– The Stock Market Companion –
15MinuteStocks
Market Update
April 22, 2010
——- Stock Market Investing since the 1980’s ——-
Published all Market Days
Monthly Subscription $29.95

– Executive Summary –

Greece!  The markets were down before the open in response to worldwide concerns that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European requirements for Greece were not in alignment with Greece’s expectations.  Additionally, the European Union’s statistical authority raised its estimates on the country’s deficit. (Source: Marketwatch)

For the Asian markets last night, this news about Greece and sovereign debt was all important and they closed strongly down.  Our markets here in the US opened down, proceeded further down – BUT – were able to pull-up and close positive for the day.  This is truly remarkable.  On the other hand, it seems silly that the markets are pre-occupied with Greece’s debt.  Greece has almost no bearing on the global economy in terms of output, but it is being watched closely as a tell-tale indicator for nations with too much debt.  There are several of these in the European Union, so Greece’s role is significant in that regard.

There are many people waiting for a pull-back on this year+ long rally.  Excellent recent earnings have not been greeted with robust enthusiasm by the markets.  Yet still, the markets recover from weakness.

This afternoon after the close, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Amazon.com (AMZN) reported very good earnings.  Both are down from their close in after hours trading.  Microsoft reported 81% margins!  That’s getting pretty close to printing money.

  (For our concise market assessments, market details, stock ideas, and SMC return on investments – see below)  

– Markets “At a Glance” –

(Please scroll down to the end of the report to see your favorite benchmarks – Dollar, Oil, Gold … closing prices and daily direction.)

Market	Price (Today’s Close)	Unit of Measure	Today’s Direction
SP-500	1,208.67	Index	Flat = +2.73 points
DOW-30	11,134.29	Index	UP = +9.37 points
NASDAQ	2,519.07	Index	UP = +14.46 points
NASDAQ 100	2,045.16	Index	UP = +10.63 points

– Market Trends –

Trend	SP-500	DJ-30	NASDAQ	NASDAQ 100
Short Term	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral
Intermediate	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral
Long Term	DOWN	DOWN	DOWN	DOWN

*Summary of terms from Trader Vic II-Principles of Professional Speculation (pg. 140-141)
*_________* Represents a change in trend rating.

Friday we wrote, “The financials have been a major driver in the recent advance off the February lows.  Today probably marks at least a pause in their advance and a possible diminishing value in some financials.  This will be a drag on the broader market.”   Friday, we re-classified the short term trend as lateral.

A high volume up-move will re-classify our short term trend as UP.

– Today’s Highlights –

Greece was the center of attention, with its leveraged impact on the value of the Euro vs. the US. Dollar (Greenback) and all that is tied to it, moving in kind.  It’s a strange dance.   Many people – smart ones – are baffled.  At the SMC we are looking for opportunities in it.  Most of the charts of the companies that we like are “overextended” in nature.

The markets recovered from their early morning weakness and pressed ahead.

Yesterday, General Motors was being given a lot of attention for paying back a government loan.  The loan that they paid back (“5 yrs ahead of schedule) is a pittance compared to the overall $61 Billion tab that the US and Canadian governments picked up in order to …. ?.  The company went bankrupt, bondholders received very poor treatment (this is saying it nicely), the UAW was given strong ownership, and now …?  We move on.

AIG was in the news today.  The government was talking about how to get out of it soon.  Please remember that Barron’s reported somewhat favorably on AIG several weeks ago.  We have it in our scope.

– Stock Investing Specifics and Strategies –

Yesterday we wrote : We have been using the price characteristics of recent strong earnings companies – JPM, Citigroup (C) and Intel (INTC) – and the commodities sector (in this case: metals) to give us a measure of the enthusiasm of new buyers.  With the exception of INTC, we don’t like what we are seeing.  And today, INTC closed negative in spite of being in the same broad group of technology with the ROCK STAR (Apple Corp.), and being up after the close yesterday and now down for the day.  Not so good.

Apple picked up today.  We like it.  We’d like it more if we could buy it at a discount, instead of full retail (with all kinds of expectations built in).  Who likes to buy a car, drive it off the dealer’s lot and find that the few feet that you drove it cost you 10%?  We may take a half position in it anyway … soon.

Intel too, may be signalling that it can stay above $23/share and mount an advance on 2008 highs.  We are keeping watch.

Sometimes small positions get you “on-board”, and puts your mind in a productive place relative to a stock.  You can then “add to” at appropriate places.

 Please remember – at the Stock Market Companion we do not and cannot give individual investment advice. According to the State of Washington RCW 21.20.005 the Stock Market Companion is not a Registered Financial Advisor and we do not render any advice on the basis of the specific investment situation of a particular individual. This information is for a wide readership and is not intended for any particular individual,  and under no circumstances should our SMC Intraday Update, SMC 30MinuteStocks Market Update or Watchlist be considered an investment recommendation or plan for any specific individual.  By accessing this material, you agree that the Stock Market Companion will not be held liable for any actions taken by a subscriber or other parties.  Please seek the council of a broker or other licensed investment professional for accurate pricing and concerning the suitability of all investments that you may be considering. Disclosure : Please understand that the Stock Market Companion holds positions in the above mentioned securities.  Based on market related or personal events these positions may change without notice.      

