4 Days of Green

The market has been consistently positive for the past four days with big Ben giving the market a push today. I sold some Chipotle today because I wanted to free up some capital and feel like this rally will come to a close on Monday (if we close higher today). People are positive and global money is being pumped into the US economy.

I have been reading about the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 that the House passed a few weeks ago. One of the big issues inside this bill is the tax proposed on "carried interests" regarding hedge funds. This could have a negative effect on the liquid markets if private equity managers start getting hit with a higher tax rate. I will be keeping my eye on this bill (currently before the Senate).

Cowboys

Quick Rant. One of the biggest games of the year and it is being announced by Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth! Amateur hour on the NFL Network. Plus TO just gave up a touchdown. Back to the game.

Strong Finish

The market has been all over the board for the past few weeks and today was no different. The dow ended up 215 points and all my positions ended in the green. The market is still consumed with the mortgage industry but with the surge of foreign equity in the financials hopefully the market can regain some confidence. I never lost my confidence in the market (probably should have) but it does feel like we are looking for bad news to run the market lower.

Black Friday

My wife and I braved the crowds are ventured to the local mall in search of good deals and stock ideas. The holiday season can be a very telling time for retailers and disappointing holiday sales can be disastrous. The mall was very crowded with the usual suspects leading the way. Banana Republic, JCrew, Abercrombie & Fitch, Best Buy, Circuit City and the Apple Store were all packed. Some of the department stores were doing really well too, including Nordstroms and Dillards. The Apple Store was unbelievably crowded with hundreds of people clambering to save a few bucks. We walked in and the handed us a brochure with the days sales including $138 nano, $228 iPod Classic, $68 shuffle, and many more small discounts. This is one of the few times Apple puts anything on sale, so the apple groupies were there in flocks. With the continued success of the iPhone there is no reason not own a few shares of Apple.


The market rallied today with good indications coming from the retail side. The market closed at 1:00 today, leaving plenty of time to go shopping. Have a great weekend.

Disclosure: Long Apple

Where is the bottom?

Countrywide closed today at $9.42! At the beginning of the year CFC was trading around $45 dollars a share. I traded this stock in the mid 20's and made some nice coin. I have left it on my watch list just to use it as an indicator of where the housing and mortgage industry is trading. Usually a couple of large cap stocks from any industry can give you a pretty good idea of the way an industry is trending as a whole. So, what does this tell us? The mortgage market is hosed. Everyone knows that the mortgage industry is in trouble, but is the bottom in site? Well fortunately for us, stocks can not go negative, but this dog may still have some decline left. If I was looking for a long term investment Countrywide may be on the list (purely speculative of course). I am not going long right now, but I will continue to watch for a bottom.

Hope everyone has a great thanksgiving!

Get your Mac on!

As of yesterday, I am officially a Mac groupie. I received my MacBookPro yesterday and I love it. It is incredibly easy to use and Leopard is full of awesome features. I will not go into a full-blown review of the operating system (you can find one just about anywhere) but if you are looking for a new laptop take a close look at Apple.

Tech had a strong day today with the usual suspects including Apple, Google, and Research in Motion leading the pack. I have stayed long Apple through the market down turn and I am still confident it will recover along with the rest of the market. Housing numbers came out this morning and helped the market open strong. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. Back to playing with my new Mac. See you tomorrow.

What would Greenspan do?

In today's volatile market I tend to ask myself what would our old friend Greenspan do? I am currently reading his book, The Age of Turbulence, and it has been making me wonder what sectors Greenspan thinks will be stronger in the near future. Financials are getting killed along with housing stocks and anything with mortgage backed securities in there portfolio. I think (and Greenspan would probably agree;) technology, semiconductors, natural resources, and health care are the best trending sectors right now and likely for the next year. Financials could recover, but it is going to take some time so I am going to stay away from them for now. A few of my favorite stocks right now are aapl, grmn, tasr, txn, chk, ato, pfe, abt.

Another down day

My dog Campbell thinks tomorrow is going to be better day in the market, so I am going to watch The Office and lounge. Catch you on the flip.

Negative Market

The market has been so negative lately, but earnings are still strong. Look at your favorite companies p/e ratios and you may find that they are at historic lows. I am a buyer at these levels and believe this is a temporary down turn. Lots of great buying opportunities. Financials and housing are way to volatile right now, but if you can pick the bottom or don't mind sitting on some stocks for a while, financials are really cheep.

Rotten Apple

Apple is looking pretty rotten after a horrible past two weeks. It hit a high of $192.68 a few weeks ago and closed today at $153.76. What is going on? Who knows, but hopefully we have seen the bottom (although it could go lower). I may pick up a few shares tomorrow if it continues to dive. iPhone just launched in Europe which should help spur more blowout quarters (the weak dollar will not hurt too).

Wedgie Proof Underware

Jared and Justin Serovich from Chicago came up with the Rip Away 1000!

Bluetooth

This is a hilarious clip! Larry David is a genius. Hope everyone has a great weekend. I took a beating this week, but volatility keeps the markets fluid.

News & Links

HP will stop making digital cameras, and concentrate on the printing business (or printer cartridge business) according to Tech Crunch.

Check out infinite solutions for interesting computer related fixes and updates. He is the Mac Guyver of technology. He actually uses a cell phone, Ethernet cable, salad bowl, and tin foil to increase his Wifi connection. Niceee.

Criminals are getting nabbed for discussing crimes on social networks. First rule of fight club is never talk about fight club. Gizmoto has the story.

If you are getting ready for post Thanksgiving shopping get a head start by checking out the specials @ blackfriday.info or click here.

