
Uhhh ... ok ... what just happened? The DOW sank 268 points. Commodities fell through the floor. The U.S. Dollar is soaring. Why is this happening? What is next? Well, when it comes to 'what is next', I hope everyone remembers my typical response when I am asked what I think the market will do next ...
"I don't know, and I don't care"
Hello:
Hello to all! First, I need to thank Anthony for the opportunity to write the articles. I will be writing “It’s Personal” articles on various topics associated with personal finance. The array of topics covered will be very wide. Some examples are employer and self directed retirement accounts, Insurance, Estate planning, business planning, education funding, and a host of other topics related to personal finance.
ANF sure is tough to hold, but it's clear that things are improving. I wonder why no one on the street knows how to do simple math. What I mean is, why can't anyone "normalize" sales to account for gift cards properly?
I just wanted to send out a brief note here folks. I wanted to keep my subscribers informed, as market events have changed quickly enough so that my outlook has sort of 'flipped' since I wrote Sunday's newsletter. Much will depend on the markets reaction to the number at these levels, 45 minutes after the release.
Visa had another great quarter. I'm hard pressed to think of a business I'd rather own than Visa. They've been able to grow their revenue 14.7% annually even during the worst recession since the advent of credit cards. The real story is the amazing growth of debit card usage. Look at the graphs on the second page of this one-page summary to see the next big leg up. Not only is the revenue growing, but the company is steadily improving its margins. Visa: It's everywhere you want to be...?
Well, we've experienced a big down move in equities. The U.S. Dollar is surging. We talked about this possibiity and scenario back on the December 13th, 2009 issue of this newsletter. At the same time, I'm hearing from more and more traders that they have been having an extremely tough time for the last three weeks. All of these factors are tell-tale indications of a markets that could, possibly ... begin to turn over from recent trends.
DRAM and NAND pricing trends. We are entering the seasonally weakest period for pricing. Geeky tech analysts all know how much the tech industry grinds to a halt for Chinese New Year, which is only a few days away. If you want evidence of this, look at the SD card chart - SD cards are very sensitive to this seasonality.
Ripper of a quarter again for SNDK. Take a look at my recap - the margins trend tells the story. I still don't understand why this stock doesn't get more widespread acclaim - doesn't anyone think about what is going into all those iPhones, Droids, and iPads?
Earnings recap and Kindle model for AMZN. Expectations could not have been higher going into the quarterly earnings call, and they beat them!