[Posted 7:00 AM ET]
Iraq
“The stunning victory in the war to remove Saddam has been
followed by an almost equally stunning lack of seriousness about
winning the peace, despite the vital importance of creating a
stable, secure, and democratic Iraq.”
–William Kristol and Robert Kagan / The Weekly Standard
Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland added that the mission
in Iraq is a “strangely unfocused U.S. campaign,” while Senator
Joseph Biden said Iraq is a “country in search of a strategy.”
All of the above comments were made early in the week, before
the White House suddenly shifted into hyper mode, sensing that
the operation was spinning out of control.
And the solution itself appears to be speed, by their way of
thinking; speed in shifting power to the Iraqi Governing Council,
or a reasonable facsimile thereof, as quickly as possible, while
signing up an Iraqi security force capable of replacing U.S.
soldiers by 2005. But as Senator Biden says, “The faster we go,
the more poorly trained and less legitimate the police and army
will be. Putting them in charge is a recipe for failure.”
[Washington Post]
Senator John McCain, also in a Post op-ed piece.
“If our troop deployment schedules are more important than our
staying power, we embolden our enemies and make it harder for
our friends to take risks on our behalf…President Bush speaks
frequently of the need to take the offensive in the war on terror
but in Iraq we too often appear to be playing defense.”
McCain adds, the existing troop levels “preserve the illusion that
we have sufficient forces in place to meet our objectives,” and in
the end “It is our responsibility to help create the security in
which Iraqi politics can flourish. We can leave it to the Iraqis to
decide what kind of tax code they should have.”
For those Iraqis and Washington leaders looking for a more
secure Iraq it was another debilitating week and I for one grow
weary of some of the “happy talk” being fed us. I have never
denied there is a ton of good taking place across Iraq, but you
can not just slough off the horrible bombing in Nasiriyah that
claimed 31 lives, including at last count 16 Italian policemen.
Coupled with a blast in Basra that killed 6 Iraqis, it’s quite
apparent violence is no longer limited to the Sunni triangle,
Nasiriyah and Basra being in the heretofore peaceful south.
Our president keeps telling us we will stay the course, and we
can not afford to lose, yet by his failure to send more troops and
recognize the problems in a post-war Iraq, we telegraph a mixed
message. At least this week the U.S. military counterattacked
with a vengeance and hinted at finally being able to identify just
who the enemy is. But in some respects it’s already too late as
nations who once pledged substantial troops to the cause, such as
Japan and South Korea, now want to hold off until the situation
on the ground improves. It will, but only when the president
decides to ignore the election cycle…the existence of which,
incidentally, screams for a constitutional amendment changing
the office of president to a single 4- or 6-year term. I can’t be the
only American pissed off to see our leader jetting about for all
manner of campaign stops during a time of war.
Lastly, I leave you with the important observations of Arab
affairs expert Fouad Ajami from his op-ed in the November 17
issue of U.S. News & World Report.
“It is idle to debate now whether this was a war of choice or of
necessity. We stand sentry here…having decapitated the old
regime and pledged to build a better one in its place. Our truth is
being redeemed in the most painful of ways – by predominantly
young men and women who carry the heaviest of burdens – so
many of whom have now made the ultimate sacrifice. The
question of whether a single national society exists in Iraq is yet
to be answered. The insurgency in the Sunni triangle is the
rebellion and the rear-guard action of a terrible breed of people
eager to restore their own hegemony and the reign of terror that
came with it. To a great, liberal country free of tribal and
sectarian feuds now falls the grim task of quelling a rebellion of
the darkest atavism. Imperial power has always carried with it
heartbreak. In the shade of these palm trees of Mesopotamia, the
best of our young people give the Iraqis their first exposure to an
army that does not plunder and terrorize. May our sacrifices in
that land not be in vain.”
Wall Street
While President Bush’s poll #’s continue to slide with regards to
his handling of the war, on the economy 50% now approve of
administration policy (NBC / Wall Street Journal), not bad and a
figure that should continue to improve for at least the next few
months. The consensus in various surveys of economists is for
4% growth in 2004, a figure large enough to augur increases in
employment, particularly if the global recovery kicks into a
higher gear and demand for U.S. products rises.
And for the most part the economic indicators for items such as
industrial production, capacity utilization and retail sales met
expectations, while the 0.8% spike in producer prices was
viewed as an anomaly, at least by the bond market…for now.
