CEO & CFO '09 outlook

[XOM]

To suggest the markets have been quite the volatile beasts these days is quite the understatement. Have equities already fully discounted the economic negativity that has both transpired so far and is yet still to come? As we move into 2009, this is indeed one of the key questions. Yes, we all know that equities bottom prior to recession conclusions. And if indeed the US remains in recession as of next April, ours will be the longest continuous recession since the depression. Hence, we have a lot of folks quite ready to jump the proverbial gun and get a good head start on the next bull market, which is sure to ultimately arrive. But, ahhh…the important question is when? And that will determine a true bear market bottom as opposed to a bear market rally bottom. Quite the differentiation, no?

Time for a very quick check in on the current sentiment from the executive suite, if you will. Just what have the CEO’s and CFO’s of this wonderful world been telling us lately. THE reason I’m bringing this up, as you’ll see in just a minute, is that in very recent surveys, CEO and CFO optimism has taken one very big step backward. Historically, it has paid to listen to these folks as their sense of economic, and really market, timing has been exceptional. Time to listen.

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[concrete]

I want cheap river front land. Bring on the devastation. Thanks.