Saturday, November 24, 2012

Guess ? (GES); a Story of Executive Exodus and Brand Erosion

Retail players like Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), Michael Kors (KORS) and Fossil (FOSL) are fiercely competing on price. Guess's conference call (CC) tone over the past two quarters has worsened as margins search for a bottom. Two senior executives have resigned and we expect the stock to fall as the GES brand is too expensive with the targeted 30-somethings.
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CFO Dennis R. Secor announced his resignation after six years on November 1, and FOSL announced his hire and promotion to CFO on November 8. Yet Secor's official departure date from GES will be  December 7, this corporate business psychology signals desperation in our opinion as FOSL is a direct competitor. As a matter of fact, the last CC was filled with excuses of weakening fashion accessory sales, exactly where FOSL has a strong foothold with growth and a lot less inventory / days sales outstanding (DSO) problems. 

FOSL's long-term fundamentals look intact as GES struggles; CFO Secor's resignation and quick hire by FOSL hints at deeper brand problems in our opinion. Operating margins at GES have declined from 17% in 2009 to 15.5% in 2012.  Sales fell 6% y/y last Q versus FOSL's  sales growth of 15% y/y.
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COO J. Michael Prince announced his resignation on November 1 as well and his official departure date is this Monday, November 26, just 2-days ahead of the Q3 earnings release and CC. If a retail competitor hires Prince, that will be another nail in GES's eroding brand and balance sheet position.
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On the May, 22, 2013, Q1 CC (click) at the 11minute:25second mark, co stated it had a cash and cash equivalents balance of $490M. That $490M has fallen by 44% to $271.9M in just 6-months; part of the reason for this cash depletion is as an ill-timed share buyback program. Please click here and scroll down to Q1, 2013 to see the precipitous drop in cash and cash equivalents.
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The founding Marciano bros pictured above, Maurice 63 and Paul 60, are still in control as Co-CEOs. But the resignation of Carlos Alberini, who served as President and COO from 2000 - 2010, and now Prince and Secor gives us serious pause about the near-term future of the Guess brand. Every investor that bought and held the shares since mid-2009 has lost, that is a damningly negative fact since we have experienced massive global stimulus and  dead-catting stock markets.  
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GES has and is misfiring from many fundamental perspectives; the Point & Figure chart confirms our thesis that lower prices are ahead. A double-bottom breakdown poses a serious danger for longs:


A hard economic downturn in this Q4 continues as uncertainty looms about the U.S. fiscal cliff and health of southern Europe. Though GES is doing better than average in Germany, Russia, and South Korea as mentioned on the last CC, about 38% and 14% of sales come from the fiscally fickle and unemployed countries of the U.S.A. and Italy.  
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The co does not break down sales in Europe by country except for Italy, but execs did mention excitement around Spain as a future growth driver; this to us is laughable as southern Europe struggles with Goliath socioeconomic crises.
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The following metrics are from the last 10-K (click), dated March 19, 2012:



2012
2011
2010
Net Sales:
U.S.A. 

$1,031,131
$989,243
$908,107
Italy
$375,385$418,115$366,563
Canada
$295,574$286,449$252,523
Other foreign countries
$985,958$793,487$601,273

$2,688,048
$2,487,294
$2,128,466


GES reports Q3, 2013 earnings this Wednesday, (click) November 28, 2012, after market close and we expect fireworks.

Maybe the mass exodus of executives reflects the lack of pricing power and brand erosion, while the Buy & Hold investor refuses to admit the ride with Guess is heading lower. 

Thanks for Reading, Educating, and sometimes Trading with Us,
POTC-
http://psychologyofthecall.blogspot.com/


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Euro-zone is in Bloody Trouble; Shattered Stock Markets should be the Norm in 2013


Euro-zone economy is headed for its weakest quarter since early 2009, according to business surveys that showed companies witnessing deteriorating order books (book-to-bill ratio) in November. Banks and Hotels are performing poorly and laying off employees at an accelerating pace; impact on the stock prices should be negative in 2013 as the average consumer's psychology is shattered.