But the stock market didn’t hold new highs due largely to a
muted forecast for the Christmas season from Wal-Mart, which
is a rather large retailer that has swallowed 10% of the total land
mass in America, or, better put, about 9% of all retail sales.
But I’d like to diverge a bit from the normal format of this
segment to raise some individual issues.
–The European Union is set to levy about $2 billion in tariffs
versus various U.S. products unless the Bush administration
drops the steel tariffs imposed back in 2002. The tariffs were
designed not only to combat foreign dumping, but primarily to
help assure victory for the president in key electoral, steel heavy
states such as Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Of course like with all tariffs there is a downside and in this case
users of steel, such as auto parts manufacturers, saw a huge
increase in their own costs, passed on to U.S. consumers, while
at the same time most experts feel that job losses in the other
sectors far outweighed any positive impact on the U.S. steel
industry. How the president handles this issue is critical to
avoiding the full-blown trade war that I have long warned of.
And still on the trade front, at least China felt compelled to very
publicly announce it was launching a campaign to buy American,
particularly planes and autos, in order to avoid retaliation on the
part of Washington for its own predatory practices. At the same
time, American farmers should be ecstatic as China sops up our
farm products, such as soy beans, due to the fact China can’t
meet its growing needs internally. Which reminds me;
remember two weeks ago when I noted the coming ecological
disaster in China? The biggest impact would be on agriculture,
i.e., happy days are here again for the U.S. farm belt. [Which
also means it’s a good time to think about taking away the
subsidies.]
–The South China Morning Post had a story that the # of homes
in Hong Kong that were in negative equity (home value less than
the outstanding mortgage) was finally decreasing, though 29% of
all bank mortgages remain underwater by this measurement.
Hong Kong’s real estate market had fallen 66-75% since the
Asian crisis of 1997-98…a cautionary tale for Americans who
refuse to believe real estate can go down in this country.
–USA Today reported that 28% of those age 65 or older owe on
their homes, up from 21% in 1990; significant because many at
this age would like to own their homes outright. Granted, low
interest rates make some of this new debt more financially
feasible, but the bottom line is America’s elderly are increasingly
in dire shape, especially with those same low interest rates not
leading to any return whatsoever on their savings, unless they
take on risk…which they shouldn’t be forced to.
–Last week I told you how the insurance premium on the
healthcare policy for my subsidiary, CSI MultiMedia, was
climbing 23% in 2004, so this week I talked it over with one of
my employees. I pay 51% of the overall premium (I wish I could
pay more) and the employee picks up the other 49%. Next year
the employees will be responsible for an additional $10 a week,
as I leave the percentages alone.
Now the tax cut in ’03 was roughly equal to about $7-$9 a
paycheck (weekly) for most of the staff and while this will
increase a bit further in ’04, the additional cost for insurance will
basically wipe out their benefit. Then, Pam told me the property
taxes on her home rose $500.
The above is a classic example of how tough it is these days to
keep up, largely because of these twin bogeys, healthcare and
property taxes. And any benefits received from the tax cuts are
spent. Nothing is saved, and in most cases more debt is tacked
on.
Don’t get me wrong. If you’re new to the site I was fully
supportive of the Bush tax package except for the reduction in
the tax on dividends, which is solely a sop to the rich and you’ll
never convince me otherwise. Were it not for the Bush plan, we
certainly wouldn’t be talking 7% growth in the third quarter. But
long-term the situation is bleak.
–And it becomes bleaker still if we have a large financial
accident, i.e., due to the derivatives market, one that now totals
$170 trillion (with a ‘t’) worldwide, up 20% in just the 1st half of
’03 and more than 5 Xs as big as global GDP. Now the $170
trillion represents what they call notional value and doesn’t mean
we have a $170 trillion, or $17 trillion accident waiting to
happen. But a $100 or $200 billion one could have a cascading
effect. [J.P. Morgan Chase, incidentally, is responsible for
almost 20% of the total derivatives positions. But don’t worry;
they all know what they’re doing.]
Street Bytes
–The market averages fell this week, with the Dow Jones and
S&P 500 registering fractional losses (to 9768 and 1050,
respectively) while Nasdaq declined 2% to 1930. Wal-Mart
missed by a penny for the quarter for the first time since 1994
and Dell’s earnings weren’t spectacular, when you dug under the
keyboard, though we’ve come to expect the best from both
companies, and therein lies an example of a market “priced for
perfection.” Valuations are generally so stretched that any
further significant upside would appear to be hard to come by.
