@theMarket: One #%*! of a Week
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The overnight news that Washington Mutual Inc. (called WaMu) was bankrupt and sold to JP Morgan on Friday did nothing to improve the mood. It is the largest failure in our banking history.
The Seattle-based thrift's demise was triggered by a rush on the bank as fearful customers withdrew their bank deposits. I also expect Wachovia to seek a partnership with a stronger bank like Citibank next week. See my earlier column "Are Your Bank Deposits Safe?" for more on this subject.
The day before, General Electric reduced its earnings forecasts for the year largely because of troubles within their financial unit. I could go on and on about all the bad news that is piling up around us. Wherever you look — Wall Street, Main Street, stock and bond markets, foreign or domestic, commodities, money markets, etc. — it's the same story. Doom, gloom and more doom.
Let's face it readers, there is a crisis in confidence that begins at the top and ends with all of us, except me.
That's right; I am confident, even bullish, despite the whining and gnashing of teeth or maybe because of it. An extremely famous and successful investor, the Baron Rothschild, once said "buy when the blood is running in the streets." For him it had literal meaning since he was buying up real estate when Catholics and Protestants were killing each other during the Thirty Years war in Medieval France. To me, however, it means that in times like this there is an opportunity to buy at bargain-basement prices and make real money over the long term.
Last week, I advised investors that the market had bottomed and to buy on dips and these last few days certainly provided ample opportunity to do that. And yes, I did follow my own advice in case you were wondering. So, by the way, did Warren Buffet, the much-admired investor from Omaha who bought Constellation Energy last week and a $5 billion stake in Goldman Sachs two days ago.
There are also some market signs that indicate my bullish convictions may be borne out. For example, Friday the Dow and the S&P 500 were up in the face of WaMu's historical collapse. That is an impressive showing. Normally, a collapse like that would send the markets into a tailspin.
Consider this: at every hint of a compromise on the rescue plan stocks, bonds and the dollar immediately responded by moving higher with lighting speed. In my opinion, this is a market that is just waiting to pop. And when this worm turns you better be invested because if you aren't, I suspect you will be spending the rest of the year chasing stocks.
So how did the market's score card play out this week after last week's massive 10 percent gain? The Dow lost 2.1 percent, the NASDAQ lost over 3 percent while the S&P 500 settled at 1213 down 2.3 percent for the week. I would consider that a minor pull back despite the overwhelming pessimism and fear that gripped investors this week.
The White House assured us that there would be a deal by the end of the weekend. I am convinced that the politicians will be able to come up with a compromise. So hang in there America, we're almost there.
Bill Schmick is a licensed investment adviser representative and portfolio strategist with Berkshire-based Dion Money Management, managing over $700 million for middle-class Americans from coast to coast. Direct your inquiries to Bill at 1-877-850-7942, Ext. 146 (toll free) or wschmick@dionmm.com. You can also visit www.afewdollarsmore.com for more of Bill’s insight.
