The SJC 25 Stock Report, April 15, '12

Editor's Note – In this feature, we check on the health of the Fortune 500 companies which have a presence in San Juan Capistrano.

It was a rough week in the markets. And rougher still for our little index that could.

But if we're likely to experience higher highs on the up side, we tend to sink a little harder in the down times.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.61 percent, the S&P 500, 1.99 percent. Yeah, the wrong direction. We had some really big losers in Bank of America Corp. and Quest Diagnostics Inc.

But we do have our bright spots. Starbucks Corp. and Safeway Inc., notably this week. 

Dollar Tree Inc. continues to push new highs, hitting another 52-week milestone before easing back just a tad. Starbucks Corp. is also trading at an all-time high, reports CNN Money. And it doesn't appear to be stopping.

, we talked about how the weather was spurring good retail sales. Well, here's a different article that says we have "frugality fatigue." In other words, people are just tired of not shopping.

Earnings Reports: Both JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. beat the street's expectations in their first quarterly reports, according to Businessweek. The boost came from mortgages, believe it or not.

Some Business Briefs for You: 

Wow, we thought our new Residence Inn by Marriott was doing well, but seriously, national-attention well? Yep, even the New York Times has noticed and included the new hotel in a story about how some of California is recovering (South Orange County) and some is not (Inland Empire). Read about it here. 

Now that it has conquered San Juan Capistrano, Marriott International Inc. is looking to double its presence in South America and the Carbibean, says Bloomberg. 

FedEx Corp. just bought a small counterpart in Poland, called Opek.sp o.o (funny, i thought Opek was based in the Middle East ... kidding!). It's all part of the strategy of keeping up with UPS Inc., which is also expanding into Europe by buying small companies, according to Zacks.

Have no idea if PetSmart Inc. is culpable, but this is a sad story from InvestorPlace. A couple took their puppy to be groomed. When they picked him up, the workers told them to take the dog to the vet right away. He died 45 minutes after arriving at the vet's.

Finally, we know the is not a Fortune 500 company (though we don't doubt it's entertained a few top executives throughout the many years). But hidden in this man-goes-on-adventure column in the Los Angeles Times this week is this little hidden business tip: Everyone's favorite saloon had its best month EVER in March. Maybe things are getting better in South Orange County!

 Ticker 

  % Change

 on the Week 

  -5.96

– Financial data provided by Google Finance

Full Disclosure: My husband works for Marriott International.