Tag - Wbs

Small-cap stocks took flight Friday, as investors gambled that a terrible report on employment would be just the tonic needed to ignite a decisive push forward on a bank bailout plan and an aggressive fiscal stimulus package. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) gained 15.63, or 3.43% to 470.70, generating the third-best daily gain of the year. For 2009, the Russell is now down 5.8%, while the Dow is off 5.6% and the S&P 500 down 3.7%.

Although it might seem peculiar for the stock market to stage one of the best rallies of the year on a day in which the unemployment rate climbed to 16-year highs and amid news that January saw the largest amount of job losses in 34 years, investors decided that the worrisome news on the job front would light a fire under lawmakers to set aside partisan politics and quickly deliver a powerful stimulus package to jump-start the ailing economy. In addition, the market was already hoping for a bank bailout plan to be unveiled Monday, and now the need to help banks and spur lending seems even more pressing.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is slated to hold a press conference Monday at noon to discuss details on the plan to stabilize the financial system and President Obama named an advisory panel on Friday led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to guide the rescue effort for the economy. Obama today said it was “inexcusable and irresponsible” for lawmakers to get bogged down, distracted or delay while millions of Americans were being put out of work...

Midsouth Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:MSL), M & F Worldwide Corp (Nasdaq:MFW) and Bank of Marin Bancorp (Nasdaq:BMRC) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: American Greetings Corp (Nasdaq:AM), Central Pacific Financial Corp (Nasdaq:CPF), Webster Financial Corp (Nasdaq:WBS), Peoples Financial Corp (Miss) (Nasdaq:PFBX), Abington Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:ABBC) and Renasant Corp (Nasdaq:RNST).