Friday, October 15, 2010

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SgtWs

Friday, October 15, 2010

Post by SgtWs »

Hey everyone, one of the most honest dudes on Wall Street made some comments this morning, so I wanted to share………

Barry Ritholtz: Stick With "What's Working" and Don't Fight the Fed

Oct 15, 2010 07:30am

"You can't be short a market where the Fed is saying ‘we'll do whatever it takes to hold up every asset class,'" Barry Ritholtz, CEO of Fusion IQ and author of Bailout Nation says in the accompanying clip, taped ahead of Ben Bernanke's Friday morning speech.

But not being short is different than being aggressively long. After moving to 100% cash in May right before the ‘flash crash', Ritholtz is currently "half-in, half-out" of the market: Fusion IQ is currently sitting on about 45% cash and "slowly adding to long positions."

"We have a foot in cash and a foot in the long side," he says. "The market is fairly valued but there are all these problems," i.e. the litany of structural issues facing the economy - and that's before the emergence of foreclosure gate', which could roil the financial system.

On his widely read blog, The Big Picture, Ritholtz has been writing about the tug-of-war between the bearish macro backdrop and the market's rapid ascent since late August.

"This market has had repeated opportunities to roll over, to fall on bad news, to follow other bourses lower, or to take a modest sell off...and turn it into something more dangerous," he writes. "In just about every case, Mr. Market has refused to cooperate with the bears."

To all the "Fed watchers, politicos, policy experts and amateur economic wonks," Ritholtz asks a simple (yet profound) question: Do you want to be right, or do you want to make money?

If your answer is the latter, Ritholtz recommends "what's working", including the ADRs of emerging market stalwarts like Brazil, Chile and Korea; high-dividend paying stocks, notably in telecom; and farm equipment plays like Caterpillar and Deere.

"There's more going on [in the agriculture sector] than just a weak dollar, QE and some softness in the corn harvest," he says.


That was a very interesting article in Monday’s USA Today outlining Americans’ unfavorable views of all politicians.

How big government should be stirs debate
By Susan Page, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Americans are having a crisis of confidence in their government.
A majority in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll disapprove of the jobs President Obama and Congress are doing and have unfavorable views of both major political parties. Only half express even a fair amount of trust and confidence in the people who hold or are running for public office. Just one in four are satisfied with the way the nation is being governed.

Meanwhile, six in 10 Americans say the government has too much power, and nearly half agree with this alarming statement: "The federal government poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedom of ordinary citizens."

So what size and scope of government do Americans want?


I urge you to read the entire article, but let me move on……….the article talks about some very interesting statistics I took out of the article……

22% want government out of their lives

20% endorse an expansive government that protects its citizens from life's travails

58% say the government is doing too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses

36% say the government should do more to solve the country's problems

20% of polled believe Govt is the problem

20% of polled believe Govt is the solution

60% say the government should ensure all Americans have adequate health care

50% believe there is too much Govt regulation of business

75% say business can do things more efficiently than Govt

60% disagree with the notion that the government generally does things in a way that is fairer than business, a traditional reason for government activism

50% believe Republicans would do a better job of handling the economy

50% believe Democrats would do a better job of handling the economy

56% say most Americans demand more from the government than they are willing to pay for with taxes

75% see a day of economic reckoning approaching

Raise taxes to address it? 56% say no

Cut benefits instead? 66% say no.

Only 12% say both steps should be taken.

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Fund Prices2024-03-28

FundPriceDayYTD
G $18.15 0.05% 1.05%
F $19.08 -0.06% -0.74%
C $82.21 0.11% 10.55%
S $82.43 0.30% 6.92%
I $42.57 -0.24% 5.95%
L2065 $16.38 0.02% 8.37%
L2060 $16.39 0.02% 8.38%
L2055 $16.39 0.02% 8.38%
L2050 $32.73 0.01% 6.95%
L2045 $14.91 0.02% 6.58%
L2040 $54.38 0.02% 6.22%
L2035 $14.34 0.02% 5.79%
L2030 $47.67 0.02% 5.38%
L2025 $13.15 0.03% 3.43%
Linc $25.61 0.03% 2.82%

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