4%
Yesterday, I received several calls, emails and instant messages with the same theme…
The markets are crashing around us! Should we liquidate? The media (and Obama) are exclaiming this to be the worst catastrophe since the Great Depression! How will we ever survive this mess?
I reminded them if their stop loss settings kicked in and a [...]
Today is NOT the Day to Watch the Stock Market
This is going to be a very volatile day on Wall Street.
Unless you are a street or day trader, today is the day to concentrate on anything BUT the stock market.
At a macro level, there is some support at the 11,000 range for the DOW. The market will surely test that today. If it closes [...]
I Can’t Sort It Out!
That is the subject of an email message I received this morning. It was from a new investor who is over-whelmed by the information dump that happens daily.
“No matter how hard I try I can’t sort this stuff out. Some say things are bad, some say things are fine. Some say the stock market is [...]
Looking Forward, This Should be a Good Year for Investors.
Yes, the retail residential real estate market is still volatile and trending down. But, only real estate speculators buy at retail. The investor buys properties based on value and cash flow.
Yes, there is some weakness showing in some commercial real estate markets. But, again, the long term value investor will be fine.
REITs are massively over-sold. [...]
Take Advantage of this Short Covering Rally
To me, that means sell covered calls where appropriate.
It also means it is time for me to take some profits off the table and get rid of any positions showing weakness.
Then, probably next week, I will add to my long term positions. Buy back some covered calls and get ready for the cycle to loop [...]
The Answer is Nothing.
I got a question via IM this morning. The question was, “What are you buying at the open?”
“Nothing,” was my reply.
Then a list of “what abouts” came across the IM screen.
The rally we are seeing this morning is a bear rally and after the Fed announcement this afternoon is when buying opportunities might appear.
Now, if [...]
Yeah, Yeah, The Fed Will Cut Rates Today. But, Then What?
No one is watching the Fed today to see if they will cut the funds and discount rates. They will. There isn’t really all that much debate about whether it will be a .25 or .50 cut in the funds rate. Just, for the record, I think it will be .50, especially with the economic [...]
The Bad News is Today Will be a Bad Day for the Markets.
The Good News is this kind of sell off usually means we are near a bottom.
It is called capitulation. It is when traders and short term investors decide the pain is just too much and dump almost everything. It is sometimes called panic selling. It is when great companies go on sale.
Look for today to [...]
Unemployment Numbers Take a Big Jump Up
The unemployment number for December jumped to 5% from 4.7% in November. Non-farm payroll increased by only 18,000 jobs which is essentially a wash. Meaning about as many jobs were lost as added in December. Remember, these are lagging indicator meaning, the fundamentals in the economy caused the drop in jobs growth, the drop in [...]
Lenders Face Obstacles in Loan Modifications
In June I talked about why lenders don’t do more short sales. So, it should come as no surprise the lenders are facing increased pressure from the investors who bought the packaged loans to hold the line on modifications. They are pressing the servicing companies to only modify the loan when it looks like there [...]
