Occupy Phoenix

An offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement that began last month in New York City, more than a thousand people packed Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown Phoenix on Saturday to protest what many view as a government operating in cahoots with the major corporations.

Image source: Mike Harris, KPHO.com/CBS 5 News

The reason I'm mentioning it is because the "Occupy" protesters are often labeled in general as being hippies, wackos, lazy bums, disgruntled homeless, or as some other derogatory term, perhaps used in order to reduce their credibility.

But, if you look closer at the Occupy Phoenix protesters, there seems to be many who look just like you and me, the typical average American, and don't fit into those derogatory categories often used to characterized the Occupy Wall Street protesters. The two ladies pictured above look more than capable enough to me to be able to express just what it is that bothers them, and bothers me too.

Now, I do have to agree with "Occupy" detractors that this movement doesn't really have any defined leadership, clear-cut solutions, or a plan in place designed to fix things. I think that it's more of an expression of dissatisfaction and disillusionment than anything else. I'm also of the opinion that the system is too corrupt to change, and that changing it by civil protest is likely impossible.

However, anyone who's experienced the civil unrest of the 1960s and 1970s can tell you that these types of protests have a way of gaining momentum, and shouldn't be dismissed lightly by those running the show. People don't tolerate injustices for very long - one thing could lead to another.

Weekly Wrap

What happened in only two weeks to make market sentiment reverse course so sharply? Absolutely nothing but financial media manipulation and the market "experts" calling it wrong again.

The markets didn't plunge, recessionary fears calmed, and economic data came in better than expected. The past two weeks saw the Dow and Nasdaq climb back into positive territory for the year, up 6.6% and 10.2% respectively, and the S&P 500 rise 7.2% in the same time period.

My stock pick position in KND is back in the black after being initially "Ganned", and if anyone would have entered a position in DEG when I mentioned it, it would have been good for a ten-point gain.

So, it looks like my forecast was right on the mark, so far. But, like I said, the market is like a fickle woman, and can turn on a dime if she doesn't like what she hears. All in all, it was a pretty good two weeks. If breaking through resistance means anything, then next week should likely follow suit.

But don't just take my word for it, see what these technical analysts reported on Friday.

Occupy Wall Street Recruitment Video

This Occupy Wall Street movement that's been in the news lately is really gaining momentum, and has now extended itself to other major cities throughout America, even out in California.

Personally, I'm not sure what to make of these protests. Although I can sympathize with their cause, I'm not so sure that they have a good enough plan in place to achieve their vague objectives. It seems to me to be more of a "bitch session" than a radical movement for changing a corrupt system.

But, I guess it doesn't matter what I think anyway, because more and more people are joining the movement daily. I'm sure that a lot of Americans are angry and fed up with white-collar crime and corruption affecting our economy, but I've also been wondering how Occupy Wall Street has been getting such vast numbers of people to join their protests.

That is, until I received this recruitment video in an email today.

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A Contrarian Stock Market Viewpoint

If you're cynical enough to believe that most people will do whatever is in their own best interests, and often at the expense of others, then you'll come to understand that almost everything happens for a reason instead of by chance.

Take the past week's stock market action for example. The two main emotions that usually dictate investors' behaviors are greed and fear, and the short-term price of stocks is usually directly proportional to how investors react to these two emotions.

Right now, investors are freaking out and selling their investments out of fear. Either fear of economic collapse, fear of going broke, or just plain fear of the unknown. However, the bright side of this market bailout is that the panic has brought back one of my favorite dance crazes from the 1970s.



All kidding aside though, a good contrarian investor realizes that there's usually an ulterior motive behind all of this fear, and it likely has something to do with the evil forces of excessive greed - Wall Street, and their corporate and political cronies. They're deviously skilled at generating profits by manipulating the perception of fear, uncertainty, and creating market volatility.

As such, I see this pullback as cause for inversely celebrating good times. Instead of running with the herd and fleeing the markets like everyone else, I'm going to continue to do what the criminals are doing and use my cash position to invest in select stocks, ETFs, or funds while they're on sale.