Wednesday, May 7, 2008

5/7/08

Economics

The rise on entrepreneurship:

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/05/index-of-entrepreneurial-activity-rises.html

fiscal profligacy (Government spending as a percent of GDP is too high and the looming explosion in entitlement expenditures will make it worse. There is no good solution save spending discipline.). More of ‘your tax dollars at work’:

http://republicanleader.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=90578

And the latest on the Farm Bill:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/NATION/942816379/1002

The cost of gas as a percent of personal income:

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/05/gas-at-historical-highs-not-even-close.html

Politics

Domestic

Obama’s Patriot Corporation Act:

http://www.poorandstupid.com/2008_05_04_chronArchive.asp#7388488732503631748

International War Against Radical Islam

The Market

Technical

The Market’s action continues to amaze me. Were I a betting man, I would have given better than even odds that stock prices yesterday would have been down--of course, initially they were; but the sellers just couldn’t gain any traction. From a technical standpoint, on Monday the DJIA traded down to the old October to present down trend line while the S&P actually traded through it and closed below it. Had either continued down, it would have been a short enough time (since last Thursday/Friday) that it would have brought that October to present down trend back into play, raising the possibility that last week’s Thursday/Friday positive performance might have been an aberration. But alas yesterday after both Averages tried to push lower, they snapped back. Bottom line: in my simplistic way of looking at the Market technically, yesterday’s action further strengthened the March 2008 to present up trend and further diminished the importance of all those resistance levels I focused on from August 2007 to April 2008.

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A chart on the current short interest:

http://bespokeinvest.typepad.com/bespoke/2008/05/nyse-april-mont.html

Fundamental

News on Stocks in Our Portfolios

Alcon (Aggressive Growth Portfolio) raised its annual dividend per share from $2.06 to $2.51.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ACL

ParkerVision (10 Bagger) reported first quarter earnings per share of ($.19) versus ($.19) recorded in the comparable 2007 quarter.

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid={F0D160F3-3EE4-47B2-A3A6-BE6D92DCB86B}&siteid=nbs

More Cash in Investors’ Hands

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