In Case

In  case you didn't notice, going into this past weekend MSM fell all over itself trying to convince us how well the economy is now doing.

Story headlines like, "Consumers Give Boost to Economy," in the WSJ to many others gives you a clue t the straw-clutching going today with all  the global turmoil. Here's an opening blurb from that piece: If here's any lingering worries about tab economy, consumers just put that to rest." The author goes on to cite retail sales for June jumped to 0.6% from 09.2% in May and the Labor Department reporting prices picked up in June.

He then cites near record low mortgage rates , new stock market highs and gasoline prices trending lower. We don't know where he lives but gasoline prices in our area have been trending higher for the past several weeks. Moreover, real estate prices and rents are higher than  most government spy satellites.

Now the stock market is another interesting case, as was pointed out in Barron's this weekend. The Nasdaq, the Dow transports and the Russell 2000 are not confirming the new highs. Also, corporate earnings seem to be petering out and the narrowness the the new records are more concerning, "...take a few hundred stocks out of the equation, the broad market hasn't surpassed the highs." There is another concern, valuation.

On the global front China remains a mystery, as enigmatic as ever, and that's if anyone can believe or trust any of the data coming out of that country. A cooling property market, a less than robust service sector, official joblessness rates that are less reliable than a politician's election promises and rising government spending versus falling private sector investment all hand over this market. And those are the things someone might know about.The unknowns are anyone's guess.

The bulls will tell you after a long trending sideways market, new highs bode well for further upside.
We like a real bull market as well as the next guy. And when the next real one comes around, we hope to make some decent profits. Meanwhile, this is a trading vehicle. sell some covered calls and buy some cheap puts on further upside.