Wild day so far in the markets....of course the U.S. market is down by over 1% thanks to yet another day of continued fears regarding the stability of the financial system in Europe. On top of that, there are reports out today that suggest the soon to be recession in Europe is going to have a domino effect and bring down the Chinese economy as well. Coupled with all that, the price of gold is in free fall, down by over $100 an ounce! This is pretty amazing considering the fact that investors usually buy gold when there is so much uncertainty and concern (as there is now) in the market place. The reason gold is down by so much is because different countries around the world usually own and hold gold to back up the cash there banks (like the Federal Reserve or the Treasury here in the states) have...because no one really knows how the financial system in Europe is going to play out, different national banks around the world are selling there gold reserves so that they can raise cash.
Looking at stocks, the financials are holding up nicely today when they should be getting crushed yet again due to all the talk about how bad things are in Europe. I haven't bought any more stock in any of the financials I own but I'm looking to pick up some SunTrust (STI) which was upgraded by an investment research firm this morning. Thank goodness I never pulled the trigger yesterday on buying anymore Etrade at $8.55/share because the stock has fallen to $8.10/share because they released their November trading activity last night and it was slightly below expectations (umm...hello? How is it a surprise that no one was doing a lot of trading during last month when things were so crazy? I mean a lot of the people I know that manage money for others didn't even do much trading/investing!). Anyway, I haven't pulled bought any stock today on the ridiculous pullback but I'm itching to. The consumer staples, such as Proctor and Gamble and Clorox (which I own) are both trading up on the day. I think a stock like Clorox, which has a great brand and pays a hefty 4% dividend yield, is a great company to own.
I'll be back in a little to update my blog on what moves I've made in the market.
