Friday's Financial Winners & Losers

Financial stocks leapt to finish the week substantially higher on Friday, once again propelled by comments out of the Federal Reserve.

The sector had taken a tumble yesterday following a healthful Wednesday rise, which had been inspired by Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn's remarks suggesting that another rate cut is forthcoming.

Today, however, Fed head honcho Ben Bernanke helped to vault financial stocks stratospherically after saying that a number of unfavorable conditions "seem likely to create some headwinds for the consumer in the months ahead." That generally reinforced the rate-cut hopes that Kohn had already sparked two days earlier. ...