Cinco de Mayo Randomosity

• On Cinco de Mayo, the market takes a siesta from the rally and pulls back. Volume very light today.  Technically, no worries.  I think in the back of "everyone's" mind is that at some point this consecutive weeks up streak will end.  We also have seasonality heading towards us.
• I remain long, but watching.
• Oil prices pulled back a bit today, but remember that they've gone from the $30s to close over $54 yesterday.  As the world economies recover, demand will increase.  The US isn't doing anything to improve our energy infrastructure, so expect energy bills to go up.  People forget that one of the reasons for consumers cutting back in 2008 was near-$5 gasoline.
• As Congress discusses global warming, scientists are worried about a mini ice age. The sun is the least active it's been in decades and the dimmest in a hundred years. The lull is causing some scientists to recall the Little Ice Age, an unusual cold spell in Europe and North America, which lasted from about 1300 to 1850.
• Time for a new Al Gore film about glaciers expanding and covering the planet.  I'm sure the crew can photoshop a polar bear in Cabo San Lucas to help Gore get another Oscar.
• We're at the point where blogging seems so 2003 and Twitter is the new fad in town.  So there's this rumor that Apple is going to buy Twitter.  A source who’s plugged into the Valley’s deal scene and has been recruited by Apple for a senior position says Apple and Twitter are in serious negotiations, with the goal of unveiling a deal by June 8, when Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference launches in San Jose.
• Cinco de Mayo lunch?  Dos Coyotes.  I thought the place was going to be packed, but no volume there, either.

Above picture is of Lie to Me's Monica Raymund. Yes, again. LOL. Look, it was either Monica or this festive cartoon pic. While the cartoon pic does have its charm, it came in a distant second in my internal polling numbers.

Cinco de Mayo is a big deal here. Some downtown streets are closed for a block party. What is Cinco de Mayo? Read about it!

I will go nowhere near downtown today, as cultural events downtown sometimes turn out the gangs and a big Police presence. Too bad.

TGIF and Monica Raymund!

• Energy stocks caught the buzz today, and the markets closed the week up. Low volume day and the market was choppy.  Still fits into the churning at the top theme.  Monthly strength period winding down, so we'll see if the mo-mo can last.
• Big surge (5%-ish) in Natural Gas. Watching $UNG.  One day wonder or the start of the ramp in energy prices?  I think the latter, because the economy has turned the corner and energy demand will go up. 
• Supreme Court Justice David Souter is going to retire, and President Obama plans to replace him by October.  You know, if President Obama is serious about reaching across the aisle to work with the Republicans, why not nominate a conservative, the very way George H.W. Bush nominated Justice Souter 20 years ago?  (LOL)
• Couple arrested for sex on lawn at Windsor Castle.  Classy! No room at the Inn, as they say...  "The couple did not care who was looking and just kept going as if they were in their own bedroom."  Japanese tourists filmed the couple, who only stopped when police officers arrived on the scene, witnesses said.  Who has the Youtube link? 
• President Obama gave you a tax cut, right?  Right?  Right?  Millions of Americans enjoying their small windfall from President Barack Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax credit are in for an unpleasant surprise next spring. The government is going to want some of that money back.
• Hopefully, you're saving your tax cut so you can send that money back in to the IRS next April.  Nice.
• h/t to Orange Punch for this:  “Californians, by a roughly 3-to-2 ratio, are unwilling to pay higher taxes to help balance the budget.” - San Francisco Chronicle.  But, I bet folks still want lots of programs and zero cuts...

Picture is of Monica Raymund, who plays Ria Torres in "Lie to Me."