Sell Rosh Hashanah Buy Yom Kippur

• Today is Yom Kippur.  Are you buying stocks?  
• Hillary Clinton killed the biotechs yesterday by lashing out at high drug prices.  Well, I don't want to be bipartisan.  Maybe it was Ben Carson's comments regarding a Muslim President that sent the drug stocks tanking.  Maybe!
• Reason du jour for stock sell off:  Slowing global growth.  It's always something... 
• I'm long stocks. Might buy a little more today.  Almost fully invested as it is, so riding this down.  Not too worried about the long term, but looks pretty volatile right now.
• Colts 0-2.  Hey, out of control beard Andrew Luck, you were supposed to win the Super Bowl!
• So, Fear of the Walking Dead has been pretty good. Yes, the last episode was a brief pause in the downfall of LA.  Sort of.  I mean you can see that life has changed and it won't be getting better.  But we know how things look a few weeks down the road due to The Walking Dead, right Rick Grimes?
• Russia is expanding their military role in Syria, as if they paid no attention to how the US fared in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Or how the Soviet Union did back in the 80's trying that.  Tough to occupy a country when they ultimately don't want you there.  The reality is that while this is being seen as Russia flexing their muscles, they will lose some lives and spend a lot of money trying to do that.
• I think Donald Trump is ruining the election cycle for the GOP.  At this point, the Republicans may have to ride out 2016 and try again in 2020.  I think Rubio is the best chance now.  Carly would be fun, but the Left will hammer her for her reign at HP.  Gee, find a big tech company that did well during the 2000-2003 tech bubble collapse.
• VM hammered for some sort of emissions testing shenanigans.  I wonder how common gaming the system is regarding that.  I'm taking the over.
• OK... Home sick.  Going to see if this sucker sells down into the close.  Good luck.  

Market Thoughts and the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders

$SPY - The road is littered with bad market calls in 2014. I know I’ve made some, expecting the correction that never comes.  After all, it’s a mid-term election year, and we’re guaranteed a correction of gut wrenching proportions sometime during the calendar year, to be followed by a glorious rally.  So far, we’re just getting the glorious rally part of the deal.

Yes, there have been a few teases to the downside.  But after a few days of getting folks riled up and the TV business networks unleashing the bear market forecasts, it’s been rip city, baby.  This is an amazing picture!

Now we are on the verge of a few market catalysts that one would think should alert contrarians.  The first was a Barron’s cover this weekend.  Uh, tempt fate much?

Tuesday is the new product announcement from everyone’s favorite fruit company, Apple!  $AAPL.  Okay, so the rumors are that we’re getting multiple sized iPhones, and maybe some sort of new wearable.   Folks are calling this the biggest Apple Event since Moses parted the Red Sea with an App from the first gen iPhone.  Is this a potential sell the news event where the heavily index weighted AAPL drags down the index trackers?  Stay tuned.

Finally, there is the Alibaba IPO, $BABA.  You can’t watch five minutes of a financial news channel without someone mentioning the hot IPO and the best ways to play it.  $YHOO – Yahoo stock has put on a nice rally as it will be a benefactor of the IPO feeding frenzy.  I think $BABA can be a huge winner, too.  But then I’ve caught the momo fever, too.

So where am I at right now?  Mostly long.  I still have some high flyers even though I’ve trimmed around the edges (but looking for somewhere to put that, too).  I believe in the pullback that never comes, but grew tired of waiting for it.  I am probably destined to suffer through it when it eventually comes.  (Hopefully, that’s from much higher levels!)

This is the week before options, and if the market is going to pull back this looks like a likely spot.  Although there is no reason to think that any dip won’t be bought up quickly.  There are always the external headline news threats, but those haven’t done much damage so far this year.

Long and strong.

Final thoughts: Nice comeback win from Carson Palmer and the Arizona Cardinals. It’s been a great opening weekend to the NFL. My biggest surprise was the Bears losing at home to the Bills.  I imagine that knocked a lot of folks out of their elimination pools in week 1.

Rabbit Ear Randomosity

What's the biggest issue facing Americans? The economy? The war in Iraq? Afghanistan? Gitmo torture? Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts? President Obama and the stimulus package?

No. None of the above. It's the switch to digital TV in February. Will seniors still be able to watch "Good Morning America?" Will "Leave it to Beaver" reruns still come in?

These are dark times for those with rabbit ears mounted to their TVs. And especially for those who haven't received their government coupon to get a digital converter box.

The market continues to fade. Everything looks bleak. I'm still leaning to the "retest of the lows" scenario. No leadership in the market on the recent rally.

Remember when "they" were telling you that you had to own alternative energy because Obama was going to spend like crazy on windmills and solar panels? Have you checked out what's happened to those stocks and ETFs lately?

Good football games this weekend at least on paper. I need the Steelers to make a run to have any chance in fantasy football playoffs...

CPI Falling Randomosity

• Stocks trade near their daily low on the fears that the world is coming apart at the seams. Stocks are down sharply at midday as economic worries and speculation over the fate of U.S. automakers keeps buyers on the sidelines.
• I know I'm becoming such an iPhone fanboy.  Sorry.  It's like a virus that's overwhelming my system.  With that in mind, check out this funny, "iStone vs. iPhone."
• Consumer prices dropped at the fastest rate on record.  CPI down 1%.  Analysts said earlier concern about inflation risks may soon be replaced by worry about deflation, which also has a corrosive effect on the economy's performance.  Maybe that's due to all those FREE apps in iPhone app store. 
• President Elect Barack Obama selects Tom Daschle as health secretary.  Does it seem strange to you that the guy who promoted change during the election campaign is recycling the same-old politicians?
• Yeah, we want folks with experience next to President No Experience.  I get that and think it's probably a good idea.  So bring in Daschle, Summers, Rubin, et al.  We need folks who have been there.  I'm not so sure of Hillary dealing with foreign policy issues, though.
• Kind of an interesting read about Netflix, Microsoft, and Sony.  Sony has made some of their movie content available to Netflix, for the instant-watching devices.  Well, except Sony wants to exclude the Microsoft XBOX 360.  Because Sony has the PS3. 
• Speaking of, Microsoft's Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Wednesday ruled out an acquisition of Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) but said his company was very interested in resuming talks on a Web search partnership.
• Hey, Jason was in a bicycling accident. Stop by and wish him well!  He's one of our favorite financial bloggers!