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Prices were modestly below the line all morning, then it began slipping
away again.  A modest recovery in the last hour recouped some of the
losses, but it still closed modestly down.  But where'd everybody go?
Watching the Olympics?  Volume was down to -22% below average.  So
sellers weren't in a panic, but buyers were nowhere to be found.

I've been seeing an ad for Turbo-Tax on TV.  The punchline seems to be,
"So how much is our refund?"  Silly!  If they'd been doing their tax
planning properly they would NOT have gotten a refund.  Why loan money
interest free to the government?  At what point is one penalized for
under-payment or under-withholding?  As I recall it, you're on the hook
for the amount of last year's taxes, or 90% of the taxes due.  So set up
your W4's or estimated's to hit that level, and put the amount of your
"refund" in the bank collecting interest all year long.  Try to OWE that
10% at the end of the year, and make sure you're prepared to pay it, but
find a good place for it that PAYS you in the interim.

Until recently all my investing hasbeen in domestic mutual funds.  The
US market has been the 800# gorilla.  When the US sneezes, the world
markets catch cold.  Recently I've been reallocating a significant
fraction to world markets.  Globalization is really taking hold, and it
isn't going to turn back anytime soon.  Howeve, if you're considering it
too, carefully consider that not only is there the same kind of risk on
companies, but there is additional risk from currency fluctuations.  We
could have successful funds, and yet "lose" money when the value of the
dollar rises--it takes more shares to "buy" the expensive dollars.  In
any event, I would hesitate to recommend investing in individual
companies.  We need good fund managers with advisors "in country".  Know
what you're doing before you jump in big-time.

 Price    Vola-    Momen-   Volume   Oscil-   Summ.
 Change   tility   tum               lator    Index
 -__+     -__+     -__+     -__+     -__+     -__+

 ___     _|__     __>_     _<__     ___|     02/07
 ____     _|__     __>_     _|__     ___|     02/08
 _|__     _|__     _|__     __>_     _|__     ___<     02/09
 __>_     ___     _|__     ___<     02/10
 _|__     ____     _|__     ___<     02/13

Timing Signals:  I don't use or recommend timing signals, but they're
fun to watch.  If I did though, well, I might use something like this.
(Be warned!!  It tends to whipsaw around signal points!)

Last Signal: SELL       Date:  02/03/06 S&P:    1264
Winner or Loser:  loser                 By:     -10

See my market tracking charts for '03-'04 and my investment strategy
study at my website(s):
http://www.xprt.net/~pgrogers/Pers.html
http://www.geocities.com/paulgrogers/Pers.html



Paul Rogers, paulgrogers{at}yahoo.com                       -o)
http://www.angelfire.com/or/paulrogers                   /\\
Rogers' Second Law: Everything you do communicates.     _\_V

... _I_ didn't do it, the _computer_ did it!
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