Thus, as a backdrop for this upcoming speech and continuing a much deserved tribute to Bernanke's key role in helping the US avoid a Deep, Prolonged Financial Depression, I think it would be helpful to update just what has been going on with Stock Market Prices for Companies in each US State since March 6, 2009, the lowest point for the overall US Stock Market resulting from the aftershocks of the horrific late 2008 US Financial Meltdown, through the most recent date March 16, 2015......a roughly six year period of time.
Long-term Audited Earnings From Continuing Operations Under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) drive Long-Term Changes in Stock Market Prices. These Company Earnings crashed with the late 2008 US Financial Meltdown and thus the linked Stock Market Prices of the related Companies also crashed.
But since the 2008 US Financial Meltdown, these Earnings have been consistently exceptional and thus the Stock Market Prices of the related Companies have also consistently exploded upwardly in the past six years.
This is the dilemma faced by the current US Fed ..... raise US interest rates or continue former US Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's economic policies which have continued to spur Company Earnings and thus also Company Stock Market Prices.
I think the current US Fed should tweak Bernanke's economic policies some to try to more effectively deal with income and wealth inequality, but why in the world would you want to alter them significantly since they have been so incredibly successful?
And the US Congress, and frankly also US Companies, just have to do a much better job addressing income and wealth inequality.
Minnesota Companies stock market prices have been on absolute fire in the past 4 1/2 months. They experienced average stock market price growth of 624% for the 6 years since March 6, 2009 through the most recent date March 16, 2015. This average growth since March 6, 2009 was a substantially lower 557% only 4 1/2 months ago.
Leading this spectacular growth is Select Comfort, whose stock market price has increased 165 times since March 6, 2009.
Below here are the 62 Minnesota Headquartered Companies with Stock Market Caps now above $100 mil and which have had their common stocks trading from December 31, 2007, or early in 2008 for companies first going public then, through the most recent date March 16, 2015, or the date the Companies were sold, if they were sold since the beginning of 2014.
| Market | Market | Market | ||||||
| Price | Price | Price | ||||||
| % | % | % | ||||||
| Change | Change | Change | ||||||
| Market | Market | Market | 3-6-09 | 12-31-07 | 12-31-07 | |||
| Price | Price | Price | to | to | to | |||
| Minnesota Company | HQs | 3-16-15 | 3-6-09 | 12-31-07 | 3-16-15 | 3-6-09 | 3-16-15 | |
| $s | $s | $s | ||||||
| Select Comfort | Minneapolis | MN | 33.32 | 0.20 | 7.01 | 16552% | -97% | 375% |
| Polaris Industries | Medina | MN | 148.41 | 7.59 | 23.89 | 1857% | -68% | 521% |
| ValueVision Media | Eden Prairie | MN | 6.08 | 0.35 | 6.29 | 1637% | -94% | -3% |
| Famous Dave's of America | Minnetonka | MN | 30.37 | 2.00 | 13.56 | 1419% | -85% | 124% |
| Arctic Cat | Plymouth | MN | 36.85 | 2.43 | 11.94 | 1416% | -80% | 209% |
| Clearfield | Plymouth | MN | 14.79 | 1.12 | 1.01 | 1221% | 11% | 1364% |
| Deluxe Corp | Shoreview | MN | 64.34 | 6.47 | 32.89 | 894% | -80% | 96% |
| Ameriprise Financial | Minneapolis | MN | 135.73 | 14.20 | 55.11 | 856% | -74% | 146% |
| Life Time Fitness | Chanhassen | MN | 70.68 | 7.50 | 49.68 | 842% | -85% | 42% |
| Winmark | Minneapolis | MN | 80.98 | 9.02 | 21.00 | 798% | -57% | 286% |
| Tennant Co | Minneapolis | MN | 65.30 | 8.23 | 44.29 | 693% | -81% | 47% |
| Stratasys Ltd | Eden Prairie | MN | 57.95 | 8.18 | 25.84 | 608% | -68% | 124% |
| UnitedHealth Group | Minnetonka | MN | 118.52 | 17.90 | 58.20 | 562% | -69% | 104% |
