[Posted 7:00 AM ET]
Election 2004
I went up to New Hampshire this past week to see some of the
Democratic presidential candidates, as my curiosity got the best
of me and I couldn’t pass up a unique opportunity to view the
circus that has become the Democrats nominating process.
I based myself in Manchester and in between doing my normal
site work I managed to catch Senators Lieberman, Edwards, and
Kerry, as well as Congressman Kucinich in various settings. I
didn’t go up to ridicule the opposition, rather I was just a
respectful Republican who told those he met he was undecided,
so as not to blow my cover. And not that you all need to go to
Manchester, or Columbia, or Grand Rapids, or Milwaukee, for
that matter, to understand the situation, but if the White House
thinks they are going to have an easy time of it come November,
forget it, especially now that it appears Howard Dean is not
likely to be the nominee.
I view my job here as being dispassionate in analyzing the
politics of the moment. I’m not into the shrill talk I hear from
both sides, and I often turn it off when I stumble upon it. Sure,
there are times when perhaps it’s warranted and my blood boils
the same as yours, regardless of your affiliation, at certain hot
button issues, but what I walk away with from this week’s
experience is a tremendous amount of respect for those who seek
the highest office in the land (with one notable exception, initials
A.S.) and a ton of admiration for the volunteers, especially those
trudging through the snow and cold of Iowa, New Hampshire
and other northern climes this time of year.
It’s about conviction, in most instances. But of course when you
try and tie conviction and politics together, there are more than a
few gaps in the idyllic picture I just painted. John Kerry is all
over the place when it comes to his position on Iraq and the war,
and John Edwards eloquently talks of two Americas and fighting
against the special interests, even as he scarfs up one big check
after another from the trial lawyers. On the other hand, Joe
Lieberman has shown true conviction throughout with his stance
on the war and the fight against evil. You can choose to disagree
with the man, but you have to respect him.
But I’ll tell you what I really learned this week. As of Thursday
a ton of people in New Hampshire were still undecided, far more
than I believe the polls reflect, and there is this visceral hatred for
President Bush. Yet we live in this democracy where you can
express any opinion you want and since my job this week wasn’t
to confront, I just raised my eyes and listened (while inside I was
going “Holy Cow!”).
Some other main themes that you’ve heard of include the clear
sentiment that voters want to choose someone capable of
defeating Bush (to the detriment of Howard Dean), the
candidates have a misguided fixation with the U.N., Kerry lumps
Bush and Karl Rove together at every opportunity (I shook my
head in affirmation at one point…I can’t stand Rove either), John
Ashcroft is the anti-Christ, and as I alluded to earlier, they all
slam special interests, despite drinking from the same Kool-Aid
themselves throughout their careers.
But let’s shift gears in this admittedly far more political opening
than I ever intended for this space and look at some of the results
from the New York Times / CBS News poll concerning
President Bush.
By a 68-28 percent margin, the people support the
administration’s campaign against terror. But by only 48-46 do
they approve of the president’s handling of Iraq. And in keeping
with a point of mine from last week, that we are a 40 / 40 / 20
nation, 43% believe Bush has done more to unite the country,
44% say he has divided America.
In other words, folks, this is going to be one helluva election,
ugly and dirty. Yes, a lot is at stake these days and aside from
Iraq there is bound to be a foreign policy surprise or two that
either spooks us or, hopefully, lifts us up. Either way, it will
increase the level of chatter, to borrow Secretary Ridge’s phrase.
I just hope that when this long, drawn out process of selecting a
president is over, we’ll still be able to stay positive about it all.
Maybe it’s not quite as our Founders envisioned it, sound bites
vs. intelligent debate, for example, but it’s close enough. We
should want what’s best for our nation, after all, while I for one
wish but one thing; that we can still share a beer afterwards.
—
Wall Street
It was a light week on the economic data front with the big news
being the spectacular new home construction figures, running at
the best annualized rate for December since 1978, and the fact
the key 10-year Treasury is still hovering around 4%, with 30-
year fixed mortgages perhaps heading back to 5.50%. It’s an
amazing story and there is a decent chance we could yet see
another round of refinancings, just when some of us thought this
game was over, forever. And if this should come to pass, even at
a drastically reduced level from the pace of 2002 / early 2003,
that would result in new hires in the financing sector, for starters,
plus another bout of consumer spending. It also means that those
of us who are looking for the 10-year to finish ’04 at 5% or
higher just might miss this forecast by a mile. [I’m not giving in
until 12/30…the market being closed 12/31.]
