Service Corp International

Two stock funds that trailed most of their peers in 2008 have beaten most of them in the recent sell-off.

Longer life expectancies, unfavorable secular trends toward cremations, and intense price competition are hampering longer-term growth and profitability.

Without additional structural reform among troubled governmental entities, we expect only a brief respite before the next crisis.

Many are selling above our fair value estimates.

Our updates on Ballard Power, Buy.com, Emerson Electric, Service Corp, SunTrust, and others.

Notes on Amgen, Genentech, Biogen, Nextel, Enron, Applied Materials, Etec Systems, Dayton Hudson, Disney, Schwab, U.S. Trust, Tommy Hilfiger, Carnival, Service Corp, DoubleClick, and Wendy's.