I know a lot of my posts have been pretty downtrodden of late, and I'm sorry for that but I'm just trying to address some of the issues and concerns that I think about. That being said, I want to mention a few positive developments that I've seen of late.
Greece and the European Union appear to be working better together of late, as both are really trying to get the financial crisis in the country under control; HOWEVER, I remain cautious in whether or not the two entities are actually going to follow thru with their commitments. A couple reasons for this is that the banking lenders that are helping Greece out are asking for an extremely high interest rate and I'm also concerned whether or not the Greek people will accept the tax increases and the rise in the overall retirment age.
Ok, so another positive I see is that the housing numbers look to be steady and even slightly rising in certain parts of the country. For example, Pulte Homes, which is a very large homebuilder reported a 19% increase in new home orders. This is great news because we need to get the lackluster housing market under control; HOWEVER, I am still concerned with the glut of existing houses on the market, as well as the fact that banks have become so hesitant to loan money and have actually increased the down payment amount due when closing over the past year.
Soo, I'm sorry to throw in a few bits of negativity along with the positives I've mentioned, but I'm still cautious as to where the market is going to be heading over the short term. I wish I was more confident on the direction stocks will take, but I am and would continue to err on the side of caution.
Btw, has anyone noticed the price of oil (gas) lately?? Another day, and another increase...now that REALLY bothers me because the price of oil is usually correlated with the direction of stocks (because an increase in the price serves as a tax on the consumer).
