{"id":4727,"date":"2011-08-08T07:28:41","date_gmt":"2011-08-08T12:28:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leavittbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=4727"},"modified":"2011-08-08T07:28:41","modified_gmt":"2011-08-08T12:28:41","slug":"before-the-open-aug-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.leavittbrothers.com\/?p=4727","title":{"rendered":"Before the Open (Aug 8)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning. Happy Monday.<\/span>
\nIt’s not a very happy morning for the world markets. The Asian\/Pacific markets are down across-the-board. Most indexes have lost 2-4%. Europe is currently down across-the-board. Losses are not as bad as Asian, but they’re still very steep. Futures here in the States point towards a large gap down open for the cash market. <\/span>
\nThe dollar is flat. Gold and silver are up nicely. Oil is down another $3.26.<\/span>
\nAs you know, on Friday night, Standard & Poor’s lowered its rating on US debt from AAA to AA+. This means the confidence S&P has the US will pay its debt is just very very good instead of excellent (or something like that). This is meaningless because the rating is still very high, and the US can always print money to pay its debt. But psychologically it has spooked the world markets. (and let’s not talk about whether S&P even has any credibility)<\/span>
\nAs I said over the weekend, I’m glad this happened. 1) Politically it had to happen because maybe now Congress would get off its ass and take our debt more seriously rather than spending irresponsibly and pushing our financial problems to later generations. 2) So much bad stuff has hit the market recently, why not throw this in the mix too and get it over with? Economic numbers have taken a turn for the worse. Earnings season started well but has gotten much worse. The charts are in horrible shape. Other than saying “the market is oversold” there is nothing encouraging about the current state of things. So why not throw this extra piece of news on the pile and get it over with? It has the ability to cause the capitulation sell-off needed to form a local bottom. <\/span>
\nA bounce is coming. It could happen today or tomorrow or maybe not ’til the end of the week, but it is coming. And when it comes it’ll be fast and furious and full of volume and energy. But if you’ve been guessing when it’ll happen, you’ve gotten crushed. <\/span>
\nIf you’re short, great. Manage what you have, but I’m not sure initiating new positions is a good idea right now. If you’re long, well, I have nothing to say to you. You’re crazy (unless you’re a long term investor who is more concerned with collecting dividends). If you’re on the sidelines, start building your list for when the market bounces. And watch what happens closely. Experience is the best teacher. More after the open.<\/span>
\nheadlines at Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/span>
\ntoday’s upgrades\/downgrades<\/a><\/span>
\nyesterday’s sector performance<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Earnings<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Economic Numbers<\/a><\/span>
\n