] However, let me hasten to add that, at least as I
] interpret it, this rally will ultimately be nothing more
] than a bear market rally. That's because at no point
] during the 2000-2002 bear market did the HSNSI ever
] register the kind of persistent and thoroughgoing
] pessimism and despair that is the hallmark of a major
] bear market bottom.
]
] This would suggest that, whenever this rally eventually
] comes to an end, the bear market will resume. It implies
] that the Dow will see new lows below its Oct. 9, 2002,
] low of 7,286 before it reaches new all time highs above
] the 11,700 level.
]
] But that's a longer-term worry at this point. For now,
] the message of the HSNSI is that this bear market rally
] still has more life left in it.

Newsletter editors continue to be surprisingly cautious

] German brewery launches ‘anti-aging’ brew; product likely to
] challenge 500-year-old law
]
] MAINZ, Germany - German experts often say beer is like
] good wine - it has a variety of different tastes. Germany
] alone boasts more than 1,200 breweries, with over 5,000
] brands. And a small eastern German company is now adding
] a new taste: anti-aging beer.

MSNBC - Forget Botox, how about another beer?

] Among other things, the documents indicate that for
] internal IBM accounting purposes, a programmer in China
] with three to five years experience would cost about
] $12.50 an hour, including salary and benefits. A person
] familiar with IBM's internal billing rates says that's
] less than one-fourth of the $56-an-hour cost of a
] comparable U.S. employee, which also includes salary and
] benefits.

IBM Data Give Rare Look at Sensitive 'Offshoring' Plans - Jan. 19, 2004

] The United States is overextended, not just militarily
] but economically. We are trying to do too much, borrow
] too much, spend too much, and sooner or later we will
] have to suffer the consequences. We are a country in the
] beginning stages of what can best be described as
] hegemonic decay. Empires take decades if not centuries to
] wither, a process more clearly viewed through a rearview
] mirror; Edward Gibbon's masterful account of the decline
] and fall of the Roman Empire is perhaps the greatest
] example of this truth. But here and now, we're much less
] inclined to Gibbon's viewpoint than we are to Alfred E.
] Newman's. "What, we worry?" is pretty much the national
] motto when it comes to our finance-based economy and its
] future prospects.

Good article by the Bond King on where the US economy is going...

What, We Worry? Yes. (washingtonpost.com)

] And don't worry about valuations. Even with the market up
] almost 29% last year, stocks are actually about as cheap
] today as they were one year ago. Sure, prices are higher.
] But the earnings that you can buy for those prices are
] higher, too. Forecasted S&P 500 earnings are up 13%
] year-over-year.
] ...
] If you buy the optimistic core of my analysis, then it's easy to figure out
] what to do. Buy stocks. Buy the most volatile stocks you can find. The
] low-priced tech stocks that led the charge last year will probably do
] it again. Risk is good.

I want whatever he is on...cause he thinks he is back in 1999.

Smartmoney.com: Ahead of the Curve: Basic Advice for 2004

] One of Warren Buffett's companies is fighting charges it
] helped a customer cook its books.
]
] For insurance gumshoes it's as improbable a scenario as
] finding a man with a smoking gun standing over a corpse.
] The scam is for a company to lend money to another but
] call it "insurance" instead so the borrower doesn't have
] to put debt on its balance sheet. The problem is, the
] perpetrators are usually smart enough not to put any
] incriminating stuff in writing.

Berkshire Hathaway unit accused of fraud

] From: Luke A. Kanies
] Date: 06:37 on 14 Jan 2004
] Subject: Introductory linux hate
]
] Wow, maybe this list will be my saviour.... I've got so
] much software bile it's giving me an ulcer. So much... But this month
] it's linux. I hate most software, and especially operating systems, but
] I reserve a special place in my cankerous stomach for linux.
]
] I just want two simple things (in this case): Audio, and
] my LCD powered off after a timeout.

Keep reading...this is good stuff! :)

luke hates software - Introductory linux hate

Show Dates: January 29-February 1, 2004
Show Hours: Thursday: 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Friday: 10:00 am to 10:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am to 10:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Nashville Auto & Truck Show-Welcome

] Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) Center
-------
Ive been wanting to see this for years...

Review all ETFs

] I've done nothing basically because the environment is so
] binary (and all these trades are different expressions of
] the same view) that I feel no compunction to rush into
] anything, especially in the shorting-stocks department.
]
] I would rather be late to that party than early, since
] it's so clear to me that when stocks go down next time,
] they're going to go down for real. I anticipate that we
] will see a huge decline, with the major averages falling
] over 50%.

Yikes!

If 2004 goes bad, it will go really bad