[rohry]

"Very few analysts, advisors, and anchors even recognize the problem. After all, these are the same people still reporting pro forma profits as real numbers. The standard advice is to "invest for the long-term, there will be a second half recovery, ABC company beat estimates by a penny more, buy on dips, dollar-cost-average, and stock returns are superior over the long run." When was the last time you heard an anchor, analyst, or advisor recommend going short the market, buying gold, oil, Euro-denominated government bonds, water or raw materials? You simply don’t hear it, or if you do, it is rare."

[rohry]

Market WrapUp is delivered...

[Southack]

I've been making good money on my dividend stocks and on my Put contracts (my Merk Puts are looking rather timely right now).

It's the poor fools who are buying into the no-dividend, so-called "growth" stocks who are going to get fleeced. If a company doesn't pay you a dividend, then why own it, after all?!

[grania]

CDs at a little over 2%.

Good evening, rohry. Thanks for posting the stock market wrap up.

The quote here is really misleading concerning bank CD rates. I'm getting this from the August 2002 copy of MONEY magazine, page 139:

6 Month CDs Average 1.82% Highest 3.25%

One-year CDs Average 2.25% Highest 3.30%

Five-year CDs Average 4.41% Highest 5.45%

There are banks with money-market accounts at 3%. Yet nobody is saying the prudent thing. For people nearing retirement, the money they will absolutely need is best off in bank-insured CDs. That's what I do with my Roth and SEP, and I don't have to pay taxes on the interest, and I don't risk a down year where I'm sheltering a loss...there will be a lot of that going around this year.

I really think it's unethical that brokers aren't telling people on the cusp that they really should have that 100% necessary money be 100% safe. When I signed up for my trading account last year, I got lectured and treated like an idiot because I explained my real money was bank accouts, and I was using my brokerage account for knowledge. I can't imagine the effect this attitude has on people who aren't, well, smarter in Math that fools like this broker. (yes, I complained)

On another note. For the last two weeks, I did a lot of research and kept up on prices and made some moves that I'm pleased with. I caught two stocks that were simply undersold...there just weren't buyers out there. I bought a few hundred shares of each, but I held back. Why...in the back of my mind I was thinking "Maybe there's a scandal that insiders know about". They are both up this week...but I don't like the feeling that I'm at a disadvantage because of dishonest practices.

(If anyone wants the names of those banks from Money, I'll send them via mailbox...they're as of June 4)

[arete]

"Very few analysts, advisors, and anchors even recognize the problem."

Although I agree with most of what Puplava says, I don't agree with this. I believe that they do recognize the problem, but they sure as heck aren't going to say so. Can you imagine a large cap mutual fund portfolio manager going on TV and telling everyone to buy gold, German bonds or raising cash. Kind of like a used car salesman telling you that the piece of junk you about to buy really is a piece of junk. How are all those guys going to make their million dollar bonuses and be able to afford the summer Hampton home if they don't have other people's money to "manage"?

Richard W.

[Gritty]

This is an ugly market and is only going to get much uglier before it turns around. Just look at the graphs at the top. Is there anything to give anybody hope there (except those shorting the markets)?

Puplava is right. It's capital preservation time, unless one wants to chance investing in precious metals, mining stocks or commodities. Apparently, much of the big money has exited this bear market.

[arete]

S&P 500 is going All American.

S&P Takes Overseas Firms Out of S&P 500

Richard W.

[d4now]

rohry - do you think it's possible they're (the Bush Administration) intentionally trying to deflate the dollar?

[cgbg]

Good report.

Did you see the press report on Morgan Stanley where they said the lowest rating the analysts were allowed to give any stock was "neutral"?

The senior managers of that firm should go directly to jail and not collect their $ 200!

[Tauzero]

A note about Smart Money. This year's Smart Money portfolio is health care. That does not bode well for the health care industry.

I wonder what congress is going to do to mess it up (further)?

[RightWhale]

No one in the media would dare to recommend selling short. [Why?] They don't recommend buying on margin either. A few might recommend reducing the equity portion of the portfolio before it happens automatically anyway. They don't have much to say about options or commodities, either.