The Wall of Worry?

I've shared my fare in real-time this week—The Mea Culpa Humble Pie, The Disciplined Road to Redemption, positioning for the Reverse Industrial Revolution—and after more swings than a Hedonism vacation, I made a slew of sales into yesterday’s late afternoon pop.

It was a lot of stress for a P&L that would have been the same if I sat on my hands; or a beach, for that matter.

There’s a difference between being long and being bullish. While I remain of the view that an upside window of opportunity exists, the question of whether we can climb through it remains to be seen.

In particular, Eastern Europe remains a concern and that headline risk is real. Latvia, Ukraine and chatter of matters in Russia are competing for mindshare as we weigh the trillions of dollars being tossed at this very sick market. I’m not curled up in a fetal position in the corner, mind you, but I try to see all sides when assimilating risk.

Some Random Vibes as I try to ketchup to my morning:
 

• Did you see the American Grandstand yesterday? Uncle Ben got grilled, poked, prodded—his own personal “stress test”—and, as we like to do our part in the ‘Ville, we sent Hoofy and Boo to the Beltway to ask some tough questions.
  
  
• Last week I felt like a genius for not buying dips in the banks (most notably Bank America (BAC)). This week, not so much. Welcome to the world's wildest reality show where humility rules.
  
  
• Trophy hunters should give the critters a M-16 before calling it a sport.
  
  
• Turnaround Tuesday is no longer nonsensical.
  
  
• The 3-G conundrum—G-E (GE), G-M (GM) and A-I-G (AIG)—remains on my worry wall.
  
  
• That a little levity goes a long way.
  
  
• If we sold Bernanke's optimism and bought his pessimism, we would be jinglin’ baby.
  
  
• I awoke yesterday to find Phoebe sitting high atop the three pillows stacked to my right, seemingly weighing whether to pull a Superfly Jimmy Snuka on me.
  
  
• Research in Motion (RIMM), after a nice run from the lows, trades heavy today.
  
  
• It was awesome to hang with Guy "the Bus" Adami Tuesday night after we almost canceled plans. The last time that happened, I never saw my friend again, which was the first story we shared when we pulled up to our table.
  
  
• I wonder what Hank Paulson is doing and whether it involves a Pina Colada.
  
  
• Rainbow cookies don't get the snaps they deserve.
  
  
• If you're getting bullish on upticks and bearish on downticks, you should take a step back and a deep breath.
  
  
• I miss Ruby and understand that the greatest tribute I can pay him is to live my life in a manner consistent with what he would have wanted.
  
  
• Did I fail to mention that Hershey Miniatures were included in the over-the-top chocolate bender (even if I handed most of them to strangers and doormen by the time I got home)?
  
  
• Are you reminding yourself that opportunity cost is the "other side" of discipline?
  
  
• Should I, as I watch the action in Transocean (RIG) (which I sold) and Gold (which I covered)?
  
  
• The ability not to trade is as important as trading ability.
  
  
• Be honest—do you have a man crush on Jack Bauer?
  
  
• IF—and this is clearly the single biggest IF out there—the S&P can hang and twang, will the "successful retest double bottom" crowd chase this race higher?
  
  
• Or will S&P 800—former support and current resistance—beat the Street with an ugly stick?

The Minyanville Underground Railroad Update!

We'll be sending out our first "official" correspondence to Ambassadors in the Minyan Underground Railroad this Friday.

What exactly is the M.U.R.?

It’s a network of human capital that intertwines the world with people who are very good at what they do and better at who they are.

It’s for those of us who believe that our name and word mean something.

It’s for those of us who believe there’s a better way to do business and a common ethos in how we do it.

Honesty, trust and respect.

The vision for the M.U.R. is taking shape and will continue to evolve with input from the Ambassadors. We foresee a global grid featured on Minyanville where like-minded individuals can connect, reflect and affect positive change.

There will be "card carrying" benefits" so if you wanna be part of the solution, lemme know and we'll circle the square (so to speak!).

Thus far, we’ve got over 400 Ambassadors—in a matter of days, no less—covering 41 states and 18 countries. As we’ve got Minyans in 110 countries—and there are 195 countries in the world—we still have some work to do but I’m not worried—I believe.

My personal goal is to have all 50 states represented by the time the update flies on Friday. The missing links, as it stands are Wyoming, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Idaho, West Virginia and Mississippi .

Have a great day and play like a Minyan.


R.P.