Five Stocks That Might Trade Lower in 2012

2011 was an eventful year to say the least. The world lost one of its great innovators in Steve Jobs. We also saw a trio of evil leave the planet in the shape of Bin Laden, Gaddafi and Jong-il. The economy has continued to dive-bomb, and most companies have taken a big hit. In the middle of all of that chaos though, there have been success stories proving that it is not impossible to make a buck in the most difficult of circumstances. Even Detroit has reason to smile, with the Big 3 seeing a turnaround in fortunes. Still, for every Ford, there is a Netflix - a company that went the Icarus route and is now gazing at near-melted feathers. Being our cheery selves, we took a look at five companies that could very well be plummeting towards the ocean in the New Year. Not that we are a Grinch or anything. If you would like to be alerted to stock updates as they come out in real-time, signup for a

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: Let's face it – in this economy, every bank, investment bank and other financial institution is going to struggle. The ongoing crisis in the U.S. and Europe pretty much guarantees that fact. BAC is just one, but because of the size of the company, and because of the many fires that it has irons in, it seems the most appropriate for this list. Bottom line – should the economy on both sides of the Atlantic continue to struggle as 2012 progresses, BAC will almost certainly trade lower.

: Oh Netflix, poor Netflix. 2011, it is fair to say, was not a good year for Netflix. Bad decision after misguided decision took the company from the brink of success to near-fatal failure. Was it the confusion between streaming and mail-order? Was it the almost-unbelievable price increase? It was all of that, and more. To be honest, it is unlikely that2012 will see NFLX rise from the ashes like a movie-providing phoenix. Rather, there is every chance that the company will continue to plummet. It was such a good ideas too, and it branded itself so successfully. Just goes to show – any new business is a bad decision away for being the laughing stock of Wall Street.

: Airlines may well suffer in 2012, thanks to the climbing price of oil and the fact that most people do not have enough disposable income to take a vacation, let alone to fly there. OK, there will always be the business travelers. But airlines need the public to be traveling to really make a profit. The holidays will have seen a small rise in state-to-state travel as people visit family or go home for Christmas. That number will drop in January, and may continue to fall throughout the year, for Spirit and any other airline.

: An article in

on Tuesday pointed out that, “There has never been a stock that seemed to serve such a fantastic lightning rod for both bulls and bears alike than RIMM. If the perception of arrogance is the byproduct of sharing the Ugly Truth, I'd take that as a compliment. In the end, it is all about making money in the market; to be able to help someone else do it is an added bonus.” That pretty much says it all. RIMM will rise and fall in 2012, like it always does.

: Who in the world still likes to play Farmville, Yoville or anything else like that? I mean, who has the time? I understand the desire to create a life free of economic stress when the real world is full of it but, honestly, there are better was to use your time. The public are catching on to this, and Zynga could have a rough 2012 as a result.