GM Sales Down -18.2%, Sparks Rally

by Larry Levin


The market must be oversold, because portfolio managers are back to that old saw, The data is bad, but it could have been worse. The indices exploded off their respective lows this morning when GM posted pathetic sales of negative 18.2%. And in order to get to this stellar -18.2% sales decline, GM had to bribe its customers with a give-away of $3,454 per vehicle on average. That sounds like a great business model, doesn't it?

Try this out the next time you have a rough go of it in Las Vegas : How did you do in Vegas dear? You start to sweat profusely as you think of an answer, and then it hits you - use the same logic as Wall Street, whereby you reply, Well, not so good. I lost 18.2% of our net worth by gambling almost $3,500 per hand. But honey remember something, IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE. After all, Frank and Dave both lost 25% of their net worth, so we're doing great----right?

As you wait for a frying pan to flatten your scalp you are shocked to hear your spouse regurgitate the same claptrap as The Street; Since I was expecting worse, I guess that's fantastic by comparison. Come over here and give me some sugar.

Then you wake up in a cold sweat as the wheels touch down on the tarmac and wonder to yourself, "Would it really work like my dream? Is my spouse as gullible as the average dope on Wall Street?" As you disembark from the plane you reconsider and decide nobody would buy that BS; well, except Wall Street portfolio managers.

General Motors gained 2.2% today.

In other news, the ISM report was better than expected: it finally showed improvement with an expansionary reading of 50.2. Recent readings have all been below 50.0, which had been showing the economy contracting. Here's the flipside - a few more reports like this and the Federal Reserve will be raising interest rates, thereby forcing these readings back in the cellar.

Oh snap! There goes the good news.

Real Time Trading Signals*for

Trade Date: 7/1/08

E-Mini S&P Trades*
(before fees and commissions):

1) OTF buy @ 10:30am at 1277.25 = -.50 (1 lot)

2) OTF sell @ 12:00pm at 1267.00 = +1.25 & b/e

3) Engf buy @ 1:30pm at 1276.50 = +5.00 (1 lot)

4) 80% buy @ 2:00pm at 1281.75 = -1.75 (1 lot)

5) Algorithm trades (9)...combined total...-0.25

6) FIVE trades were stopped out at low/high tick before LARGE moves.

7) Which is very frustrating!


E-Mini Russell Trades*
(before fees and commissions):

1) Sell @ 9:22am at 686.2 = +.8 & -.4

2) Sell @ 9:53am at 686.6 = +1.7 (1 lot)

3) Buy @ 10:08am at 686.2 = +.5 (1 lot)

4) Buy @ 2:45pm at 688.0 = +1.2 (1 lot)...+$380


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