In general, your target is not to beat the market. It is to beat zero. As I have written for years, the investors who win in this market are the ones who take the least damage.
-- John Mauldin

Chartz and Table Zup @ www.joefacer.com

UPDATED CONSTANTLY....OR NOT.
LOOK FOR THE DAY OF THE WEEK FOR NEW ADDITIONS.

Stay Tooned. Long Weekend an' I'll have something to say toward the end of it. There's a ton o' "stuff" happening. It's all important. But when you get to the end of learning and thinking and planning, the 401a investor in me says "Cash Is King And Think Carefully About The Risk Of Even Thinking About Trying To Catch A Bear Market Rally". The Trader in me sez, "The Trend Is Down And You Can't Imagine Holding A Position Overnight. Roadracing Motorcycles Was An Excellent Preparation For Trading In This Environment."

I love reading Barry Ritholtz' THE BIG PICTURE blog. You can't live this stuff and not have strong opinions. You always know where Barry stands...

from the link below

Time Magazines "25 People To Blame For The Economic Crisis" ...
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/02/25 ... al-crisis/

A few strange issues with the list: Why is Bernie Madoff here? He is a common thief (perhaps uncommon thief given the amounts he claimed to have stolen) but he had nothing whatsoever to do with the Financial crisis afflicting the global economy. What journalist would add him to the list of causes of the crisis? (Strike that moron from your reading list).

The American Consumers are on the list, but not the irresponsible home buyers? Isn’t painting with an overly broad brush ? And Wen Jiabao, the premiere of China? How dare you buy our debt! Its all your fault!

Regular readers of this blog know I think former NAR chief economist David Lereah is a lying jackass, a festering hemorrhoid on the fields of both economics and real estate. But he was merely a lying cheerleader. As much as I detest his syphilitic-addled unfunctional brain, I cannot blame him for what happened.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home



I hate the thought that taxpayer money will go to redeem the bad financial decisions of banks and homebuyers who cheerfully made/took loans that were going to take 100% plus of the buyer's income in a matter of two years. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of trying to stand in the way of a flood, or tornado, or negate gravity; Did anyone really think that 10% a year housing appreciation would go on forever and not unwind at some point? Can we borrow enough money to support all the banks and real estate prices at their current level? Will we sell our souls to the treasury bond holders who finance this mess? How much will we have to pay to get somebody to gamble that we can fix this mess without devaluing the dollar? And who will have the money available to by US bonds? Check out the "Time For A Reality Check" link below. Do we saddle everyone who never had a mortgage or just paid off a 30 year mortgage or has 50% equity in their home with years of higher taxes to roll the dice that in the face of a huge economic contraction, the reworked, barely supportable or underwater mortgages don't default again? After mortgaging everyone's future to try prevent the Great Unwind, do we take a second mortgage if it doesn't work? I think we're gonna have our hands full keeping it together so that once the storm is past, we can start the next cycle again. I'm absolutely sure we can't avoid the body of the Great Unwind. I'm in that head space. I hope I'm wrong, but hope ain't no strategy...

I'm not real confident about any of this. The nation needs triage but the politicians ain't gonna tell you that anything is needed beyond first aid. I've got no confidence in the judgement displayed by either administration, so far. Do you?

Why the hell should I be the only one to lose sleep....here's some of what I'm readin'. There's some ticking time bombs in here......
http://www.investorsinsight.com/blogs/t ... check.aspx
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/20 ... -geography
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-auto ... 0G20090213
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comm ... tdown.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/econ ... l-out.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comm ... tdown.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/books ... wanted=all
http://www.economist.com/finance/displa ... d=13110352
http://www.reuters.com/article/innovati ... Q120090214
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2 ... ank-on-it/
http://www.economist.com/specialreports ... d=13063298
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/45a7ebca-f712 ... fd2ac.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home


I can't figure out how to invest in this market and it sure seems like no one else can either. Until something changes, the 401a is gonna stay as per the tablez on my website. Nothing ventured everything safe.

TUESDAY

YA WANNA KNOW WHY TODAY LEFT THE MARKET A SMOKING PILE OF SLAG? READ THE LINKS ABOVE!



The market will lift permanently (longer than a day at a time) when things stop getting worse and we can see across the valley to the other side. Until then, we're just looking for a good washout of all the sellers and just a little visibility or some kinda short term relief so we can at least bounce and relieve some short term WAY oversold pressure. It doesn't seem to be happening. HANG ON!!!!!



I'm outa the MET Life GIC as of months ago. It's the highest returning option we have in the 401a and it hurts to be out. But the non-diversified single corporation event risk is huge. MET going the way of Bear Stearns or Lehman Bros is unimaginable. I can't see the the government not keeping them afloat with borrowed taxpayer money. The odds may be in MET's favor overall. But I'm not willing to risk the likely taxpayer money giveaway AND unlikely risk of a GIC default or discount.



http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home

And Bill King (The King Report http://www.mramseyking.com/thekingreport.html) commented as follows: “A cure should have something to do with the diagnosis. The classic argument for fiscal stimulus presumes that the central cause of our current economic problems is this: We, the people and our government, are not doing nearly enough borrowing and spending on consumer goods. The government must step in to force us all to borrow and spend more. This diagnosis is tragically comic once said aloud.”

THURSDAY

LOOK FOR THE INSURERS TO BE THE NEXT SHOE TO FALL....
I GOT A DOLLAR OR TWO IN THE GIC, NO MORE, AND
I'M THINKIN' ABOUT A POLICY LOAN ON MY LIFE INSURANCE. THAT'S A LOT OF SINGLE COMPANY RISK. WHO'S BIG ENOUGH TO INSURE THE INSURERS AND HOW SURE ARE YOU THAT THEY WILL PAY YOU OFF IF THEY GO BELLY UP?