buyer beware

The equity markets are up today, just before companies start to announce their earnings for the last quarter. Investors seem very optimistic and are betting for better then expected results, despite what the economic data has been showing. It is very easy to forget the numbers and hope for a miracle, however unlike some earnings reports, economic data is hard to fudge. The economy still has some painful months ahead, and if my research is right, the banks are headed for another round of painful write offs caused by major defaults in the commercial loans/mortgages sector.


- Arthur Smelyansky