After all, Cisco, Intel and Dell are still trading at 30 Xs 2004
estimates, while the Internet trio, eBay, Amazon and Yahoo field
multiples of 50-80 Xs next year’s forecasts. Sorry, no way I can
buy these. I actually still like my idea of shorting eBay in a few
weeks, just as the best holiday shopping news is coming out. [If I
do anything in this regard, I promise to let you know…in the
interest of full disclosure.]
–U.S. Treasury Yields
6-mo. 1.02% 2-yr. 1.80% 10-yr. 4.22% 30-yr. 5.05%
Bonds rallied sharply after a number of poor weeks, thanks
largely to the comments of various Federal Reserve officials who
proclaimed the Fed wasn’t interested in raising rates anytime
soon. It also helped that the reception for a huge 10-year
Treasury auction was strong.
But I still argue the Fed will move early next year, and then hold
off until after the election. And these same officials can’t simply
ignore the fact gold has hit a 7-year high and is nearly $400,
while commodities of all kinds are soaring, thanks to China. In
other words, we keep hearing all this happy talk on inflation and
I just don’t get it.
–Energy: The price of crude oil traded over $32 and finished the
week at $32.37, the highest figure in 3 months (see above
discussion). A major reason for the spike is simple…a pickup in
global demand due to the economic recovery. And there was
some good information in an article by Bhushan Bahree of the
Journal on the China front. Next year China will pass Japan as
the 2nd-largest consumer of oil after the U.S. The International
Energy Agency now estimates overall worldwide demand will
rise to 79.7 million barrels per day in 2004, with China
accounting for 5.70 million of this, up 17% in just 2 years. Of
course if you believe China’s bubble will burst in the next year
or two, then that would help alleviate any price pressures here.
–In this week’s installment of “Timers Gone Wild” the SEC
announced it had settled with Putnam Funds, even as state
regulators said, “Woh, what’s the freakin’ rush?!” Their
investigations are still ongoing. Meanwhile, the founders of
Pilgrim Baxter, Mr. Pilgrim and Mr. Baxter, resigned after
admitting they were timing their own funds through a limited
partnership, which really was a dirtball move.
But wait, there’s more! Chuckie Schwab admitted it uncovered
improper fund trading in its own shop and on Monday, Morgan
Stanley is going to get its wrist slapped for a specific offense I’m
very familiar with, but I’ll wait until next week to comment
further on this one.
Despite all this no one should be surprised mutual funds overall
continue to see inflows. If the markets go up, only the guilty
parties will truly suffer…and they will fall hard. The bottom line
being it takes time for the bulk of investors to discover
investment alternatives, such as exchange traded funds, while at
the same time brokers and financial advisors still have a
significant commission incentive to switch money from one
family to another, or to add new money to existing favored
fund families.
–An example of the exploding problem with America’s pension
obligations is the case of Bethlehem Steel, which once told the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the federal entity that insures
pension benefits, that its plan was 84% funded, but when Bessie
went bankrupt it turned out that the assets covered only 45% of
its actual liabilities. [Washington Post]. On the same issue,
Business Week points out that despite the rally in equities,
pension obligations have risen even faster thanks to lower
interest rates (from which assumptions are largely based). The
retirement dreams of an increasing number of Americans are out
the window.
–Online shopping is still but 2.3% of all retail sales, but the
recent trend has been encouraging. However, online security
remains the real pitfall, and I can relate my own experience in
this regard. I have purchased more online this year than the last
4 combined, but I recently was the victim of cyber theft,
according to my bank which thankfully blocked the attempted
charges. I had to close out the card, though, a royal pain in the
butt for all the things I used it for. So this one incident means I
will severely restrict who I buy from on the web and at the end of
the day, I really don’t have to purchase anything online now, do
I? It’s this attitude that should keep the retailers up at night. One
well-publicized, celebrated instance of this chicanery and my
guess is 10% would go back to shopping the old way.
–Shares in Microsoft have been severely lagging the tech rally
this year and it doesn’t help that the European Union is holding
more hearings on the antitrust issue. Microsoft is a victim of
the overall ill will between the E.U. and the U.S. on trade.
