Best Week Since November Randomosity

It's the best week for the stocks since November! So say we all:

• Best week for stocks since November.  Fears have eased that the nation's major financial institutions would collapse or at least require additional government lifelines in order to stay alive. Market veterans were quick to rein in hopes that the market would chart an uninterrupted recovery but many still saw the four straight days of gains a good sign.  It's good news, unless it isn't.
• Wall Street chalks up 4-day rally.  A sharp rebound in bank shares and easing worries about the economy pushed stocks to their best week since late November.  The market shot up in one week as it might in some years, with major indicators chalking up gains of around 10 percent.  Reminder:  We've had some sharp rallies in this bear market before.
• How will the Republicans spin the best week in the market since November?  (Read the comments...)

Government tax revenues lag the economy by a bit, as it takes awhile for revenues to hit the coffers.  Yet, even with bad times evident, governments usually have no clue that it could possibly impact them.

• The state of California, after closing a $42 billion budget gap with spending cuts and tax hikes, confess that they may already be $8 billion in the hole.  "Even in the few weeks since the budget was signed, there have been a series of negative developments. Our updated revenue forecast projects that revenues will fall short of the assumptions in the budget package by $8 billion. Consequently, the Legislature and governor will need to adopt billions of dollars in additional solutions in the coming months to bring the 2009-10 budget back into balance."
• The city of Sacramento comes up $168.5 million short in general fund.

What does that all mean?  More spending cuts?  More tax hikes?  More reductions in government worker pay and benefits?  All of the above?  Maybe if the market rally is for real and predicting an economic revival soon, perhaps the government tax revenues will improve in the years ahead.  Well, maybe none of that is today's business.  It is Friday in a pre-Spring weekend where the most important thing going on is NCAA March Madness teams selection on Sunday.

TGIF! Thank God it's Freida! Have a great weekend!

Thank God It's Freida Randomosity

• I bought my first ebook on $AMZN for the $AAPL iPhone Kindle application. You buy it from Amazon's website, and when you run the iPhone Kindle app, the book shows up via Amazon's Whispernet.  The reader seems to work just like other readers I've tried.  The cool thing is not having to transfer the ebook to the iPhone.  It's just there when you turn it on.  Plus, Amazon's book library is pretty extensive.  Also seems like Amazon pricing is better than the other ebook vendors I've used. 
• It's a winner.  Like Freida Pinto.  And thank goodness it is Friday.  It's been a long week.
• The market is tanking as I contemplate what to have for lunch.  Maybe rice and beans.  No, that may be coming later for all of us.  When the futures were up this morning, I could almost sense the false optimism on CNBC.  As if even though the futures were up, just give it time.  The sellers were still hitting their snooze buttons.  Once they got up, the selling commenced.
• Looks like the Nasdaq is catching up after a few months of outperforming.  I think I need air quotes around "outperforming."  Right?
• The Japanese Tokyo stock price index (TOPIX) is at a 25-year low.  Nice.
• $GM at lowest price in 75 years.  Nice.
• The job market is nearing 1982 levels.  The government’s broadest measure of unemployment and underemploymentwas 14.8 percent in February. That includes some of the people who havestopped looking for work because they don’t believe they can find jobs.It also includes part-time workers who want to be working full time.  Nice.
• The anatomy of a natural gas spike.  Interesting.
• Why Wal-mart is surging.

Thank God it's Freida

• $C (Citigroup) was the government intervention du jour that sent the market down today. Citigroup Inc. agreed to turn over a big piece of itself to the government, a move that fanned worries that other banks would facecrippling trouble with bad debt.
• What else didn't help?  $GE.  General Electric Co. slashed its quarterly dividend by 68 percent. I have to hand it to Gary Kaltbaum who on his radio show the past few months has been predicting single-digits for $GE and also dividend slashing, even though chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt said he wasn't going to.  Oopsie.
• I remain long as we cruise into March.  Yes, taking a beating but mostly in the Nasdaq.  It's been a lighter beating.  Thoughts are that we're retesting the lows still.  No reason to panic here, and believe that we may see a pretty big rally soon.  Then it will be time to decide what to do.  Not here.
• Rosy scenario or the audacity of hope, from Greg Mankiw.  Obama's team predicting higher growth than private forecasters.
• Yes, that's Freida Pinto from the Maxim cover shoot.  Nice.  Wearing an oversized sweater and little else (save the seductive, six-inch black heels), Freida's expression is deliciously ambiguous, a mix of naughtiness, playfulness and something else that's impossible to pinpoint but easy to love.  Easy, Breezy, Beautiful.
• From Larry Kudlow, Obama declares war on investors.  Let me be very clear on the economics of President Obama’s State of the Union speech and his budget. He is declaring war on investors, entrepreneurs, small businesses, large corporations, and private-equityand venture-capital funds.
• I dunno, Larry.  I don't think Obama believes that's what he's doing.  It certainly seems like it.  The Democrats have been outstanding at ostracizing the "rich" for all the nation's ills. While everyone knows it's all George Bush's fault!

2009 Starts Off

• Whether you like it or not, it's 2009! Happy New Year!  I  hope this finds you happy and healthy.  Oh, and also reading this on your portable device from the treadmill at the gym.  You haven't broken that "get in shape" New Year's resolution yet, have you?
• Yes, that is "Latika" (actress Freida Pinto) from Slumdog Millionaire.  Quite a good movie.
• The stock market rolls on and trading should be fairly light for a day in-between a holiday and a weekend.  The market up sharply while the financial networks are ever bullish and talking about the "January Effect."  Sharpest opening day since 2003, they say. 
• In March 2003, the market ended up retesting the September 2002 lows, and then beginning the amazing bull market and economic run to 2007.   There was an amazing stretch of GDP quarters running over 3% during that stretch.