The flash service sector the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 45.7 this month, lowest number since July 2009; survey showed on Thursday, failing to meet expectations of economists who thought it would hold at October's anemic 46.0. It has been stuck under 50 for 10 straight months, 50 is the number that divides growth from contraction. 


With more austerity being piped, a reminder of the thorny sovereign debt crisis in this week's failure of lenders to agree more aid for Greece, prospects for next year look dim.


The concern about the outlook is getting worse as the Euro-zone races towards 2013, many economists agree that German companies have become pessimistic about 2013.


PMI had its biggest decline in November month over month since early 2009, when the U.S. was spiraling into the bail-out new abnormal abyss.


There is no positive conviction among businesses that conditions will improve in 2013. Service sector companies are more pessimistic than at any time since 2009, when the expectations index fell to 48.6 and the zone was experiencing its worst post-war recession.

Economists polled by Reuters remain divided over whether the European Central Bank will cut its main refinancing rate from 0.75% to a new record low 0.5 percent or lower.


POTC predicts the Euro-zone stock indexes will be 20%+ lower this time next year as structural fissures are too deep and jagged to fix. Euros need a new technological growth paradigm to emerge overnight or they must move to abolish and dissolve big Govt agency control in favor of lower taxes and less regulatory barriers for private business.



Friday, November 16, 2012

J.C. Penney (JCP) Educational Trade Alert...

scheduled for Sunday, November 18, 2012, at 10 p.m. ET. 

JCP has been in the news lately and its stock and bonds are under heavy fire; it is setting-up for an interesting trade. 


All subscribers will receive this aggressive educational alert on schedule; if not a subscriber, please use Paypal and get started.

-1902: James Cash Penney, son of a Baptist preacher and farmer, opens 'The Golden Rule', a dry goods and clothing store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Store name was based on his guiding principle of building a business through serving the community with fair dealing and honest value.
-1913: Incorporates in Utah as the 'J.C. Penney Co. Inc'; 'Golden Rule'  name phased out.
-1914: Headquarters moves from Salt Lake City, Utah, to NYC.
-1929: Begins trading as a publicly traded company.
-1951: Sales exceed $1 billion.
-1963: Issues its first catalog.
-1971: James Cash Penney dies at age 95.
-1972: Launches first national television campaign.
-1979: Catalog sales pass $1 billion.
-1992: Headquarters moves to Plano, TX.
-1994: Launches jcpenney.com.
-2005: Penney's e-commerce business breaks $1 billion in sales.
-2009: Opens its first store in Manhattan.
-2010: Becomes the exclusive retailer of Liz Claiborne and Claiborne in the U.S. and Puerto Rico; exits catalog business. Introduces mobile coupons.
-2011: Hires AAPL executive Ron Johnson as CEO.
-2012: Implements new pricing strategy and eliminates physical  coupons and sales in favor of everyday low pricing; Johnson rolls out new shops in stores to turn the stores into a mini-mall experience. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman reiterates his bullishness on Tuesday, November 13, on CNBC as stock price dives to multi-year lows.


Thank You for Reading, Educating, and Trading with Us,
POTC-
http://psychologyofthecall.blogspot.com


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Gary Kaminsky is a CNBC Hero and Free-Market Patriot !!

Huge thanks for telling the truth about what money managers  admit behind the scenes about Obama but fail to put in print. 

If you are reading this post Gary, we urge you to keyword search this blog with 'Obama'; we warned our readers against his anti free-market ways since 2008; before he was elected.

Again, pig thanks Gary from Capitalist Pig Bob and the entire Psychology of the Call team for warning the Wildebeest about Obama, it was refreshing to hear a man with balls speak the truth on CNBC. 

Best Wishes,
POTC-



I am Capitalist Pig Bob and I am Fat Money


Monday, November 12, 2012

China's Qihoo 360 Technology Earnings Coming

Webcast
Qihoo 360 Technology Q3, 2012 Earnings Conference Call (CC) live webcast: November 19, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. ET. 