Of course this sanguine view of real estate isn’t without a cloud
or two. Generally speaking, housing prices should continue to
rise in many markets, but as Ben Brown cited in a piece for USA
Today, this just means housing affordability becomes an even
greater issue. For instance, the median home price in America
since 1990 is rising at twice the rate of median income. You
don’t have to call it a bubble to still see there are some serious
problems developing with the next economic downturn, which
the Federal Reserve and the Bush administration are doing all
they can to keep from happening.
Speaking of the Fed, there was a truly embarrassing moment for
Al Sharpton in Thursday’s New Hampshire debate when
moderator Peter Jennings asked the Reverend what he thought
about U.S. monetary policy. Poor Al, he didn’t have a clue and
started speaking in tongues about the International Monetary
Fund before Jennings had to break in and remind him that the
question had to do with the Federal Reserve.
But if Sharpton had been on his toes, the question presented an
opportunity; that being the fact the Federal Reserve continues to
encourage, nay, force risk-taking with its absurdly low 1%
federal funds rate, at the expense of savers.
Sure, it’s worked, thank God, and 1% short-term rates have
stoked economic activity, but at some point this will change and
just as in ’99-’00, the last ones into tech funds, for example, get
obliterated. Or, in other words, here is what Marc Faber had to
say in a Barron’s roundtable discussion, 1/19/04.
“We should reward people who save money. They are the ones
who make capital available for investments. A saver should not
be penalized by artificially low rates or negative real interest
rates.”
Personally, I choose to hold my significant cash position in
instruments paying virtually zero because I already have enough
risk capital at play to suit my tastes and market outlook. But my
heart goes out to those on fixed income, who perhaps counted on
even a mediocre 3 or 4%, in the safety of money market
instruments, let’s say, and now may be reaching out for extra
yield at the worst possible time. In turn, all I can do is continue
to add a word of caution to the rest of the cheery talk that
dominates discussion these days. Alan Greenspan is still writing
his legacy. If I were him I’d leave now, rather than face the
wrath of a distraught investor class in another year or so.
Street Bytes
–The Dow Jones Industrial Average finally fell a bit, 0.3% to
10568, breaking its winning streak at 8, but the S&P 500 rose for
a 9th straight week to 1141. Nasdaq declined 0.8% to 2123.
–There were a slew of corporate pronouncements this week,
some good, some merely so-so, but few that were outright
bearish. IBM announced it was adding 15,000 jobs worldwide
(4,500 in the U.S.), far more than earlier estimates, with the
bulk in China, India, Brazil and Europe. But contained within its
report (as cited by the Wall Street Journal) was this little gem
that describes today’s environment. IBM can hire a Chinese
programmer for $12.50 an hour, including benefits, while the
same position in the U.S. would warrant $56.
Lucent reported that sales rose for the first time since September
2000, but the company then said customers aren’t necessarily
increasing their budgets for telecom equipment so the shares fell
about 20%, intra-day. Microsoft also reported stronger than
expected revenues, but there were concerns over the quality of
them, along with future prospects, as well as the accounting for
stock options, so bottom line the shares more or less treaded
water and I would argue that with its latest earnings outlook the
stock has minimal upside. [It’s also not out of the woods on the
antitrust front yet.]
In a nutshell, companies are meeting or slightly exceeding
expectations this reporting period, but the Street built in such
lofty dreams that reality is bumping up against already high
valuations.
–U.S. Treasury Yields
6-mo. 0.95% 2-yr. 1.66% 10-yr. 4.07% 30-yr. 4.94%
Once again, late selling on Friday pushed the 10-year from the
3.92% level to back above 4%. Nonetheless, the pace of foreign-
buying of Treasuries has picked up anew and, coupled with the
projection that the Federal Reserve will continue to talk of
keeping interest rates low when it meets next week, the market
hardly seems concerned about anything, including a dollar that
weakened again after a one-week respite.
–China: You’re seeing more and more talk of a bubble and the
case for one gained further traction with the government’s
release of GDP for 2003, 9.1%, 9.9% in the fourth quarter alone.
Separately, loans for cars and houses soared 36% last year.
