The Market, Maria Sharapova, Jon and Kate

• IBD began today still having the market under pressure.  Surprised they didn't flip to correction mode with yesterday's selling and many leaders violating 50dma.  They say the lower volume made the day less than it seemed. 
• Pre-Fed day on the market, as folks sit and wait it out.  Market decides not to do anything today and to wait it out and see if Bernanke waxes on or waxes off on the future, interest rates, etc.
• A fourth-generation nuclear reactor that runs on nuclear waste.  PRISM is GE’s (GE) name for an integral fast reactor, or IFR, and it’s a pretty great technology. The amount of fuel which already exists for such reactors would be enough to power the world for millennia — no new mining needed. Fast reactors also solve at a stroke the problem of what to do with the vast amounts of nuclear waste which are being stockpiled unhappily around the world. They’re super-safe: if they fail they just stop working, they don’t melt down.  Very cool.  Build 'em!
• Insurance companies warn that nationalized health care would dismantle company-provided health care.  Easy call, as companies would be able to dismantle their HR departments that deal with health benefits and just throw it all on the government's shoulders.  Which of course, wink wink nudge nudge, is what the government's goal is. 
• Remember the days when you could just call a doctor and make an appointment and go in?  Paraphrasing Ronald Reagan, the nine-most feared words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."  Stay healthy.  Eat well and exercise, and hope your DNA is strong.
• What is the lesson learned from Jon and Kate Plus 8?  Wait until after The Emmy's to file for divorce? They filed for divorce on Monday.  The show presents a melancholy view of the future, while each of them says how they love their kids but basically not each other.
• The folks at Crooked Houses probably got a good deal with viewer eyeballs on Jon and Kate yesterday.  But with the melancholy theme, you wonder if folks were patiently waiting for the interview room rather than the kids and the crooked houses.
• Maybe more interesting going forward, is how the family adapts to divorce.  And how many young hotties Jon dates.
• Ed McMahon dies at 86.

Picture is of Maria Sharapova!

Monday Swoon

• The market is back to caring about the end of the world as we know it. Has the news flow changed?  Not really.  Yahoo Finance says today's selling is due to "a lack of upbeat headlines."
• When was the last time we had upbeat headlines?  2006?
• The government intervening in the markets and corporations can't be giving investors confidence, either.   Seems like we've gone somewhat away from a free market economy to a central planning economy where the government intevenes on a whim.  If a company isn't competitive, the government isn't going to mandate success.  Won't happen.
• How do you feel about the "cash for clunkers" program? ...it didn't make any sense.Then it dawned on me: It didn't have to! It's a government program. As long as it's paved with good intentions, it doesn't matter if the road goes nowhere.  I agree.  It doesn't make sense.  Stop already.  And who pays for it?  Oh, you do via your taxes. 
• I don't want to be too gloomy.  Overall, I think the economy is improving.  There is a lot more right than there is wrong.  Employment is a lagging indicator and as things improve, jobs will pick up.  Heck, even tax revenues will go up next April.  The headlines are reporting what's in the rear-view mirror.  We're probably in the Summer swoon for stocks and due for a pullback.  I think the Nasdaq 100 will lead the market once all is settled.  No matter what the front page headlines are. 
• Jon and Kat Gosselin getting divorced!

Picture is of Dollhouse costar Dichen Lachman!

Market Rippin' Tuesday (Plus Jon and Kate)

• Stock market surged! Looks as though consumer confidence got a bump as folks are feeling better about the economy.
• For those waiting for the inevitable GM bankruptcy, read in the link above that GM recovered from a loss in excess of 10% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the United Auto Workers union said the government will provide massive additional financial assistance to GM. Also known as "throwing good money after bad." But hey, the Federal government owns the printing presses and can print as much money as they want.
• I think that GM stock is going to $0. I really do. I don't own any. I'm not shorting any. Just an observation.
• Light volume today. Heading into month-end strength later this week as the 401(k) additions flow into mutual funds.
• Jon and Kate plus 8? Wow, that was quite a show Monday. What a difference a few months can make. Big train wreck in that relationship. And you have to feel for those kids. The whole show has changed from watching the kids grow up to watching the paparazzi and the mean looks between Jon and Kate.
• Critics pan Season 5 debut of John and Kate plus 8. "It would be so much clearer if they would just say their version of what happened," Kelber writes. "This is just more complicated than it needs to be. It's not like they aren't used to sharing the details of their lives, you know? We saw Jon's hair-transplant surgery as it happened, and Kate recovering from her tummy tuck, and the kids going through potty training. Most of that was probably too much information, but now we aren't quite getting enough."
• Meanwhile, the Nuggets beat the Lakers to tie the series up at 2-2. I always wonder if David Stern makes the call to lengthen these series out a few games for more NBA revenue. Am I the only one who thinks so?
• I downloaded an app for the iPhone called "Pocket God." There's an island full of Oogs, and they worship you, their God. You get to basically torment them to no end. Fun and cruel at the same time. Fun to show folks, but not sure how long it will keep anyone captivated.