Big year for stocks

The last trading day of 2006 ended on a down note, with the Dow falling 38 points. But overall this was a very good year, with the Dow gaining 16 percent - its best showing since 2003 (and breaking through the 12,000 level for the first time). Last year, the blue-chip average lost 0.61 percent. The S&P 500 was up 14 percent and the Nasdaq was up 10 percent. The markets really took off in the second half of the year - specifically, with the Fed's decision in August to stop raising short-term interest rates. But there were other factors, such as the boom in corporate profits, the taming of inflation, the limited impact of high energy prices on the economy, and the fact that nothing calamitous happened in 2006 (Iraq doesn't count because Wall Street has pretty much written off the war). As in any year, there are exceptions to the trendlines - in this case, anything having to do with homebuilding or newspapers. There also were a few surprises, including one of Wall Street's most misunderstood stocks, Amgen. The Thousand Oaks-based company fell 13.5 percent in 2006, perhaps because it got lumped in with the poor-performing drug companies. Anyway, here's a quick rundown on how L.A.-area stocks did for the year. The percentages might still be adjusted a bit.

Disney +43.4%
Activision +23.3%
Cheesecake Factory -35%
Guess +79.6%
Hilton +46.3%
KB Home -28.5%
Mattel +46.7%
99 Cents Only +15%
Occidental +24.5%
THQ +36.2%
Amgen -13.5%
Countrywide Financial +26.7%
California Pizza Kitchen +4.4%
DreamWorks Animation +19.4%
Edison +6.3%
Hot Topic -7.7%
IHOP +13%
Northrop +15.1%
Ryland -24.2%
Smart & Final +45.5%
Stamps.com -32.5%