We need a spark

It’s been a while that I bogged. Life is great except the market.
The market behaves so strange that no one has a clue.
I am hoping that after the Memorial Day, the market will be on the rise.

My wife and I had busy weekends. It’s great to have her here. We went to Jasper on a long weekend and it was great. We get to enjoy the mountains the fresh air.
My wife is such a lovely lady. She laughs a lot and makes your day brighter.

The market had been pretty crazy. I just don’t know what to expect.

- Stocks jumped Tuesday after a research group reported consumer sentiment rose in May to the highest level since September.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index vaulted to 54.9 from 40.8 last month, soaring past the 42.3 figure that economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting.

- MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The clock is ticking on a June 1 deadline for General Motors Corp. to restructure, and this make-or-break week is expected to bring more plant closures, employee concessions and other last-minute efforts.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- Consumer confidence extended its rebound in May, soaring to the highest level since last September as more shoppers are feeling the worst of the recession is behind them. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index, which had dramatically increased in April, zoomed past economists' expectations to 54.9 from a revised 40.8 in April. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting 42.3. In February, confidence levels had hit a new historic low of 25.3.

- SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea reportedly tested two more short-range missiles Tuesday, a day after detonating a nuclear bomb underground, pushing the regime further into a confrontation with world powers despite the threat of U.N. action.
Two missiles — one ground-to-air, the other ground-to-ship — with a range of about 80 miles (130 kilometers) were test-fired from an east coast launchpad, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unidentified government official.

- YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi told a court Tuesday that although she gave "temporary shelter" to an uninvited American earlier this month, she had not violated her house arrest and was merely trying to shield the man and her security guards from punishment.
Testifying for the first time in the case, Suu Kyi appeared frail and pale but managed an occasional smile. A judge questioned her for less than half an hour about John W. Yettaw, who swam uninvited to her lakeside house.

This market is going to give us heartache

All the happiness that we gathered from the rally last week is wiped away this morning.
We all want a great start of the week but that is not the case this morning. It can be depressing at times to watch this market. I think it’s due to shorts who took out the profits that they accumulated last week. We all want this market to keep gaining ground. There are a lot of rooms to improve. FNM is going to do great in the long run. I am debating if I should buy some more FNM. Let’s watch for a few more days.


It’s been a pretty good weekend. We had brunch on Sunday with some friends for Mother’s day at the Sawridge. It was pretty good.


- CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Embattled insurer American International Group is selling its Japanese headquarters to Nippon Life Insurance Co. for $1.2 billion in cash. The transaction, which would be among the biggest divestitures New York-based AIG has made to reimburse the U.S. government for its massive infusion of aid, is expected to close in the second quarter. AIG has received $182.5 billion in financial support from the government since September. The company is selling off a number of business units to repay part of the loan.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- Three banks that have received a clean bill of health from the government have announced plans to raise capital to help repay government funds received last fall. U.S. Bancorp, Capital One Financial Corp. and BB&T Corp. have all announced common stock offerings, proceeds of which will be used, subject to approval, to help repay preferred stock investments the government made as part of the U.S. Treasury's TARP Capital Purchase Plan.

- VIENNA (AP) -- Weak U.S. oil demand and hefty oversupplies of crude yanked support from oil's rally on Monday, with prices falling below $58 a barrel. Oil prices have jumped this month from near $50 as crude investors followed stock markets, which have surged on expectations the worst of a severe recession is over.
Benchmark crude for June delivery was down $1.46 to $57.17 a barrel by noon in European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract raised $1.92 to settle at $58.63 a barrel, the highest level this year.

- MONDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) -- Confirmed cases of H1N1 swine flu in the United States climbed to more than 2,500 by Monday, and the U.S. now surpasses Mexico as the country most affected by the outbreak, according to World Health Organization figures.
The number of deaths in the United States linked to the illness rose to three over the weekend, with health officials in Washington State reporting late Saturday that an unidentified man in his 30s had succumbed to the infection.

- MARDAN, Pakistan – Pakistani warplanes bombed suspected militant positions in a stronghold close to the capital Monday, pressing ahead with a fierce offensive that has driven hundreds of thousands from their homes, many into crowded refugee camps.
The government claimed 700 insurgents had died and the Taliban were on the run.

