-Executive Summary-

• The DOW (DJ-30) closed HIGHER thanks to General Electric’s (Ticker: GE) stock movement related to their excellent earnings … The NASDAQ closed lower as early gains in Google (GOOG) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) evaporated.
• We may be entering a period of development where the DOW (DJ-30) begins to outperform the NASDAQ… We’ve made a corresponding change in our SMC Market Trends Table 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, therefore 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	Price (Today’s Close)	Unit of Measure	Today’s Direction
SP-500	1,283.35	Index	UP = +3.09 points
DOW-30	11,871.84	Index	UP = +49.04 points
NASDAQ	2,689.54	Index	DOWN = -14.75 points
NASDAQ 100	2,268.32	Index	DOWN  = -17.76 points

– Market Trends –

Trend	SP-500	DJ-30	NASDAQ	NASDAQ 100
Short Term	Down	*FLAT/UP*	Down	Down
Intermediate	UP	UP	UP	UP
Long Term	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral

*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 –

Today’s most significant highlights can be summarized by two names – General Electric and Mr. Jeff Immelt.  Close “runner’s up” would be Google and Larry Page.  But let’s stick with General Electric and Mr. Immelt –

This morning, General Electric surprised Wall Street with VERY robust earnings.  Here are the numbers (Courtesy of General Electric)-

– Quarterly earnings = +$0.36/share.

– Fiscal Year 2010 earnings per share = $1.15

– Therefore, GE’s price earnings ratio (P/E) based on today’s closing price is = 19.74/1.15 = 17  (Roughly the market average)

– Company announced in December it’s 2nd dividend increase in 6 months.

– +21% increase in research and development.

– GE’s current dividend is $0.56/share.  At a share price of $19.74, this is a 2.8% annual yield.

Today we are a bit short on time. Next week we will provide an interesting contrast between GE and Apple Inc.  Don’t miss it.

Mr. Jeff Immelt was appointed by U.S. President Obama to run his outside panel of economic advisors.  According to the NY Times, “Mr. Obama said he wants the council to focus its work on finding new ways to encourage the private sector to hire and invest in American competitiveness.”

If President Obama and the rest of the US political establishment begin to understand the importance NOW of good government policy that will support real US JOB GROWTH, then his choice of Mr. Jeff Immelt is good.  Simply understanding the importance of having a group dedicated to Jobs and Competitiveness is GOOD for America.  We need it.

Without it, we will continue to flounder in the face of $5/day global labor rates and aggressive Asian planned economy export policies that have proven very effective – and very disruptive to our labor force.

Last July, we posted here the very insightful article “How America Can Create Jobs” written by former Intel Chairman and CEO Andy Grove.  This article is a “must read” for anyone who wants to understand where we are as a nation concerning job growth and what can be done to help.  For those families using the Stock Market Companion 15MinuteStocks Market Update and Watchlist as a teaching tool for your children as well as an investing tool for your family, the above link to Andy Grove’s article is excellent material.

Today, the U.S. dollar sank hard.  Gold move sharply lower.  Oil remained flat.

– Story-Stock Investing –

Market pull-backs are OPPORTUNITIES for individual investors who accurately and successfully time the market to capture profits and evaluate which companies quietly tread-water and build excellent bases for possible upside continuation patterns when the broader market moves higher again.

Apple Inc. sold off further today and closed below our Jan. entry.   Ford too closed again below $18/share.  Zagg Inc. cruised DOWN another -4% today alone.  Cisco also closed down today.

GE’s earnings today were very strong.  If the company holds onto these gains and appears to be building up momentum for a further surge higher, we will consider an investment.  There’s no need for us to run after it today.  Their forecast revenues for 2011 appear flat.

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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 –

Nr.	Co.	Ticker	Action	Entry Date	Current Gain (Loss)

AS of 1/19/2011, the Stock Market Companion is entirely in cash.

– 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” –

US Dollar	1.33620 USD = 1 Euro	USD / EUR	Dollar = Down Big
Gold	$1,341.80	Ounce	Gold =  DOWN
Oil	$89.12	Barrel (West Texas Crude)	Oil = Down
30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage	4.79%	Percent	Down a bit more.
10 Yr. Bond Yield	3.41	Percent	UP a bit
1 Yr. CD	1.36	Percent	Flat

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.

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