Wednesday's Rescue Randomosity

• Just when we thought the market would never go down again... It went down! The blame goes to a "generally unimpressive batch of economic data."  LOL.  Well, have had quite a run and any excuse for a breather, right?  Even after the morning dive, the market climbed it's way back up the rest of the day before falling in the last hour.  Nothing to dislike.  Expect a rest at some time.  We're also near the end of the monthly strength period, so the 401(k) adds are done for now.
• I remain long, overweighted in the NDX and small caps.  It's been a nice run.
• (I'm getting use to the newer versions of Windows Office software and the iPhone automatically capitalizing the first word in sentences.  Good Lord.)
• Euna Lee, Laura Ling, and Lana Lang released from North Korea.  Er, okay, not really Lana Lang.  That'd be Kristin Kreuk and I have no idea if she's anywhere near North Korea.  But if she is, I hope President Clinton goes over there and gets her out, too.  And speaking of, I have the Legend of Chun-Li DVD from Netflix.  I know it probably is horrible, but with Kristin and Moon Bloodgood, I figurd I HAD to give it a spin.
• I do think Laura and Euna coming home is good news, by the way.  I didn't want that to get lost in the shuffle of me making an excuse to put up a pic of Kristin Kreuk.
• Negotiations over extending cash for clunkers program stalls in the Senate. You know, people seem to like this program.  What's a few billion more in debt at this point?  It's is eventually going to turn into an episode of The Cleaner, where the addict will be forced to give up the junk.  At some point Akani (Grace Park) is coming over to tie you up.
• Cisco earnings fall 46% but beat expectations.  LOL.  Who cares what their earnings are, as long as they can beat a low-ball estimate?
• A 53-year-old man who told police he is secretly engaged to marry Miley Cyrus has been charged with attempting to stalk the teenage "Hannah Montana" star...  Good grief.
• Man, work is reallllly busy.  One sign the economy is recovering despite the bad news in the rear-view mirror.

White Mocha Monday

• Watching for $AAPL release on new iPhone or whatever else they have up their sleeve. Whatever the new one is, I'll want an upgrade from my current iPhone.
• Market pulling back. A hit to commodities and large cap tech stocks getting the blame, or so that's what I'm reading on my Yahoo page.
• The coffee place out of mocha, so I got a white mocha. Not the same. Bleh.
• Lakers win was big yesterday. Now the Magic have to sweep at home. I don't know if they can do that. I doubt it. If the Lakers take one in Orlando, LA can win in 6 or 7 in LA. And if the Lakers win game 3, the Magic would save plane fair because there probably wouldn't be another game in LA.
• Aren't I sounding like a smug LA fan? Yeesh. Sorry.
• Yes, I did watch Kendra last night. I thought it was funny. More of the same you'd expect from her role in Playboy's Girls Next Door.

Picture note: That's Kristin Kreuk. I didn't see Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. Did it even hit the theaters or go straight to DVD? Reviews were bad. Not only is this a strong early contender for worst film of the year, it could well be a candidate for the worst film ever made. I'll probably NFLX it. LOL.

Spring Ahead Saturday!

• The markets are flat today. Yes, it's Saturday.  But I wanted to give you some good market news for a change.
• Yikes.
• $WFC (Well's Fargo) slashed its dividend by 85% yesterday.  Calling it a "very difficult decision," Wells Fargo & Co. on Friday slashed its quarterly dividend 85%, to 5 cents a share from 34cents, in an effort to save $5 billion and help the company pay backthe government's recent investment in the firm.
• The Kansas City Federal Reserve president speaks out against the government's bank rescue efforts.  "We ... are drifting into a situation where institutions are being nationalized piecemeal with no resolution of the crisis," Thomas Hoenig remarked in a speech in Omaha, Neb.  I expect a White House briefing soon from Press Secretary Robert Gibbs denouncing Hoenig.
• The takeovers of Washington Mutual, Wachovia, Countrywide and Merrill Lynch were "hasty," according to Hoenig. He called for the Obama administration to declare banks insolvent and use its power to takeover failing institutions and continue operations under new management.This would be "temporary" and has precedent in history, he said.
• Oil is back over $45, as the US government ignores the energy issue. 
• Over at Cafe Hayek, Russell Roberts writes, LET THEM FAIL. We're going to run out of money. We can't keep GM and AIG and Fannie and Freddie and every insolvent bank and every mortgage afloat. It can't be done. It's not a strategy. It's just desperation to avoid pain. We're going to have to start letting them fail.
• It's Saturday!  NCAA hoops on the TV as we march towards March Madness.  The sun is out there, and there are yard things to do after a  month of rain. 
• Yes, that's Kristin Kreuk!