4th of July 2011

Where we're at...

DJIA 12,582.77
s&p: S&P 500 1,339.67
10-Yr T-Note 3.20%
s&p P/E: 23.67
vix: 15.87


equity: 32
bond: 32
cash: 36

1 yr: 9.6%

The last week of June the markets stormed back, dow up ~5%. The explanation seems to be another delay for Greece declaring a default. The US economy continues to rock back and forth. Corporations raking in cash, consumers/workers hunkering down. I'm betting a down July or early August, the market has a debt ceiling raise priced in. If it's cut close or delayed, we'll have a drop.

Our team lost a member in June. He had been looking for awhile and needed to leave, he kept looking for an excuse and finally found another local job. Ironically, I applied for the same one, but was rejected. I suspect my options are limited in ICT if another layoff occurs. We've lost 7 in IT since the last layoff and I'm betting at least 3 more will walk by the end of the year (I already know of one more). I like my chances. My peer will be out for a few weeks due to surgery and I'm working to become more visible. But, we'll see. I feel much better about our spending this year, I did it right this time.