Qihoo’s New Search Engine Surges to 10% share:
Chinese traffic stats company CNZZ, calculated Qihoo’s impact in the China market. CNZZ thinks that Qihoo has grabbed second spot with nearly 10 percent market share. This puts Qihoo’s So.com search engine way behind market leader Baidu, but ahead of Sogou and fourth placed Google.

China’s Search Engine market share, Oct 2012:
Search engine            Market Share 
Baidu                              72.97%
Qihoo’s So.com         9.64%
Sogou                              7.83%
Google                            4.72%
Source: Tech In Asia

Analyst coverage:

Firm Analyst E-Mail
86Research Ming Zhao ming@86research.com
BofA ML Andy Zhao andy.zhao@baml.com
CIMB Wendy Huang wendy.huang@cimb.com
Citi Bin Liu bin.liu@citi.com
Cowen Jim Friedland jim.friedland@cowen.com
Jefferies Cynthia Meng cmeng@jefferies.com
Macquarie Jiong Shao Jiong.Shao@macquarie.com
Maxim Group Echo He ehe@maximgrp.com
Morgan Stanley Timothy Chan Timothy.Yh.Chan@morganstanley.com
Stifel Nicolaus George Askew giaskew@stifel.com
T.H. Capital Tian Hou thou@thcapital-china.com
ThinkEquity Qi (Henry) Guo hguo@thinkequity.com
UBS Vey Sern Ling vey-sern.ling@ubs.com










Saturday, November 10, 2012

Salesforce.com (CRM) Q3, 2013 results ahead


{CRM will report on November 20, 2012, after market close}

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the enterprise cloud computing company, today announced that its third quarter fiscal 2013 results will be released on Tuesday, November 20, 2012, after the close of the market.  The company will host a conference call at 2:00 PM (PT) / 5:00 PM (ET) to discuss its financial results with the investment community.  A live web broadcast of the event will be available on the salesforce.com Investor Relations website at www.salesforce.com/investor.  A live dial-in is available domestically at 866-901-SFDC or 866-901-7332 and internationally at 706-902-1764, passcode 51384041.  A replay will be available at (800) 585-8367 or (855) 859-2056 until midnight (ET) December 20, 2012.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20050216/SFW105LOGO)
About Salesforce.com
Founded in 1999, salesforce.com is the enterprise cloud computing leader. Using salesforce.com's social and mobile cloud technologies, companies can connect with customers, partners and employees in entirely new ways. Based on salesforce.com's real-time, multitenant architecture, the company's platform and apps give customers the tools to create a social front office and revolutionize the way they sell, service, market, collaborate, work, and innovate.
Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase salesforce.com applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce.com has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit http://salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.
Copyright © 2012 salesforce.com, inc.  All rights reserved.  Salesforce, Chatter, Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Work.com, AppExchange, Salesforce Platform, and others are trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.  Other names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Salesforce.com
David Havlek, salesforce.com, Investor Relations, +1-415-536-2171, dhavlek@salesforce.com, or Jane Hynes, salesforce.com, Public Relations, +1-415-901-5079, jhynes@salesforce.com

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

U.S. Capitalistic Extinction Looms: American Genius & Exceptionalism has Morphed to American Ignorance and Subjugation; the Obama Wildebeest Explained

If you voted for Obama you are an example of how American business genius has swung to American business ignorance, and how American morality has swung to American immorality.  

Your vote proclaimed that you are happy with expanded regulations on small businesses and job creators, higher health care costs for all still employed, a warting welfare society, and chastising individual success with higher taxes is a sensible idea. 

A majority of your ancestors ran from and immigrated because of Govt overreach in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. New York's Ellis Island and the Lady Liberty stood proud; paradoxically some of your ancestors fought and died for your freedom to vote and you cast in favor of greater Subjugation

Your vote said I could care less
1.) That the budget has not been balanced even once in the last 4-years, 
2.) That the the cloud-seeding $16 Trillion national debt is no different than Greece and threatens socioeconomic mayhem 
3.) That a man has zero private sector business experience while national unemployment is at 7.9%, 
4.) That a man pushed for a bill in IL that would allow infanticide (aborting a baby that is 7+ months),
5.) That a man and his Administration covered-up the death of U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and 3 other Americans, including two Navy SEALs, especially the super brave Tyrone Woods. 


