Going into the Weekend

I was able to get into FXI on Wednesday, but missed out on ADRE. However, with the large drop-off I will be able to get in a a significantly lower price. I feel comfortable with my positions right now and will be looking to take advantage of more downtrend within the market. The big question going forward seems to be: Are we going to test previous lows? My thoughts are that we will.

Going forward I will be more selective and focus on specific stocks within certain industries. Rather than spread cash around 3 - 6 stocks, I will focus and buy 1 - 2, which allows me to be more nimble. My overall market sentiment remains bearish.

IBD Healthcare Update

Went over the latest IBD and it looks like the healthcare has advanced according to IBD, however I am not willing to take it at strictly face value which I will explain. This week there is 11 healthcare-related industries within the top 25 a whopping 44% representation and they are:

#2 Medical/Dental-Services

#3 Medical-Ethical Drugs

#5 Medical-Genetics

#6 Medical-Systems/Equipment

#12 Medical-Health Maintenance Organizations

#13 Medical-Products

#15 Medical-Wholesale Drug/Supply

#16 Medical-Drug/Diversified

#17 Medical-Outpatient/Home Care

#18 Medical-Biomed/Biotech

#24 Medical-Generic/Drugs

This sounds and looks great on the surface, however here is my concern. I sometimes use the IBD 100 to help focus on some momentum stocks and have a set of criteria I follow with regards to overall stock rank and group ranking. Normally, I will have my steady performers who are always on the list in one form or another i.e. POT, ISRG, VIP etc...However this week there was a tremendous amount of new companies into my numbers on the order of +35%, which is not normal. I find during volatile times some companies make a big move one week, so they find themselves into my numbers, but drop out shortly thereafter.

So you may ask...How does this all tie into healthcare? Well, 8 of the 20 new entries are related to the healthcare industry, so I am a bit hesitant and have a gut feeling that there may be more "pain" to follow. Here are those new entries

1. Yamana Gold INC (AUY)
2. Blackrock (BLK)
3. American Public Education INC (APEI)
4. Omnicell (OMCL) (I do own shares of this company)
5. Flir Systems INC (FLIR)
6. Amedisys (AMED)
7. Energen (EGN)
8. Strayer Education (STRA)
9. Invitrogen (IVGN)
10. Icon Plc ADS (ICLR)
11. Covance (CVD)
12. Mechel Oao ADS (MTL)
13. Stericycle (SRCL)
14. Genzyme Corp (GENZ)
15. Berkshire Hathaway A (BRKA)
16. Kendle Intl (KNDL)
17. Apollo Group A (APOL)
18. Cellcom Israel Ltd (CEL)
19. Axsys Tech (AXYS)
20. Continental Res INC (CLR)

Analyst Reversal

Last week it seemed like every analyst on Wall St was leaning towards a .50 basis point rate cut. Today, I am hearing a more relaxed version and the consensus seems to be registering a conservative .25 basis point rate cut. This may end up catching some people off-guard who were making moves specifically on the upcoming Fed decision. Most people will shy away from making any big decisions prior to the Fed announcement, however there could be big rewards for those who are willing to stick their neck out on some investments. I personally will fall somewhere in the middle. I will be tracking many stocks, but will not overextend myself unless something huge falls into my wheelhouse. There are a few general stocks I will be watching both long/short, but will focus quite a bit on some of the wireless/telecom service providers. These are not endorsements to go out and purchase just "showing my hand" a bit. I currently do not have a position in any of the listed stocks.

General

Life Cell Corp (LIFC) - Long

ABB (ABB) - Long

Agrium (AGU) - Long

Sterlite India (SLT) - Long

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Long

Transdigm Group (TDG) - Looking to short/buy puts

Blue Coat System (BCSI) - Looking to short/buy puts

Telecom

Vimpel (VIP) - Watchlist

Mobile Telesys (MBT) - Watchlist

Chinal Mobile (CHL) - Watchlist

Turkcell Iletisim (TKC) - Watchlist

Miners, Refiners, and Early Bird Diners

A few weeks ago I established a position in IShares MSCI Australia

(Ticker EWA) and Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd. (Ticker ACH).

This stock and Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) have great exposure to

the international marketplace. EWA is comprised of almost 70% of

stocks involved in the industrial materials and financial services sectors,

both of which, I believe will do well this year. ACH is a pure play on

the continued growth within China and their continued need on all

things related to construction/growth. I'm currently looking at getting in

to some stocks based on the aging baby-boomer generation and I am

leaning towards the retirement community vice pharmaceutical

or biotechnology. Any thoughts??