| Toro | Bloomington | MN | 67.40 | 10.57 | 27.22 | 538% | -61% | 148% |
| Buffalo Wild Wings | Minneapolis | MN | 189.74 | 30.05 | 23.22 | 531% | 29% | 717% |
| Valspar | Minneapolis | MN | 85.89 | 15.76 | 22.54 | 445% | -30% | 281% |
| Vascular Solutions | Minneapolis | MN | 28.87 | 5.40 | 6.50 | 435% | -17% | 344% |
| US Bancorp | Minneapolis | MN | 44.97 | 8.82 | 31.74 | 410% | -72% | 42% |
| Graco | Minneapolis | MN | 73.34 | 14.48 | 37.26 | 406% | -61% | 97% |
| Apogee Enterprises | Minneapolis | MN | 44.03 | 8.89 | 17.11 | 395% | -48% | 157% |
| Datalink | Eden Prairie | MN | 11.96 | 2.61 | 3.69 | 358% | -29% | 224% |
| G&K Services Inc | Minnetonka | MN | 71.90 | 15.77 | 37.52 | 356% | -58% | 92% |
| Cardiovascular Systems | St Paul | MN | 37.50 | 8.51 | 31.00 | 341% | -73% | 21% |
| HB Fuller | St Paul | MN | 42.60 | 10.29 | 22.45 | 314% | -54% | 90% |
| 3M | St Paul | MN | 166.21 | 41.83 | 84.32 | 297% | -50% | 97% |
| Ecolab | St Paul | MN | 115.17 | 29.90 | 51.21 | 285% | -42% | 125% |
| Enventis | Mankato | MN | 19.28 | 5.10 | 9.32 | 278% | -45% | 107% |
| Hormel Foods | Austin | MN | 55.65 | 15.18 | 20.24 | 267% | -25% | 175% |
| Pentair plc | Minneapolis | MN | 64.49 | 17.95 | 34.81 | 259% | -48% | 85% |
| MTS Systems | Eden Prairie | MN | 72.98 | 21.67 | 38.62 | 237% | -44% | 89% |
| Donaldson Co | Minneapolis | MN | 37.83 | 11.31 | 23.19 | 234% | -51% | 63% |
| Target | Minneapolis | MN | 80.49 | 25.65 | 50.00 | 214% | -49% | 61% |
| Fastenal | Winona | MN | 41.36 | 13.19 | 20.21 | 214% | -35% | 105% |
| Medtronic | Minneapolis | MN | 77.67 | 24.92 | 50.27 | 212% | -50% | 55% |
| Northern Oil and Gas | Wayzata | MN | 6.86 | 2.22 | 6.95 | 209% | -68% | -1% |
| Patterson | St Paul | MN | 49.45 | 16.55 | 33.95 | 199% | -51% | 46% |
| Hawkins Inc | Roseville | MN | 38.05 | 12.95 | 15.00 | 194% | -14% | 154% |
| BioScrip | Minnetonka | MN | 4.28 | 1.48 | 7.73 | 189% | -81% | -45% |
| Piper Jaffray | Minneapolis | MN | 55.32 | 19.30 | 46.32 | 187% | -58% | 19% |
| NVE Corp | Eden Prairie | MN | 66.40 | 28.98 | 24.60 | 129% | 18% | 170% |
| Lakes Entertainment | Minnetonka | MN | 8.60 | 3.80 | 13.24 | 126% | -71% | -35% |
| St Jude Medical | Saint Paul | MN | 67.46 | 32.37 | 40.64 | 108% | -20% | 66% |
| Bio-Techne | Minneapolis | MN | 97.50 | 46.98 | 66.05 | 108% | -29% | 48% |
| General Mills | Minneapolis | MN | 52.41 | 25.48 | 28.50 | 106% | -11% | 84% |
| Polymet Mining | Hoyt Lakes | MN | 1.29 | 0.65 | 3.24 | 98% | -80% | -60% |
| CH Robinson Worldwide | Eden Prairie | MN | 75.35 | 38.06 | 54.12 | 98% | -30% | 39% |
| TCF Financial | Wayzata | MN | 15.95 | 9.00 | 17.93 | 77% | -50% | -11% |
| Communications Systems | Minnetonka | MN | 11.88 | 7.01 | 11.87 | 69% | -41% | 0% |
| Best Buy | Richfield | MN | 41.63 | 24.71 | 52.65 | 68% | -53% | -21% |
| OneBeacon Group Ltd | Minnetonka | MN | 14.80 | 9.00 | 21.50 | 64% | -58% | -31% |
| SurModics | Eden Prairie | MN | 25.89 | 16.87 | 54.27 | 53% | -69% | -52% |
| Digi International | Minnetonka | MN | 10.18 | 6.78 | 14.19 | 50% | -52% | -28% |
| Christopher & Banks | Plymouth | MN | 5.17 | 3.51 | 11.45 | 47% | -69% | -55% |
| Regis Corp | Minneapolis | MN | 16.14 | 11.20 | 27.96 | 44% | -60% | -42% |
| Capella Education | Minneapolis | MN | 66.63 | 46.74 | 65.46 | 43% | -29% | 2% |
| ANI Pharmaceutics | Baudette | MN | 62.95 | 46.44 | 136.08 | 36% | -66% | -54% |
| Mosaic | Plymouth | MN | 46.90 | 39.16 | 94.34 | 20% | -58% | -50% |
| Two Harbors Investment | Minnetonka | MN | 10.50 | 8.77 | 8.38 | 20% | 5% | 25% |
| Qumu Corp | Minneapolis | MN | 13.65 | 12.11 | 25.95 | 13% | -53% | -47% |
| Digital River | Minnetonka | MN | 25.99 | 25.53 | 33.07 | 2% | -23% | -21% |
| SUPERVALU | Eden Prairie | MN | 11.12 | 14.36 | 37.52 | -23% | -62% | -70% |
| Imation | Oakdale | MN | 4.07 | 7.08 | 21.00 | -43% | -66% | -81% |
| Average % Change all 62 | 624% | -51% | 106% |