–Ford is the 2nd-largest issuer of corporate bonds, next to
General Electric, so it was big news when S&P completed its
review and opted to downgrade the company to just one level
above junk. But the market responded positively when S&P also
said the automaker’s overall outlook was “stable,” which didn’t
make a helluva lot of sense to yours truly, but what the heck do I
know?
–The SEC charged 3 former Gateway executives with
concocting sham sales for the purposes of manipulating revenues
and earnings. I’m shocked!
–Former Goldman Sachs economist John Youngdahl pled guilty
to insider trading in the bond market and faces up to 3 ½ years in
the slammer. And he lives right here, in the same town as the
world headquarters of StocksandNews. Maybe we’ll throw a
parade or somethin’.
–Charles L. “Charlie” Brown died this week. Brown presided
over the breakup of AT&T back in 1984, after years of
government harassment over Ma Bell’s monopoly; the direct
result of which was the creation of the 5 Baby Bells. Of course
today we’d all probably say the same thing. We love the lower
prices for placing calls, but the service generally sucks.
–But speaking of Charlie Brown, this week in “Peanuts
Classics” the other Charlie sought Lucy’s advice after replacing
Linus’ blanket, which Snoopy had turned into a spiffy sport coat.
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” said the kid with the ugly
sweater, but in the meantime Linus had kicked his security
blanket habit, so he wasn’t thrilled to be reminded of the past.
Lucy: “Hmm…I’m not quite sure how I can put this, Charlie
Brown, but let me say this…In all of mankind’s history, there has
never been more damage done than by people who ‘thought they
were doing the right thing.’”
Charlie Brown sighed…and got dinged a nickel.
International Affairs
Iran: The International Atomic Energy Agency released its
findings on Iran’s nuclear program, with Iran itself admitting that
it not only had a program for enriched uranium, but that it had
gone to great lengths to conceal this and other aspects of its
weapons research for 18 years. Tehran also came clean on
receiving aid from Pakistan. But the IAEA, while
acknowledging pressure had to be kept on Iran, said no actual
nuclear weapons program was functioning. Now the IAEA has
done a lot of good work over the years, and sometimes they
deserve the benefit of the doubt, but obviously Iran, by its
minimal cooperation after 18 years of deceit, is merely
attempting to buy time as it surreptitiously proceeds with the
building of an actual nuke.
Granted, all are in agreement Iran isn’t as far along as North
Korea, but this is hardly cause for joy and merriment this coming
holiday season. That doesn’t mean the issue can’t be solved
diplomatically, and hopefully it is, but you can also see why the
U.S. must keep a credible force in ‘Iraq’ to keep the heat on the
mullahs in Iran. If we don’t, Israel will be blasting suspected
sites within the year, no questions asked, and that won’t be good
for the rest of us.
North Korea: New 6-party talks are slated for December 10-13 in
Beijing, while this week the CIA appeared to be surprised at the
speed of Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Why? For starters,
we’ve known for some time the North had at least one nuke, and
with nothing being done to stop the operation over the past year,
Kim Jong il’s orcs have clearly been slaving away to build more.
On Friday, Barbara Demick had a piece in the Los Angeles
Times on the North Koreans’ penchant for caves.
“A South Korean intelligence source estimates North Korea has
several hundred large underground factories (making everything
from uniform buttons to nukes) and more than 10,000 smaller
facilities. Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., the author of three books on
the North Korean military, puts the total number between 11,000
and 14,000.”
So how does the U.S., and /or its allies, pick out the right targets
if we decide to take out the weapons capacity? As former CIA
station chief and ambassador Donald P. Gregg said, “North
Korea is the longest-running failure in the history of American
intelligence. It is simply a much harder place to gather
intelligence than Iraq or Iran ever was.”
South Korea: Seoul was witness to huge demonstrations that
turned a bit violent as unions protested a law that allows union
leaders to be sued for lost production during strikes.
Russia: I’ve said enough recently to last a while on this front.
The bottom line is President Vladimir Putin is busy recreating
the Russian empire; forcing economic ties with the likes of
Ukraine and Belarus, taking over key waterways, and stifling
dissent. Georgia, which just had a disputed election leaving
President Shevardnadze (no friend of Putin’s) in power, is
another spot to watch closely, particularly because it’s where
Chechen terrorists hide out.
Israel: The U.N. said the border fence that Israel is erecting
impedes the right of 400,000 Palestinians to get to work, as well
as cutting into significant portions of the West Bank. True on
both counts. And this week you had the extraordinary,
“unprecedented” joint attack on the Sharon government by four
former heads of Israel’s Shin Bet security service.
