Stocks drop after disappointing reports from Bank of America, GE

Stocks fell sharply early Friday after a bigger-than-expected loss at Bank of America and a weak report from General Electric reminded investors that businesses and consumers are still struggling to pay off their debts.

Bank of America Corp. said it lost more than $2 billion after preferred dividends in the third quarter, steeper than what analysts had been expecting. One of the largest recipients of government bailout funds, the bank said its losses from failed loans came to almost $10 billion.

The results echoed reports earlier this week from rivals Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. that also showed higher loan losses and underscored the challenges the economy still faces, including high unemployment and anemic consumer spending.

General Electric Co.’s report also showed signs of credit weakness. Its profit dropped 44 percent in the most recent quarter, hurt by much lower earnings at its lending arm, GE Capital.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 80.63, or 0.8 percent, to 9,982.31. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 8.87, or 0.8 percent, to 1,087.69, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 14.52, or 0.7 percent, to 2,158.77.

The reports from Bank of America and GE overshadowed solid results from Google Inc., IBM Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. after the closing bell Thursday.

Yesterday’s Top Performing Small Cap Stock:

Green Star Alternative Energy, Inc. (Pink Sheets: GSAE) was a eXpressIR top performer yesterday closing up over 6% on trading volume of 169,085 shares.

Green Star Alternative Energy, Inc. recently announced that an analysis of the Veliko Gradiste zone demonstrates the potential for 50MW of wind energy development. As per the agreement with the municipality, Green Star is exploring the economic viability of the region’s wind resources to determine whether to exercise the right to develop wind power and supply the area with green electricity.

The Company’s wind resource engineer, MSc. Nikola Vasiljevic, has sited three separate micro locations in his report: two in Ram and one in Deliblatska Pescara. Plans to erect one of the Company’s wind sensors at the Ram site are underway. The Municipality of Veliko Gradiste is located in north-east Serbia approximately 100 km east of the capital, Belgrade. Its territory encompasses 344 square km on the right bank of the Danube River and left bank of the Pek River.

Miodrag Andric, CEO of Green Star Alternative Energy, stated: “The Company is committed to increasing its portfolio of wind farm development locations. By utilizing comprehensive analysis and meticulous exploration systems, Green Star will continue to acquire gainful opportunities in the wind energy sector.”

Today’s eXpressIR Hot Stock to Watch:

Muscle Flex Inc. (Pink Sheets: MFLI)

Muscle Flex Inc. announced today that it has chosen Showreel International Inc. (www.Showrel.com) to produce the Muscle Flex Beagle StepFit(TM) Pedometer 2-minute commercial to be filmed on Monday, October 19, 2009 for the November 2009 product launch. Showreel is an innovative film and video production company known for thinking out of the box and delivering intelligent, engaging productions that resonate with their target audience. For 25 years Showreel has created and produced numerous visually stunning award-winning projects for organizations such as Sony, Alcoa, Revlon, Taser International, Herbal Essences, Johnson & Johnson and Gillette.