-Executive Summary-

• Flat to Modestly Higher…  Plenty of news today…  See more below.
• The Stock Market Companion Raised its Stop on its Ford Motor Co. (Ticker: F) holding and was promptly stopped out for a -0.6% loss.  See more below.

This Stock Market Companion 15MinuteStocks Market Update is a powerful tool designed to help you make money in the stock market.  It’s web-based – available wherever and whenever you are.  It is your essential link to the markets, delivers a broad to narrow summary of important market and company specific conditions and events, and prepares you to be ready for actionable ideas.  We show you when/where we put our own money to work… and when/where we take our profits/losses.  Please see our short (2 minute) website videos for more information.

– 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 Trends –

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

– Market Perspectives –

For your added perspective, we’ve included these two different views of the broader market –

1. SMC SP-500 ETF Daily Chart (Click to open helpful chart in a separate browser window).

2. SMC SP-500 Weekly Chart (Spanning back through 2007)

– Today’s Highlights –

Never a dull moment.  The conclusion for many is that the economy is growing and more growth is in store for 2011.  Proponents of this view do not have to look farther than today’s strong factory orders data for November and by today’s release of the FOMC (Federal Reserve Open Market Committee) meeting notes from its December 14th meeting.

Inflation also – for the moment – appears to be a minimal concern.

All of this stacks-up against GOLD-BUGS – those investors in gold and other precious metals who are expecting an imminent return of inflation.   The yellow metal sold-off hard today.

In summary –

1. Stronger than expected factory order data for November were released today.

2. FOMC meeting minutes released today suggest NO Change in the current accommodative stance of the Federal Reserve.

3. Precious metals sold-off hard today.

– Story-Stock Investing –

Ford Motor Co. (Ticker: F) released its 2010 sales figures – demonstrating robust sales and further market share gains.  The Ford stock was up strongly this morning and sold off on the news – on strong volume.  At the SMC we ratcheted up our stop-loss on Ford to $16.99/share, and sent out an SMC Intra-Day Alert to that fact.  We were then stopped-out and the stock promptly discontinued its aggressive slide – bouncing higher to a decent finish for the day.  We moved our stop too close-in.  Phooey –  That’s sometimes how it goes.  Friends, we are constantly balancing caution with opportunity and sometimes we are a bit too cautious.  We continue to like the Ford story very much and expect that if the stock and the background market continue to hold up, that we will get back on board this one.

Last weeks holding “SHZ” moved aggressively higher today.  We sent out this SMC Intra-Day Alert –

At the SMC, we would like to openly review our SMC options with “SHZ” (China Shen Zhou Mining and Resources, Inc.), which boil down to –

1. Leave it alone, be grateful with our strong profits from last week, and wish those still on board a fruitful investment.
2. Load up the cart with SHZ stock and hope for the best.
3. Peel-off a few dollars from the profits from last week and put them back to work on SHZ, remembering that we are dealing with a Chinese micro-cap mining stock with operations in Mongolia, that the stock was priced approx. at $1/share in October and has incredibly few number of shares available to the public.  It may continue into lunar orbit from here, but when it re-enters the atmosphere there will be some investors who will get burned.

At the Stock Market Companion, we are going to leave this one alone.  SHZ  has already come an enormous distance in a short period of time and is simply extremely speculative.  So we are settling for option #1 above.

Option #2 would lead to a short life investing in stocks.

Option #3 is worthy of consideration.  If we were going to pursue this option, we would put our stop in at around $9.80/share.  This morning the stock was selling for $8.70/share.

For your protection and our own, we would like to remind everyone that this is not an investment recommendation for any particular individual.  We cannot possibly know the risk tolerance and investment suitability of such investments for any particular subscriber. Successful investors know their own objectives, purposes, and risks associated with any investment – whether in real estate, stocks, or other investments.  Each investor is on their own.

We are simply reporting the SMC actions in the market place.

Your – Stock Market Companion

Former SMC holding Cirrus Logic Inc. (CRUS) is holding up well.  It sells logic circuits that enable mobile and smart phone ring tones and such.

SMC holding the Bank of Ireland (IRE) pulled back a bit today.  They have through February to raise over $1 billion in new investment to raise core capital.  The stock is in a tenuous place.

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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 counsel 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 may hold positions in the above mentioned securities.  Based on market related or personal events these positions may change without notice.

– Stock Market Companion – Current Holdings –

– Stock Market Companion – Performance –

Please click on this chart to see the Stock Market Companion 15MinuteStocks stock performance versus the SP-500.  It will open in a separate browser window.
* Gains (losses) do not include brokerage fees.   Our returns are very strong … BUT …  WE have to remind everyone just like all other financial sites in America – Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Returns.  Unlike others however, our objective is to teach you to be able to make these types of strong returns On Your Own.

All of the investments – stocks, entries, and exits are listed on our Stock Market Companion Watchlist at the bottom of the spreadsheet, in the section labelled Former Holdings.

– Benchmarks “At a Glance” –

Data Source : Financial Visualizations Inc.

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.