Re: U.S. economy outlook downgraded by S&P

I'd just like to step aside from individual stocks, and even the tech sector. For some reason, the people in Standard and Poor's Index decides to change its outlook on the United States economy from stable to negative. A warning signal? Hardly. Everything that indicates a negative outlook is already known. We love to hit the snooze button though...

Today, equities in the DOW slid 247 points at its lowest. This was caused by a combination of panic selling, negative futures, and global indexes being down. Sentiment for earnings is already negative based on Alcoa, J.P. Morgan, and Google. Great timing to call out the government, Wall Street. We all know that the national deficit is rising and our bipartisan system invites lobbying laggards. How can such a headline, a non-event, spur so much movement in the VIX?

What's done is done. I am quite optimistic about this week. The dollar index has increased, crude oil has decreased, tax season has ended for the responsible. There are two events which I look forward to in the upcoming weeks. The first being government's decision to raise the debt ceiling or not. The second being notes from the Federal Reserve System meeting. Yes, Quantitative Easing 2 is finally going to fade away come June.

I predict the DOW to end positive for this week. I also expect the debt ceiling to increase and being an issue of election for the next presidential term. Tax increases? You bet'cha. As I've said before, I am betting for Apple to beat estimates and light up the earnings world. Since tax season is over, retail investors will bring volume. Economic reports shouldn't be too much of an x-factor, aside from the housing starts report due tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if the rate is lower. Real estate is not picking up, anyway. Next week is another story, but I'll leave that for future content. Gold and silver, definitely part of that discussion. Until then...

Update: Housing starts increases 7.2%.