The Obama flock is actually less intelligent than the Kenyan Wildebeest, as those creatures are forced to drink from the banks of the same croc infested river from year to year to survive; you were not forced yet voted for a journey to Capitalistic extinction



If you wished to one day visit Greece or Spain, please do not book any trips as you are well on your way.

In Mourning, Shocked, but never without Hope,
http://psychologyofthecall.blogspot.com
Capitalist Pig Bob.
  

Monday, November 5, 2012

Obama should be Scratched and Given Non-Starter Status


With just hours to Tuesday's, November, 6, 2012, 57th Quadrennial U.S. Presidential election,  Capitalist Pig Bob urges all forward-thinking Americans to VOTE for Elephant Romney regardless whether Donkey Obama makes the starting gate.

If know anyone who lives in any of these states: FL, IAMINH, OHPA, VA, or WI, please call them and let them know how important Tuesday's election is.   

Obama's unapologetic and clamantly partisan record must seal his single-term legacy.
1.) Hiring an Anti-Energy Secretary in Stephen Chu who admitted he does not own a car and has stated that high gas prices are a good thing while Obama promised Energy Independence in 10-years in 2008 at the 2-minute mark at the 3rd Obama/McCain debate. Today's 7.9% unemployment rate would be much lower if we had an aggressive 'All of the Above' energy policy. The rate is 10.7% if we model using the same Labor participation percentage rate on the day Obama took office. We know some economists argue this statistic is skewed because a lot of baby boomers are retiring, agree, yet it is a sad fact that 50%+ of young people with recent bachelor's degrees are underemployed and working as waiters, bartenders, and retail store clerks, reported Hope Yen of the Associated Press in April, 2012. Obama's decision to invest $90B in green-energy projects has backfired as Abound Solar and Solyndra are two examples of Obama subsidized cos to a tune of $400M and $500M respectively that already went bankrupt. Focusing on funding green-energy while being anti coal, oil, nuclear, and natural-gas is responsible for higher gas prices and the highest unemployment rate of almost every Donkey or Elephant mudding for a 2nd term.   
  
2.) An overreaching Dodd-Queen Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that has in fact expanded 'Too Big Too Fail Banks'; this is choking down on the reigns of the thoroughbred American risk-taker from investing and hiring incremental employees. 

From the Heritage Foundation's Amy Payne:
"Dodd–Frank does not end bailouts and taxpayer support for big banks. Under the act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is permitted to purchase the assets of a failing  firm, guarantee the obligations of a failing firm, take a security interest in the assets of a failing firm, and borrow on the failed firm’s total consolidated assets. (For Bank of America, that would be $2 trillion in bailout authority to be paid by taxpayers.)"

3.) Driving through the Affordable Healthcare mandate that even Sussman, Cooper, and Phillips of the New York Times note that 66% of Americans oppose and want to see parts of it repealed. More importantly, there is a link to a graphic in that article that shows a majority of Americans were opposed to Obamacare as it was debated and passed.
4.) The cover-up in Benghazi, Libya was blamed on a YouTube video for nearly 2-weeks after the deaths of a U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens (1st Ambassador killed since 1979), and 3 other Americans including two Navy SEALs: Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods.

The valor of all these Americans who fought-off but were eventually murdered by the   radical Islamic terrorists that we believe were not motivated by any YouTube video, must never be forgotten, but especially Tyrone Woods. The last hours of Tyrone's life must be taught to your children, especially if you have boys. Here is what and how Tyrone's father feels about the high-level people in this Obama Administration; I stand with him 100%. 

My most optimistic thoughts and heartfelt Sunday prayers are with all the ones still suffering on the East coast post Hurricane Sandy. If Obama was an Elephant, Sandy would most likely be his Katrina.

