– Stock Market Companion – Current Holdings –

Nr.	Co.	Ticker	Action	Entry Date	Current Gain (Loss)
1	Gentiva Health	GTIV	Holding	11/15/2011	-12%

 

– 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	1,158.67	Index	DOWN = -3.12 points
DOW-30	11,231.78	Index	DOWN = -25.77 points
NASDAQ	2,441.51	Index	DOWN = -18.57 points

 

 

– Market Trends –

 

Trend	SP-500	DJ-30	NASDAQ
Short Term	Down	Down	Down
Intermediate	Flat	Flat	Flat
Long Term	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) –

 

SMC SP-500 ETF Daily Chart

 

 

Please click on the chart to view it in a larger size.

 

 

 

– Today’s Highlights –

 

There is a lot to think about.

Here’s what we know now –

• The sovereign debt troubles in Europe are simply a foreshadow of troubles that we will have in the U.S., if our government doesn’t come up with a viable and meaningful plan to cut our deficit spending.
• Sovereign debt troubles in Europe ratcheted higher today as yields on Italy’s bonds rose above the “red-line” of 7%.  They rose to +7.3%.  Remember, YIELDS move HIGHER as bond prices move LOWER.  Bond prices move lower when issuers have to offer strong yields to attract skeptical investor-buyers.
• Today, JP Morgan lowered its year-end 2011 target for the S&P 500 from 1350 to 1475, but did NOT rule out a December rally for stocks. Click here for the Reuters article.
• Without a stabilizing move in Europe to address their sovereign debt troubles, investors are going to be extremely cautious about moving money out of the safety of U.S. Treasuries.
• GDP forecasts for 2012 have been moving LOWER.
• U.S. corporate earnings are strong and equities prices are low.  Still, buyers are remaining on the sidelines until there is more clarity about what is first going to happen in Europe concerning sovereign debt, and second – how the U.S. is going to get its own deficit spending under control.
• China’s manufacturing sector has cooled down considerably, and this week we had data points showing contraction.  At SMC, we view this data point more in terms as a lagging indicator and representation of the status of first-world nation current spending.  If first-world debt troubles were addressed with any confidence, it would be quite easy for China to simply step-on the gas to meet increased world demand for manufactured goods.
• An example of excellent U.S. corporate earnings is John Deere’s results presented this week.  Click here for details and a message of hope if you are discouraged about U.S. industry and you need some positive news.
• The political stalemate in Washington is discouraging companies from hiring and keeping useful legislation for job creation from being brought forth.
• Investors in the U.S. have a “you go first” attitude concerning risk and involvement.
• Investors showed on October 4th a willingness to step-up and buy stocks aggressively under favorable conditions created by a plan that Europe had for Greece.  As soon as that plan was destroyed, sellers moved in to take their profits.
• We could be on the threshold of major cyclical turn-arounds in the automotive, airline industry, and in aircraft manufacturing and sales (think Boeing).  But these opportunities can be easily deferred 6 – 18 months ahead in the face of global uncertainty.
• Presidential election cycle investing yields very interesting returns.  Please look at Table 3 when you click on this link.  Presidential election years (like 2012) are not strong investment periods for the broader market.
• This news today on Italy’s bond sales and weak bond sales earlier this week involving German bonds, may have the effect of causing Europe to take action.

 

– Story-Stock Investing –

 

Shares of migraine headache pharmaceutical developer Pozen, Inc. (POZN $3.57) rose approx. 45% today on news that it has sold its royalty rights for the drug Treximet (Migraine medication) to a Canadian pension fund for $75 million.  Dramatic shifts in inexpensive, quality pharmaceutical companies have our attention.  We are not certain if today’s move will lead to further gains.  Pozen has a history of strong, share price advancement on news that rewards investors willing to step-up to purchase, and then sell on strength.  SMC subscribers know that we will look for a lateral consolidation (even a brief one) before we enter the investment, in order to gauge risk.

Please click on this link for information from Marketwatch.com on both Pozen, Inc. and SMC Watchlist stock Amarin (AMRN $7.10).  We are cautiously optimistic about AMRN.

Here is an excellent article on the status of manufacturing in Thailand in the face of destructive flooding.

 

– Benchmarks “At a Glance” –

 

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