But if you’re looking for an example of where China seems to be
headed, consider the case of South Korea. There, the
government encouraged a credit-induced bubble and consumer
spending soared 6.8% in 2002. Now, the consumer has pulled in
his horns, with spending down 1.1% in 2003 and the rate of
delinquent credit cards up to 13.5%. [Wall Street Journal]
Admittedly, the Chinese consumer is just getting used to buying
on credit, but it’s clear where the economy is headed…a train
wreck.
[I have quite a few readers in both Taiwan and Hong Kong and I
couldn’t help but note a piece in the South China Morning Post
that said the mainland is hiring more Taiwanese as middle
managers than Hongkongers (sic) because they are easier to work
with, the latter viewed as being arrogant. I’ve been to both and
am on record as saying I never met a friendlier people than those
in Taiwan, though I also had no troubles in Hong Kong. Now
the two of you discuss amongst yourselves.]
–Energy: Earlier in the week, regulators were “puzzled” as to
why the price of natural gas is rising. Because we’re
increasingly relying on it, while at the same time we aren’t
drilling for new supply as much as we should, that’s why. Sure,
from time to time some market participants will attempt to
manipulate it, but higher natural gas is here to stay due to the
fundamentals, at least above $3.50 (a historically high level
…we’re currently around $6).
On the liquefied natural gas front (someone has to keep you up to
date on this), a huge refinery in Algeria went up in flames,
killing at least 20 and further roiling world energy markets, while
the Journal reports that the U.S. and Australia will soon be
cooperating on a broad front as the Aussies increasingly help
meet America’s LNG demands.
But while the energy markets in general will be subjected to the
usual weekly volatility, if you believe the world economy will
grow at a respectable clip in the future then you have to be a
buyer of the sector, long-term. Marc Faber weighed in on the
debate in the aforementioned Barron’s piece.
“The energy market is tight. It takes a long time to bring on new
capacity in natural resources. If you have a semiconductor
shortage, you can double capacity in 18 months. Not so in
resources. If demand goes up, there is tremendous pressure on
prices.”
It’s just that simple.
–Eastman Kodak is laying off 15,000 by December 2006 as it
transitions from film to digital. Another blow to the community
of Rochester, New York.
–Inflation watch: Property taxes in New Jersey rose 7.1% in
2003, the largest increase since 1990. That’s 7% on the biggest
asset most Americans own, sports fans. Separately, Mark R.
reports that tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike are rising some
40%, though it is one of the prettier drives in the country, if you
can avoid the tractor-trailers.
–Corporate R&D spending is forecast to rise only 1% in 2004.
Doh!
–Halliburton admitted two employees took kickbacks in an
amount up to $6 million for projects related to Iraq’s
reconstruction effort and in supplying oil to U.S. troops. Each
time this company’s name surfaces, it costs Republicans another
few votes.
–Someone tell CNBC’s Jim Cramer that sexual harassment is
not a good thing. Here he was on Thursday with his guest Laura
Conigliaro of Goldman Sachs. “Laura, good to see you; looking
thinner than ever, I have to add.” No, Jim, you don’t have to add
that, and if Ms. Conigliaro had been in the studio with you she
would have been within her rights to slug you.
–Speaking of dirtballs, CBS’s MarketWatch.com has been
humbled, to say the least, by the issues surrounding writer Thom
Calandra, who it was long suspected was front-running on stocks
he then featured in his newsletter. [Buying and selling before
and after the stories…pumping and dumping.] When confronted,
Calandra refused to submit his trading records and then resigned,
citing “stress.” This, my friends, is a loser.
–Speaking of losers, anyone involved in Italian dairy giant
Parmalat is one, save perhaps a few top executives who may
have squirreled away $10s of millions or more. An internal
investigation has come up with nothing…as in “no cash,”
anywhere. $10 billion or thereabouts in debt, practically zero
assets, save a few udderly disbelieving cows.
–Citigroup, by the way, wrote down its own exposure to
Parmalat by $242 million, but nonetheless had net income of
$4.76 billion for the quarter. Again, the Wall Street settlement in
the conflict of interest scandal was all of $1.4 billion.
–Thank God I got out of my eBay ‘put’ position a few weeks
ago with a shred of dignity. The company issued another
stupendous earnings report and the shares rocketed ever higher,
as revenues were up 57% for the 4th quarter, year-over-year. But,
there are a few signs the growth rate is slowing and the valuation
is still ridiculous. Nonetheless, it’s tough to see it falling more
than the Nasdaq as a whole during any correction.