Yet the modern news media like MS-LSD-NBC, Yahoo!, and the Puffington Post, only shower this Donkey with praise. Men like Chris 'Crucify U.S.A.' Matthews, Rachel 'Man-off', and the new CEO of Yahoo! "Marissa 'Ma-your' true election headlines be quashed", should all be boycotted. Case in point is the large crowds showing-up at Mitt Romney events are electrified versus the incumbent's inability to run on his record, yet their reporting is biased.

Every American soldier who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the beaches of Normandy, France, and elsewhere,  would be saddened and in total shock.

The United States has never been closer to extinguishing the American Dream from within and nearly 50% of the voting masses perfectly okay with a Collectivist society. And this Big Govt mentality is paradoxically being nudged over the imminent fiscal cliff by some of the aforementioned people who espouse their 1st Amendment rights by stoking class warfare and chastising successful hard working men and women. 

There is no doubt that Obama inherited multiple crises and that President George W. Bush and his Secretary of the Treasury Henry 'Hank' Paulson started the Big Govt bailouts instead of allowing a natural forest fire to burn the bad bets and risk-takers; having some filing for bankruptcy and then witnessing what CNBC's Larry Kudlow would call "private equity green shoots sprouting from the ashes".  

The Elephants sparked this fiscal forest fire, but the Donkeys doused the early flames with Chorine trifluoride and all 50 states are in the path of socioeconomic mayhem when you factor the $16 Trillion National Debt and 4-years running with not one balanced budget in the Animal Kingdom of Washington, D.C.

U.S. politicians have turned workable multi-billion dollar debts and deficits to unworkable trillions; a Collectivist society cannot prosper, innovate, and lead the 21st Century. 

The Donkeys have taken advantage of this deeply rooted economic trough, seeded in fact by one of their early Collectivist predecessors President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). Through their tax, legislate, regulate, & spend policies they have forced the once Free-Market needle to point at Collectivism.

If you compare the U.S. presidential, election to the Breeders' Cup or Triple Crown of thoroughbred horse racing, Mr. Barry Soetoro aka President Barack Hussein Obama would be designated non-starter status before the starting gate on Tuesday, November 6, 2012; scratched by the citizen Veterinarians for having the lamest 4-year fiscal record of any president in history; Forward~

If you enjoyed this political rant, Please share it with friends & family. 
God Bless the United States of America,
POTC-
http://psychologyofthecall.blogspot.com



~!! Go Mitt !!~

   

Thursday, November 1, 2012

PCLN PEETA

All subscribers received the PCLN PEETA on schedule. The morning reaction caused us to cancel our trade.  Everyone will receive another PEETA next week Friday.





TGIF,
POTC-

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Priceline.com Post Earnings Educational Trade Alert (PEETA) Scheduled


We will send all subscribers a PCLN PEETA Red-Eye Friday, November 2, at 12 a.m. ET. PCLN will release Q3, 2012 earnings after close on Thursday.

About 80% of profits come from international markets, and more than 50% from selling hotel rooms to European travelers. Mark Mahaney of Citigroup.


Q3 Earnings Non-GAAP/adjusted Whisper stands at $12.15 and consensus is $11.81.
Q3 Sales high estimate is $1.72B and consensus is $1.65B.
Q4 Earnings Non-GAAP/adjusted consensus is $6.34.
Q4 Sales high estimate is $1.24B and consensus is $1.14B.

Live conference call (CC) to discuss its Q3, 2012, financial results on Thursday, November 1,  at4:30 p.m. ET.  The event will be webcast live at http://ir.priceline.com; audio replay will be available for 7- days thereafter.

POTC scored impressive Wins with our last two PEETAs:
GOOG on Oct 19 1,000%, high range was 4,000%, many booked 2,000%+ within 4-hours.
AAPL on Oct 26 200%, high range was 800%. Most booked 200%+.


Performance Matters,
POTC-



Monday, October 22, 2012

Amazon .com Inc. (AMZN) Option Trade Scheduled


All subscribers will receive a PFF ratio Educational Trade Alert (ETA) on AMZN this Thursday, October 25, at 7am PT. 

