- At least for Citi. When I looked at today’s volume for C I had to say it out loud. One-billion-eight-hundred-million shares. Of course, most of that traded below $1.50.
- Two years ago Citi was $50, a year ago $26 and today $1.40, down 40% on the day.
- Bank America closed down almost 26%.
- Obama’s budget continues to be vilified. I’ll wait until April, when the final budget is submitted, before I get as excited as the New Right of CNBC commentators.
- My inverse ETF’s helped a little but I got swamped in Abbott Labs. It became caught in an Obama health care squeeze and arbitrage sellers due to ABT’s huge bond sale.
- This market is simply no place for Mom & Pop. Call your largest local banks and get CD rates. Be careful not to get sucked into the CDARS program. This is where your bank puts your money to work at the “highest” rates at other participating banks. They will tell you there are no fees, or they will tell you that they will absorb the fees. But they do that by offering non-competitive rates on the CD’s. If it is too good to be true it is.
- Gold looks like it is headed to $900 as all-ready-paid-for gold scrap is being utilized for jewelry.
- GE as low as $8.40/share on massive volume. Its dividend was (finally) cut by 68%, not my suggested 75%. However, as I had also suggested, shares did not go up on the cut.
- S&P went through 740 repeatedly and closed below at 735.
- The Dow held on valiantly, down about 1.6%, as some believe the last two weeks has washed out sellers. I’m not convinced. The Dow is only 62 points away from a 6 handle.
- We were about to replace the Formica top to our bar with granite. And we were also going to replace the counter top in a guest bathroom. Instead, we spent $1500 to have a guy replace two outside rotted window sills and a several corner boards. Neighbors are replacing windows and roofs. No one is doing cosmetic changes, just what is necessary to keep the place dry and warm. Priorities are changing daily. It is now not want but need that drives consumers.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Don’t think about the market too, too much. Just be grateful you are heavily in cash.
