-Executive Summary-

• The markets improved modestly today.
• JP Morgan-Chase – Who we at the Stock Market Companion call the “Gold-Standard” of the retail banking industry, reported excellent earnings and a 4.4% stock repurchase program for this year.  The market gave it the cold shoulder and the shares closed a bit lower.  See more below.
• THERE ARE NO ACTIONS that we have taken today.  Please see our observations, below.
• SMC Holding DELL, Inc. (Ticker: DELL) shot nicely higher today.  See more below.
• 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	+2%
3	Cisco Inc.	CSCO	Holding	4/6/2011	-2%
4	Ford Motor Co.	F	Holding	4/1/2011	-3%
5	China Shen Zhou Mining	SHZ	Holding	4/7/2011	+20%

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	1,315.89	Index	Flat = +1.73 points
DOW-30	12,277.27	Index	Flat/UP = +13.69 points
NASDAQ	2,761.89	Index	UP = +17.10 points
NASDAQ 100	2,315.25	Index	UP = +16.95 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 –

The market now has made a firm step into earnings season.   Alcoa, Inc. (Ticker: AA) kicked off earnings on this past Monday, after the close.  Their earnings were good, but their revenue expectations disappointed some investors and gave room for profit taking to emerge – in step with shares of other commodity based stocks – like Freeport Mcmoran (FCX), one of the world’s largest copper producers.  FCX did not report earnings yet, but their chart looks quite similar to Alcoa’s.

This morning, the financial power-house and gold standard J.P. Morgan-Chase reported excellent earnings and a significant common stock buy-back program.  Here are the two key points (courtesy of Briefing.com) –

1. Reduced credit card loan loss reserves = Improved repayment environment from consumers.

2. $15 billion stock multi-year repurchase program, of which $8 billion will occur this year.

Let’s do the math on the JP Morgan repurchase program –

The “float” (shares available to the public) and shares outstanding (total of all shares) for JPM is roughly equal at approx. 3.9 billion.  The share price today of JPM is roughly $46/share.

$8 billion / $46 = 174 million shares (approx.)

174 million shares / 3.9 billion total shares = 4.4%

So, JPM plans to buy back approx. 4.4% of their shares this year.  Market participants were unimpressed and sent the stock down some today.

Today as well, U.S. President Obama unveiled a deficit reduction plan, with the intentions of reducing the cumulative deficit by $4 trillion within 12 years.  Folks, this isn’t enough.  If this plan was accepted, we would still have an increase in deficit of $3.2 trillion.   We need stronger leadership on this issue by both parties.  Look at how hard it was over the last few weeks to simply cut what may be $70 billion from this next years’ budget.

– Story-Stock Investing –

Stock Market Companion holding, Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) was a little bit of a “stick in the mud” today.  Dell, Inc. (DELL) shot higher like a rocket after DELL’s chief financial officer announced that sales to enterprises was on the increase and more than off-setting weakness in sales to consumers.

Yesterday, a very intriguing story emerged involving the company Identive Group, Inc. (Ticker: INVE)  One of their divisions was awarded a contract from Google, Inc. to manufacture radio frequency tags that will be used in a test program in the Austin, TX area which will allow smart phones with the appropriate “app” to read the tag and determine all sorts of information about the product tagged – customer surveys, lowest price in the area, comparable products …  The shares of the stock SHOT higher over +100%, just like we were back in 1999.  Today the shares sold off by approx. -40%.  This kind of technology is a sign of things to come.  We’ve written frequently about the changes that are coming due to smart phone adoption and we are vigilant to find publicly traded companies that will benefit strongly from these applications.  We’re adding INVE to our SMC Watchlist.

Amazing … a company that offers “virtual” haircuts to gamers in a virtual world is considering its options for an initial public offering.

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	1.4442 USD = 1 Euro	USD / EUR	Dollar = Up just a little.
Gold	$1,456.90	Ounce	Gold = Flat
Oil	$107.04	Barrel (West Texas Crude)	Oil = Up a bit
30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage	4.8%	Percent	Flat
10 Yr. Bond Yield	3.46	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.