SIRI Daily Thread Mon 2.18.13 - Prezzy Day Monday!

Morning everyone! It looks like a very slow day in the markets today. I thought I would open up a thread to discuss any and everything regarding the economy, markets, stocks, etc.

I specifically wanted get everyone's opinion on the economy and where you think we are heading. I am specifically concerned about the complacency as mentioned on Friday. It just seems like no one cares about the direct of this market either way. And the number of people "trading" worthless penny stocks is concerning too. In the past, when you see people looking to the pink sheeks/OTC markets for a quick buck, the markets are toppy IMHO.

What do you guys think?

good question, Midas; fwiw, here's my 2 cents. There's some good things, and some bad things. Good things: The stock market generally precedes economic performance. So a Dow above 14k, is an excellent sign of an improving economy. Car sales keep increasing - another excellent sign of recovery. Economic policy in this country has wisely in my opinion not veered to austerity as a means to jumpstart this economy. All these are good signs of a working, functioning, improving economy. On the negative side, gas prices are historically high, nudging 4 bucks. High gas prices put a serious brake on personal discretionary spending - it's like dragging a sea drogue behind a sailboat. High gas prices hurt the entire economy, top to bottom. Another negative is that one of the reasons for the rising Dow, is that that due to massive layoffs, companies are operating more efficiently. Their bottom lines are improving. But the price for that improved corporate performance is a thinner workforce. The reality I think is that the United States is in a major shift presently, adjusting to the fact that our standard of living has been exceeding our ability to support it. Hence, higher unemployment. Less discretionary income. Belt tightening for family budgets. People are simply spending Less, because they don't have it to spend. One of the problems is that we spend on military defense more than what the next 10 countries spend altogether. Savings there can be invested in the infrastructure, creating jobs, reducing unemployment, funding research and development of new products, and reducing the national debt (which is a budget line item - might as well try and lower it, which has the effect of lowering taxes, in the long run).

Sounds like maket forces trying to work, Now if gov just can get out of the way.

No offense Midas, but it's happy hour now on the last of a three-day weekend, and personally I am just not able to think too deeply on the subject matter and questions you pose. Frankly, in spite of the lure of the POT-related penny stocks, and one or two in the emerging 3-D market place, I think we show promise in our ability to think outside the box and to find diversity in our discussions and investments. I personally feel that one of us in this community is going to uncover the next "diamond in the rough", and while that may not warrant renaming this thread, at least it'll give us something to talk about while we await that $4 buyout of our SIRI stocks. :money:

I had a flashback from the '80s I need to share, which brings things into respectable perspective.

In the early '80s I lived in a close-knit community in upstate NY (Rhinebeck was the place, for those who might be wondering), and my group of a dozen friends decided to form an investor club. We met at the Williams lumber yard luncheon room weekly on Wednesday nights with each of us bringing our list of prospective investment candidates gleaned from the Saturday publication of Baron's Weekly. With our monthly "donation" to the club kitty we would vote on what equity or equities we wanted to buy, one member with connections on the NYSE would place our order and we all would wait patiently for the next issue of Baron's so we could see how we fared. Needless to say, that was not a very efficient process to manage our resources, so after just a few painful weeks, we disbanned the club and tried to figure out exactly how to dibby up the losses on our respective IRS forms............. what a difference 30 years and the Internet make. :thumbup:

Don't get me wrong SI... I've been flipping the pennies too. :) I am just ready for the market to correct.

Our time is arriving people, won't be long now, news coming soon, Imo

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