Less Axle Rose, more Johnny Cash when it comes to PD&D’s Stock Index.

By Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director, PD&D

"I thought the song “Patience” from Guns n’ Roses was the proper theme in describing the performance of the Product Design & Development Stock Index, and the economy as a whole."

“I fell into a burning ring of fire. I went down, down, down and the flames went higher. And it burns, burns, burns - the ring of fire.”

About a month ago I thought the song “Patience” from Guns n’ Roses was the proper theme in describing the performance of the Product Design & Development Stock Index, and the economy as a whole.

I also boldly predicted a rebound in performance from last week to this week.

It looks like my optimistic perspective might have been; well, a little too optimistic. The index dropped again, from the 1260.35 posting of last week to 1213.44. For some, a more popular soundtrack might include the lyrics from Johnny Cash mentioned above.

The good news is that much like the burning sensation many feel when talking about the economy, a fire can be controlled with the proper approach. The worst thing to do is to let the fire consume you, or re-direct your priorities.

First, here’s the bad news. Every sector but automotive saw negative postings, led by significant drops in the consumer electronics sector from companies like IBM (IBM) of $4.27, Apple (AAPL) of $4.28 and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) of $4.72.

Surprisingly strong performances by the automotive sector included a $3.21 improvement from Toyota (TM) and the continued increase in Federal Mogul stock, which is now on the verge of doubling its value from two months ago.

These, along with moderate growth indicators from military supplier BAE Systems (BAESY) and robotics manufacturer FANUC (FANUY) do offer signs of life and opportunities for growth.