More Deja Vu, etc.

Apple crushes estimates for this quarter, guidance low. Has anyone seen that play before ? Here is the key: "Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., said it shipped nearly 2.5 million Macs, up 41% from the year-earlier period and well above the average unit growth of 15% to 16% for the global PC sector" iPods, iPhones, etc. lead people to buy Macs ... Apple makes most money on Macs and is gaining share in a huge market.

Alpha Fund will re-buy AAPL shares after the bears pound it awhile. This company has exciting new products using technology and great people interfaces. What other established company has this growth potential ? Long term, I like AAPL even better than GOOG, which I like a lot, too, as I patiently let the bears pound it to low prices for its own re-buy.

Corruption found in Kazakhstan ... uh ... "I'm shocked to find there is gambling going on in here!"

Regarding energy stocks, I will let the demand destruction story play out awhile before re-buying CVX, DVN, RIG and DO. Big oils like CVX have political risk, too.

AMEX misses earnings forecasts on credit losses ... uh ... to whom do they loan money ? My Amex card needs to be paid in full monthly. And their loan rates are too high for anyone to accept for more than a few months. Odd ... I never liked that stock anyway. Management seems lackadaisical, overpaid and excessively focused on marketing.

"Wachovia says its Wachovia mortgage unit to discontinue wholesale mortgage lending - Reuters (13.18 +0.21) -Update- Says decision to stop offering home loans through brokers effective July 25." ... good, how can quality control be enforced when mortgage brokers are used ? BAC showed the way here, too. This trend is part of the trend to drive business to the big banks and let them raise prices and spreads, which is part of my long-term outlook for them.

Yesterday's market action shows the short covering rally in the banks is mostly over. Now the grind commences, perhaps after a pullback as some shorts are re-established by the bears. Real buyers seeing the economy as muddling along will be patient. But these stocks pay great dividends that are safe barring a major additional downturn, which I do not expect. Dip buyers should step up for these now.

PS: WB reports earnings early AM ... I have much trepidation ... ugh they cut the dividend ... I should have taken counsel of my fears there. They brought in the guy from Treasury and since Paulson had been saying banks should cut dividends, that he would do it was a worry. The new dividend is quite low. I will exit this stock, which is my worst mistake in years. I glossed over quite a few clues over the months, thinking their assets and businesses were quite good. But management seems to have been horrible. And I put too much $$$ into WB for its position as a #4 pick. Darn, I "could" have gotten out at 14 yesterday and even considered it. Very discouraging ...

PPS: Regional banks: Keycorp misses eps, Suntruct big beat eps and no dividend cut nor new capital, Fifth Third beats ...

Word of the Day

Antinomian - adjective and noun [$10]; and Antinomianism - noun [$100]; the root dervies from the Greek "nomo-" meaning law.
Antinomian means (adj.) of or relating to the view that Christians are released from the obligation of observing the moral law (thus, salvation comes from faith alone regardless of commission of crimes, etc.); (noun, historical) a person who holds this view.
Antinomianism means 1. the name of a sect in Germany (1535) alleged to hold this view; 2. a person or groups holding such views.
Sentence: Somehow decades of neglect of enforcement of short selling rules led those addicted to that activity to evince antinomianism, viz., that normal trading and settlement rules somehow don't apply to short sellers.