The Glass is Now a Quarter Full

A global recession, record low consumer confidence, financial and housing crises, along with very poor earnings have thrown the stock market for a loop. We went from seeing a record high of 14000 in the Dow to a bottom (hopefully) of 6500. We went from a full glass of 1% milk (don't want to push the 2%) to a quarter empty glass of chunky, spoiled milk. The past few weeks, however, have changed the view to a quarter full glass of skim milk, showing an improvement with a long way still to go.

Many people think this rally is for real. So do I. The worst is behind us. However, we all need to pay attention to earnings season that kicks off Tuesday. We should see some poor results concerning the first quarter with optimism in conference calls toward the near future. These poor results will confirm what the economy has been going through. While we should not throw these numbers away, the numbers we want to see is estimates for the coming quarter.

If you were slow to get in this rally or haven't made that jump just yet, sit tight. Earnings will no doubt push these prices down a little bit further. Then you should jump. Never get into a stock based on earnings estimates and speculation. Experience tells me that is the stupidest thing to do. Estimates are estimates for a reason. Plus, Wall Street does not make sense when numbers come out. No one knows for sure what numbers are going to come out or how Wall Street will react. Stick to the fundamentals and you will be alright. Any market is a market to make cash money. Don't play the odds, just play the game.