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  • Association of Investor Awareness - Week of 01/01/2009

    In This Issue:

    The New Year Should Bring Investors Some Relief
    Consumers Have More Money Than Holiday Sales Suggest
    Most Corporations Are In Good Financial Shape
    Economy Gains From Cheaper Dollars, Oil, And Interest Rates
    The Faster The Pain, The Quicker The Gain?
    If You Don’t Play, You Can’t Win
    The Bottom Line This Week

    Investors who hoped that Santa might bring them some cheer over Christmas were sorely disappointed. The usually-jolly old gentlemen dropped off a rather large bag of coal. Even that gift was worth a lot less than would have been true a few months ago.

    In any event, when the stock market closed on Christmas week, the Dow and the Nasdaq were down another 0.7% and 2.2% respectively. The mood brightened over the weekend when unemployment claims dropped unexpectedly. During the last three trading days of 2008, the market went up 260 points. We suspect that the occasion will be celebrated with a little extra bubbly on New Years Eve.

    Of course, Wall Street’s revelers will need to overlook the fact that the S&P 500 went down a dismal 41% during 2008. It wasn’t the worst annual performance in history, but it was the worst in the memory of most investors living now.

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  • Association of Investor Awareness - Week of 12/11/2008

    In This Issue:

    The Long-Awaited Bear Rally May Be Starting
    Although Weak, Some Hopeful Economic Signs Are Emerging
    Credit Is Slowly Opening Up Again
    If Fear Subsides, The Outlook Will Improve Immediately
    A Recovery Will Bring Unwelcome Inflation
    The Bottom Line This Week

    As we reported in our previous issue, the sharp stock market advance over the Thanksgiving holiday came to a crashing end on December 1. However, prices have been stronger since then. Although the gains weren't enough to fully erase the earlier plunge, the Dow and the Nasdaq managed to end last week down just 2.2% and 1.7% respectively. From Monday to Wednesday of the current week, the market managed to make some additional gains.

    It's significant that the price increases occurred while more bad economic news was breaking. A manufacturing decline, an auto sales plunge, and more job losses should have pushed stocks down several more notches. The fact that investors largely ignored the negatives may indicate that the bear market is close to a bottom.

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  • Association of Investor Awareness - Week of 12/04/2008

    In This Issue

    Black Friday May Suggest A More Optimistic Outlook
    Most Insiders Are Not Selling
    Bear Market History: How We Compare
    Get Paid While You Wait
    The Bottom Line This Week

    Last week when everyone was stuffing themselves with turkey and other goodies, the urge to consume in abundance spilled over to Wall Street. By the time the market closed on Friday, the Dow and the Nasdaq were up an impressive 9.7% and 10.9% respectively. It was the first five day rally we've seen in over a year.

    The enthusiasm for stocks wasn't completely due to holiday cheer. Investors got wind of the fact that Black Friday sales were likely to be better than was first expected. As it turned out, instead of a miniscule 0.9% sales increase, Joe and Sally MidAmerica gave the retail industry a 3% boost. Shoppers were so eager to spend money, they trampled several people who got in their way, one of whom died.

    As we are sure you know by now, the enthusiasm didn't survive the weekend. The terrorist attack in Mumbai plus a dismal economic report sent the market down 680 points on Monday. Stocks recovered 442 points on Tuesday and Wednesday but the rebound seems unlikely to last very long.

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  • Association of Investor Awareness - Week of 10/23/2008

    In This Issue:

    It's Too Early For A Sustained Rebound
    But, There Are Finally Some Signs Of Relief
    What Everybody Knows Is Often Wrong
    Another Contrary Economic Outlook
    Cheaper Energy: The World's Biggest "Tax" Cut
    This High Yield Investment Looks Good
    The Bottom Line This Week

    Mother Market took pity on investors last week when she tossed a few points our way. Actually, it was more than just a few. The total for Monday and Thursday came to a whopping 1338. Since she took back "only" 937 points, the Dow and the Nasdaq ended the period up a welcome 4.8% and 3.8% respectively.

    When the closing bell finally rang on Friday and the week's gains were locked safely away, some of us let out a happy little "hurray." However, our killjoy number cruncher pointed out that with so many wild swings happening every week it was inevitable that the market would occasionally end on a high point. In other words, the bounce could have just been a random event. Rats!

    On Monday of this week the market jumped another 413 points, but it gave back 746 points on the following two days. Oh well, the mini-rally was fun while it lasted.

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  • Association of Investor Awareness - Week of 10/16/2008

    The Biggest Danger Now Is A Series Of Bear Traps
    The Financial Crisis Has Further To Run
    Some Bear Market Investments Have Promise
    How Long The Bear Might Stick Around
    A Contrary Economic Outlook
    Another Shameless Plug For Blue Chip Stocks
    The Bottom Line This Week

    Stock volatility has become so extreme, we had to redraw the charts. Although there have been up and down days as large as those we have seen recently, never before have they come in such quick succession.

    Last week, as everyone from New Guinea to New York must know by now, the Dow and the Nasdaq fell 18.2% and 15.3% respectively. That would have been tough enough by itself, but what made the week even more hectic is it contained a 679 point jump that many investors believed was the start of a reversal. 

    The market leaped forward again this Monday with a breath taking 936 point surge when U.S and European leaders decided on a coordinated financial rescue plan. Stocks took a breather on Tuesday. Then it plunged 733 points the next day on poor consumer spending data. We must expect more whiplash days as the credit crisis continues to unfold. 

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  • Week of 10/09/2008

    Bargains Are Starting To Appear
    A Bottom Fishing Check List
    The Bear Isn't Finished Yet
    Big Drops Lead To Big Rebounds
    Financial Stocks Attract More Attention
    There Is One More Shoe To Fall
    The Biggest Question: Will The Bailout Work?
    The Bottom Line This Week

    Wall Street's thrill ride continued over the past week as investors made king-sized moves after every drop in the economic outlook. By the time the closing bell rang on Friday, the Dow and the Nasdaq were down 7.3% and 10.8% respectively. A good time was definitely not enjoyed by all.

    Once again, investors saved their biggest gyrations for the following Monday when the market plunged some 800 points. Fortunately, the market regained 430 points before the end of the day. Stocks resumed their slide on Tuesday and Wednesday when they fell a total of 689 points.

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  • Week of 10/02/2008

    In This Issue:

    A Nasty, But Not A Calamitous, Stock Plunge
    Our Contrary Opinion
    A Cure For The Crisis Is Already Being Applied
    It's Time To Do Some Cautious Buying
    Stock Buyers Should Sip, Not Gulp
    The Bottom Line This Week

    People who enjoy excitement must envy investors right now. Not even thrill seekers who travel to New Zealand for the world's highest bungee jump have anything on us. When it comes to big bounces, Wall Street is the place to be.

    On Monday of this week, we completed the jumping part of the stock market's bungee experience. The rebound on Tuesday was nearly as exhilarating. Wednesday, thank goodness, was a quiet day of recuperation.

    Of course the rubber cord could break at any time, in which case the game will be over. However, that seems very unlikely. If a crash was in the works, we think it would have happened on Monday when deep pessimism was rampant.

    The market action we are having now is all the more exciting because there was no hint of it last week. The Dow dropped a tepid 2.2% while the Nasdaq just about doubled it with a 4.0% decline. It was barely enough to be a good warm-up for this week's main event.

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