–Back to Fraud Watch, an internal audit at HealthSouth has
upped the cost of Richard Scrushy’s shell game to $4.6 billion.
We called on Carl Sagan, from up in the heavens. “That’s
billions and billions of dollars.” Thanks, Carl.
Folks, we’re getting so used to these numbers it’s almost
numbing. To paraphrase Senator John McCain and his thoughts
on Congressional pork, “What’s $5, $10 billion among friends?”
–General Motors’ North American automotive operations
continue to suffer and, as one example, production workers will
receive annual bonus checks of just $170 versus $940 in 2002.
In other words, after taxes it will barely put a dent in their rising
property tax bills, I imagine.
–Uh oh, Australia isn’t immune from Fraud Watch. The
National Australian Bank may have been victimized by four of
its currency traders to the tune of $600 million. Say it ain’t so,
mates!
–‘If’ Cingular Wireless proceeds with its proposed takeover of
AT&T Wireless it would create the nation’s #1 cellphone carrier,
but the latter just reported miserable results for its 4th quarter on
the heels of increased customer turnover. Meanwhile, the real
Ma Bell, the long distance carrier AT&T, continues to see its
revenues decline amidst the slugfest in the telecom industry over
pricing. Even I am going to start listening to the almost daily
pitches I get to switch my service.
–Just a few notes on Silicon Valley. Employment peaked at 1.38
million in the second quarter of 2001. Since then over 200,000
jobs have been lost. The peak average compensation was
$81,700 in 2000 and in 2003 was $62,400, though the latter
figure is still 60% higher than the rest of the country ($37,300).
Then again, the cost of living in the valley is 47% higher than the
national average. [Source: New York Times]
–Sorry, no Martha Stewart trial news in this space. I also
couldn’t give a damn about the Conrad Black / Hollinger mess,
which is only of interest to those directly in the media because
it’s their story. And I don’t care about Scott Peterson, Michael
Jackson, or the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, should this last one
ever re-emerge as a story.
–But I selfishly care about me…any my portfolio. My energy
plays are breaking out to the upside and I’ll be celebrating with
premium beer for at least the first quarter. Meanwhile, I’m up
slightly on my new India position, doing well in Japan, stumbled
a bit with my Internet Telephony play, and my pharm exposure
took a little hit. So………I’m now 34% energy, 4% Japan, 2%
India, 2% tech, 2% drugs. [It takes a sizable move in my smaller
positions to equate to a percentage gain or loss, week to week.]
–From Barron’s Jim McTague and the rapidly exploding issue of
the alternative minimum tax, AMT.
“The current estimate is that 12.7 million taxpayers will get hit
by the AMT in 2005, up from 2.4 million today. This number
includes 65% of married couples with adjusted gross income of
$75,000 to $100,000 and two or more children…By 2010, nearly
32 million taxpayers will pay the AMT, most of whom will earn
less than $100,000.”
Of course Congress has to fix this, and it will cost $billions to do
so, increasing the deficit even further. To not act, however,
would lead to a Dickensian refrain. “Are there no prisons? Are
there no workhouses?”
—
Iraq
This coming June 30 is the day when Iraq is scheduled to gain its
sovereignty, but this increasingly looks doubtful thanks to the
machinations of Shiite Ayatollah Sistani, the man who would be
king, err, cleric. Sistani has been a moderate, historically, and
he’s willing to listen to new ideas on the transfer of power,
particularly from U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, but Sistani
desires direct elections, versus the selected representation that the
U.S. and the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) had agreed on.
The problem goes back to the period following Gulf War I when
the U.S. abandoned the Shiites (who make up over 60% of the
population) in their struggle against Saddam. The dilemma for
the coalition today is deciphering just what Sistani is after. Does
he want to be de factor ruler, himself, or is he just clamoring for
direct elections, knowing that the Shiites will then control a vast
majority of the seats in a new national assembly or parliament?
Of course the two could essentially be one and the same.
The U.S. is rapidly running out of time and some sort of solution
must be agreed upon shortly. In a nutshell, Iraq is not ready for
direct elections and the IGC has proposed its own stopgap
measure, the expansion of the existing council from 25 to 125
members, with the interim legislature then deciding on a more
realistic timetable for a direct vote.
