Who's having the best week on the Street?

Driving production
2009 may have been one of the toughest years for the auto industry, but they sure ended the year on a positive note. Overall U.S. sales were up 15% compared to a year ago, the biggest percentage gain since July 2005. In December, total sales were over 1 million for only the second time this year. The only other month to top 1 million sales was August, when sales were fueled by the federal government's Cash for Clunkers program. Most of the automakers posted better than expected results. Five of the seven largest automakers reported increases of 18% or more from a year earlier.

One auto maker exceeding expectations in more ways than one this year is Hyundai. Thanks to a weak Korean won and a revitalized product line, Hyundai is ramping up volumes in major markets around the world.

Along with sister company Kia, of which it owns 39%, Hyundai is in firm control of Korea, with 80% of sales this year. In the U.S., generous incentives for retail customers and fleet purchases have pushed sales up a strong 7% in a market that's down 24%. November was a spectacular month: Hyundai brand sales jumped 46% from the previous year, and Kia rose 18%.

In China, where auto sales have skyrocketed this year thanks to government stimulus, Hyundai leaped 150% in September, leaving the company in second place, behind Volkswagen, among international automakers.

Tech leaders
On Tuesday, Google released the Nexus One at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV. The phone, which operates on the Android platform, got some pretty key advertising space this week: the Google home page. The phone is available unlocked for $529 or with a TMobile contract for $179. Other wireless retailers, including Verizon, plan to carry the Nexus One by spring. So now the question is, will the touch screen, 5 megapixel camera, GPS, and over 16,000 available apps in the Android marketplace make this phone serious competition for Apple’s iPhone?

Apple doesn’t seem worried. The company announced Tuesday that its App Store has surpassed 3 billion downloads from iPhone and iPod touch users. That’s why they’re having the best week on the Street.

"Three billion applications downloaded in less than 18 months -- this is like nothing we've ever seen before. The revolutionary App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users an experience unlike anything else available on other mobile devices, and we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon." - Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive

Do it yourself

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