Alcoa, More Losses Ahead
Research for Online Investors

by John Dalt

4/07/09

One of our readers sent a link to this article from Forbes about Andy Beal of Beal Bank in Texas.  If you like Texans, you will love Andy Beal.  He makes no apologies, and has a sign in his office that says “Often wrong, but seldom in doubt”.  He races cars, plays poker and is building banks while the rest of financial sector is on life support.  Read about him here, if you dare!

I wrote on April 2 about the prosecution of Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska. You may remember he was found guilty of improperly filing his Senate disclosure paperwork a few days before the general election. He lost the election to a democrat by 4,000 votes as a result. The judge has now vacated the conviction; there is a great article on yahoo detailing the misconduct of the Federal prosecutors. He is having them investigated for criminal contempt. I hope he throws a few of these lawyers in jail. There are few among us that could stand the full weight of the government examining every facet of our lives, looking for a minor misstep that could be criminalized.

In the absolute biggest joke of the day department, we begin to see what GM is spending taxpayer money on, and it is not pretty.  Would you want to be on the street, moving at 35 mph in this?  They teamed with Segway to design a bubble, a “personal transporter.”  They better just stay with Escalades.

Are they serious, do they really believe anyone will BUY this?

The market is drifting down. It seems enthusiasm may have overplayed the reality of the economy. Buying begets buying, everyone seemed afraid of missing out. Now selling begets selling, everyone seems afraid of losing money.  If 666 was the low, how could we miss by buying as the market climbed? Was there a message in the “666”? Only the future will reveal. Tight stop losses would probably be in order, to protect any profits you have. Alco reported a loss after the market closed. Their stock was down today in anticipation, and is down more in after market trading.

If you are looking for a great book, and timely, you might enjoy “The End of Prosperity” by Laffer, Moore, and Tanous. Arthur Laffer is famous by way of his “Laffer Curve” to explain why productivity increases and thus taxes collected, as tax rates are lowered. He served as an economic advisor to President Ronald Reagan. I read a passage last night that caused my wife to question why I was laughing. May I share it with you?

….”During Reagan’s first cabinet meeting in the Oval Office shortly after his inauguration, the assembled Reagan team waited eagerly for the marching orders from this new president—an actor…..Reagan waited until there was complete silence in the Cabinet Room. You could have heard a pin drop. Then Reagan rose and theatrically waited a few moments to build the anticipation and then finally spoke. ‘Gentlemen and ladies, I hate inflation; I hate taxes; and I hate the Soviets. Do something about it.’ The he exited the room.”

My nostalgia for President Reagan is palatable.  He was not perfect.  He was honest, and made America believe in our manifest destiny.  He inspired citizens to achieve more than the sweater wearing Jimmy Carter could ever even imagine.  He never apologized for our country when he was overseas, like the current president.  He never cornered interns in the Oval Office closet, like Bill Clinton.  He was a cheerleader for everything that America stood for.  Maybe he was as close to perfect as we can reasonably expect…

So I said to him, "Barak, I know Abe Lincoln, and you ain't him."

Our last closed trade from the Swing Trader Service:

POT —held 16 days for gain of 15.3%

The information presented in this newsletter is based on generally available news releases, corporate filings, current events, interviews and the editor’s opinions.  It may contain errors and you should not make investment decisions based solely on what you believe you have read here.  Do your own research, it is your money.  If you lose it, it is your responsibility, not ours or your grandmothers!  The editor may or may not have a position in any securities discussed.  The editor may have held a position in a security earlier, or in the future.

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