Sometimes you hear a story and you just can’t pull yourself away from it because it’s just that good. You’re right at the cliff hanger and you have to hear the end no matter what. That’s why I originally brought my cell phone in the shower with me. I had to read the last text installment in an amazing three-part story from my roommate. It’s no surprise my phone broke. My alarm has been going off since 7:55 this morning because I can’t press the dismiss button. It’s not that I didn’t realize water and electronics don’t mix, it’s just that I was willing to take the chance. I’m a risk taker, you know. Gotta cut you’re losses eventually though. I’m not happy about buying another overpriced mobile phone with my overpriced service carrier today, but hey, stuff happens.
And I think I’ll pay for that new phone in cash, or at least debit. I’m about ready to throw my credit cards away after I saw my latest interest charge. The credit crisis has gone global. Iceland is practically bankrupt, Canada can hardly get loans, the Yen keeps slipping and the government is debating taking partial ownership in US banks. Oy. Whats up with Wall Street today? Nothing, hahaha. Bad joke, but seriously stocks fell again this Thursday. The DOW has been fluctuating all morning, along with the SP500 and NASDAQ.
I always like to see where sentiment lies for these major indexes every day. I find it so interesting how bullish investors can be about a particular index when everything in the market seems to be flailing. Lately, the bears have been dominating the bulls however. Checking the font page of PredictWallStreet, I can see sentiment for the SP500, NASDAQ and DJIA are all bearish, while the DJIA and SP500 are extremely bearish. This isn’t too surprising after seeing and reading about the fears the credit crunch has sparked.
Harnessing the collective intelligence of the community, PredictWallStreet has published a bunch of forecasts today. Because of the accuracy of the forecasts (they outperform major indexes like the SP500), the more the better!
There are a few banks forecasted today, which seems appropriate given the recent headlines. Out of the four I’m looking at, only one is forecasted to close up and that bank is Bank of America (BAC). In my opinion, this makes sense. Through all the dramarama regarding banks lately, Bank of America seems to have been the only one unscathed for the most part, staying out of the headlines and away from the eery B’s-bankruptcy, bailout, buyout. This is not to say BAC isn’t struggling, but maybe it’s struggling less. Citigroup (C) is forecasted to close down, along with Morgan Stanley (MS) and Wachovia (WB). Sentiment for C, MS, and WB is all bearish. Looks like Wells Fargo and C can’t save Wachovia right now. There down almost 17% right now at 4.21. This love triangle is more o no no, than o la la.
Apple (AAPL) has been seeing some gains the past few days, after a bit of struggling. AAPL is forecasted to close up today. Looks like Research in Motion’s new Blackberry Storm did little to move King iPhone. Apple is also reported to be selling there new MacBooks under the scary $1,000.00 price tag; a good move in my opinion. Deals and steals are gonna be what consumers are mainly looking for now. Apple is up 2.5% to about 92.00. When I look at sentiment, I can see that it has been dragging slowly out of its down position and is becoming more bullish.
Wal-Mart (WMT) has been forecasted to close up today. This seems odd to me considering there has been a decrease in consumer confidence and thus a decrease in consumer spending. But I am led to the conclusion that consumers are turning to bargain super stores like Wal-Mart to save wherever they can. Looking at 1 month sentiment and overlaying the price quote, I can see that even when the price dropped for Wal-Mart, sentiment remained relativley strong. Right now sentiment has fallen along with the price but I expect both to be up soon as holiday shopping is right around the corner and is always a time of giant spending.
Ay, I’m off to buy a new cell phone 
Stumble It!