What this discussion masks is the true picture on the ground and
I respectfully disagree with those who say the situation is
improving. Instead, I choose to side with the likes of columnist
David Ignatius, who wrote in the Post that despite outward signs
of calm in some parts of the country, many are preparing for civil
strife (a feeling echoed by our intelligence community recently).
The people don’t want the U.S. to leave, but they also don’t want
to be seen collaborating with them. A tragic example of this last
point occurred on Thursday as 4 women working for the
coalition were gunned down. Message sent…probably received.
Then there is the ongoing matter of weapons of mass destruction,
or lack thereof. You don’t have to side with Senator Edward
Kennedy and his description of the administration’s decision to
go to war as being “dishonest” to nonetheless recognize there are
real problems here. PBS’ “Frontline” program on Thursday
covered the futile search for WMD and while various
administrations and national governments all concluded Saddam
had or was building WMD, the video clips of the words used by
President Bush and others in the lead-up to the war are
disturbing.
I noted back in December that David Kay, who headed up the
coalition’s search following the war, could be a crucial player
should he choose to come clean with everything he knows. Now
that he’s gone, he has already noted the effort was embarrassing
and there are no weapons to be found.
Even Ken Adelman, a close Bush advisor, confided to the Post’s
Glenn Kessler that in not finding WMD, “The foreign policy
blow-back is pretty serious.”
I supported the war, continue to do so, and I’ve already told you
who I’m voting for in November, but it was rather telling when 5
of us, who have known each other since high school, got together
last Saturday night and 4 of the 5 were disgusted with the
situation concerning Iraq, while the other was wavering. Bush
voters all, true, but it’s just another example of how the White
House better gear up for this still escalating debate.
More International Affairs
Iran: Once again, the intelligence community is split. How close
is Iran to having a nuclear warhead? Experts from both Israel
and Europe think it could have one by yearend. But can Iran
deliver it at that time? Does it have the appropriate vehicle? As
Defense News points out there seems little doubt among
intelligence officials, however, that the nuclear program itself is
well-hidden in populated areas, which means it is virtually
impossible for Israel to take it out. With each passing month the
situation only grows more worrisome.
On a different front, watch what Tehran does with the suspected
terrorists on its soil. They say they will put the al Qaeda
members on trial. But that’s not enough.
China / Taiwan: Last week I reported on the watered down
referendum of Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian slated for
March 20, a move designed to allay Washington’s fears, but if
Chen wins re-election the same day and receives a favorable
reading on the issue of dealing with China’s ever-growing
missile threat, Chen could still shake things up with further talk
of ‘independence.’
Israel: The bribery investigation into Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon’s financial dealings during the 1990s is intensifying and
an indictment may just be weeks away. If handed down, Sharon
would have no other choice but to at least temporarily step down
to face the charges, and one who could then be propelled back
onto center court is former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But for now Sharon is still in charge and on the proposed peace
talks with Syria he noted that any final agreement would require
that Israel return the Golan Heights, not that he’s willing to do
so. Meanwhile, Hezbollah attacked across the south Lebanon
border and Israel retaliated. Syria can’t be taken seriously until it
cracks down on the former’s presence in territory Syria controls.
Separately, Defense News reported on an unprecedented internal
investigation that is looking into Israel’s own intelligence
failures in the period leading up to the war with Iraq. Just as in
the case of George Bush and Tony Blair, according to some,
Israel may have exaggerated the threat, particularly to its own
citizens, and the study points to the costs of the “higher-alert”
status that was employed in the country, even as U.S. troops
occupied Baghdad and suspected missile sites.
Russia: I’ve been writing of how President Putin is clearly
striving to recreate the Soviet Empire, or a reasonable facsimile
thereof, and this week Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland
noted that while the West seems unconcerned, the nations of
Eastern Europe, namely the Czech Republic, Hungary and
Poland clearly are. Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus are
being reeled into the orbit, for starters, though in the case of
Georgia the U.S. and its allies can yet win the tug of war
with Moscow as the new government is distinctly pro-West.
Random Musings
–Some other election tidbits, with a bit more bite: I wasn’t too
fired up about President Bush’s statement in the State of the
Union, “America will never seek a permission slip to defend the
security of our country.” I thought we’ve been down this road
before.
–Wesley Clark made a total ass of himself by aligning himself
with Michael Moore and his comment that Bush was a deserter,
as Peter Jennings so skillfully exposed during Thursday’s debate.
