Monday, November 19, 2007

hovering this time

The other shoe may have finally dropped here with the housing bubble.

Goldman Sachs is now telling clients to sell Citigroup, which means there are probably other banks that should be sold as well. Brokerages normally wait until the last moment before they tell their clients to sell. This is a very bearish signal and one that lets me know that the support tested at 13,000 might now break.

The tax list for Cook County came out last week and I was able to find properties in the city available for under $1,000.00 in taxes. I will be researching the owners and look for properties that I can put money on that will likely not be paid back.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

low dollar problems

Hey



There is an interesting article below that talks about the level of petrodollar union being busted for a petroeuro system because of the falling value of the dollar. That could cause some trouble bond wise.

http://www.enn.com/energy/article/24437



The markets bounced yesterday. Continue to buy the basic companies with strong earnings and dividends (PEP, GE, GS) while continuing your research into oversold financials. I know there are some out there who didn't get sucked into the sub prime hype like Goldman Sachs. They are the ones to buy. Did I mention Goldman Sachs isn't in trouble? I just want to make sure I mentioned that Goldman has so far avoided the subprime mess.

Speaking of subprime, the Wall Street Journal has an article today talking about the smart banks and the dumb banks. As I do not have a subscription, I cannot provide a link. I can only let you know that it is on page A2 of today's paper.



Keep an eye on Apple. The stock was hit to a tune of 20% and that to me sounds alarms technically. If it does not eclipse its high during the Xmas shopping season with the new Ipod Touch (which is certainly possible), I would look to sell.

Like I said in a previous post, I am currently only holding retirement accounts while continuing my education. But come the first of the year, I will be investing again.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

support

Hey

The Dow might be hitting a range here. It hit this level earlier in August and I think it will stay somewhere between 13,000 and 14,000. There are a few aspects that can change this such as world tensions, the subprime mess, and the dollar. But there is some major support around 12,900.




Speaking of the dollar, there are many different articles on SeekingAlpha in regards to the dollar's plunge during the Bush Administration.
Don't forget to check out the Trader Feed blog in my blog listings. Brett has some solid analysis on trading and the markets in general.




Monday, November 12, 2007

Etrade and last week

Hey

Etrade is now currently trading at 4 bucks a share. There is a chance that they might have to declare bankruptcy. The Yahoo article is below.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071112/apfn_e_trade_out_of_the_gate.html

The slide in stocks will slow but I am starting to believe the market will be in a trading range. This might be a time to sell some out of the money calls to pick up some extra cash in stocks in markets such as food (MCD, PEP, KO). The extra cash could be used to pick up some shares within these companies that will continue to make money.

If you are looking to speculate, look no further than alternative energy. First Solar has continued to move up into the 200 dollar range. This might continue with the oil market consistently making new highs. As long as oil is up, so will the other energy markets.

Being that it is veterans day, the thought of investing in defense contractors seems like a solid bet for the forseeable future. But do your homework and find the right company. This is just a thought.

Good luck and happy veterans day!!!!

Monday, November 5, 2007

41 billion dollar question

Hey



This past week, the Federal Reserve decided to cut the interest rate to 4.5% from 5.25% in two months. They also just put 41 billion dollars into the banking system.



Now, if you look at these two headlines, you might think that the country is headed for a recession and in big economic trouble. The problem is that the government just reported a GDP increase of 3.9%! How bad do they think the future will be economically? What exactly is going on?



I think these cuts are not to serve the country but to save those in the financial industry who made large bets and lost big. You need to look no further than the irresponsibility of the major financial firms like Merrill Lynch and Citigroup. Their earnings reports look so terrible, they had to give their respective CEO's severance packages worth over $100 million just to go away so the companies could clean up their mess. What do the other banks' earnings look like?

I am worried about the continued descent of the dollar. This action by the fed will undoubtedly help the dollar continue to fall against other major currencies.

Please add your comments as I am not sure if there is even a model that this current economic situation falls in.