– The Stock Market Companion –
15MinuteStocks
Market Update
May 3, 2010
——- Stock Market Investing since the 1980’s ——-
Published all Market Days
Monthly Subscription $29.95
 Today’s SMC Watchlist

– Executive Summary – 

Imagine that we told you on Saturday that the news on Monday morning would include these items –

1. Failed car-bomb attack in Times Square, New York – attributed to the Pakistani Taliban. (Source: AP)
2. Greece to receive $147 billion in aid from the EU and IMF. (Source: Reuters)
3. China increases again (3rd time this year) its reserve ratio for its banks. (Source: Bloomberg Businessweek)
4. Australia is planning to increase its tax on mining companies to 40%. (Source: Bloomberg Businessweek)
5. British Petroleum still unable to cap oil well spill in the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: MarketWatch)

Would you expect the market to be UP on that Monday?  No way!  But the primary and secondary markets were all up firmly today.  OK.

We’ve put together this daily chart of the DOW (DJ-30) with our comments on it to give you a good idea of what the market looks like.  Please click on the link to open it in a separate browser window.  You will see that there is no big hurry to get into any stocks at this time.  If the markets show that they are holding a lateral trend or beginning to move up again, then we will logically be finding the next market leaders that may be moving out of tight consolidation patterns.  No one likes to wait.  Everyone wants to be rich already.  But it’s the ones who are patient and careful that make steady money in the stock market.

Remember that essentially 9 out of 10 stocks move in the direction of its market.  NASDAQ stocks move in step with the NASDAQ market average.  DOW stocks move in step with the DOW.  Each market is the fuel that drives individual stocks.  When it begins to get chills, individual stocks have a severe flu.  Individual stocks move 2x-4x the degree of movement of its market.  If the NASDAQ is up 2%, then a market leading tech stock like Apple Inc. (Ticker: APPL) under normal conditions will be up 4% to 8%.  That’s wealth building potential! If the NASDAQ is DOWN 2%, then a market leading stock may be down 4% to 8%!  That’s real destructive power, for those who do not time the market and stay on the sidelines when the market is not in a clear trend.  It’s also important to only be in stocks that you understand and that you know have a reason to go up.

When you have the vision for individual stock investing and what it can do for you, it will be natural for you to want to know what the markets are most likely going to do over a period of time, and which stocks are going to be the leaders.  That’s why it is essential to have the Stock Market Companion (SMC).   For what used to be the cost of just one side of the brokerage fees for a trade (and still is for those using full-service brokerages), you can have a year’s worth of insights, ideas, and directionals from us at the SMC.  It costs less than a cup of coffee at McDonald’s per day.  You can’t afford to invest in the stock market without your Stock Market Companion.

(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	1,202.26	Index	UP = +15.57 points
DOW-30	11,151.83	Index	UP = +143.22 points
NASDAQ	2,498.74	Index	UP = +37.55 points
NASDAQ 100	2,031.60	Index	UP = +30.97 points

 

– Market Trends –

Trend	SP-500	DJ-30	NASDAQ	NASDAQ 100
Short Term	Down	Down	Down	Down
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.

 At the SMC, we have no stock holdings at this time.

– Today’s Highlights –

Please see the Executive Summary above for the bullet points related to today’s market influencing events and catalysts.

– Stock Investing Specifics and Strategies –

Here’s the SMC daily chart of Ford Motor Co. (Ticker: F).  This is an excellent opportunity to see how the Ford stock handles itself on its test of its 50 day moving average line of price (50 MA).  Please notice on the chart that Ford hasn’t moved below its 50 MA since its decisive move above it in November 2009. 

The 50 MA and the 200 MA are both areas of intense interest for institutional investors.  These are often logical locations to add-to positions or to sell – when the market is unfavorable and / or no one else appears to be stepping forward to purchase shares. 

We sold our Ford stock last week, when the stock began to perform poorly immediately following earnings.  After we sold our shares (and informed our subscribers with the SMC Intra-Day Update), the next day Credit Suisse downgraded the stock with a target of $10/share.  You can see our assessment of this downgrade on our SMC Blog on the front page of the stockmarketcompanion.com.

