Back in the Saddle
Research for Online Investors

by John Dalt

6/1/10

The markets are all over the map today as investors and traders try to understand the information filtering in through sunburned eyes from the long weekend.  It is time to get back in the saddle!

It has been an event filled weekend with China showing slowed growth in April and Israel enforcing their three year blockade of the Gaza strip.  North Korea’s tantrums took a backseat to the video of Israeli troops rappelling onto the deck of a Turkish ship.  The troops were beat with rods and attacked with knives and other available weapons.  One was thrown off the deck to a lower landing.  Troops reported the activists tried to take their guns and at least one Israeli troop was shot.

Nine activists were killed on the Turkish ship; the other ships were overpowered quietly and without violence.   A hint of the reason for the outcome can be traced to the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.  Turkey used to be Israel’s closest Muslim ally.  No more, Erdogan has become a voice for Iran, calling for Israel to be punished.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement that Israel had offered to offload the boats at the Israeli port Ashdod and pass along the humanitarian cargo to Gaza.

Your editor sees this flotilla of supplies to Gaza as a provocation.  The intent was to heighten tensions in the Middle East, and put Israel on the defensive in the court of public opinion.  They may have succeeded, except for those videos of activists on the Turkish ship beating the Israeli troops.  Like Groucho Marx quipped, Who are you gonna believe?  Me, or your lying eyes!

Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak ordered the border opened for aid and people to cross to Gaza.  Egypt has maintained a ‘leaky’ closed border since 2007 when Hamas seized control of the Gaza strip.  Hamas is also the leading opposition party in Egypt.  Turkey had called for the immediate lifting “of the inhumane embargo on Gaza.”

British Conservative AM for Clwd West, Darren Millar said, “There’s another side to the story which appears to have been overlooked. Many of the people on that flotilla were prepared for violence. They were chanting violent Islamic songs. There were weapons on board when the Israelis went on there. There was an opportunity for them to go to a port to allow the aid to be offloaded. If it was only about aid I can’t understand why it’s been done in this way.

The end game of the violence in the Middle East may be more pressure on Egypt to fall in line with the radical agenda of Iran.  It seems that Turkey has now moved full tilt in support of Iran and their allies.

Israel confirmed its aircraft fired at militants in Gaza after they fired rockets into southern Israel, and two gunmen were killed after breaking through Israel’s border security fence.

Sources today were People’s Daily (China), The Guardian, Reuters News, London Times Online, and Wales Online.

To the mailbag:

Some of your subscribers should contribute honest reviews of your services to the Stock Gumshoe web site.  Your candor should be rewarded as your competitors, to my level of experience, simply do not make clear their losers along with their winners.---paid up subscriber J.R.

John's reply: That is a good idea, I appreciate it.  I don't like high pressure sales practices.  Iget frustrated with the misleading ads some of the investment newsletter services run.  I see quite a few of them.  Would you mind doing that?  An honest review from a subscriber may carry weight with other potential customers.  We simply try to be honest and look our for our customers.  All else will take care of itself.

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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