Double Bottom?

Before we recap the first week of February - lots of flashbacks of what I read and heard last year start to become very evident.  We are going to have a double bottom in the market.  Well...the optimist in me this week was shaken even more, even though the first two days of the month was actually very good and against the grain when it comes to how February generally performs in regards to the stock market.

Then...the last three days happened.  Levels of support being tested and broken.  Cash is king at this point and if you are still holding on to anything...I wish you all well.  Shorts are running the market now even though we may see some gains when earnings come out - only to be lost in the overall direction of the market.

One thing is for sure - raise cash to increase leverage when the bear decides to go back to hibernation.  This last Bull that we saw (from March to early January) has left the building and is nowhere in sight.

Is there blood on the streets yet? I do not think we are quite there yet...but one thing is for sure...there are many that have made money from the last bull market who are pulling their money out of the market and moving to the dollar (strengthening the dollar).  Value investors and swing traders are sitting on the sidelines and well...this is where you have "dumb" money coming in as the "smart" money slowly move out. If you were invested from the last bull market - you SHOULD HAVE made a handsome profit.

I wish I can say that I am "smart" money - but as a novice investor, this has been a very expensive lesson to learn.  So for those that read this - RAISE CASH and SIT ON THE SIDELINES and wait for the dust to settle.

Here is something to consider - When January is a bad month for the market - 64% of the time, so is the rest of the year.  

As the old saying goes - "BUY WHEN THERE IS BLOOD ON THE STREETS...even when its your own." 

Stay tuned.....

BD