-Executive Summary-

• The markets closed HIGHER on FAVORABLE EMPLOYMENT Data from the U.S. Government.  See below.
• Bank of Ireland (Ticker: IRE) … Opened +25% at $2.20/share and closed at $2.14/share.  We are keeping a close eye on it.  See more below.
• We sent out two SMC Intra-Day communications, changing our stops on Nvidia, Inc., and Dell, Inc – as well as – purchasing shares in Ford Motor Co. (F) on their excellent March sales figures.
• Here’s our SECOND Stock Market Companion Customer Testimony video.
  

– Stock Market Companion – Current Holdings –

Nr.	Co.	Ticker	Action	Entry Date	Current Gain (Loss)
1	Nexxus Lighting	NEXS	Holding	3/18/2011	-23%
2	Dell Inc.	DELL	Holding	3/21/2011	-4%
3	Nvidia, Inc	NVDA	Holding	3/24/2011	-2%
4	China Shen Zhou Mining	SHZ	Holding	3/29/2011	0%
5	Ford Motor Co.	F	Purchased Today	4/1/2011	-1%

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	Price (Today’s Close)	Unit of Measure	Today’s Direction
SP-500	1,332.41	Index	UP = +6.58 points
DOW-30	12,376.72	Index	UP = +56.99 points
NASDAQ	2,789.60	Index	UP = +8.53 points
NASDAQ 100	2,342.92	Index	Flat = +3.93 points

– Market Trends –

Trend	SP-500	DJ-30	NASDAQ	NASDAQ 100
Short Term	Flat	Flat	Flat	Flat
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 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 –

Two KEY data points are supporting the markets today –

1. The U.S. Department of Labor Non-Farm Payroll data released for March, was very favorable AND the previously submitted data for January and February was revised HIGHER.  Click here for a link to the U.S. Department of Labor website for the details.

2. U.S. automotive sales data for March was very favorable.  Ford’s cumulative sales for the month exceeded those of GM, for the second time in 13 years.  Quickly after analyzing the data, we went ahead and initiated an investment in Ford.  See more below.

– Story-Stock Investing –

Here’s what we are up against –

As the U.S. economy gradually works it way away from the edge of the cliff, with improvements in employment, manufacturing data, and export data being a measure thereof, the Federal Reserve is going to be coming right behind with reductions in their accommodative monetary policy.  Picture a flooded basement and you are working on moving the access water to the drain. Your helper is coming right behind you with a wet/dry shop-vac cleaning up the residual mess left behind.  In this example the Federal Reserve is the wet/dry shop-vac, and they are going to be quickly vacuuming out the monetary over-supply.

This is going to be bumpy.  So when you read that the unemployment rate is going down and employment is improving, remember that interest rate increases are not far behind.  Interest rate increases are direct challenges to the stock market’s ability to continue rising, but may be different this time because we have never experienced this type of monetary accommodation in the USA before AND company earnings currently justify the markets value.

Yesterday we reported this about the Bank of Ireland … “Ireland completed their bank stress tests today.  Uncertainty still prevails there.  Minutes ago, we read this new headline – Announcing that the Bank of Ireland (IRE $1.75/share) has time until June to raise private cash, and that they believe that they can do it.  We’ll be seeing what the shares do tomorrow.  This is an unexpected turn of events that may be favorable.”

Bank of Ireland (IRE) shares opened this morning INSTANTLY at $2.20/share, a +25% gain over yesterday’s close – drifted back down to $2.08/share and closing at $2.14/share.  We know that they have gone to the regular places (like the oil nation of Saudi Arabia) to try to raise cash and that they haven’t been sitting around simply waiting for the government to take them over.  We know that these last stress tests were supposed to be rigorous.  We know that the Irish government wants the Bank of Ireland to continue functioning in the future.  We are going to keep a close eye on their share price now.  If we can get a lateral consolidation that looks like it is going to drive higher, we will get back on board.

Here are the two updates that we sent out today … an SMC Alert and an SMC Update –

Dear Subscriber-Friend –

We’ve invested in some Ford (Ticker: F) here at 15.35/share.  Our stop is down around $14.00/share.

We aren’t interested in buying more much above $15.60/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

Dear Subscriber-Friend –

It’s Friday and the U.S. Non-Farm Payroll report released today indicated broad based gains in employment for March, and data for Jan. and Feb. that were revised HIGHER.   The “official” unemployment rate is now measured at 8.8%.   This payroll report is GOOD NEWS, regardless of what we can offer as contra evidence related to those who have simply stopped looking for work and are no longer counted, or the quality of the jobs offered.

Correspondingly, the DOW (DJ-30) and the NASDAQ are pointing higher.

But share prices of our SMC holdings  Nvidia, Inc. (NVDA) and Dell, Inc. (DELL) are moving lower today.  Here’s why –

As of this morning we at least two data points signaling a slowdown in PC sales, to be specific –

1. The company Logitech, Inc. (LOGI) – maker of innovative PC products announced sales and earnings today that were a disappointment and guided LOWER on operating income for the year.
2. Last week we had Best Buy, Inc. (BBY) – reporting that PC and Laptop sales are sluggish, while smart-phones and tablet PC sales are strong.

We purchased Nvidia due to their strong participation in the smart-phone and tablet PC industry and AFTER their aggressive pull-back from recent highs.  We purchased Dell, Inc. due to their recent excellent earnings, multiple upgrades and Michael Dell’s own large purchases down here at around $14.20/share.

What we are concerned about is this … If this is the best that the shares of these stocks can do on good days in the market, what are they going to be like if / when the market pulls-back and there is no clear strengthening in the PC environment?

Here’s what we are going to do now with Nvidia (NVDA) and Dell (DELL) –

1. We are going to advance our stop on NVDA to $17.55/share.  It is very likely that NVDA will drop below $18.00/share, and run the stops on those shareholders who have placed their stops at $18.00.  We don’t want to be in that group, if they get stopped out and the shares then pop right back higher.  So we’ll give it a bit of room.  $17.55/share is the area where the stock began this recent run higher.  If it returns there, then we have to say farewell to the stock.
2. On Dell, we are placing our stop at $13.85.

We read recently that PC sales were running at around 1 million units/day.  Earnings at companies like Dell, Inc. and Intel, Inc. are excellent, but the shares of these companies have been sold off hard in the last month.

We’re going to get this note out.  More later.

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

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 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 : 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.

– 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	1.4229 USD = 1 Euro	USD / EUR	Dollar = Flat
Gold	$1,430.60	Ounce	Gold =Flat
Oil	$108.33	Barrel (West Texas Crude)	Oil = UP
30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage	4.79%	Percent	Flat
10 Yr. Bond Yield	3.451	Percent	Flat
1 Yr. CD	1.16	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.

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.