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[tva995]

Trahan, Top-Ranked Strategist, Raises S&P 500 Target (Update1) By Allen Wan Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Bear, Stearns & Co.'s Francois Trahan, one of the Wall Street's biggest bears during a four-year rally in U.S. stocks, raised his year-end forecast for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to 1600 from 1550. The new target from Wall Street's top-ranked strategist would represent a gain of 13 percent from the index's 2006 close of 1418.30. His previous forecast was made in October. Trahan expects investors to pay more for stocks relative to earnings as inflation eases. ``Earnings will not be the major driver of what we expect will be an above-average year for stocks,'' Trahan wrote. ``Rather, as economic prospects trough and recover sometime in the first half of the year, multiples should expand significantly for the first time in several years.'' Trahan's new estimate ties him for the second-most bullish among 14 strategists followed by Bloomberg News behind Edward Keon of Prudential Equity Group LLC, who predicts the index will climb to 1630. Jason Trennert of Strategas Research Partners LLC and Tobias Levkovich of Citigroup Investment Research also expect the S&P 500 to reach 1600 this year, surpassing its record high of 1527.46 reached in March 2000. New York-based Trahan also boosted his recommended allocation to stocks to 70 percent from 50 percent, and cut his bond recommendation to 20 percent from 30 percent. Trahan, who was voted top portfolio strategist in the 2005 and 2006 surveys by Institutional Investor magazine, lowered his recommended cash allocation to 10 percent from 20 percent. Trahan began 2006 calling for the S&P 500 to reach 1350. He cut his estimate in May to 1200, the most bearish year-end forecast as of last month, on concern the Fed's interest-rate increases would weigh on the economy. The New York-based analyst forecast the index would be little changed in 2004 and 2005. To contact the reporter on this story: Allen Wan in New York at awan3@bloomberg.net . Last Updated: January 2, 2007 17:20 EST

[A-ha]

Bear, Stearns & Co.'s Francois Trahan, one of the Wall Street's biggest bears during a four-year rally in U.S. stocks, raised his year-end forecast for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to 1600 from 1550.

A single cell amoeba would beat this guy 10 times over by trading based on a random flip flop oscillator during the same time.

[endisnear]

Trahan, Top-Ranked Strategist, Raises S&P 500 Target (Update1)

By Allen Wan

Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Bear, Stearns & Co.'s Francois Trahan, one of the Wall Street's biggest bears during a four-year rally in U.S. stocks, raised his year-end forecast for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to 1600 from 1550.

The new target from Wall Street's top-ranked strategist would represent a gain of 13 percent from the index's 2006 close of 1418.30. His previous forecast was made in October.

Trahan expects investors to pay more for stocks relative to earnings as inflation eases.

``Earnings will not be the major driver of what we expect will be an above-average year for stocks,'' Trahan wrote. ``Rather, as economic prospects trough and recover sometime in the first half of the year, multiples should expand significantly for the first time in several years.''

Trahan's new estimate ties him for the second-most bullish among 14 strategists followed by Bloomberg News behind Edward Keon of Prudential Equity Group LLC, who predicts the index will climb to 1630. Jason Trennert of Strategas Research Partners LLC and Tobias Levkovich of Citigroup Investment Research also expect the S&P 500 to reach 1600 this year, surpassing its record high of 1527.46 reached in March 2000.

New York-based Trahan also boosted his recommended allocation to stocks to 70 percent from 50 percent, and cut his bond recommendation to 20 percent from 30 percent.

Trahan, who was voted top portfolio strategist in the 2005 and 2006 surveys by Institutional Investor magazine, lowered his recommended cash allocation to 10 percent from 20 percent.

Trahan began 2006 calling for the S&P 500 to reach 1350. He cut his estimate in May to 1200, the most bearish year-end forecast as of last month, on concern the Fed's interest-rate increases would weigh on the economy. The New York-based analyst forecast the index would be little changed in 2004 and 2005.

To contact the reporter on this story: Allen Wan in New York at awan3@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: January 2, 2007 17:20 EST

Love to see the flurry of these guys on the mainstream sites out with their bullish calls, based on nothing whatsoever......looks like an act of desperation to me..these guys gotta dump some inventory....

[TradeMark]

Wonder how Allen Wan concluded this guy was top ranked? I think end is on to Bear Stearns need to dump some inventory. TM