Take on the ticker

Janna Sampson of Lisle is a founding partner of OakBrook Investments, with $1.3 billion under management.What moved markets this week?"The things that moved markets this week were principally the things that have moved markets for the last month, which is the subprime mortgage market and comments by the Federal Reserve chairman and vice chairman -- which caused the markets to definitely decide that there will be another cut in the Fed funds rate when they meet on Dec. 11. That caused us to come off a fairly significant drop in the market on Monday and rally substantially."Was it important that the Dow fell 10 percent off its high, a technical correction?"We had a 200-point drop on Monday which caused the market to be 10 percent down from its high in October. That is technically a correction. And what we've seen since then is a rally. Perhaps there were people thinking it was oversold. But that was coupled with the thought that we are going to have some interest rate help from the Fed. The market has turned."Is the weak housing market really a bargain investment buy?"In terms of investing for the housing market, there's probably more (downside ahead). While we have seen a dramatic drop, and home sales are down dramatically, I think what we are seeing is people waiting, saying I don't want to sell my house in this market or I'm going to just postpone the decision to do it #8230; It is probably still a little early to be investing in the housing market."How is the retail sector doing in the holiday shopping season?"The retail sector is probably going to have, in total, a weaker holiday season than it did last year."You follow McDonald's closely. How did it do this week?"McDonald's introduced a new breakfast item this week, the McSkillet Burrito, to great fanfare. It looks to have great value for the money, for consumers. It's a whopping 630 calories for only $2.49. Very filling. Very easy to eat. Should be a winner for McDonald's. McDonald's continues to innovate in the product area, bringing out new items that drive sales. It continues to be a value leader #8230; McDonald's is also doing extremely well overseas #8230; Overall, McDonald's continues to execute well and continues to be a good investment for the long term."What might move markets this week?"Friday we will have the employment report and it is critical we see employment numbers stay good if we have any hope of the consumer (continuing to spend) #8230; and have a decent holiday season. That's at the end of the week. But it is the probably the most important number of the week."