With our Ford Motor Co. (F) investment in November, we were 4 weeks ahead of legendary investor G. Soros announcing his investment, and with our exit, we were several days ahead of the UAW announcing their intentions to sell 11% of the company.

We like how Dendreon (Ticker: DNDN) is handling itself here in the mid-50’s, but we have some time to see if investors want to take their profits or if they want to stay put.

YRC Worldwide (YRCW) perked up a bit today.  They announce their earnings tomorrow before the bell, with a conference call immediately thereafter.

Some investors were jumping on-board Transocean Ltd. (Ticker: RIG) when it was suggested on Friday that their max. liability in the Gulf (it was their oil platform that sank) was their deductible on the rig.  Needless to say investors were a little scared this morning when the stock opened relatively flat, but then began to sink in a fashion similar to their equipment.  It’s a horrible situation in the Gulf with this oil disaster, and the stocks that have taken it in the chin are the ones responsible = British Petroleum (BP) and Transocean Ltd. (RIG).

Rentech Inc. (RTK) = looks strong.

 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 15MinuteStocks 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)

– Stock Market Companion – Previous Holdings –

Nr	Co.	Ticker	Entry Date	Exit Date	Total Gain or (Loss)
1	YRC Worldwide	YRCW	2/26/2010	4/29/2010	+35%
2	US Natural Gas ETF	UNG	4/9/2010	4/29/2010	(-4%)
3	Ford Motor Co.	F	4/14/2010	4/27/2010	+5.4%
4	ProShares Ultra Short SP-500	SDS	4/7/2010	4/9/2010	(-1.8%)
5	US Natural Gas ETF	UNG	4/5/2010	4/8/2010	(-8.2%)
6	Apple Inc.	AAPL	3/23/2010	4/7/2010	+5.7%
7	Ford Motor Co.	F	3/31/2010	4/7/2010	(-2%)
8	Somaxon Pharmaceuticals	SOMX	3/23/2010	4/6/2010	(-15.9%)
9	Dendreon Inc.	DNDN	3/23/2010	3/31/2010	(-1.4%)
10	ProShares Ultra Short SP-500	SDS	3/19/2010 (1/2 Position)	3/23/2010	(-1.5%)
11	Dendreon, Inc.	DNDN	2/11/2010	3/19/2010	+14.5%
12	General Electric Co.	GE	3/16/2010	3/19/2010	+1.4%
13	Apple Inc.	AAPL	3/5/2010	3/19/2010	+1.3%
14	Ford Motor Co.	F	2/25/2010	3/18/2010	24%
15	RINO International	RINO	3/3/2010	3/17/2010	3.1%
16	Nutri-System Inc.	NTRI	10/16/2009	12/28/2009	+79.7%
17	Palm Inc.	PALM	11/11/2009	11/27/2009	-8.6%
18	Research In Motion	RIMM	12/8/2009	1/5/2010	+6.8%
19	Simple Tech, Inc.	STEC	12/15/2009	1/5/2010	+62.2%
20	US Natural Gas ETF	UNG	12/10/2009	1/8/2010	+6%
21	Human Genome Sci.	HGSI	12/22/2009	1/8/2010	(-0.2%)
22	Ford Motor Co.	F	11/9/2009	1/12/2010	+48.6%
23	Western Refining Inc.	WNR	1/5/2010 (1/2 Share Count)	1/12/2010	(-5.5%)
24	RINO International Corp.	RINO	1/8/2010 (1/4 Share Count)	1/12/2010	(-5.1%)
25	Bank of America Inc.	BAC	1/4/2010	1/12/2010	+4.7%
26	YRC Worldwide	YRCW	1/12/2010 (1% only)	2/4/2010	(-17.1%)
27	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	1.31 USD = 1 Euro	USD / EUR	Dollar = UP
Gold	$1,183.7	Ounce	Gold = UP
Oil	$85.99	Barrel (West Texas Crude)	Oil = FLAT
30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage	5.15	Percent	Flat
30 Yr. Bond Yield	4.54	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.<

---