AMZN will release Q3, 2012 earnings after market close on the same day.






Thank You, here's to continuation of a successful Q3, 2012,
POTC-

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Both Google Inc. (GOOG) Trade Alerts (TA) Closed

All subscribers received two TAs on schedule. The initial trade failed, but our Post Earnings Educational Trade Alert PEETA made up the loss many times over. PEETA was good for a 1,000% return within 5-hours on Friday. 

GOOG reported Q3, 2012 earnings on Thursday, Oct 18 after the market closed.



If you are not a subscriber but interested in our educational TAs, please send an email to psychologyofthecall@gmail.com


Autumn Colors,
POTC-



Bank of America (BAC)

Political Trade Alert (TA) was sent to all subscribers on Wednesday morning.
















Thanks to all for your referrals so far in this in this Q3. We kicked-off successfully Yum! Brands (YUM).  

Most who watch Jim Cramer's Mad Money, Fast Money, Larry Kudlow, or subscribe to an Internet trading service should fully enjoy our educational trade strategies.

POTC-

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

YUM return was about 300% - 400%

Congratulations to all who followed us.

POTC-

Friday, September 28, 2012

Aggressive Trading of Stocks and Options Requires a lot of Homework as Jim Cramer Rightly Explains; Still the Psychology of the Call team goes a Step Beyond Cramer's Teachings

POTC is fired-up as Q3 nears; welcome back to all subscribers and loyal readers since '08.  
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The S/P index is trading inside very politically charged waters as related to Federal Reserve Bank actions of more monetary stimulus, the 57th U.S. quadrennial Presidential election on Tuesday, November 6, and a questionable fundamental backdrop as many large corporations have lowered expectations. Yet from a technical standpoint stocks could go higher as long as 1,420 holds. If we break below 1,420 that would signal lower prices for most stocks.

But it is a market of stocks for us aggressive traders and not merely a stock market, so we must identify individual business models/stocks that will shrug broad market volatility and be profitable. POTC's goal is two pronged: 

1.) Education
2.) Profitability 
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Though Capitalist Pig Bob has no conspiracy DNA in his bone marrow, he is a realist and worries that History will rhyme as it relates to Israel and the Jews if we just sit idly by.
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The ongoing atrocities against the people in the Middle East are wicked. No human being should have to endure what is occurring across the Middle East today, 99% rooted in reasons of poor socioeconomic conditions butt nonetheless blamed on religion. Most wars are birthed out of economic reasons and too often blamed on religion(s). Sad.
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This is an intellectual debate Pig Bob will not fight here butt it is frustrating to watch the spinelessness of the current Secretary of State Clinton jeering (click for video) after Gaddafi was sodomized and killed in the middle of a street, then denying it was terrorism that ended the life of U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens that was working in the same country, Libya. 

Navy Seal Tyrone Woods (R.I.P.) must never be forgotten for his ultimate bravery. Please teach your children his story of valor and patriotism.  

I do not think it is moral to cheer any man's death, maybe Clinton would take back her behavior and words back if she considered these eerily similar bloody images and possible retribution by some masses:?


October, 2011 Gaddafi paraded through the streets of Libya:






September, 2012 Stevens paraded through the streets of Libya:














Strictly a coincidence you say?, I say no. Though blaming the Secretary of State for ambassador Stevens' death is wrong, her behavior of cheering a brutal dictator's public death was ignorant and unprofessional. You do not spike the ball when you know we still have many good men like ambassadors and soldiers in harms way.


And after all this it is perfectly fine to have Iran's Ahmadinejad speak in New York city while he continues to deny the massacre of Jews and Poles by German Nazis in WWII as the brilliant man that is Israel's Netanyahu warns that his nuclear ambitions are Evil.  

