- The market got a little soggy into the close, but all in all not a bad day considering what could've happened. The leaders were back leading again. I think the market is acting tired, but who knows if the bears can get any kind of momentum heading into year end. It just doesn't "feel" likely.
- I've heard some say that there is tons of money on the sidelines from underinvested bulls or bears. But according to Investors Intelligence, there are 59.8% bulls and only 23.9% bears. In early July, the bulls were in the low 40s and the bears were in the 30s. So we have seen many bears convert, and also the undecideds or correction minded folks have joined the bull camp. That all reduced potential buying power.
- Many say that funds will try to "catch up" on performance at year end. But how can they really do that by chasing extended stocks? Wouldn't that be even more risky? It would seem that the only way would be to rotate into other sectors and try to catch a move there. That could mean sectors that are just showing strength within the last couple of weeks could have some stocks that aren't as extended. Just thinking out loud. I dunno.
- Boston Gal on Young and In Debt. It is hard to get people to think about things like saving money this time of the year, but the first step to gaining control of your finances should be to have the basic tools in place. I think people leave school without an understanding of how money works. Too bad we don't have some sort of investment curriculum in high schools.
- I call to cancel my cable internet, having switched to DSL because of speed and price. The cable company asks, "What if we lowered your monthly price?" Hello. I'm not the first in my hood to make the switch, so you'd think they'd be more proactive with these offers to retain customers. Just thinking outloud. I told them no thanks!
- Stock trading like duck hunting? Quack, quack.
- Boston Red Sox signed J.D. Drew. 5-years, $70 million. Gee, how much are the beers going to cost Red Sox fans this year?
- Grad school is the new college. Barry Ritholz looks at the labor numbers and wages. Yeah, he's working hard even on a friday. Holy buckets, BR. And Howard (aka "Bones") reaches out to Barry on a comment thread about Wallstripping with Lindsay. Hmmm...
- TGIF!
