Friday's remarkable growth may seem like a distant dream, as markets experienced a mellow decline on the usual indicators of European pessimism and faltering economic signals at home. By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
The somber tone extended beyond the United States, as the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast and warned of slowdowns in emerging markets. While the IMF maintained its 2012 prediction for 3.5% global growth, it trimmed its 2013 projection to 3.9% from 4.1%. The IMF, in its updated World Economic Outlook, warned that "the most immediate risk is still that delayed or insufficient policy action will further escalate the euro area crisis." Add in the IMF's pessimism over future productive capacity in BRIC countries, the oncoming fiscal cliff in the U.S., and a possibly disappointing earnings season, and your best bet may be buying Pfizer stock with all the investors buying Advil for their headaches.
Dow in focus
After Morgan Stanley cut its rating to equal weight from overweight, General Electric
Bank of America
Shares of Cisco
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