Wall of Worry

I have always believed that for the stock market to go up, it has to climb a wall of worry. If you scan the Wall Street Journal daily you will find that the percentage of 'negative' headlines to 'positive' headlines is 99 to 1. If you turn on CNBC, negative stories about the economy are 100 to 1. If you go out to dinner with a friend or business associate, the #1 topic for conversation is about the economy and how bad business is. It seems that the political discussions have stopped and the reality of hard times is here. Remember when we would get stock tips at the beauty parlor or find out that everyone was doubling there money in buying real estate. Clearly we are climbing more than a wall of worry these days. It is very close to total panic. Over the history of financial markets, the time to buy is when 'it is very lonely to buy'. Today, you might be the only buyer around.
Random thoughts....What happened to President-elect Obama?...He should pick Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, as Treasury Secretary. This announcement should be made by next week....General Electric's dividend yield is approaching 8%.....Watch the currency market carefully as the British Pound will continue to weaken over the next year....