272. "How Sweet It Is"

Jackie Gleason as Ralph on the Honeymooners always showed his short-term delight by something by swooning "How sweet it is." We should all join in re the stock market, at least for the next 1.5 to 2 weeks. The red squeaky toy sees no end in sight, BUT we know it is coming, don't we? Today we see the result of holding interest rates at zero, i.e., funds pouring into hedge funds. We also see the Europeans taking actions to strengthening the Euro against the dollar, hence, the weaker dollar. As the dollar weakens, the commodities based on dollar trades, e.g., oil, gold, steel, rise. We also expect the weak dollar will lead to better export results as the relief in the financial crisis in Europe (out largest importer) may turn the consumer spending around. And then their is China which earlier this year took actions to ensure speculation did not create any bubbles over there -- goodness. If only we could leave the world alone politically! Arguing the Yuan is value is of little overall value to our economy, other than arguing over it causes uncertainty which are politicians always overreact to with protectionism. This minor bump last week re steel taxes should be overshadowed by all the good news. But, WHY was this necessary? As 17+ states to date begin Health care lawsuits will this battle affect anything? too early to tell except we are already seeing the worse case by large companies beginning to announce write downs during their quarterly earnings. Not much to be concerned about with the large companies, but look out when the mid-size and small companies begin to report. Earnings time is upon us again. We appreciate the techs, like Apple with their new IPAD and Microsoft with their announcement today of the Kin line of phones to make it effortless for the younger generation to tweet, twitter, facebook, etc. This will come to us via Verizon and Vodafone. Biotechs need to start their move back up. It all looks good. But then, maybe its because I stopped watching TV! lol. Invest and be balanced.