The Patient is Alive

Well, it seems like the strum und drang has abated for at least another day. While everyone is breathing a sigh of relief at the resiliency of the market, let's not forget that while the patient is still alive, it is on life support. The disease is still advancing, albeit at a slower pace.

If we look at the market in situ, it seems that we may have dodged a bullet, however, our problems are much deeper than whether individual stocks go up or down. The nature of the stock market is such that when a big drop or correction occurs then those in a position to buy will buy, thereby picking up some bargains that may have been overpriced or overvalued. But the question remains, are we out of the woods because the market responded to a buying signal, or is the market suddenly stable. And if the market is stable, what the heck happened yesterday ?

What happens if and when Paulson gets the authority to buy depressed mortgage securities? Can we trust him to be the Honest Broker that we need ? Or is it safe to say that since Paulson was created on Wall Street that he would look to his friends first.
It's a tough decision, to rescue or not to rescue
That my friends is the question

There you have it.