Op-Ed: What's Wrong With Financial Journalism (Plus Some Political Humor)

Alright, a nice little bounce-back for you today. I still have doubts about this strength immediately leading the market into net-bullish territory for the year, but it at least gets us one step closer to it.

You may recall on Tuesday and Wednesday I was hoping for (ok, expecting) a pullback to close Tuesday's gaps so we could make some real upward progress later. So how does today fit into that picture? Well, it doesn't really change anything. A few of the chart gaps were closed with today's lows, and a few of them still aren't. I still think we need to go back and fill them all, yet as I'm writing this, all the major indices are making higher highs. Go figure.

Here's the rectification - today's modest movement means nothing more than Wednesday's pullback did, and nothing more than Tuesday's rally did.

The reality is, we're still in limbo. I know it's not sexy, but like I said earlier in the week, anyone trying to make a mountain out of this molehill in the first three trading days of the year is ignoring the fact that sometimes the market's just not ready to do anything. Trying to make it do something is a recipe for a headache.

Anyway, we've got a couple of updates for you below. One's for a Featured Stock, and the other's for one of our trading idea we've been following a while (it may need some action today). Before we get to either one though, I have to get something off my chest.

And You Call Yourself Experts?

First and foremost I want to make it clear that I don't have a crystal ball when it comes to stocks (though nobody does). I do consider myself a trading professional, and usually a good one. But, I've never claimed perfection.

I want to make that clear so you don't get the wrong idea about what I'm getting ready to say. I'm not busting these individuals' chops - I'm just going to point out the lunacy we sometimes see from the world of financial journalism.

See if you spot something odd about these headlines today.

• S&P Will Top 1400 (up 9.6% from current levels)
• Why I'm shorting stocks (Jim Rogers)
• US Economy Seen Muddling Through 2012
• 2 Bullish Signals for the Nasdaq
• Stock Market Analysts Extremely Cautious on 2012
• Stocks are on a steady roll
• Doll Sees U.S. Stocks Rising at Least 10%
• Fed Will Be Forced to Ease Again Soon
• Why We're So Bullish (Kass & Orlando)

Yep, you got it. That's nine headlines ranging from very optimistic views to very pessimistic views.

Folks, obviously not all of these guys are going to be right. The question is, who's right, and who's wrong?

Now, I don't have a problem with anybody having an opinion and sharing it. But when I start to look at all the conflicting opinions here, I have to wonder.... how in the heck is the average investor supposed to process all these ideas? AND THESE ARE JUST THE ONES FROM THIS MORNING! If you're trying to make long-term decisions by reading the headlines every day, then good luck to you - the media's sure not making it any easier.

Said another way, as if drinking water from a fire hose wasn't insane enough, clearly the water's flowing in different directions every day.

Please don't get me wrong; data and information are fine if you have a specific plan or holistic approach you're following. If you're following the media's breeze day-to-day though, just know what you're in for.

That's why I'm more into my short-term market calls... at least I can see a few days into the future. That's not to say I don't have long-term stuff in my portfolio. But, I use short-term news and headlines and short-term data to make short-term decisions. I use long-term data to make long-term decisions. The media wants you to make long-term decisions using short-term news and views so you keep coming back for more. Big mistake.

OK, getting off my soapbox now...

Time to Lock (Some of) It In

I had a feeling it was coming, and it arrived today. We told you back on December 1st that we liked U.S. Precious Metals, Inc. (OTC:USPR). It was trading at $0.16 then. Now it's at $0.21, and had been as high as $0.23 earlier today. That's anywhere from a 31% to 43% move - depending on when and if you made an exit - in a little over a month. Though I still like the stock in the bigger picture because of the way it's finding support at some key moving averages, I also think a little profit-taking may be in order here. The chart will explain why.

USPR is up 25% today alone. It drives me a little nuts when stocks lay low for days on end, and then burst on the scene out of nowhere. But, that's just trading.

More important than the size of the move though, is where it ran into trouble again. While U.S. Precious Metals shares moved above the 100-day moving average line at $0.207 today, clearly that 100-day average is a big deal; it also capped the mid-December rally and kept the buying at buy for more than a couple of weeks.

Point being, take what you can get when you can get it... at least on portions of your position. There's no reason we can't step in again later after the dust settles. In fact, I've got a feeling that USPR is going to fall back to the support of its 20-day and 50-day mobbing average lines and start brewing up another surge.

Timing is everything.

AtheroNova Builds Up Its Brainpower

I don't know what it is about January (maybe the new calendar year?), but it seems like many of our Featured Stocks have been bringing some serious top talent into the fold. Yesterday it was Blue Earth hiring Philip J. Kranenburg as the new CFO, as Matt Briar discussed here, and today it's AtheroNova Inc. (OTC:AHRO) telling us they've garnered Johan M. "Thijs" Spoor as the newest board member.

The guy's basically a genius, as Bryan Murphy explains here. He's got a degree in nuclear pharmacy (which has to be impressive, since I didn't even know you could get a degree in it), but an MBA with an emphasis on finance and accounting. He's been employed by some big-name outfits doing related work too.... Sunstone BioSciences, J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse, and now he's the CEO of FluoroPharma Medical.

Translation: Spoor knows his stuff.

I really recommend you read Bryan's take, since he not only tells you more about Thijs, but how this officially and implicitly could impact AHRO.

And One More Thing...

This isn't a political statement just because it's politically one-sided. It was just funny. I'll see if I can find an equally-insulting spoof about the 'other side' tomorrow. Either way, I hope we can all get a chuckle out of this completely fictitious list of milestones for recent Republican debates. (Hey, if we can't make fun of our politicians, who do we have left?)