Great segment on Fast Money yesterday with Rick Santelli on Obama, banking regulations, and more.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago in my buy of Exxon Mobil (XOM), I Exxon Mobil as it bounced off the trend line shown in the chart below.  The stock did definitely bounce, but did not go high enough for me to take profits.  Since then the stock has turned lower and has broken the trend line.
As I said when I opened the trade, one of the most important parts of this play was that I could identify a solid exit point.  Well, that exit point was reached and …

Great article on Seeking Alpha about doing the opposite of Money Magazine tells you to do – especially when it comes to gold (Seeking Alpha)
Russia diversifying into Canadian dollars (Financial Times)
Today’s jobless numbers unexpectedly increased (Yahoo!)
China’s latest killer GDP number (Bloomberg) – While I do believe China is still humming, I don’t put that much credibility into their numbers.  Believe what you want when it comes to Chinese government numbers.
I like to monitor the transition from traditional media to the web and other 21st century means – check out this …

This morning we had two major headlines: the absolute insane profit of Goldman Sachs (GS) and the unexpected increase in jobless claims.  This highlights one thing and one thing only.  That is that our economy continues to diverge into two separate worlds.
The first world is that those who benefit from bailouts (namely the financial system along with a few others like GM) will continue to prosper in the name of “stability”.  The Wall Street firms are bigger than ever and making billions upon billions of profit in an otherwise diaster …

I love marketing, especially the idea of powerful brands.  There are many brands that appeal to me, but there are a few with supernatural power over me!  What about you?
Starbucks Corporation (SBUX)
Man, I tell you what.  I love me some Starbucks.  Yes, I’m aware it’s a rip-off, but there are times when I need that $4 latte.  Yes, I know that it’s pretty much entirely emotional and therefore, controllable.  But, when I’m in the mood and I drive by and see the beautiful green circle with that weird lady in …

Student loan program will be nationalized (CNSNews)
Unemployment likely to be high for years (Reuters)
Details on the Bank of America losses for the year and quarter (NY Times)
200 Bank Failures Expected in 2010 (Money and Markets)
2009 Airline Revenues Suffered the Worst Plunge Ever (CNNMoney)

If you follow the political landscape, there was a pretty big upset in Massachusetts last night with Republican Scott Brown winning Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat.  Some view this as a referendum on health care and other national issues, while the White House is quick to dismiss this as nothing more than just a terribly run campaign on the Democrats part.  Either way, the ramifications are big, and I will detail below what I think will happen between now and the November elections later this year.
Health Care On Hold… Focus Turns …

Sometimes we tend to read and think about high level concepts such as the economy or the markets.  Well, I’ve had a few people ask me to write more about what to do right now with your energy, your money, your time, etc.  It’s great to become knowledgeable regarding some of the “pie in the sky” stuff but it’s important to establish a track to run on, and then actually start running.
So, ok, I like to write about how the economy sucks and how the markets are over-inflated.  You probably …