“We are heading downhill toward near-catastrophe. If nothing
happens and we go on living by the sword, we will continue to
wallow in the mud and destroy ourselves,” said Yaakov Peri,
Shin Bet chief from 1995 to 1998.
A senior government official told Reuters “The situation is not as
weak as they describe.”
Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Qureia’s (Qurei…I wish
the media would settle on the correct spelling of all these guys’
names) government was finally confirmed and Sharon will
eventually meet with him.
But the most significant event of the week as it relates to the
strife in this region was the result of a European Union survey
which showed that 59% of Europeans regard Israel as the
greatest threat to world peace. I have been writing recently of
the growing anti-Semitism across the continent…here’s further
proof.
Turkey: As I go to post, details are still sketchy regarding
Saturday’s dual bombings in Istanbul. I was here in both 2001
and 2002 and loved the place, but as I’ve noted in the past it was
only a matter of time before this beautiful, exotic city got hit
hard.
Britain: All eyes will be on President Bush during his 3-day state
visit and authorities have been preparing for months for the huge
demonstrations scheduled against the president, a real security
nightmare.
Half of all Britons believe the strong Bush / Tony Blair
relationship is bad for the country, while 60% think America’s
standing in the world has diminished under the Bush presidency.
Bush will be meeting with the families of the British soldiers
who died in Iraq and for his part Blair will be pressing the
president on issues like treatment of British citizens at
Guantanamo Bay as well as repairing the fracture in the U.S. –
Europe relationship.
China: The IMF’s new chief economist urged Beijing to be more
flexible on the yuan, a significant move on the IMF’s part.
Pegging to the dollar is only perpetuating the bubble here.
Japan: Prime Minister Koizumi’s LDP suffered slight losses in
parliamentary elections and it appears he should be able to
continue with his reform agenda (reduced public spending and
banking reform being the chief components).
Saudi Arabia: Terrorism and heightened anti-regime
demonstrations are combining to roil the Kingdom. As divisions
within the royal family are certainly well known, I wouldn’t
discount the possibility of a coup by the hard liners over the
coming 6 months.
Burma: Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung Sun Suu Kyi was finally
offered the chance to leave her house arrest, but she refused to do
so until her followers were released as well. The drug lords
running this place said ‘no.’
Singapore: The government will soon begin actively monitoring
all Web communication in the name of national security. If I
were a citizen, I must say I’d be a little leery of this, but with
Singapore being smack in the middle of terrorist central, I really
can’t blame officials for adopting the policy.
Random Musings
–Here’s how I’d restructure the armed forces, briefly:
Army (Navy, Air Force, Marines): Remain all volunteer, add a
few divisions.
Reserves: Subject to a draft…though overseas deployments
would be limited, favoring peacekeeping duties…unless full war
breaks out on a second front, i.e., North Korea.
National Guard: Subject to a draft…stay in the States to protect
the U.S. against urban unrest, domestic terrorism, and for greatly
increased border patrols.
There should be little doubt going in what service in each entails,
unlike the present chaotic situation that is severely impacting
thousands of families.
–Aside from the British having 11,200 troops in Iraq (including
1,200 headed there shortly), we thank Italy (2,400), Poland
(2,000), Spain (1,000), Ukraine (1,000), Thailand (400), and the
Philippines (180). All in harm’s way. Buy products from these
nations. [I also assume you’re continuing to buy Australian, the
Aussies having done a terrific job in the initial phase.]
–In the latest Des Moines Register poll, Richard Gephardt is
besting Howard Dean 27-20 percent. In New Hampshire, Dean
is blasting John Kerry, 38-24. As for Wesley Clark, it doesn’t
help that Generals Schwarzkopf, Shelton and Franks all think
he’s not up to the job of president. And it’s their caustic tone
that is more than a bit telling. [As I wrote in this space back on
10/13, he’s peaked.]
–Last week in my parish bulletin, our monsignor noted that all
church leaders in the community were increasingly frustrated at
the proliferation of soccer leagues that hold games on Sunday
mornings. There is no true Sabbath anymore and while parents
claim they have to play at that time due to the demand for limited
playing fields, I wonder if this is truly the case, admitting at the
same time I’m not a parent and not involved in any way. But
other towns nearby don’t have this problem; it has been brought
to my attention. [Thank you, Jimbo.]
