January recap: It was ugly out there
Financial blogger Alan Brochstein surveys the wreckage of the worst January on record and notes the following:
Industrials were weakest for large-cap, and that reflects GE, CAT and other large industrials with captive finance programs and lots of debt. I continue to think that this is one of the worst places to be and would recommend holding only companies with minimal or no debt. The group tends to sell capital equipment, which will be deferred, and it is being hit by currency headwinds, dropping global demand and tight credit all at once.
He thinks health care and utilities stocks hold much more promise.