-- Posted Thursday, 15 October 2009 | Digg This Article
| | Source: GoldSeek.com
Rick’s Picks
Thursday, October 15, 2009
“Phenomenally accurate forecasts”
Read them and weep, all ye despairing bears! The chart below shows a wicked “island gap reversal” in the share price of Goldman Sachs, and it is as much proof as anyone should need to infer that yet more weeks or perhaps even months of false spring await U.S. stocks. When Lehman, Bear Stearns and all the rest were in crash-and-burn mode a little more than a year ago, who would have imagined that as early as 2009, banks and securities firms would be paying out a record $140 billion to employees? Major banks, hedge funds and asset managers are on track to do just that, and it would top the previous peak year of 2007, when the impending financial crash was broached as an absolute certainty only by certain fringe characters in the newsletter world.
Concerning Goldman, which lies within pitching-wedge distance of new all time highs, Jim Cramer thinks it’s bound for at least $240. That would represent a 25% rally from yesterday’s settlement price of $193. Cramer is even more bullish than we are, since 205.46, or perhaps 213.62 at the outside, is as high as Rick’s Picks can see for now. Incidentally, when Goldman was trading around $60, we’d projected a bear market low of $29. We promised to don a grass skirt and dance the hula in Times Square if we were wrong, and so we were: The stock went no lower than $47. Live and learn, they say. We’ll let you know when it’s time for our big day in the Big Apple.
Olympia Sleet
For those who have already given up on America, the huge Wall Street payout was not the only reminder of the Republic’s descent into darkness. Pictures of Republican turncoat Olympia Snow graced the front page of nearly every major newspaper. We’ve been hearing for many weeks that her vote in the Senate was the key to getting President Obama’s health care bill passed, but we could never quite believe that such a giant piece of the nation’s future could depend on the vote of one legislative minx. Turns out we were wrong.
We shudder to think of what deal might have caused her to change her mind, but it could not possibly have been mere facts. On that score, we’ll take the insurance companies at their word. They say the legislation will add $5,000 to every household’s annual health insurance bill, and that sounds low to us. Some on the Left will say it’s about time Uncle Sam socked it to the insurers, but it is not the insurers who will pay. Anyone who is for this bill obviously believes someone else will bear its cost. In fact, we all will, and the final tab will be so much higher than Baucus’ estimate that it will dwarf Medicare. We knew the taxpayers were on the ropes when Rep. Joe Wilson called Obama a liar and the news media (other than the Wall Street Journal op-ed page) failed to back him up.
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Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not b construed as an indicator of future results, so let the buyer beware. Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers’ initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2009, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved. www.rickackerman.com
-- Posted Thursday, 15 October 2009 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