The story dovetails with a recent piece by Bill Pennington in the
New York Times concerning all the kids now involved in
specialized, year round, travel teams for sports such as soccer
and baseball. These kids are generally 9-12 years old and, for
example, you have the case in San Diego where there are 125
baseball teams for children 10 and under that play 80 games a
year, plus two practices a week. Goodness, gracious.
As Pennington notes, “ ‘Why did we fight the cold war,’ some
critics are saying half in jest,’ if we planned to adopt the East
German sports model?’”
I write ad nauseum of keeping kids active, outside, and away
from the PC, but aren’t we taking all this more than a bit too far?
–With the bombing of the Italian police headquarters in Iraq on
Wednesday, you would think it was a time for serious reflection
and discussion on America’s leading talk channels.
So I flipped on Bill O’Reilly to see how he would treat it. After
his “Talking Points” memo covered the topic, all of a minute, he
had in succession…
2 segments on the Robert Durst verdict
One on Rosie O’Donnell
Liberalism on the University of Texas campus
Dolly Parton and her boobs
Then we transitioned right into “Hannity and Colmes,” with their
first 30+ minutes spent on Scott Peterson, after which I flipped
on BET to see what black comics are up to these days and I
caught an absolutely hilarious act but missed the guy’s name. [I
also paid some bills during the two hours.]
Anyway, message to Fox. Like all good things your spectacular
run is in jeopardy, unless I’m totally misreading the idiot factor
in America…and I’ve been known to do that.
–Matt Labash of the Weekly Standard, in writing of Senator
Kerry, noted his “Easter Island mask.” Brilliant. I wish I had
thought of this first.
–All the talk of rising beef prices and the Atkins diet has given
me a huge craving for burgers. It’s a good thing I don’t have a
McDonald’s next to my office.
–For my Canadian friends, national sports hero Mike Weir on
being a Canuck.
“We’re very patriotic. It’s hard to pinpoint the Canadian ‘thing.’
It’s almost like a small-town mentality. When I go back to my
hometown, my old friends are still my old friends. As a rule,
maybe we’re more humble. It’s not like we feel inferior. But
maybe we’re more tightly knit because we’re smaller. If an
American wins the Masters, it’s not as big a deal as it is if a
Canadian wins…because all Canadians kind of rally around that
– ‘Yes, one of ours did it. We can do it.’” [Golf Digest]
–New York State residents pay about 14% of their income in
state and local taxes, the most in the nation.
–DJ wrote to correct me on my ongoing complaint about
Microsoft and its Windows software being full of holes. “We
can’t even produce a $20 bill that can’t be counterfeited, much
less a software program that can’t be invaded by someone who
has nothing better to do.” Good point. [And DJ, I responded to
you directly, but your spam blocker flagged me. At least
something works!]
–Charles K. and I agree that Howard Hughes may have been
right after all in his obsession with hand-washing.
–An Australian reptile expert was brought in to Hong Kong.
The mission? Flush out Hong Kong’s first known crocodile.
John Lever is using 12 chicken heads as bait. Hopefully, free-
range chicken heads, that is.
–Speaking of heads, baseball is now forced to test every player
for steroids, following the revelation that more than 5% tested
positive, anonymously, last year in the first go ‘round of random
samples. Which means that between this and the ongoing
investigation into the supplement THG, we’re one step closer to
learning why Barry Bonds’ own head has been swelling at a rate
of one inch a season.
—
God bless the men and women of our armed forces. And God
bless the families of those Italians who gave up their lives in
defense of freedom.
God bless America.
—
Gold closed at $398! Again, a 7-year high, having finally busted
through the $390 level.
Oil, $32.37
Returns for the week 11/10-11/14
Dow Jones -0.4% [9768]
S&P 500 -0.3% [1050]
S&P MidCap -0.5%
Russell 2000 -1.8%
Nasdaq -2.1% [1930]
Returns for the period 1/1/03-11/14/03
Dow Jones +17.1%
S&P 500 +19.4%
S&P MidCap +29.6%
Russell 2000 +39.1%
Nasdaq +44.5%
Bulls 57.3
Bears 20.4 [Source: Chartcraft. If these numbers seem stale,
that’s because they are. They’ve been in an extremely narrow
range for months now.]
Have a great week. I appreciate your support.
Brian Trumbore
