Phantasmix Stock Blog

Financial Times, front page headlines:

• US retailers in battle at dawn — Drastic price cuts after poor sales
• Pakistan moves troops to Indian border — Apparent escalation of tensions
• China’s state sector urged to boost economy — Response to rapidly cooling growth
• Russia braced for unrest — Moscow continues rouble devaluations
• New threats to online security — Criminal gangs blamed for attacks
• Japan suffers record fall in output — Gloomy data underscore troubles for world’s second-largest economy

I skipped 3 headlines as they were neutral. Not a single positive news item. How depressing *sigh*

Someone just said it means “time to go long”.

Taking a break for a few days.

Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, ^SPX
Click charts to enlarge

Broke the triangle to the downside. Positives still “on the table” – flattening 50dma, low volume on a down day (must be attributed to the holiday season, therefore is not a clear indicator).

And as a follow up to yesterday’s post on pivot points, here’s a picture of what actually happened. We didn’t get anywhere close to the resistance levels, support levels were helpful, but only briefly.

I want to thank the people who make our life easier. I really like our mailman, my hairdresser and the butcher. Our building manager is pretty nice and helpful, too.

Tough to decide what to give: don’t want to seem like a total cheapskate but still want to show “we appreciate you”. And you never know what they’re allergic or morally opposed to.

We gave chocolate truffles to a client once. When he called to thank us, he said “Even though I have diabetes, my granddaughter enjoyed them very much”. And yet candy seems like a safe choice. In worst case, they can just re-gift it.

• The Mailman got a special edition holiday Toblerone ($8.50). Everyone loves Toblerones, right? He didn’t seem very moved but said that he’s in our area for awhile, hopefully he’ll be here next year as well (his words). So I’m thinking he wasn’t too offended. I thought about giving money but it’s against the law.
• I tipped the Hairdresser 100%. I did well here, she was happy, everyone loves cash.
• The Building Manager will either get a box of cookies or a Tim Horton’s gift card. He’s always carrying a Tim’s cup.
• The Butcher is tricky. We shop at the Whole Foods, so would a WF gift card be appropriate? A steak? cash? I’m open to ideas. He is a very friendly young guy. I don’t want him to misinterpret it though.

Holiday tipping guide from CNN
The article suggests that cash is the best choice, average recommended tip is $20 or so, with some going a lot higher.