1. DECEMBER MARKETS
2. UP STARS/DOWN STARS
3. GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES
4. QUOTES
5. ON THE WEB
6. LETTERS
7. SPECIAL HOLIDAY OFFERS 

1. COUNT DOWN TO SPRING 2010- BUY, SELL OR HOLD?

• January 11 Earnings Seasons begins- good profit scenarios are largely built in.
• Debt disaster fears rumble from Athens to London
• The Federal Reserve buying $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities is scheduled to expire in March, and Fed has said that it would not be renewed.
• Seven U.S. Banks Fail, Raising Tally This Year to 140 as FDIC Expects More.
• Subpar personal and corporate tax revenues April 15.
• Fannie, Freddie, AIG, GMAC continue to face challenges
• Winter and Spring Astrology imply an H1 2010 market correction.

BOTTOM LINE:
There are few good reasons to Buy stocks given limited upside (Dow 10500-10700) short term, while there are plenty of good reasons to stay liquid and loose or hedged. 

ASTROLOGY 101
The Jupiter/Neptune conjunction Monday is one major reason markets are still above 10K. Like all astrological aspects, there are several potential expressions.
Expansion (Jupiter) Without Limits (Neptune), especially on the Winter Solstice, allows for more rose coloured investing into 2010.
One particularly interesting item is the latest Fed Interpretation of the future health the US Economy e.g. deterioration in the labor market is “abating” - a BIG (Jupiter) Lie (Neptune).  Also see The footnote that killed Nov. retail sales  etc.
Unfortunately, we expect Reality (Saturn) and markets falling H1 2010, if not in January, then by Q2 2010. 
 

KEY DATES:    DECEMBER 21, 28, 31
DJIA:                10400 PIVOT S1 10200 S2 10000 S3 9750 10700 RESISTANCE
SPX:                  1100 PIVOT 1080 SUPPORT
NASDAQ:        2200 PIVOT S1 2160 S2 2140 S3 2100
XAU:                 168 PIVOT 164/155 SUPPORT?
FEB GOLD        1140 PIVOT S1 1100 S2 1050 S3 1000
MAR SILVER:  1750 PIVOT 16.50 SUPPORT?
XOI:                   1040 PIVOT 1025 SUPPORT?
FEB OIL:            74 PIVOT 70 SUPPORT? 78 RESISTANCE
US$                     77 PIVOT R1 78 R2 80 R3 82 

Market Marker Sentiment until March 2010 is Less Volatility with Market Cross Currents.
Stocks Meander slightly ahead and favor defensive plays.
The US$ doesn't collapse & Commodities may not be needed as a safe haven panacea.  
7/21 PRE-ECLIPSE: DJIA   8915. SPX   954 & NASDAQ 1916
2008 CLOSE:           DJIA   8776, SPX   903 & NASDAQ 1577
2007 CLOSE:           DJIA 13264, SPX 1468 & NASDAQ 2655
2006 CLOSE:           DJIA 12463, SPX 1418 & NASDAQ 2415
2005 CLOSE:           DJIA 10717, SPX 1248 & NASDAQ 2205
DJIA:                       7 ~ FV 2 UV; 5 offer 4%+ Dividends 3 offer 5%+ Dividends.
THINK TRADITIONAL SWISS AND PRESERVE CAPITAL: FOCUS ON PROTECTING AGAINST DOWNSIDE RISK. 

2. Liquid REITs

HW: We believe within 6-12 months may be a good time to selectively accumulate REITs. 

In case market rally in January, and especially if selected microcaps are sold heavily in the next week or two,
We are likely to add a little to S: 10 SPECULATIVE MICROCAPS (12/21/2009) January effect picks. 

3. Outlook for silver looks bright this winter

HW: We continue to recommend accumulating on weakness, ideally circa $15.

Gold forecast: Jim Rogers, Peter Schiff or Roubini? 

Conditions for gold rally could crush other assets 

US$ reached our P1 target of .78.  However, we expected gold to move closer to $1000 and to break $1100 support at that time.
While our Fair Value estimate of gold has been rising (currently just above $1000), it remains Overvalued.
Silver likewise.  We are still impatient but not buying (yet).
Given our view that stock markets may drop in the New Year, we could buy a little Gold or Silver or not.
If the US$ reaches .82, we would certainly begin buying, but could nibble a dash sooner, especially if Oil if above $76 beyond this Wednesday.
However, if Oil drops below $68 support, we will probably continue to wait.
INVESTORS NOTE: When we buy, we will likely be begin buying gold and silver stocks e.g. GDXJ, not physical. 

4. “Risk is taking an early holiday amid concerns about sovereign debt.  The stronger greenback has undercut commodity prices.”
Sal Guatieri, senior economist, Bank of Montreal
HW: I guess you can’t fool all of the people ALL of the time! 

"The markets are certainly pricing in a rate hike for now. But I think that people will realize at some point that, even if the Fed goes from zero to 50 basis points, money is still pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things."
Jim Paulsen, strategist, Wells Capital Management
HW: Yes and even 1% is far too cheap. 

“The nascent recovery is ending 2009 on a high note. The consumer is doing all right, housing is clearly in an upswing and business investment is improving.”
Richard DeKaser, chief economist, Woodley Park Research
HW: Must be comforting to see the world through Candide Rose Coloured Glasses. 

5. Safe haven Treasurys get tricky 

8 Stocks Compounding Their Dividends

S&P 500 Rallying 9.8% Is Forecast of Strategists Who Got It Right in 2009 

6. READER: Will 1220 be the TOP for Gold in 2010?
As a lot of technical analysis experts forecast that Gold had reached its high, and start to going down like in 1980.
HW: My current forecast top for 2010 is $1240 [my original forecast top for 2009 was $1180, and then later revised to $1220]. We may have seen the top at 1220 or not. We may also see $1400 or not
I don’t think it will be like 1980, as gold has mixed astro up and down in 2010. We could see $900 or not. In any case, today gold is overvalued at $1100, yet the US$ at $.78 is as well! 

7. HOLIDAY SPECIAL OFFERS
OFFER 1: TWO YEARS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE -  2 Year Investing Subscription for the price of one year $360.
OFFER 2: $500 Discount for Life Time Subscription $1000.
Note: These offers expire December 31, 2009. 
Goto http://www.afund.com/wsnwsub.html  and put Holiday Discount” in Comment Line.