Undicided who to vote for in 2008. Take this quick quiz called the "Match-O-Matic" from ABCnews.com and all you have to do is go to the polls.

Seinfeld Standup

Everyone needs a good laugh when the market is getting crushed.

Tech is getting pounded

Tech stocks and financials are taking a beating this afternoon along with every other sector. Bernanke did not do anything to calm the markets today.

The DOW is currently down about 200 points

Apple is down 12.34
Google is down 48.99
RIMM is down 13.23

The list goes on and on.

Elements of Branding

This is pretty interesting if you are interested in marketing or advertising. Click on the picture to follow the link.


Built by Kolbrener, a branding company

Dow did a 360

The Dow dropped 360 points today following a strong day yesterday. The housing fiasco is still driving the market lower, although it is effecting the entire market (including tech). Apple gave back all of yesterdays gains dropping $5 to $186.30. Wallstrip featured apple today, see below. None of my positions were up today, so I am going for a run and hopefully tomorrow will be better. On days like this I have to remind myself that I am an investor and not a trader, think long term.

Take the Wallstrip survey!

Very Strong Close

Good day to be long. The market closed strong today, ending with the Dow up 117 points, NASDAQ up 30, and the S&P up 18. Tech lead the way again with apple jumping 5 bucks to $191.79 and Google up 16.14 to $741.79. Google is up nearly everyday on growth and anticipation of the g-Phone. It is going to be hard to compete with the iPhone, but they may just change the way we pay for and use our phones.

Volt

Oil may hit $100 a barrel this week as fighting continues in oil rich countries. Electric automobiles can not come soon enough. GM has introduced an electric rechargeable concept car called the Volt that has been getting a lot of attention. The Volt is projected to get about 40 miles on a single charge, which should cover most Americans commute. This concept may be counterproductive if the electric companies can not find an alternative source of energy like wind or solar (many electric companies currently use coal). GM is projected to build as many as 60,000 cars in the first year with a target price between $20-30k. Sign me up.

Down Day

The Dow closed today down 51.70 today on continued credit worries. The regular group Google, Bidu, and RIM continue to climb higher despite the broad market concerns. No big movements in my portfolio today, but most positions were slightly lower.

Tech Crunch has an interesting article on the value Second Life. With many social networking sites going for tens of millions it is very difficult to put a value on a site like Second Life and since I have never played the game or gone to the site I will not try.

Have a great weekend!!

Catfish Investing

I am looking at some bottom feeders today. Countrywide & Merrill Lynch are trading very low (and for good reason). When I look at a play based on problems in a sector I usually want to look for the sector leaders because they seem to rebound faster and there is less risk of a complete collapse. Countrywide fits that criteria, but it is hard to find the bottom, and I don't like to chase stocks lower because then you have to play the waiting game. I am going to pass for now, but I will keep my eye on both.

Mortgage Rant

Take some personal responsibility for your dumb financial decisions. If it seems too good to be true it probably is. You knew when you bought that million dollar house with nothing down that you were getting in over your head. Now that house is worth 800k and you want someone to bail you out or you are going to walk away. That is not the way it works. Take some personal responsibility and pay your bills. You traded your financial future for granite countertops and hardwood floors and now it is time to make good on your bet. If the government bails you out by artificially inflating home prices the ones that are going to get squeezed are the old (on fixed income) and the young fist time home buyers who can not afford an entry level home.

Jim Cramer on Market Manipulation

This video has been out for a long time, but I felt with the market acting so volatile the past few months I would take another look at it. Cramer basically says that his hedge fund (closed now) would manipulate the market on the short side. Although this is highly illegal it happens everyday.

Get a Job

According to the Labor Department employers added 166,000 jobs in October. This is nearly double what economists had anticipated. The current unemployment rate is 4.7%. This is a good sign that the credit crunch has not spilled over into other parts of the economy. This market is still trading lower in early morning trading. The DOW is currently down about 60 points @ 13,508.

Should be a great weekend for football with the highly hyped Indy vs patriots game on Sunday. The Cowboys are playing Phili in Philadelphia on Sunday night. Should be some great football.

Dow down 362 points!

The Dow closed down 362 points
NASDAQ closed down 64 points
S&P 500 closed down 40 points

Today was a blood shed, with financials and anything related to housing spilling the most. Everything in my portfolio ended in the red but Dreamworks (DWA) which for some reason has been moving against the market. I guess Wall Street had a sugar hangover today and decided to take some risk off the table. I have been staying away from financials and housing stocks so today mainly hurt my mutual funds (I am afraid to look at how much) but my speculative investments were not damaged to bad. I know I am completely insane for looking at this stock, but Countrywide is looking really cheap right now. I am going to hold off for now, but if it drops another 10-20% I may pick up a few shares and forget about them for a year. Countrywide is not going anywhere, so it is likely a safe bet (especially with Buffet buying at $18).

Doomsday for CROX

The inevitable finally happened. Crox is down today $22 or 29% due to disappointing revenue and 2007 outlook. I think everyone knew this stock was greatly overvalued and that one day it would tank. Well today is that day. I don't like to see stocks turn this fast, knowing that a lot of investors lost big, but that is the risk we all take when investing in growth stocks. Here is a Wallstrip from the good old days when Crox was on fire...

Take the Wallstrip survey!

Here's a ranking of the top 10 stock gainers in the past decade according to Market Watch.

Company.........Cumulative gain (%)
Chico's FAS......3,790.889
Apple...............3,504.444
Frontier Oil......2,367.556
Oshkosh Truck.2,153.455
Clean Harbors..1,995.059
Echostar...........1,870.947
Gilead..............1,816.260
American Eagle.1,737.162
Holly Corp........1,706.189
XTO Energy......1,629.161