Lou
05-12-2006, 07:05 PM
LACK OF TRUST IN BIG BROTHER GREATER RISK THAN HIGHER COMMODITIES
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst
5/12/2006 12:32:35 PM Eastern Time
The market has exhibited some resolve today, but for the most part it has been tough sledding indeed. The fact of the matter is the market needs to limp out of the week and regroup over the weekend. The interesting aspect of today's session is that all the recent hot stocks and hot groups are lower, too. Gold, rails, coal, oil drillers/services, and other alternative energy plays are taking it on the chin. Yesterday, there was a notion that there was a place to hide. Today, I think some of the smarter players are testing the waters in areas like the semiconductors and some retailers.
I really can't impress upon investors how important it is to ride this dip out without panicking and selling stocks that have the potential to be higher in a couple weeks or a couple of months. he Spying that Shagged the Market
The Spying that Shagged the Market
I've been a serious supporter of the efforts to prevent another 9-11, but the administration continues to handle this task in the clumsiest of ways. I think at the end of the day it boils down to communication, and that simply isn't happening. It was interesting that yesterday nobody mentioned that the market was off, maybe in larger part to the NSA situation than higher commodity prices? I thought about it but I didn't put it together, but as I consider it and look at recent history there is some validity to the notion.
There isn't a fundamental rationale behind the would-be connection, but privacy is a deep emotional hot button that could be traced to negative behavior in an array of arenas not the least of which is the stock market. Currently, there is a wave of anti-American sentiment...in America. The clumsy handling of spying only feeds into the fear mongers rhetoric. Money is leaving the nation in droves, there is serious talk of replacing U.S. dollars at central banks around the world, and foreign companies don't yearn for U.S. stock listings anymore (none of the top-ten initial public offerings were led by a U.S. underwriter in 2005). So, the series of big time communication gaffs with the public is only exacerbating the trend.
Let's face it, yesterday higher commodity prices wasn't news, the fact that the National Security Administration was building the world's largest database, consisting of every single phone call in the nation was news, and it can't be swept under the rug. Sure, if there is another large attack the public would scream that the government didn't do everything it could to keep us safe, which is why the drastic measures needed to stave off such an attack don't have to be cloak and dagger. I can only hope that Bush & Co come clean about the whole ball of wax and take the notion of a loss of privacy out of the equation.
I'll be discussing this possible connection to the sell-off in the stock market and the burgeoning spying scandal after the closing bell on the Fox News Network.
Be Cool
I love the action in Marvell (MRVL), Arbitron (ARB), and United Health (UNH), even some of the biggest losers today appear to only be down on profit-taking. Now is a great time to update the tracker on our website or to send in your portfolio for a review. I can't stress that I think this is a head fake. However, it is obvious that if there are legitimate new signs of inflation the market will slide or mark time with a negative bias. My best advice is to be cool.
Have a safe weekend
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst
5/12/2006 12:32:35 PM Eastern Time
The market has exhibited some resolve today, but for the most part it has been tough sledding indeed. The fact of the matter is the market needs to limp out of the week and regroup over the weekend. The interesting aspect of today's session is that all the recent hot stocks and hot groups are lower, too. Gold, rails, coal, oil drillers/services, and other alternative energy plays are taking it on the chin. Yesterday, there was a notion that there was a place to hide. Today, I think some of the smarter players are testing the waters in areas like the semiconductors and some retailers.
I really can't impress upon investors how important it is to ride this dip out without panicking and selling stocks that have the potential to be higher in a couple weeks or a couple of months. he Spying that Shagged the Market
The Spying that Shagged the Market
I've been a serious supporter of the efforts to prevent another 9-11, but the administration continues to handle this task in the clumsiest of ways. I think at the end of the day it boils down to communication, and that simply isn't happening. It was interesting that yesterday nobody mentioned that the market was off, maybe in larger part to the NSA situation than higher commodity prices? I thought about it but I didn't put it together, but as I consider it and look at recent history there is some validity to the notion.
There isn't a fundamental rationale behind the would-be connection, but privacy is a deep emotional hot button that could be traced to negative behavior in an array of arenas not the least of which is the stock market. Currently, there is a wave of anti-American sentiment...in America. The clumsy handling of spying only feeds into the fear mongers rhetoric. Money is leaving the nation in droves, there is serious talk of replacing U.S. dollars at central banks around the world, and foreign companies don't yearn for U.S. stock listings anymore (none of the top-ten initial public offerings were led by a U.S. underwriter in 2005). So, the series of big time communication gaffs with the public is only exacerbating the trend.
Let's face it, yesterday higher commodity prices wasn't news, the fact that the National Security Administration was building the world's largest database, consisting of every single phone call in the nation was news, and it can't be swept under the rug. Sure, if there is another large attack the public would scream that the government didn't do everything it could to keep us safe, which is why the drastic measures needed to stave off such an attack don't have to be cloak and dagger. I can only hope that Bush & Co come clean about the whole ball of wax and take the notion of a loss of privacy out of the equation.
I'll be discussing this possible connection to the sell-off in the stock market and the burgeoning spying scandal after the closing bell on the Fox News Network.
Be Cool
I love the action in Marvell (MRVL), Arbitron (ARB), and United Health (UNH), even some of the biggest losers today appear to only be down on profit-taking. Now is a great time to update the tracker on our website or to send in your portfolio for a review. I can't stress that I think this is a head fake. However, it is obvious that if there are legitimate new signs of inflation the market will slide or mark time with a negative bias. My best advice is to be cool.
Have a safe weekend