The Times’ David Brooks put it best in an op-ed this week; Clark
is full of “loopy conspiracy theories.”
–And now your official weather forecast for Tuesday. A
snowstorm will definitely impact voter turnout.
–Here in the Socialist Republic of New Jersey, a Star-Ledger
survey has Bush leading any Democrat 41-38, a shocker if it
holds.
–Mr. President, for crying out loud, veto something! Talk about
lack of conviction; some of us have been screaming about the
absurd levels of federal spending for years now.
–Boy, I respect Kucinich’s supporters, but it was a ‘different’
crowd that I was part of for his speech, that’s for sure. You are
going to have to excuse me next week, however, while I spend
some time on the whole environmental issue dear to many of his
backers.
–When I saw Joe Lieberman on Monday, it was his 8th campaign
stop of the day. These guys just run on fumes. Every one of
them also has a cold…so don’t shake their hands!
–Kerry has a powerful issue on Veterans benefits.
–Edwards has a clever line, “The South is my backyard, not
George Bush’s.” No doubt, the senator is a very impressive
speaker, up front and personal, and Bush would have his hands
full in a debate, but Edwards also spoke for about 15 minutes
more than he needed to and after a while he started to sound
rather ‘slick.’
–Howard Dean’s Internet candidacy is way overrated. The site
itself blows, by the way. But he did acquit himself well with
Diane Sawyer and I liked his wife. As for his post-Iowa
performance, let me put it this way. I’m not sure I’d want Dean
as my neighbor, watching my house when I’m away.
–Defense News reports that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld
continues to want to spend more of the Pentagon’s budget on
weapons modernization than in adding troops, an opinion I do
not share. But I noticed in an article the latest troop levels for
each branch of the armed forces and recalling how Howard Dean
was ridiculed by Tim Russert last year for not knowing the exact
figures (I thought this was a bit unfair of Russert at the time),
here are today’s figures, to be used at your next cocktail party.
Army …482,000
Air Force …359,000
Marines …175,000
Navy …380,000
–More and more human cases of ‘bird flu’ are popping up in
Asia, a worrisome development. The fear is that it will
eventually spread person to person and that a supervirus could
emerge.
–I have been tough on those who give to charity, specifically the
corporate sleazeballs who then hide behind their “good works,”
but when it comes to the late Joan Kroc and her estate, what an
amazing and beautiful final act as she gave $1.5 billion to the
Salvation Army, an organization that I’m sure we all agree is one
that fulfills its mission…and then some.
–While some ridiculed it, I was pleased President Bush made an
appeal to professional athletes in his State of the Union Address
to cut the crap when it comes to the exploding use of steroids. I
thought it was bogus, however, that the president didn’t have the
guts to mention his plans for space because of the costs.
And doubtless there will be many saying “I told you so” if
contact with the Mars Spirit rover remains limited. Meanwhile,
the same Martians who captured Beagle 2 are clearly the ones
now brainwashing Spirit, which is why the little rover’s speech is
virtually indecipherable.
–A Wes Clark campaign ad in New Hampshire. “As president,
I’ll work for all our children.” Geezuz, that’s creative. But then
we have this one from John Kerry. “I’ll do what’s right and let
the chips fall where they may.” Huh? Is this what we want? A
riverboat gambler? Like, hey, if I screw up, so be it.
–By most every account, Congressman Richard Gephardt is a
good man. Personally, I seldom agreed with his positions, but
I’ll always respect him for the way he stood behind the president
in going to war. Such leadership cost him in the end.
–Finally, RIP Bob Keeshan, Captain Kangaroo. He made the
world a better place.
—
God bless the men and women of our armed forces.
God bless America.
—
Gold closed at $408
Oil, $34.94
Returns for the week 1/19-1/23
Dow Jones -0.3% [10568]
S&P 500 +0.2% [1141]
S&P MidCap +0.9%
Russell 2000 +1.0%
Nasdaq -0.8% [2123]
Returns for the period 1/1/04-1/23/04
Dow Jones +1.1%
S&P 500 +2.7%
S&P MidCap +4.0%
Russell 2000 +7.0%
Nasdaq +6.0%
Bulls 55.4
Bears 19.8 [Source: Chartcraft / Investors Intelligence]
Have a great week. I appreciate your support.
To my new readers in New Hampshire (where I ran some ads the
past two weeks), welcome aboard.
Brian Trumbore
