SUSAN TOMPOR: State stock prices must be put into perspective

State stock prices must be put into perspective BY SUSAN TOMPOR • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • July 20, 2008 Much of Michigan gasped when General Motors Corp. stock tumbled below $10 a share this summer, a low point that hadn't been seen in more than 50 years. GM did recover somewhat and closed above $13 a share last week. What's amazing, though, is that the bear market has driven the stock prices of about 40% of Michigan's public companies to single digits, based on a basket of Michigan-related stocks tracked by David Sowerby, a Bloomfield Hills-based portfolio manager for Loomis, Sayles & Co. Wrong side of a bear market Consider this: Stocks in some Michigan-based banks are priced at far less than what many consumers pay for a bounced check. Troy-based Flagstar Bancorp Inc. closed at $3.84 a share on Friday -- and had closed as... [read full story]