] Which will it be? Lower prices and more gloom? Higher
] prices and smiles?News events that we can't now predict
] will certainly have a big role in settling the question.
] But I think I can make a strong case that we've got a
] 3%-to-8% decline ahead of us before we can start looking
] for an end to this punishment and the beginning of the
] next temporary rally.Let me count the reasons why

7 reasons the bears might be right - Jubak's Journal

] LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices could touch $105 a barrel
] in the next few years, the influential investment bank
] Goldman Sachs said Thursday.
] "Based on our analysis of gasoline spending and the economy
] noted above, we estimate that U.S. gasoline prices may need to
] exceed $4 per gallon," they said.

Goldman says oil could spike to $105 a barrel - Mar. 31, 2005

] I expect the market to make a painful descent into the
] summer and as mentioned previously, I expect the year to
] finish flat to negative. Consistent with my bear sandwich
] thesis , a second-half rally will set up an opportunity
] to get aggressively short into 2006.

Prepare for a sell-off through summer

] "Large-cap growth remains significantly undervalued
] relative to large-cap value," says this month's
] Perception for the Professional, a monthly research
] report by Leuthold Group, a prominent institutional
] research firm.
]
] And whenever that kind of disparity goes on long enough,
] it reverses. In the 1990s, growth and big stocks led the
] market, only to surrender leadership to small and value
] names five years ago. The value/growth cycle usually runs
] for five to seven years.
]
] So within a few months or years, value's popularity will
] fade and growth stocks will enjoy a windfall of profits.
] So if your portfolio has grown lean on growth during this
] value cycle, it's time to bulk up again on those stocks.

MSN Money - Move over, value: It's growth's turn again

] The low in August set the stage for an impressive advance
] that took many individual stocks to new highs," said
] Prudential analyst Ralph Acampora, who is convinced, he
] said, that market technicals are now setting the stage
] for a strong 2005.
]
]
] "Think about it for a second: All the leading market
] averages are entering the New Year at new highs," while
] all of the advance/decline lines are at all-time highs,
] he said. "This is a fully in-gear bull market."

Market Snapshot: Economic data to drive markets next week

] The company that owns the famed Commodore computer brand
] has been sold to Yeahronimo Media Ventures, a Beverly
] Hills, California, digital music distributor.

Yahoo! News - Commodore Computer Brand Sold

] My biggest winners have been dividend-paying domestic
] stocks; foreign equities -- particularly in the euro zone
] -- and real estate investment trusts (REITs). Entering
] the new year, I'm making only minor tweaks to the model,
] although I'm raising its risk profile modestly because I
] think 2005 will be kind to stocks and not unkind to
] bonds.
]
] Some experts agree. "We believe the stock market will
] post surprisingly positive returns for a third
] consecutive year," says Brian Belski, market strategist
] for Piper Jaffray.
]
] Adds Craig Callahan, chief investment officer of Icon
] Funds, "Our analysis still indicates that the broad
] market is undervalued by about 12%."

excellent article.

MSN Money - Fine-tuning a winning ETF portfolio for '05

] NEW YORK (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc. the conglomerate
] run by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, on Tuesday said it elected
] Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., to be a director.
]
] Gates, co-founder and chairman of software giant Microsoft, is a friend
] and bridge partner of Buffett and a long-standing Berkshire shareholder.

Any conspiracy theory comments on this news?

Gates Elected to Berkshire Hathaway Board

] NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – After spending most of the
] summer stuck in a trading range, stocks have been
] climbing steadily higher since August. But prices have
] yet to break the upper-end of the range, and some
] analysts think it will be a while before they do.
]
] "This has been a short-term rally in an overall longer-term
] bearish environment," said Richard Suttmeier, chief market
] strategist at Joseph Stevens & Co. "Conservatively, there is
] less than 5 percent upside potential. If we're fortunate
] enough to get that, then the average investor should
] pare back their holdings."

Major suckage.

Endless summer - Sep. 19, 2004

] I call it the Kerry trade, which is not to be confused
] with the "carry trade," a major position among hedge
] funds involving money borrowed at low U.S. interest rates
] and invested in products that pay higher rates.
]
] The Kerry trade has been rampant on Wall Street in the
] last several weeks as large investors sell their holdings
] to hedge against the possibility that the Massachusetts
] junior senator could actually, might possibly win in
] November.
]
] The theme behind it is that if a tax-and-spend Democrat
] wins the White House, the stock market will immediately
] tank, so better to sell now and be in cash as long as the
] polls indicate that it could be a close vote.
]
] But the theme is wrong for several reasons.

Unwinding the Kerry trade - Commentary: Sell Iraq, buy the economy