I am optimistic that we will see some lights in the middle of the week.

Weekend after a "wow" week

It’s been such a great week. My overall portfolio’s are up 60% .I am so optimistic right now about the market yet cautious. I finally sold HIG, looks like CEMJQ is the dark horse.

I have to observe OPC very closely; don’t want to get blind sided with any unexpected hits. I will be looking forward to some great numbers next week.

My wife is doing great and happy. She is enjoying every moment here. We got a big plan this weekend. We are invited to a dinner tonight. She wants to do some shopping tomorrow and Sunday we are meeting two families for brunch. It is going to be a busy weekend.

- WASHINGTON (AP) -- The pace of layoffs slowed in April when employers cut 539,000 jobs, the fewest in six months. But the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent, the highest since late 1983, as many businesses remain wary of hiring given all the economic uncertainties.

- Wall Street welcomed the Labor Department's report that employers cut 539,000 jobs last month -- the fewest in six months and much less than the 620,000 analysts had expected. The news sent the Dow Jones industrials up as much as 143 points in early trading. The jobs report also said the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent -- the highest since 1983 -- from 8.5 percent as many businesses refrained from hiring amid an uncertain economic outlook.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- The group of dissident Chrysler bond holders challenging Chrysler LLC's government-backed restructuring plans, said Friday that it is dropping its court fight. Geoffrey Gwin, principal of the Group G Capital Partners LLC hedge funds, said that after weighing the obstacles ahead and along with the opposition they had faced before, the group's five remaining members realized that they couldn't mount an effective legal challenge.

- TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota Motor Corp., battered by plunging global sales, reported its worst annual loss since its 1937 founding -- and forecast even more red ink in the year ahead. The world's largest carmaker said Friday its net loss for the January-March quarter was 765.8 billion yen ($7.7 billion) -- bigger than General Motors reported for the same period. That brings Toyota's fiscal year loss to a larger-than-expected 436.94 billion yen ($4.4 billion), a dramatic reversal from the record profit of 1.72 trillion yen it earned the previous year

I HOPE WE ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND

Light at the end of the tunnel

This week had been great so far in the financial sectors. We are seeing some lights for recovery, may be we are just out of the recession.
DOW gained significantly on Monday.
AIG, FNM, OPC, F and CEMJQ are on the rise. I hope that it continues its rally.

My wife is here and I am really happy that she finally made it to Canada. She is a sweetheart. I need some rest so we can continue with our normal life.

The news flash:

- NEW YORK (AP) -- Bank of America Corp. stock rose as investors appeared comforted by reports that the bank has the means to cover a potential $34 billion shortfall in capital.

- Benchmark crude for June delivery rose $1.42 cents to $55.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, levels not seen since November. Weekly inventory data from the Energy Information Administration is due later Wednesday morning, but an overnight report from the American Petroleum Institute showed a 1-million-barrel slip in crude oil stocks and a 2.9-million-barrel drop in gas supplies.

- WAYNE, Michigan (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. will invest $550 million to convert its old Michigan Truck Plant into a facility that will build small compact modern cars, the car maker said Wednesday.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors found another reason to buy up stocks Wednesday after a report indicated job losses might be slowing. The ADP National Employment Report, an unofficial gauge of the labor market, said that private sector employment fell by 491,000 last month, a huge improvement from the 708,000 jobs lost in March. The ADP report said unemployment is likely to rise for several more months, but at a slower rate.

- MINGORA, Pakistan – Helicopter gunships and mortar teams pounded militant strongholds Wednesday, killing dozens outside emerald mines, the military said, as Taliban reinforcements poured down from their mountain hide-outs and seized homes and government buildings.
The army began taking the fight to militants entrenched in both the Swat Valley and in Buner, just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the capital, as Pakistan's leader prepared to hear demands from President Barack Obama for forceful action from a struggling ally.

- Mexico City showed more of its usual ebullience during a raucous morning rush hour. Thousands of newspaper vendors, salesmen hawking trinkets and panhandlers dropped their protective masks and added to the familiar din of truck horns and street music. Cafes accepted sitting customers, and many corporate offices reopened.