Economics
A look at housing starts (reported yesterday):
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/06/housing-starts.html
An interesting take on the likelihood of a Fed rate increase:
http://bespokeinvest.typepad.com/bespoke/2008/06/fed-headlines.html
The sad state of US energy policy:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,368204,00.html
Politics
Domestic
Congress and school choice:
http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/06/member-of-110th-congress-are-3-4-times.html
International War Against Radical Islam
On the constitutional rights of jihadists and why they shouldn’t have them:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NTFhZTdmZWZlMGExNDRjOWRlZWUxYzEwNjg0MWEzZDc=
The Market
Technical
The DJIA (12160) closed below the April 2008 support level (12263)--this for the third time in the last 10 days. I have already been wrong once in my assumption of stock price direction following an earlier penetration below 12263; but at the risk of doing so again, my opinion hasn’t changed from the first time that I was wrong--which is to say, it looks to me like, technically, there is a real chance that the DJIA will challenge its January 2008 low (11634).
Meanwhile the S&P has been the much stronger index, technically speaking; only breaking its August 2007 low. Indeed, it could easily trade down to its 1982 to present up trend line (which is very close to intersecting with its April 2008 low) while the DJIA was testing its January low.
Assuming that there is additional downside in stock prices, hopefully both Averages can hold the support levels mentioned above.. Of course, I could be wrong-- again (i.e. the Market could rebound) and it wouldn’t be the first time. The difference this time is that I am not going to commit cash reserves until we clearly have either a well defined trading range or up/down trend.
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The first half of this article addresses speculation in the oil pits:
http://www.thestreet.com/p/_htmlrmd/rmoney/commodities/10421794.html
A chart on consumer sentiment:
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/06/consumer-sentim.html
Fundamental
Subscriber Alert
CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge
Portfolio 1 (85.5%): Sold: none
Bought: none
Positions: Automatic Data Products, Johnson Controls, Nucor,
Canon
Portfolio 2 (86.3%): Sold: Best Buy
Bought: Nokia
Positions:
Nokia
Portfolio 3 (90.9%): Sold: Ross Stores, Federated Investors
Bought: Smith Int’l, Mastercard
Positions: Nucor, Smith Int’l. ConocoPhillips, Mastercard
Portfolio 4 (80.8%): Sold: Wells
Bought: VF Corp
Positions: VF Corp, Dow Chemical,
News on Stocks in Our Portfolios
Reliance Steel (Aggressive Growth Portfolio) is buying PNA Group for $1.1 billion. PNA processes and distributes carbon steel plate, bar, structural and flat rolled products.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=RS
Penn Virginia Resource Ptrs (High Yield Portfolio) is buying the gathering and transportation assets of Lone Star Gathering for $160 million.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=PVR
A positive write up on Abbott Labs (Dividend Growth Portfolio):
http://www.zacks.com/rank/zcommentary/?id=7868
More Cash in Investors’ Hands
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