Market bounces... or is it dribbling

Throughout the 1990’s corporation stock rose each time a layoff was announced because it meant productivity would improve both at the company cutting back and from the better deployment of the persons being let go. It ended years of little productivity improvement and made the 1990s the decade of rapid American productivity growth. Microsoft has been bloated for ten years which corresponds directly to their creation of bloated software. Their releases require major update packages to make them run right. They do not support their earlier packages that are still needed in the field and thus Microsoft consciously decided to leave those customers vulnerable to hacker attack. They should have had five 5% layoffs in the last ten years but yesterday they announced their very first layoff. The news media played that great news up as if it were bad news when it is the best news from Microsoft in ten years.

The media continues to broadcast the empty headed views of all the critics of the Obama stimulation package. The money Obama spends on infrastructure will work just as Eisenhower’s highway and bridge program worked, Regan’s energy supply side expansion and tax cuts worked, and Clintons trade expansion worked. The media does mot have to broadcast just the fears of ignorant talking heads… it could interview some of the administration economists and be more helpful and hopeful.

The market bounced again yesterday from slightly better positions than it hit on Obama’s inauguration day. That bounce is great news but investors are getting a little weary of the repetitions.

Today Asian markets are down about 1% with India down 1.6%. Japan is down 3.8% due to SONY losses.

European markets are currently down about 2% on recession news from Great Britain which is only down about 1.5%.

While the time to sell out of the market before the window of opportunity closes is currently about a month away, the market must begin advancing again in a few days if it is to push back that day of reckoning. The markets seem to be dribbling rather than bouncing. We would recommend buying on each bounce but not on dribbles.

Good luck on your investment journey.