-Executive Summary-

• The markets moved again lower today and some individual stocks – like Amazon.com and Apple, Inc. –  moved quite sharply lower.  See below.
• As the market began to wane further today and our Amarin (Ticker: AMRN) holdings were not able to hold $17/share and passed down through our break-even point, we SOLD our shares and sent out an SMC Intra-Day Alert.  Our exit was at $16.69/share.  When the overall market begins to falter as we are seeing, stocks that have had big moves – as AMRN has – can quickly give up -50% OR MORE of their recent moves, even if the future is quite bright for the company.  We will either purchase the stock on extreme weakness at the sign of serious institutional investor interest OR when the stock again begins moving above $17/share – on volume.  See below.
• After-hours breaking news at Hewlett Packard has their shares DOWN -5%.  See below.
• In our Story-Stocks section we provide a SMC Daily Chart of Amazon.com and explanation of late bull-market behavior.
• Would you please feel free to give us feedback at support@stockmarketcompanion.com for insights of what you like about our work and where you would like to see improvements.  We are here to serve you.
• 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	Cisco Systems,Inc.	CSCO	Holding (Reduced size)	5-10-2011	-7%
2	Amarin Corp. PLC	ARMN	Sold Today.	5-10-2011	-1.2% (FINAL)

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	1,329.47	Index	Down = -8.30 points
DOW-30	12,548.37	Index	Down = -47.38 points
NASDAQ	2,782.31	Index	Down =-46.16 points
NASDAQ 100	2,337.85	Index	Down = -41.39 points

– Market Trends –

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

What we are seeing is a big shift in risk appetite – AWAY from RISK.  This is evident in these areas –

1. Turn-around in the U.S. dollar (The U.S. dollar is moving HIGHER).
2. Increasing DEMAND in U.S. Treasuries, driving down the key 10-year U.S. Treasury Bond YIELD.
3. Sell-off in the equities (stock) markets beginning on May 2nd = in spite of the excellent news of Osama Bin Laden’s end.
4. Market leading stocks abruptly falling from recent highs.
5. Precious metals have been no safe haven as sellers there too knew that things had gone pretty far (and the U.S. dollar was turning higher).
6. Stocks that are posting excellent earnings are being sold-off, on “sell-the-news” type of action.  Today, JC Penney (Ticker: JCP) posted excellent earnings, but the shares were sold off hard throughout the day.

– Story-Stock Investing –

Please see this SMC Daily Chart for Amazon.com (Ticker: AMZN) with our notes from today.  Click here for the chart. It shows classic action of a market leading stock, in the late stages of a bull-market –

1. April 26th : Strong share price appreciation – even though total operating expenses exceeded revenue growth AND the company MISSED earnings expectations.
2. Continued move higher, on reasonable volume – BUT the key move higher into all-time high territory came on LOW VOLUME.  The stock appeared to be “running on fumes”.
3. Rapid sell-off as late-comers cut their losses and profit-taking emerges from the last 1.5 month rally.

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 counsel 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 15Minute Market Update 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	1.4163 USD = 1 Euro	USD / EUR	Dollar = Flat
Gold	$1,490.90	Ounce	Gold = Lower
Oil	$96.95	Barrel (West Texas Crude)	Oil = A lot lower!
30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage	4.69%	Percent	Flat
10 Yr. Bond Yield	3.149	Percent	Lower
1 Yr. CD	1.16	Percent	Flat

Data Source : Financial Visualizations Inc.

Please help us by sending your valuable feedback to – Support@stockmarketcompanion.com

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.