 

– Stock Market Companion – Current Holdings –

Nr.	Co.	Ticker	Action	Entry Date	Current Gain (Loss)
1	YRC Worldwide	YRCW	Holding	2/26/2010	+68%
2	US Natural Gas ETF	UNG	Holding	4/9/2010	+1%
3	Ford Motor Co.	F	Holding	4/14/2010	+8%

– Stock Market Companion – Previous Holdings –

Nr	Co.	Ticker	Entry Date	Exit Date	Total Gain or (Loss)
1	ProShares Ultra Short SP-500	SDS	4/7/2010	4/9/2010	(-1.8%)
2	US Natural Gas ETF	UNG	4/5/2010	4/8/2010	(-8.2%)
3	Apple Inc.	AAPL	3/23/2010	4/7/2010	+5.7%
4	Ford Motor Co.	F	3/31/2010	4/7/2010	(-2%)
5	Somaxon Pharmaceuticals	SOMX	3/23/2010	4/6/2010	(-15.9%)
6	Dendreon Inc.	DNDN	3/23/2010	3/31/2010	(-1.4%)
7	ProShares Ultra Short SP-500	SDS	3/19/2010 (1/2 Position)	3/23/2010	(-1.5%)
8	Dendreon, Inc.	DNDN	2/11/2010	3/19/2010	+14.5%
9	General Electric Co.	GE	3/16/2010	3/19/2010	+1.4%
10	Apple Inc.	AAPL	3/5/2010	3/19/2010	+1.3%
11	Ford Motor Co.	F	2/25/2010	3/18/2010	24%
12	RINO International	RINO	3/3/2010	3/17/2010	3.1%
13	Nutri-System Inc.	NTRI	10/16/2009	12/28/2009	+79.7%
14	Palm Inc.	PALM	11/11/2009	11/27/2009	-8.6%
15	Research In Motion	RIMM	12/8/2009	1/5/2010	+6.8%
16	Simple Tech, Inc.	STEC	12/15/2009	1/5/2010	+62.2%
17	US Natural Gas ETF	UNG	12/10/2009	1/8/2010	+6%
18	Human Genome Sci.	HGSI	12/22/2009	1/8/2010	(-0.2%)
19	Ford Motor Co.	F	11/9/2009	1/12/2010	+48.6%
20	Western Refining Inc.	WNR	1/5/2010 (1/2 Share Count)	1/12/2010	(-5.5%)
21	RINO International Corp.	RINO	1/8/2010 (1/4 Share Count)	1/12/2010	(-5.1%)
22	Bank of America Inc.	BAC	1/4/2010	1/12/2010	+4.7%
23	YRC Worldwide	YRCW	1/12/2010 (1% only)	2/4/2010	(-17.1%)
24	Dendreon Inc.	DNDN	2/3/2010 (1/4 Share Count)	2/4/2010	(-2.7%)

* Gains (losses) do not include brokerage fees

– Benchmarks “At a Glance” –

US Dollar	1.327 USD = 1 Euro	USD / EUR	Dollar = UP
Gold	$1,142.9	Ounce	Gold = Flat
Oil	$83.70	Barrel (West Texas Crude)	Oil = Flat
30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage	5.14	Percent	Flat
30 Yr. Bond Yield	4.63	Percent	Flat
1 Yr. CD	1.36	Percent	Flat

(Data Source : Finviz.com Financial Visualizations)

We wish you all a fine evening.

Remember to invest on your own, but not alone.

Signing off for today, your –

Stock Market Companion

** Stock Market Companion Disclaimer **

The Stock Market Companion (SMC) Market Update and Watchlist are published documents to subscribers that show how we (SMC) are viewing the markets and what we are watching, investing in or selling today.  This information is for a wide readership and is not intended for any particular individual,  and under no circumstances should this Market Update or Watchlist be considered an investment recommendation or plan for any specific individual.  By accessing this material, you agree that the Stock Market Companion will not be held liable for any actions taken by a subscriber or other parties.  You understand that the Stock Market Companion holds positions in the above mentioned securities.  Based on market related or personal events these positions may change without notice.

Furthermore, the Stock Market Companion, Inc. is a content provider and publisher and not a registered broker-dealer or licensed investment professional.  Our intent is to publish very accurate market information for an audience of subscribers (1000+ subscribers).  By accessing the Stock Market Companion website and/or using the Stock Market Companion products and services such as this Market Update and accompanying Watchlist, you understand and agree that the material provided in the Stock Market Companion products and services is for informational and educational purposes only, and that no mention of a particular security in a Stock Market Companion product or service constitutes a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold that or any other security, or that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.  To the extent any of the information contained in any Stock Market Companion product or service may be deemed to be investment advice, such information is impersonal and not tailored to the investment needs of any specific person.  Before selling or buying any stock or other investment you should consult with a qualified broker or other financial professional to verify pricing information and to solicit advice as to the appropriateness of a given transaction or investment.<

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