The bankruptcy of General Motors isn’t surprising … in fact, Martin repeatedly warned Money & Markets readers — for years — that it was coming. Still, the effects of this bankruptcy will reach all corners of the U.S. economy. Common stock holders will likely get wiped out. More than 1,100 dealerships have already received notices that they will have to shut down. Another 1,500 are getting cut in the near future. That will severely impact many already-suffering local economies. Meanwhile, thousands and thousands of autoworkers are losing their jobs. GM announced nine more plant closures and is idling three more. Many Americans have had their faith in U.S. manufacturing and ingenuity shaken to the core. And as perhaps the final symbol of GM’s utter failure, yesterday the company was ...

Browsing in the sports section of the local Barnes & Noble last night I came across a small paperback book with the subtitle The Modern Fundamentals of Golf.  Nothing out of the ordinary just the fact that the book was written by Ben Hogan in 1957!  Still in print after 50 years and over 10 years since the author’s passing, it discusses the modern fundamentals of golf.

 

Whether we are talking about golf or trading the fundamentals never really change. Each golfer has a unique swing.  Just look at the different swings among three of the top golfers in the world: Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, and Kenny Perry. Different swings with a consistent outcome.  Owe it to the fundamentals. 

 

No different with successful traders.  We all trade differently but the outcome is the

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Browsing in the sports section of the local Barnes & Noble last night I came across a small paperback book with the subtitle The Modern Fundamentals of Golf.  Nothing out of the ordinary just the fact that the book was written by Ben Hogan in 1957!  Still in print after 50 years and over 10 years since the author’s passing, it discusses the modern fundamentals of golf.

 

Whether we are talking about golf or trading the fundamentals never really change. Each golfer has a unique swing.  Just look at the different swings among three of the top golfers in the world: Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, and Kenny Perry. Different swings with a consistent outcome.  Owe it to the fundamentals. 

 

No different with successful traders.  We all trade differently but the outcome is the

...

The oldest, most trusted technician in the world is telling you to sell now. Recession? Depression? Nascent recovery? Market bottom? Dead cat bounce?

Lock a Washington economist, a Wall Street analyst and a Main Street broker in a room, tell them their lives depended on what they said next, and you’d still get five different answers, not a one but so much practical use.

By now you have probably caught on that I have a definite opinion on this matter (my bearish stance has become legendary around the Taipan Publishing Group coffee room) and what you ought to be doing about it (buy puts!).

But heck, I’m just one guy with a mere 30 years or so of business experience, and I write for a small outfit out of the somewhat less-than-major financial center that is Baltimore, Md. Why should anyone listen to me (other than the fact that I

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