Archive - Dec 2010 - Blog entry

My list for the year.

While the world is still unwrapping the surprise Christmas gift from China in the form of an interest rate hike of 25 basis points, this other piece of news with ample implications to the auto industry seems to have gone largely under the radar.

Snowpocalypse now?

Of course we felt that last week's zero-volume move higher was fake, Fake, FAKE but, when the acting is that good, there's nothing else you can do but sit back and enjoy the ride.

It is those famous 4 words of investing that should have you running the other way and that should be relegated to the trash bin of investing along with such phrases as "stocks climb a wall of worry" and the "stock market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent".

I thought I would do the Top 10, but I lost count...

It is inevitable that when you have a market run up like we have had recently driven mostly by liquidity and the Santa Claus Rally, many stocks would see pullbacks in the New Year. These are just five of such candidates that I believe capable of some meaningful downside risk.

The markets don't have to go down just because everyone is bullish, but if you are a "believer" and buyer at these levels, then you will need to identify a market top and get to the exits before the next guy to extract profits. This is a very crowded trade and identifying the top is a tall order.

Everything is connected

This is a must view, particularly for all Americans...

I took all of the 782 comments on the Holiday Open Thread and ran them through a word cloud generator...

For the second time in the last few months, China’s Central Bank has raised its rates to fight internal inflation. The new rate goes into effect Sunday. Here is an English version of their announcement.

You don't need to be Bill and Melinda Gates to give back to your community...

China has been ranked as the top growing country among the G20 since 2001 and is expected to retain that title for at least another five years. However, the news coming out of China for the past three months has not been good.

Christmas (circa 1920s), in pictures...