Don't Let This Guy Pick Your Stocks

Oh boy, even the so-called stock analysts on MSNBC are far left. Below is a video from MSNBC of one of business anchor Dylan Ratigan raking Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) over the coals because he is outraged that insurance companies recently have seen their stock prices go up. Now Rep. Wasserman is pretty liberal, but apparently not liberal enough for Ratigan.

I would also suggest that he go find a dictionary and look up the meaning of the word monopoly. Showing a chart with five companies listed and screaming about a monopoly just doesn't show it.

On his chart he shows Wellpoint as posting a 12.6% increase in recent weeks. Well, yeah. That is because right after the election of Barry O their stock, along with all other health insurance companies, tanked. This was partly a result of the entire economy tanking along with fears that the healthcare legislation would be one of the top priorities of the Democrat-controlled Congress. They have slowly built back up, but in October when it looked like the health care bill was going to get rammed down the Americans throats, it started heading south again. They have just barely reached the level they were at, almost a year ago.

Aetna showed a similar pattern.

United Healthcare - same story.

So before this babbling buffoon gets on TV and shows his ignorance he ought to do just a little bit of rudimentary research on the subject.

Besides, what sort of analyst rails against rising stock prices? Isn't he supposed to be looking out for those stocks that show strength so that he can advise consumers?

Did Bhutto Assassination Affect the Markets?

I know it's been popular the last day or so to point to the Bhutto killing and then to the stock market and try to draw connections. Believe, me, the stock market drop has much more to do with market fundamentals and very little to do with politics around the world.

U.S. stocks fall, pressured by downbeat home sales

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Stocks declined on Friday, giving up their earlier gains, after a disappointing report on new home sales for November rekindled concerns about the U.S. economy and the housing crisis. The DOW fell 55 points, or 0.4%, to 13,303. Earlier, the Dow hit an intraday high of 13,451.38.

The Dow is on track for a yearly gain of 7%, the S&P for a gain of 4% and the Nasdaq for a rise of 10.7%.

The new home sales report was "the turning point and pushed it [the market] lower," said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of the U.S. equity group at Deutsche Bank. "The number was quite a bit weaker than expected."

So the market drop is due to the underlying fundamentals, not to the tragic death of Bhutto.

Don't believe anybody who says anything else.

Market Ends Week Up 1%

With all the doom and gloom stories about the stock market lately, the reality is that the Dow still gained on the week.

U.S. stocks end higher amid bargain-hunting: Dow gains 1% for the week after up-and-down ride

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks shifted gears yet again Friday to close with modest weekly gains as an erratic market closed a roller coaster ride focused on the credit crunch and its impact on the financial sector and the overall economy.

"This market is over-sold in the short-term, so although we're getting more bad news today, investors are seeking out bargains as the week winds down," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co.

"Position squaring ahead of the weekend due to the options expiration is also affecting trade. The net result is erratic and seemingly random market action," said Frederic Ruffy, an analyst at Optionetics.

You have to bear in mind that by this time of the year, your professional investors and fund managers are looking to lock in profits so they can make their bonus goals.

So all other things held equal, you will get some significant market volatility anyway due to them selling off positions, shift the money to fixed income securities for a few days to let the dust settle, and then buying right back back in doing some bargain hunting.

Is the macro-economy slowing down? Sure. Is there troubled waters in the lending industry? Certainly. Is inflation edging up? Yes. But unemployment is still near the natural rate of unemployment and interest rates are low.

It's hardly "buddy can you spare a dime" time.