-Executive Summary-

• The broader market moved into multi-year high territory.  The retail sector received a boost today with Amazon.com (Ticker: AMZN $196.63) positive quarterly earnings.
• The U.S. dollar moved sharply lower after today’s Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.  Gold and silver moved higher.
• The broader market is moving into levels not seen since the 3rd quarter of 2008, but still well below 2007 highs.  The Stock Market Companion did not take any further purchases or sales today with the market.  We are attentive for opportunities that may unfold.
• The Federal Reserve made a historic move of having a press conference immediately following its FOMC meeting.  Federal Reserve Chairman Mr. Ben Bernanke covered a lot of ground and provided unusual transparency.  We’ve included the link below and consider it essential viewing for prudent investors, as time allows.  It’s 57 minutes in length.  These are unusual times.
• Here is a video interview of a father and son using the Stock Market Companion successfully together – as a teaching and investing tool.
  

– Stock Market Companion – Current Holdings –

Nr.	Co.	Ticker	Action	Entry Date	Current Gain (Loss)
1	Nexxus Lighting	NEXS	Miniscule Holding	3/18/2011	-21%
2	Dell Inc.	DELL	Holding	3/21/2011	+5%
3	Ford Motor Co.	F	Holding	4/1/2011	-2%
4	Cisco Systems, Inc.	CSCO	Holding	4/25/2011	+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	1,355.66	Index	UP = +8.42 points
DOW-30	12,690.96	Index	UP = +95.59 points
NASDAQ	2,869.88	Index	UP =+22.34 points
NASDAQ 100	2,413.59	Index	UP = +17.56 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 –

It’s not Christmas time, but somehow we can’t shake the Burl Ives classic song from our mind… “Silver and Gold” (click for YouTube video) – as we see both silver and gold metals reach into parabolic orbit on price.  The metals peaked two days ago as uncertainty emerged concerning the outcome of today’s Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.  The results of today’s FOMC meeting could have spelled trouble for precious metals if there had been a hint of monetary policy tightening, but there wasn’t.  Instead, Mr. Ben Bernanke – Federal Reserve Chairman – held the line on the current policy – which has been termed “quantitative easing”.  He also did not indicate when we might expect a move toward tightening.  He’s wisely playing his cards close to his chest as he navigates through unchartered waters.

For the record, we are not in favor of the existing policy – but we are working with the market we have – not the one we wish we had.  Monetizing the fiscal malfeasance of our federal government simply steers the U.S. away from the accountability that we need to make meaningful change.

Back to silver +  … this afternoon, the metal recovered its weakness from the last two days.  We have refreshed our SMC Watchlist with the 2x inverse fund for Silver, for the day that the current monetary policy changes.  The 2x inverse fund is designed to go UP twice the value of silver – when silver goes down.  Of course the opposite is also true, as silver continues higher the value of this fund diminishes in price by a factor of 2x.

For the first time in its 98 year history, the Federal Reserve Chairman held a press conference immediately following the FOMC meeting today.  Click here for a YouTube video of the conference.  These are unusual times.  We HIGHLY recommend this video.  Mr. Bernanke talks at length about the budget deficit being the greatest economic problem that America faces in the long term.

Amazon.com (Ticker: AMZN $196.63) cruised higher today on excellent earnings.  This helped the condition of retail stocks in general.

Crude oil inventory data for last week was released today showing a large build in crude inventory, but still a strong draw on gasoline inventories.

The U.S. dollar sank hard following today’s FOMC meeting – as it became evident that there would be no monetary tightening taking place anytime soon.

– Story-Stock Investing –

We like how eBay, Inc. (Ticker: EBAY $34.03) is performing currently.  We are on watch and have reported frequently about the future looking bright for eBay as it focuses on its Paypal link to wireless devices as an alternative form of payment in the retail environment.

Silicon Image, Inc. (SIMG $8.51) gapped-up strongly this morning on good earnings.  It’s +46% (approx.) revenue growth is very impressive.  We are going to watch this one at this time and not run after it.  It did get an upgrade today to $11/share.

In years’ past, when the U.S. dollar has shown weakness there have been very profitable investment opportunities in American steel companies like AK Steel, Corp. (Ticker: AKS) and U.S. Steel (Ticker: X).   Not this time.  U.S. Steel is down -23% for the year and experienced strong selling today.  This raises a flag in our minds concerning the global economy.

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	1.4792 USD = 1 Euro	USD / EUR	Dollar = Lower … at multi-year lows.
Gold	$1,528.80	Ounce	Gold = Sitting at highs.
Oil	$113.46	Barrel (West Texas Crude)	Oil = Up a bit.
30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage	4.85%	Percent	Flat
10 Yr. Bond Yield	3.36	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.