November 18 Edition

Good morning all,

Markets held 850 on the S&P 500 yesterday despite another late day selloff. It is important at this juncture that we see a bounce off anything close to the 840 level as technically a higher low than we saw on Friday would be a bulllish sign. Surprisingly good earnings from Hewlett Packard are lifting the NASDAQ this morning, a much needed positive for the beleagured tech sector. Once again we must each be aware that 1480 on this index is a long way from the March 2000 high of 5100 plus and we don't expect to see that again; we are however, capable of envisioning a return to the 2800 number of last year. When things finally move to the upside the movement will be breathtaking. Buy the index ETF or Intel and Western Digital both of which are in the thirteens.

Take time now to look at capital loss strategies and think about switching within groups. Banks for banks , oils for oils , even royalty trusts and reits for similar issues. In this way you can book the loss without losing potential upside in the sector. The senior stocks move as a group with few exceptions, even better sell your CIBC and buy the bank ETF symbol XFN