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Best performers of 2008

As Wall Street's worst year since the 1930s draws to a close, we take a look at the companies that bucked the trend .

The Dow, down. The S&P 500, down. And the NASDAQ, down. What a record for 2008! But it’s not as bad as the Detroit Lions' unprecedented 0-16 runless season. There are actually some big winners this year, but not many. Out of the S&P 500, 478 are closing the year in the red, while just 22 stocks will end 2008 in the black. Believe it or not, the top two performers in the S&P 500 are consumer-related stocks. No, not Wal-Mart, not McDonalds. They’ve had good years though. The winners are, drum roll please, Family Dollar, no surprise there, and US Tobacco. Now with the index down roughly 39% from the beginning of the year, it has headed for its worst annual performance since the S&P made its debut in 1957. But discount retailer Family Dollar is on track to be the top performer this year as of Tuesday the stock was up more than 32%. And giving credence to the theory that vices are recession-proof, shares of /UST, the maker of smokeless tobacco products like Copenhagen and Skoal as well as wine are up more than 26% this year, putting it squarely in the second slot. Now to be sure UST had a bit of help this year. See the big spike on this chart, that’s when Altria group announced its agreement to acquire UST for nearly 70 bucks a share. But the strength of these two companies in the midst of a recession, well, it’s nothing new. We saw something similar when the market tends to last. Peak to trough(经济周期中的低谷) from August 2000 to September of 2002, the S&P 500 tumbled some 46%. But during that time, Family Dollar’s stocks spiked 49% and shares of UST shot up more than 30%. So what’s your bet for the best and of course the worst performers of 2009? Let us know, Chime in right here on our talk-back segment on CNNmoney.com. Have a great new year!

文本参考中文翻译

自上世纪30年代以来经济状况最糟糕的一年即将结束，让我们来看一下上市公司的情况如何。

道琼斯指数下跌；标准普尔500指数下跌；奈斯达克指数下跌。2008年可真是创下有史以来的最高纪录！但是总还不像底特律雄狮队前所未有的0：16惨败那样糟糕。今年确实有一些大赢家，但是并不多。根据标准普尔500指数，478以红色闭市，22家黑色。信不信由你，处于标准普尔500指数首位的两家公司都是和消费者相关的股票。不，不是沃尔玛，也不是麦当劳。然而今年他们的状况也不错。这两个大赢家是，请先来点鼓声……Family Dollar，这并不出奇，还有美国烟草US Tobacco。现在，标准普尔500指数自年初已经下跌了39%，基本上是1957年标准普尔指数登场以来的最差状况。但是提供高折扣的零售商Family Dollar，周二为止股价上涨了32%，成为标准普尔指数表现最好的公司。根据恶习不受经济衰退影响的理论，美国烟草的股份，无烟烟草Copenhagen和Skoal以及酒水的制造商US Tobacco美国烟草上涨了26%，处于第二位。现在可以确信，美国烟草总算为今年的形势提供了一点帮助。看看这张图表中的数据，Altria集团统一以70美元每股的价格收购美国烟草的部分股份。但是两家公司的实力都处于衰退状态，这已经不是什么新闻了。在市场萧条的末尾，我们看到了同样的情况。从2000年8月份的经济高峰到2002年9月份的经济低谷，标准普尔500指数下跌了46%。而那时，Family Dollar的股价上升49%，美国烟草上升了30%以上。那么你认为2009年股市中的赢家和输家分别会是哪些股票呢？欢迎登录CNNmoney.com观看后面的节目。