This is taking longer than it should have. The correction should be over. Instead we sit and wait it out, during a long hot summer.
The stock market is boring. There’s no momentum. The plan last month was to work towards getting in good with the energy and commodity stocks. Now many of those stocks are down 40% in a month, and it now looks like their run is done.
Last Wednesday it seemed like we were ready to make our great escape. Express Scripts (ESRX) got on the megaphone with 43% profit growth. First Solar (FSLR) had 1114% growth — and pounded estimates by 27 cents. Psychiatric Solutions (PSYS) had profit growth of 41%. Akamai (AKAM) 37%. Good news was flying like bullets. Visa (V) came through with a clutch move posting 69% profit growth, beating the street by 11 cents. I was euphoric as I left work, feeling everything was now working in our favor — finally we were in control.
On Thursday the stocks mentioned above did not fly out of the gate as I had planned. The market seized our stocks and held them in check, and refused to grant any favors. That’s the story of our summer. Each afternoon we wait for the story to conclude. The individuals execute the plan. Our gang just can’t break out and run free.
