Morning all,

Today will be same same but different. The rally in the US ran out of steam which is hardly surprising given the recent rises however our market should still improve today with commodities slightly better and Xmas coming. Expect to see the market try to push up 10 or so but apathy and Xmas lunches may set in ….resources will be in focus and banks to underperform as the World finally works out that China is not going to hard land just yet and the rumours of it’s demise have been grossly exaggerated…I guess the problem is that the talking heads on TV are very US focussed and are slightly put out by the rise of China! Same goes for the media here with pessimism in the news room on their own jobs spilling over into how they report the economy…it’s not that bad!!!

Anyway my target for Xmas of 4650 revised down from 4750 is intact and will be achieved..it will also spill over into January if the bluff is sorted and kick towards 4750 before things get more interesting come February March..but do not make the mistake of ignoring the stock market..it is a beast and must be watched constantly and adjustments made..the days of set and forget are over …you need to make your money work for you

Idea of the day

Well, my idea to buy LNC and target 85 was a little conservative as the stock hit 1.30 yesterday..the shorts are squealing and paying a high price to get stock back..the problem for lots of shorters is that with volumes so low it’s hard to get the stock back when they start to move..that just makes the moves bigger when they happen…the stock is now way above my wildest expectation so I would sell!..great profit,70 to 1.30 in a week…and who said you cannot make money in this market..of course you do have to be in this market to make money and that’s something lots of investors haven’t been…still 5% taxed in the bank is good right!!! yeah..course it is!!

Let’s face it you can get a margin loan and buy TLS and it’s nearly self funding!!!

Things to make me go all Amanda Poole

1.Good to see the ICAC investigation in action again yesterday as wife of an Investment Banker, Amanda Poole had earnings of $6m but with no job…nice…where do I apply..of course helps if your husband owns the company that pays you that and he is mates with some NSW Pollies!!

2.Republicans in Congress hardened their resistance to President Barack Obama’s proposed higher taxes for top earners and demanded a spending-cut plan, as lawmakers in both parties said it’s becoming less likely an agreement can be enacted before the Christmas holiday.

3.If you Google ‘Tax Schemes’ apparently you get…Capitalism! Good to know you can trust these people, they pay taxes right…wrong…but we do place a huge amount of trust in the all powerful search engine…are they as benign as we think… The company avoided about $US2 billion ($A1.9 billion) in worldwide income taxes in 2011 by siphoning $US9.8 billion in revenue into a Bermuda shell company.

4.TELSTRA has sealed a mobile broadcasting rights and sponsorship deal with the National Rugby League worth about $100 million.They rightly see the future in ipads and smartphones and are using their muscle to get content…a new media company on the block!

5.The new chairman of Australian retailer MYR says the company must focus on its online offerings. Paul McClintock says it is vital that MYR get its online sales strategy on track by December 2013. The department store chain will spend $A30m on its e-commerce strategy over the next 12 months…..amazing that they are talking getting it right by Decemebr 2013..where have these guys been living..under a rock..or hanging out with Internet Guru Gerry Harvey!!! Game over guys!!!

6.From my mates at www.zerohedge.com ,they are always pessimists I must admit

“but it has been three years and nine months since the Fed announced ‘real’ QE1. It seems the markets – whether Gold, FX, or Treasuries – have become numb (or engorged) on the Fed’s actions. This leaves us with the sad conclusion, which the Fed will be last to acknowledge: the ammo, it’s gone. It’s all gone”.

And just to make sure you know what Uncle Ben’s cunning plan  is ..a plan so cunning …

• *FED BOOSTS QE WITH $45 BILLION IN MONTHLY TREASURY PURCHASES
• *FED TO KEEP BUYING MORTGAGE BONDS AT PACE OF $40 BLN PER MONTH
• *FED SAYS MONTHLY PURCHASES TO TOTAL $85 BLN
• *FED ADOPTS ECONOMIC THRESHOLDS FOR POLICY TIGHTENING
• *FED: RATES TO STAY EXCEPTIONALLY LOW WITH JOBLESS ABOVE 6.5%
• *FED: RATES TO STAY LOW WITH INFLATION SEEN AT 2.5% OR LESS

7. CCA said it expected to record volume and revenue growth for the December half year and stuck to guidance of 4 to 5 per cent profit growth before significant items for the year to December 31, but analysts said there was little room for disappointment from the iconic consumer staple.

8.Few AGMs today so expect some challenging environment comments…that’s usually a precursor to giving ourselves large pay rises to cope with the challenging environment!!!

  Westpac Banking Corporation annual general meeting

  National Australia Bank annual general meeting

  Bank of Queensland annual general meeting

  Coventry Resources annual general meeting

  UCL Resources annual general meeting

And finally….

 

Once upon a time in a village, a man announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10. The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 and as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He further announced that he would now buy at $ 20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to $25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it! The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $ 50!However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of him. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers, “Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $ 35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell it to him for $ 50.”The villagers squeezed up with all their savings and bought all the monkeys.

Then they never saw the man nor his assistant, only monkeys everywhere!

And that my friends sums up the Investment Bank way!

 

Have a great day

Clarence

 XXXX

Back on TV this afternoon at 4.30 on Sky Biz..see you there!

Any financial product advice contained in this email is general financial product advice only and does not take into account any one person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Therefore, before acting on any financial product advice in this email, you should consider, with or without the assistance of an independent adviser, the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.