Mortgage rates plunge to record lows… but are they at the bottom?… Overlooked details from Friday’s jobs news… troubling signs from retail and energy sectors… Rob Parenteau charts a different way to view the S&P… could the worst be over?… Russia/Ukraine gas conflict ends… who “won” the latest resource skirmish… Bill Gross’ sad-but-true guide to 2009… how to invest amid rife market manipulation.

If you’ve got money, credit and patience, today is your cheapest opportunity buy or refinance a house in at least 38 years.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage carries a rate of 5.01% this morning, the lowest rate of its kind since at least 1971, when Freddie Mac started keeping track. Since the peak of the credit crisis in late October, the 30-year mortgage has plunged almost 1½ percentage points, even past its 5.8% average this time last

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Amid the doom and gloom reports on the economy, Alexander Green says the stock market should perform well in 2009. The market generally recovers long before the wider economy, meaning big gains are possible even during a recession. And for the first time in half a century, stocks are yielding more than US treasuries, marking the return of a strong buy signal for stocks.

This from Investment U:

Media pundits keep reminding us how tough 2009 will be economically. Nevertheless, I predict this will be a good year for the stock market.

How can this be?

The stock market is a leading indicator. It generally falls before consumers and investors realize just how bad the economy is.

It also recovers long before economic activity picks up. Perversely, that means stocks often plummet during good economic times and rally during recessions… or worse.

In the January issue of The Oxford Club

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The Best Stock Market Buy Signal In 51 Years

by Alexander Green, Chairman, Investment U Investment Director, The Oxford Club Monday, January 5, 2009: Issue #910

Media pundits keep reminding us how tough 2009 will be economically. Nevertheless, I predict this will be a good year for the stock market.

How can this be?

The stock market is a leading indicator. It generally falls before consumers and investors realize just how bad the economy is.

It also recovers long before economic activity picks up. Perversely, that means stocks often plummet during good economic times and rally during recessions… or worse.

In the January issue of The Oxford Club Communiqué, for example, I note that:

In the 13-month recession in 1926-27, the market went up 41.1%.

 

In the eight-month recession in 1945, it went up 19.5%. In the 11-month recession in 1948-49, it went up 15.2%.

 

In the 10-month recession in 1953-54, the stock market went up 24.2%.

 

In ...