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Many people still believe that fundamental data in the US is getting worse and that the bottom is still to come; that basically means that no matter which stocks you own, they will probably decline, as it has happened over the last year. Microsoft, the software gigant, has fallen 35%. Google, decreased its value from 747 to 430, almost 50%! In general, the Dow Jones Index, Nasdaq and S&P deceased an average of 40% in only a couple of months. If you think the worst hasn´t yet arrive, the following are excellent options for making money in bear markets.1- ETF´s that replicate the inverse of some sectors

• SKF, ultra short financials, seeks for results that are as twice as the inverse of the Dow Jones US Financial Index

• QID, ultrashort against nasdaq 100

• DOG, ultrashort agains Dow Jones

• REW, ultrashort agaist the tech sector
• DUG, if you believe oil prices will continue to decline this is a good option

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From Visa´s webpage, here is the 2Q 2008 earnings report:

• Company raises long-term outlook for adjusted operating margins

• Annual adjusted operating margin in the mid 40%’s range.

• Annual adjusted operating margin in the mid-to-high 40%’s range.

• Annual free cash flow (cash flow from operations plus cash reimbursements from litigation escrow less capital spending) in excess of $1 billion.

Last quarter, New York Stock Exchange suffered a big decline the day the multinacional conglomerate General Electric (stock ticker: GE) posted an unexpected 6% fall on their quarterly profits. GE stock fell 13% after this disappointment.

 Today, General Electric posted their 2Q 08 (second quarter) results, that matched the analysts´estimates. Profits from continuing operations fell 4% or 54 cents a share, reaching a profit of $5,61 billion. Sales rose 11% to 47 billion dollars, beating the expert´s expectations. This last fact will probably play favourably in today´s GE trading day; on early trading, General Electric Co. was rising 0,50% to 27,74.

Jeffrey Immelt, the company´s CEO, agreed to sell a consumer-lending operation plant in Japan for $5,5 billion, and said he was satisfied with Ge´s performance.

GE has a PER (price over earnings per share) of 12.5, quite an attractive figure for such an important company. Good margins, constant growth and tremendous background are some facts that makes GE a quite stable and trustworthy investment. Dividend yield of 4,5% is quite high for a big firm.

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According to the New York Times, the head of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries warned on Thursday that oil prices would experience an “unlimited” increase in the event of a military conflict involving Iran because the group’s members would be unable to make up the lost production.

We really cannot replace Iran’s production — it’s not feasible to replace it,” Abdalla Salem el-Badri, the OPEC secretary general, said in an interview.Iran, the second-largest producing country in OPEC after Saudi Arabia, produces about four million barrels of oil a day out of the daily worldwide production of close to 87 million barrels.

The country has been locked in a long dispute with Western nations over its nuclear ambitions.

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Bankruptcy for General Motors (stock ticker: GM) is a real possibility if U.S. auto sales keep falling and the world’s largest automaker is unable to raise about $15 billion in cash to shore up its books, a Merrill Lynch analyst said. John Murphy’s estimate of what GM would need to raise before 2010 to cover continued losses is higher than what other analysts have suggested. Murphy said the recent drastic fall in auto sales likely will continue through 2009.

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Investors of auction-rate securities were misled 

A report by the Association for Financial Professionals says more than 85% of the firms that invested in the auction-rate securities market, which collapsed spectacularly amid the global credit crunch, were led to think or explicitly told that Wall Street banks would support the market in the event of a crisis. The report might add yet more pressure to banks’ already strained relationships with customers caught in the collapse.

Nigerian rebels shake world’s oil markets

An internal rebellion in Nigeria is increasingly adding to worries about the world’s oil supply already focused on flash points such as Iraq and Iran. Armed rebels from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta have staged bold attacks on Nigeria’s oil infrastructure and kidnapped foreign workers for ransom. The group says it represents an impoverished region’s rage against a negligent and corrupt central government and oil companies that have wrought terrible environmental damage.

Credit Card debt hurting upper-income consumers

Crushing credit-card debt is moving up the income ladder as the US economy slumps. “People of all walks of life have been either guilty of overspending or the victim of some misfortune such as a job loss, an illness or a divorce,” said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. The average debt rose to $6,900 per consumer in the last year, a 21% increase, according to data by Experian

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