-Executive Summary-

• The markets closed FLAT.   The BIG news that National Semi-Conductor, Inc. (Ticker: NSM) would be acquired at a +78% premium to the overall market DID NOT light a fire under tech stocks, or any other stocks for that matter.
• We like how biotechnology and pharma stocks on our SMC Watchlist are looking – Impax Labs, Inc. (IPXL), Dendreon, Inc. (DNDN) and Akorn, Inc. (AKRX) are all looking tip-top!  We may get on board some of these … pronto.  We’re reviewing their numbers again.  There is a noticeable rotation taking place from tech into bio-tech and pharmaceuticals.
• The SMC advanced our stop on China Shen Zhou Mining, Inc. (SHZ) and we were stopped out for a very modest loss.  We are very comfortable with this.  On a move above $5.15/share we will become interested again.  See more below.
• Shares of Bank of Ireland (IRE) roared higher again today, and then pulled-back hard.  No entry yet for the SMC.  We’ve talked to friends in Ireland and have been hunting down meaningful information, which needs to be pieced together with what the stock is doing.
• 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	-21%
2	Dell Inc.	DELL	Holding	3/21/2011	-4%
3	Nvidia, Inc	NVDA	Sold Yesterday	3/24/2011	-5.2% (Final)
4	China Shen Zhou Mining	SHZ	Advanced stop and was stopped out today.	3/29/2011	-4.5% (Final)
5	Ford Motor Co.	F	Holding	4/1/2011	+3%

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	1,332.74	Index	Flat = -0.13 points
DOW-30	12,395.76	Index	Flat = -4.27 points
NASDAQ	2,788.80	Index	Flat = -0.39 points
NASDAQ 100	2,324.81	Index	DOWN = -9.73 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 –

As opposed to yesterday, today there is plenty to talk about.  Let’s get going…

1st – We powered up our machines this early A.M. to see that Texas Instruments, Inc. (Ticker: TXN) announced that they were planning to acquire National Semi-Conductor (NSM) for $25/share.  NSM closed at around $14/share yesterday – so this represents a +78% PREMIUM to the current market value of the stock!  Friends, this is again the point we’ve been making over the last months… Companies are willing to pay-up for other companies that they want to buy, but institutional and other investors are unwilling to invest much for shares at this time.

Now, National Semi-Conductor is a huge semi-conductor = computer chip manufacturer, and Texas Instruments is effectively saying, “We don’t care what the market is saying, we believe that the company is worth $25/share”.  So wouldn’t it be reasonable to see other semi-conductor manufacturers UP significantly on this news – like Intel, Corp. (INTC) or Nvidia (NVDA)  or  Broadcom (BRCM) ??  Sure – it’s very reasonable.  BUT the stocks hardly budged!   In many ways, this market is simply very lethargic at this time.  Let’s simply call it – very unusual.

2nd – The Federal Reserve Board Open Market Committee published their notes from their last meeting on March 15th in Washington.  Click here for the full report – which is EXCELLENT reading for anyone interesting in a birds-eye view of the economy and an understanding of how central bankers look at the economy.  It is written in an easy to read format.

Now, many have been seeing that gold and silver have been moving steadily higher since last September.  In fact, for the record we are disappointed that we didn’t mention buying a silver ETF at that time.  But we didn’t.  In the Federal reserve notes (above), they make an important point –

“…Participants observed that headline inflation was being boosted by higher prices for energy and other commodities, and that prices of other imported goods also had risen by a substantial, though smaller, amount. A number of business contacts indicated that they were passing on at least a portion of these higher costs to their customers or that they planned to try to do so later this year; however, contacts were uncertain about the extent to which they could raise prices, given current market conditions and the cautious attitudes toward spending still held by households and businesses. Other participants noted that commodity and energy costs accounted for a relatively small share of production costs for most firms and that labor costs accounted for the bulk of such costs; moreover, they observed that unit labor costs generally had declined in  recent years as productivity growth outpaced wage gains. Several participants noted that even large commodity price increases have had only limited effects on underlying inflation in recent decades.”

What’s important to remember is that the amount of OIL that is required to produce one dollar of GDP in the USA has changed dramatically since the 1980’s.  Without trying to dig out the exact figure, if our memory is correct it takes only about 60% of the oil that it used to take to make a dollar of GDP.  Combined this energy efficiency with the absolute stagnation (or decline as mentioned above) in wage growth in America, and you can see why inflation concerns with the central bankers is so low.  Meanwhile, speculators around the world are buying up gold and silver.

