As the 2009 approaches, we look back to some of the free recommendations we’ve made to TFN eNews readers over the past year.

Our closed recommendations (i.e., stock recommendations with specific buy and sell recommendations), we recorded average gains of 24.1%, with an average holding period of 27 days.

Some gains in particular were truly stellar…

· 50.1% on Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC)
· 87.1% on National City (NYSE:NCC) Jan 2.5 calls
· 79.6% on Boeing (NYSE:BA) Feb 55 puts
· 190% on Boeing Aug 90 calls
· 55.5% on Rex Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:REXX)

But now it’s time to throw in the towel on some duds…

The shipping sector sank with the global recession. If you are still holding any, it’s time to unload shares of:

· China…

It takes more than a globally competitive economy to have a sound banking system. For the third straight year, the United States finds itself at the top of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as part of its annual Global Competitiveness Report.

IndyMac Bancorp Inc. (IMB) based in Pasadena, California with 33 retail branches and $32 billion in assets was seized by federal regulators on Friday. One of the latest victims of the credit crisis, the bank was a major player in the real estate boom this maybe one of the largest bank failures since the savings and loan scandals of the early 80s…

But IndyMac had long focused tightly on mortgages to customers who can’t provide the documentation required for conventional home loans – what are known as “Alt-A” mortgages. This sharp focus left no other business line on which the company could lean, he said.

Other analysts share that view.

Frederick Cannon of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. said IndyMac had only “a limited…