March 25, 2009

The Bulls Are Back in Town

Guess who just got back today?
Those wild-eyed boys that had been away
Havent changed, havent much to say
But man, I still think those cats are great!

Great it is. Stocks have now moved significantly higher over the last week or so as investors pile in in response to some clarity. The clarity is in the form of Treasury Secretary Geithner's "Toxic-Asset" plan being revealed on Monday. With banks being able to unload up to $1 trillion dollars in toxic bad debt, financials are now leading a nice stock bounce. For those keeping score, tremendous spikes higher are all part and parcel of the action in a bear market. With so much money on the sidelines, maybe $12 Trillion by some measures, and with the Fed pumping $3 Trillion into the economy, stocks may well be due for a pop. As a trade idea, inflation may follow the flood of money from the Fed and commodity issues, ie oil companies, agriculture, gold, etc&may be the place to make a bit of money this summer.

Diamonds & Dogs

Wednesday, march 25th, 2009

Diamonds
Fianancial stocks like USBank (USB) were mostly higher today as the Fed talked up the US dollar. USB gained $1.04 to $16.03 as it has been one of the most beaten down of the "good" banks.
Dogs
Before you feel too good about this rally, tech stocks began to layoff again today as IBM announced it is dropping 5,000 jobs, or about 4% of the work force. HPQ has already laid off 24,600 or 8% of their loyal workers.

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Diamonds
Happy birthday to my brother who turns 50 today. Who thought you would make it? Other diamonds, even with the Dow down about 1 ½ % today, were the generic drug makers, led today by Hospira (HSP) which gained $1.94 to $28.27. If you are looking for a strong area to invest, do not forget about the generics, the baby boomers are their friends.
Dogs
Saftey stock my can. Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) burped today, losing over 8% to finish the session at $6.61. The maker of Sharpie's and Paper Mate cut its dividend and is issuing debt. Good luck.

Monday, March 23rd, 2009-03-25

Diamonds
Every thing is relative. With the Dow down less than 12% for the year, everyone feels great today as we had a historic 6-7% rise in stocks. Most stocks were higher, led by financials like BAC which gained 26% to $7.80. They may even give their TARP money back. Nice.
Dogs
H&R Block (HRB) fell almost 10% right on the eve of the 2008 tax year crunch. HRB finished at $17.38 as their returns through March 15th were off by about 3.2%.

One final thought. As news spread today about Madoff using his London office to transfer funds (there's a shocker) it is interesting to note that by taking full blame for the fraud, Bernie is cutting his losses early and sparing the cost and turmoil of an extended legal battle etc. Now if Bernie the trader only knew how to cut his losses early, maybe 1,000's of people would not be wiped out by the scammer.