Stock Market 2/2/12

The stock market seems to be getting very top heavy.  January has been a good month for the market, and it seems like the volatility has dramatically slowed from the fall.  I have read many different articles about the Santa Claus rally and the January effect and each one has a little validity to them (might be a reasonable topic for my next blog).  It seems as if investors are gaining confidence in the market and the European situation is being overlooked.  It seems that Europe is still doomed to fail and I doubt Greece will be able to pay off their debts.  I am amazed that we have had the rally that we have over the last month because it seems as if nothing has really gotten much better.  Yes the bonds have been sold but the real time to watch is when those bonds get paid off.  Just like the US government, they have gotten into debt and continue to push back the date of reality.  I have seen dramatic price changes in the different stocks I own and have jumped out when each stock has gotten to a price at which I would not buy.  I am not an expert by any means but watching Daimler go from less than $40 to over $59 in less than a month and a half is nutty.  I invested at $42 and bailed out at $57.8 earning over a 36% return in less than 2 months.  Stinks that I have to pay taxes on short term gains but I guess its just part of it!  I am looking for value but at the moment, and for the past month, I have not really seen much value that I like.  I have invested in 8 companies since I started my job in August and I have found plenty of different values.  I invested in MRO, SDRL, DDAIF.PK, RF, CSX, TAP, VOD, and FLY.  I still hold positions in SDRL, CSX, TAP, VOD, and FLY.  I will explain why I liked each one of these in the future.  But for now I can not seem to find much value.  Blue Chips have been bought up and we can see that the European companies are starting to make a little comeback.  I am going to wait for a big down day before pulling the trigger on my next investment but I have a few in mind.  I have made money on all of my investments thus far and have seemed to find value in many different industries including Energy, Automobile, Banks, Railroads, Beverages, Communications, and Aircraft Leasing.  I hope to find similar value investments in the future.

Richard Foxcroft