There IS inflation taking place in many places in the world.  Maybe it will enter the US environment.   The European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to increase interest rates this Thursday by a 1/4 or so point – simply to remind everyone that they are vigilant on inflation.

On a separate note … Consider that US Treasury Secretary, Mr. Geithner said to the US Congress today that it is “…unimaginable that the US Congress would not raise the debt ceiling for the nation’s debt…”  Well, if it is necessary for him to say this as repeatedly as he has over the last 3 months, then it is not so unimaginable.

Meanwhile the Nasdaq 100 shuffled it’s weighting scale in order to bring the index more in-line with capitalization of the individual stocks.  Apple, Inc. was representing +20% of the Nasdaq.  Today, after the re-shuffling it represents more like 12%…

– Story-Stock Investing –

The Federal Reserve Board Open Market Committee notes mentioned that …”Indeed, bank and nonbank lenders reported that terms and conditions for auto loans had returned to historical norms…”  They also reported strengthening in the automotive market.  SMC holding – Ford Motor Co. (Ticker: F) shares continued to perform well today.

We are also seeing strength in medical / and bio-pharma sectors and SMC Watchlist stocks Akorn, Inc. (AKRX), Dendreon, Inc. (DNDN), and Impax Laboratories, Inc. (IPXL) are all looking very good.  We may make a move here shortly.

Bank of Ireland shares were very active today.  They shot aggressively higher and then sold-off strongly to approx. $2.31/share.  We are watchful of the $2.50 area.  If the shares can close above there, we will need to make a decision.

We sent out this SMC Intra-Day Alert concerning China Shen Zhou Mining, Inc. (SHZ) today –

Dear Subscriber-Friend –

On 3/29/2011, we purchased shares of China Shen Zhou Mining, Inc. (Ticker: SHZ), with the idea that at least short term buyers would emerge on positive press coming from the company, in the face of very damaging assertions being made from outsiders.  The stock has basically sunk hard from recent highs, and has attracted now a short “interest” level of +60%.   This means that of the 7 million shares available to the public, 4.2 million shares are sold short.

Recall that we made excellent money on this stock in late December and refused to be lured back into the stock after our big gains.  We held our gains and went on to describe the characteristics of momentum stocks such as these and probable outcomes.  Our forecast for the stock was correct… it came apart and has fallen from $10.50 to $3.50 AFTER our exit.

Because the “float” of stock is so extremely small (7 million shares), we were hoping on 3/29 that momentum buyers would come and force the very high numbers of short sellers (60%) to cover their positions, and take the share price at least back to the $7-$8/range.  This $7 – $8 range is approx. where the company was recently able to attract private investors for a $20 million investment.  A move in the stock from approx. $5 to $8/share would be a +60% return.

Each time that the shares have perked above $5.15/share since our purchase on 3/29, the shares have sold back down – with momentum buyers not showing any real interest.  Please keep in mind that during this same time, leading “rare-earth” stock Molycorp (MCP) has been able to push higher.  There should have been “positive fallout” in SHZ during this same time, but it hasn’t materialized.  The momentum buyers simply haven’t showed up!

We’re down now less than a dime on our entry.  But we are going to be careful with this one and place our stop at around $4.65/share, since it hasn’t done what we EXPECTED, even while the background market was favorable.  We don’t like it.

If the shares of this stock (SHZ) could move decisively above $5.15 and CLOSE at or above that price, but BELOW $5.50, we would add-to our position and be ready for a very good, solid run higher.

Now, we don’t want to micro-manage our stocks.  They need room to breathe.  On the other hand, we don’t want to be on board this one if it can’t go higher when the CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN RIGHT, and be in it if the stock sinks on another round of negative press.

Even though we have kept our investment very small on this one– hoping to ADD-TO on a decisive move above $5/share if our idea was validated- we don’t want to be in the shares of a stock if it isn’t performing.  That’s how we stay safe.

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	1.4222 USD = 1 Euro	USD / EUR	Dollar = Flat
Gold	$1,457.50	Ounce	Gold =UP at all time high’s.
Oil	$107.86	Barrel (West Texas Crude)	Oil = Flat
30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage	4.79%	Percent	Flat
10 Yr. Bond Yield	3.487	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.