-Executive Summary-

• Grizzly!  It’s not about Libya anymore.  The Wall Street Journal reported this afternoon that police in Saudi Arabia fired rubber bullets at protestors in their eastern province.   To add a bit more suspense to the entire picture, China reported its largest trade deficit in 7 years – this may be indicating that China’s own export production is quieting down a bit.  Commodity based stocks all went down in value due to possible reduced demand by China.  Our own jobless claims data reported today for last week were a disappointment.  See more below.
• We sent out an SMC Intra-Day Alert as quickly as possible this morning describing our approach to our single SMC holding Ford Motor Co (Ticker: F $14.06).  See more below.
• When you can, check out this new Stock Market Companion Video Update – Make Money and Reduce Risk (3 Steps for investing successfully in a turnaround) which we posted on YouTube.  These three steps have made us a lot of money in stock investing over the years.
  

– Stock Market Companion – Current Holdings –

If the above “Current Holdings” table is empty it means that we are not holding ANY stocks at this time and that we are therefore 100% in cash.

– 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 this chart of the broader market (Successful stock investors develop and start with a minds-eye view of the broader market and keep it clear) –

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

– Today’s Highlights –

China, Saudi Arabia, and our U.S. jobless claims numbers were the key catalysts for the markets set-back today.

Click here for an excellent article on the China trade deficit headline from today.

Click here for an overview of the concern in Saudi Arabia.

If trouble emerges in Saudi Arabia, you can forget about Libya.  All eyes will be completely glued on Saudi Arabia – the 1000 pound gorilla which is the anchor for OPEC.  Oil prices would then really go up.  Today however, oil prices are decreasing as China trade numbers are leading investors to re-think how much demand there will be for raw materials if the Chinese export machine is not exporting quite as much.

– Story-Stock Investing –

– 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.

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