NEWS: Yesterday, the market opened higher before fading into the lunch hour, but a small bounce to end the day was enough to help the indices finish in the green. The Dow closed up 60 points or 0.5%. The S&P 500 added 6 points or 0.5%. The NASDAQ gained 10 points or 0.5%. Oil closed at a new all-time high and gold bounced on the back of higher crude.

THE BOTTOMLINE: More consolidation today after a rash of earnings hit the wires before the opening bell. For the most part the numbers were fairly good and may have been enough for investors to put the disappointing GE numbers from last week behind them. Big news came out of the airline sector last night when the Northwest (symbol: NWA)/Delta (symbol: DAL) deal was finalized consummated. Investors cheered the news early, but by the end of the session both stocks were down about 10%. The AMEX Airline Index (XAL) closed at a fresh all-time low today as nearly every major airline fell on the news. Instead of the merger bringing optimism to the airline stocks, it highlighted the fact that the merger was a last ditch desperation for both companies. A couple of weeks ago I discussed the airline industry on Fox News Channel’s “Cashin In” and stated that airline companies are running a flawed business plan. For years the companies have been trying new techniques to make air travel better and at the same time affordable. However, at the end of the day the companies continue to do one thing - lose money! This is one sector I would stay away from.

** After the bell Intel (symbol: INTC) reported strong earnings and the stock is up over 5% in extended hours trading.

DAILY ETF BULLETIN - INDIA RALLIES

NEWS: Most emerging market countries have suffered sizable losses in 2008, but India has been hit unusually hard. Year-to-date the Bombay SENSEX Index is down 22% after gaining over 200% the prior three years.

THE BOTTOMLINE: Good news today from one of India’s larger technology companies, Infosys Technologies (symbol: INFY), helped propel the Indian ETFs higher. INFY rallied 8.5% on the day and the PowerShares India ETF (symbol: PNI) popped 5.7%. Other Indian ETFs having a solid day were: EPI, INP, and IIF.

The two newest India ETFs (PIN and EPI) are about six weeks old and have moved in a similar fashion since their launch. INFY is the number one holding of PIN and the third largest holding in EPI. The top holdings are similar between the two ETFs, but PIN is composed of only 50 stocks versus the 150 in EPI. The other major difference is that EPI focuses on Indian stocks with earnings as its strategy for choosing stocks. Between the two, EPI would be my choice based on the earnings component when choosing stocks and the greater diversification through 150 holdings.

McCALL’S CALL - THE ANNUITY SCAM

NEWS: Sunday night I caught an interesting expose on annuity scams that are taking advantage unsuspecting investors (most are elderly). The CBS report showed a number of scams that annuity salespeople will pull on the elderly. What many of the “crooks” are doing is not illegal, yet it is highly unethical. The withdrawal fees for one of the annuities began at 20% and went down over the next 20 years. Therefore if for some reason you had to take out your money it would cost you a LARGE sum of money.

THE BOTTOMLINE: After watching the news shows on Sunday night I felt I had to bring up the warning against people in this industry that sell annuities. For most investors an annuity is not the best vehicle due to excessive fees and regulations. The reason so many salespeople push the products is because of the high commission it generates for the company and employee. This is one reason Penn Financial Group offers 100% fee-based portfolio management. When commissions are mixed with salespeople trying to pay their bills, it is a recipe for unethical decisions. I have had the unfortunate opportunity of helping clients get out of bad annuity products and it never ceases to amaze me when I analyze the annuity offerings. Not only are they not the correct product for the client, but they also have high fees attached to them.

The reason for this section is not to put down all annuity products. This is a warning that I hope will help keep someone out of a bad annuity product or at least ask enough questions to make sure the annuity is appropriate for your investment portfolio. When a product sounds too good to be true and there is “no risk” involved, there is likely more to the story. Please perform your due diligence before considering any annuity or other investment product.