Beat The Dart -"Picking Stocks the Old-fashioned Way"

The Standard & Poor's 500 index remained near a six-year high, but was

5.61 to 1,407.29. With 1400 as our dartmarker nothing of material value happened yesterday. Yet the general market had the willies with anticipation of the Labor Department's November employment report, which includes the number of jobs created, average hourly earnings and the unemployment date. A weak number suggests a contracting economy, but not sufficient to trigger a major equity sell signal unless the S&P index slides below 1400 and the primary resistance test of 1389 does not hold. The Street is hopeful that the job market will be well enough to safeguard consumer spending. Conversely, high employment levels will make it more expensive for businesses to hire and retain workers. Since the Fed is vigilant about inflation, a rise in wages may make it harder for the central bank to justify a cut in short-term interest rates. Whatever happens, someone will not like the number. Soft landing or something else the "experts" are crying that the market is close to fair value and time to jump out. Don't listen to worthless noise unless the S&P fails to maintain its upward bias. (These were the same guys in early September '06 who said the market was "toppy at 1300 and time to take profits.") ... At this stage the deep pocketed hedge funds control the market's destiny. Since liquidity is king, and M&A will increase going forward, equities will keep their wings. ... A new anomaly is of interest: Why has consumer borrowing fell in October by the largest amount in 14 years? The Fed's report yesterday floated about like a lost feather caught in an updraft. The weakness came from a huge falloff in demand for auto loans and other types of nonrecurring credit, which declined 3.3 percent in October, following a miniscule 0.4 percent in September. The contraction of $1.34 billion in total consumer credit outstanding of $2.38 trillion is too small a number to be concerned. However, this trend will not go away since the consumer feels less wealthy now that housing prices are no longer surging to record levels. With the consumer controlling 2/3 of GNP, a minor bleep can create a major problem. Right now, add consumer attitude to the growing list of things to watch.

... BEAT THE DART announces modification to the STOCKSMIRF Fantasy Hedge Fund portfolio by changing the total available cash and margin to $5,000,000 from $50,000,000.00. Based on the trading dynamics of the Fund to date the gross values committed had not exceeded $3,000,000. Therefore, to carry excessive "buying power" distorted the percentage gains (losses) on the performance of the fund.

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