"View from the Top" are macro comments made on a timely basis about the markets or significant "items of interest" during the trading year. These "non-technical" observations are not guaranteed to be right and is the personal outlook of our head-trader, (with over 30 years experience in the markets), at that point in time.

September 30, 2009.  We have sold GE today at 16.50 as our last longer-term position that was established in March 2009 for a gain of $6.57, (cost was $9.93), or just over 66%.  We are weary of the marketplace as everybody is getting bullish, no large pockets of jobs are created, unemployment insurance will soon run out after a year's run, financial reforms are still elusive and yet to be passed, and the economy remains weak and at times, contracting. [WL]

August 14, 2009.  Foreclosure activity jumped 7 percent in July from June and 32 percent from a year earlier as one in every 355 households with a loan got a foreclosure filing was the analysis from RealtyTrac.  These filings, which include notices of default, auction and bank repossession, have escalated with unemployment.  The dilemma is that with an absence of job creations either by the public sector or President Obama's relief programs, unemployment benefits are starting to run out for the individual and that can only increase foreclosures.  These benefits basically go on for 46-to-79 weeks in different states, ( http://money.cnn.com/news/storysupplement/economy/unemployment_benefits/index.html ), and is destined to run out between the last quarter of 2009 and first quarter of 2010 for the unemployed that started their claims in spring/summer of 2008; (in July 2009, the number of people collecting unemployment benefits is over 6 million).  So like the train that derailed last year, this train might run also out of gas if the job numbers do not improve.  Conversely, we all know how many companies went bankrupt, cut cost, or made layoffs during the past year, (52-weeks), but could we even count on one hand who has created jobs during this time?  Which leads to the conclusion that if the consumer is still reeling and not purchasing goods and services, (consumer spending accounts for about 70% of GDP), current markets that have discounted the end of the recession have seemingly not discounted an economy going back into a recession! [WL]

June 23, 2009.  Core position AXP was stopped out yesterday at $23.25 for a profit of $10.42 or plus 81% as the stock was purchased for $12.83 on March 30, 2009.  We have now sold 4 out of our 5 positions, will monitor them for a future repurchase, and are keeping GE for now. [WL]