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Consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in October to its lowest reading in two years. Economists were expecting a small rebound, but worries about Katrina and oil are weighing on American consumers. For example, Nissan (NSANY) said that U.S. sales dropped 22% in the first two weeks of October.

The market is mostly flat this morning. None of our Buy List stock is reporting earnings today. Golden West Financial (GDW) announced that it will increase its quarterly dividend by 33%. Yesterday, Frontier Airlines (FRNT) announced plans to add flights to Salt Lake City, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Chicago.

While the broad market doesn’t seem to be very volatile, there’s a stealth bear market going on. John Dorfman reports that of “2,399 U.S.-traded stocks with a market value of $500 million or more, 58 have fallen 20 percent or more through Oct. 21.” Fortunately, our Buy List is ahead of the market this month.

Posted by edelfenbein at October 25, 2005 11:50 AM