at the lowest level during in the boom years. On Tuesday, investors will be watching the S&P/Case-Shiller index on home prices for June. STOREWIDE SALE Sept. 1st - 17th www.redbluffgoldexchange.com Gold Exchange 413 Walnut St. COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check starting at $ (most cars and pick-ups) 2595 + cert. Pass or FREE retest 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St.