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I think the U.S. must take corrective action regarding the 1st Amendment as it applies to Evil dictators speaking on U.S. soil ASAP, especially if they were 'elected' through fraudulent fixing and means and publicly say a certain religion or nation must be wiped into the Sea as Ahmadinejad does.
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Why give Iran and Ahmadinejad a platform but not Cuba and Fidel Castro. As twisted as Castro's communist ways are, he has surely been more successful at communism than the last few U.S. presidents have been at installing the foundation for long-term Liberty & Freedom.
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The fact that Western central bankers are maniacally yet 'successfully' keeping interest rates capped at zero while many S/P cos are yielding 200%+ over the 10-Yr Note is mathematical reason for this bullish run.
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Equity Risk Premium (ERP) is the traditional metric Wall Street money manager uses to decide whether to buy stocks or bonds from day to day, and today it makes little mathematical sense to choose Govt bonds over stocks as the ERP is above 8%. Hence we experienced this explainable rally from S/P 1,040 when QE began in October of 2010 to today's 1,447 level. 
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This 400+ point, post 1st QE, S /P rally has come as the U.S. labor force corporate sales, earnings, and GDP are all in either contraction or highly suspicious modes. And stabilization is the scariest reference the bulls use as so many uncertainties are just ahead of us while the Govt has ballooned. We are experiencing a helium laughing gas musical chairs economy, circus like, yet the U.S. masses watch the upheavals in Europe and then switch channels to some reality Housewife show where the women act like men and the plastic surgeries and BOTOX treatments have disfigured any beauty they had.
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If you think the masses will continue to behave this way, and we do, consider Allergan as a long-term hold, ticker AGN on the NYSE. The co is big into BOTOX and breast implants. AGN is only beginning to penetrate Asia, and you think Asians are less into vanity than Americans? In our opinion, AGN is positioned for phenomenal long-term growth is all other macro factors remain equal. You should always check with your Financial Advisor before acting on any stock or option information.
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POTC is not a licensed Broker Dealer and the information we provide is solely for educational purposes. And we charge a subscription fee because we have Industry experience at Morgan Stanley and other firms and work 20+ hour days during earnings season to send you aggressive Trade Alerts.
From a Debt to GDP standpoint, Americans are circling the chairs and waiting for the music to stop like it has for many in Euroland. We sympathize with our conservative European partners big time, but we denounce all big Govt and Collectivist policies installed after WWII. Yet the current U.S. path is no different, definitely a vicious cycle that was bound to occur. We believe the more serious distribution of wealth continues to ebb from West to East.
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The East is kicking the West's behind and it has a lot to do with their greater tilt toward Darwinian Capitalism. Though the Chinese and Indian economies are far from perfect, they paradoxically enjoy more business start-up freedoms than the current policies in the U.S.A. offer. Obsolete Union thinking and minimum wage laws, unemployment benefits, and now Govt bailouts of banks are at the root of our current Collectivist state. 
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Have you considered that Govt wealth is switching to bailed-out corporations like JPMorgan (JPM) while Govt influence, regulations, and power is accelerating? And it's an unfortunate fact that many of these corporate and Govt players are connected through lobbyists and a revolving door from Govt to corporate and vice verse.   
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The best argument that stocks continue to go higher regardless of the Fiscal Cliff is that publicly run cos will be the 'safest' store; until and if some horrible 9/11 left field event strikes Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York. Then the power would pivot back to the printing presses of Big Brother, Oy Vey. And more masses would wake-up and discredit FDR and W, one old political Collectivist actor and the other newer on the scene.
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As for the current White House Occupier in Pig Bob's opinion, he has already completely and utterly discredited himself as a hater of private sector success and believer that Govt should be Policing our Daily Bread. No way does POTC feel this is fair after so many American boys and girls gave their lives through the years. You wonder how many would demand their service back after witnessing the latest big Govt crap.  
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Some appointed officials like Holder and connected thugs like rotten Jonny Corzine do as they please with no accountability to anyone. If it were up to Pig Bob, public pay-per-view caning would be in order in lower Manhattan, NY. 5th Amendment junkies like Corzine deserve caning. 
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The only glimmer of hope is a good amount of commercial real estate and some residential geographies home prices are off the respirator and attempting their first steps down the hallway of the Govt ICU unit; still a terrifying condition. 
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'We're Only in it for the Money',

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                                              'I am Fat Money'

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