12/26/2011
Noncyclical Food Business Stocks Outpace Flat S&P 500
Stocks of Hershey Co. and other noncyclical businesses gained an average of about 16 percent in 2010, outpacing a lackluster S&P 500, which inched up 0.6 percent in 2011 through Dec. 23, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. That's the smallest annual move since 1970, as Europe's current debt crisis continues to worry U.S. investors, the story said. Meantime, U.S. consumer confidence rose in December as the job market improved, suggesting the pace of recovery might be picking up.