CHESSNOID

I think we have had 5 down days but mostly on low volume.  I really thought we would rally up just because the mood has been dour.  All things considered, the markets are holding up well and we are far from the 7,000 DOW level which seemed to be upon us not long ago.

These were the closing numbers today:

There are a ton of great stock deals our there that I think are great value buys. The only thing negating me from doing so is the state of the economy still seems to be in a down swing. Bush, Bernanke, and Paulson will all be leaving soon enough, but they have done so much damage to the economy that it will be awhile before we get back to normal.

In the past I would actually make sure I bought stocks before the New Year to partake in the New Year rally where you get free up days in the market. Last January I think didn’t follow the previous years and you would have been burned if you tried to use history as your stock guide. For me, I will stay on the sidelines for at least 9 months before I consider buying into the stock market again. At that point, if I do buy, I will do it by dollar cost averaging so if it is too early to jump back in I don’t take a beating. In the past, this long term strategy has always paid off for me. Happy New Year!