Phantasmix

Stating the obvious here: Obama is proposing to raise the taxes, particularly on investment capital gains and dividends. If enough people believe Obama (barf) is going to win, and McCain (barf) is going to lose, there may be a lot of stock selling just to lock in the lower tax rate on cap. gains.

Reading these figures, I can’t help but think that it’s “each man for himself” in this world.

All figures are for one year:

• Basic education for all the people in the world would cost $6 BILLION
• Installation of water and sanitation for all would cost $9 BILLION
• Basic health care and nutrition would cost $13 BILLION

Total: $40 Billion annually

• $8 BILLION is spent annually for cosmetics in the United States alone
• $11 BILLION is spent annually on ice cream in Europe
• $12 BILLION a year is spent on perfumes in Europe and the U.S
• $17 BILLION a year is spent on pet food in Europe and the U.S
• $35 BILLION is spent on business entertainment in Japan
• $50 BILLION on cigarettes in Europe
• $105 BILLION on alcoholic drinks in Europe
• $400 BILLION on narcotic drugs around the world
• And finally, in ONE year alone $780 BILLION is spent on firearms and munitions (I suspect this number is now higher)

(This, right here, is a list of economic sectors to invest in if you’re inclined to do so.)

In the past, industries whose profitability rose 12 months following the rise in the US dollar were:

1. pharmaceuticals
2. food products
3. insurance
4. household products
5. commercial banks
6. tobacco companies

These are consumer driven industries……

All of the major commodities trade in US dollars. If the US dollar is rising you can bet that the global price of commodities is falling. This fact is often overlooked when investors try to find reason for share value declines. Crude oil and gold have recently fallen from record highs. These drops correlate directly with the rise in the US dollar. We are in the heat of the American economic slowdown. As the ripple effect from the sub prime fiasco continues to expand, we urge all of you to remember the following statement: The United States fell first and fell the hardest. The world will look to them to rebound just as strong and just as fast.

PinnacleDigest.com

The market may be bad, but I slept like a baby last night. I woke up every hour and cried.

A long term investment is a short term investment that failed. (So true! )

Markets are the places where two types of people meet up in the morning: those with experience and those with money. Towards the end of the day, they exchange their assets and go home.

P/E ratio - The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.

A man said: I want cold hard cash….Tell me in which stock to invest? Investor: Simple, put your money in the freezer….

Today at the open I got rid of the other 1/2 of SLW, very happy about my timing on this one.

• SRS is floundering
• HD went up but I believe it’ll trade at $25 within a week; like I said if it goes much higher (under $30) I will short more
• Shorted AAPL at $178, just above $177 support and below the very firm $180 resistance

I don’t like opex week, things are generally unpredictable, or it’s just me. Anyway, have to wait it out.

On another front, my long-term junior investments suck!

How’s your day?

Click to enlarge

Photo credit: Jayel Aheram

The Perpetual War Portfolio is an evenly weighted basket of five stocks poised to succeed in the age of perpetual war. The stocks were selected on the basis of popular product lines, strong political connections and lobbying efforts, and paid-for access to key Congressional decision-makers.

For awhile there I wanted to buy the VICE fund (booze, gambling, military, cigarettes), but it’s only open to the U.S. citizens. I’m glad. I would only feel okay investing into alcohol