Morning Journal-Thoughts on the Constitution

Economics

This Week’s Data

March existing home sales fell 2.3% versus expectations of a slight increase.

The April Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index came in at 8.5 versus estimates of 11.7 and March’s reading of 12.5.

The March leading economic indicators was up 0.3% versus forecasts of up 0.2%.


Politics
Domestic

Ann Coulter on the right to bear arms (medium):
http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2012-04-18.html#read_more

George Will on the Constitution (medium):
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will041912.php3

Friday morning humor (4 minute video):
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/04/hitler-finds-out-obama-ate-his-dog.php

International

Suez traffic and world GDP (short):
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/real-indicator-global-economy-africa

Leon Panetta on North Korea (one minute video):
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/forget-5-minutes-midnight-we-are-inch-war

Thoughts on Investing--New Rules of Money, courtesy of Forbes

#12 Know Your Sell Rules Before You Buy

Most investment advice is geared toward helping you figure out what and when to buy. Perhaps even more important, given the prevailing uncertainty, is knowing when to sell. Charles Rotbult, editor of American Association of Individual Investors Journal advises you to outline the specific conditions under which you would sell a stock before you buy it. That beats either selling in a panic or sitting on your losses too long.

News on Stocks in Our Portfolios

More quarterly earnings per share reports:

Reported Expected

Sonoco $.52 $.48
Rockwell Collins 1.09 1.09
Genuine Parts .93 .87
Sherwin Williams .95 .94
Microsoft .60 .57
Kimberly Clark 1.24 1.17
Schlumberger .98 .98
Nucor .46 .40
McDonald’s 1.23 1.23

Steve Cook received his education in investments from Harvard, where he earned an MBA, New York University, where he did post graduate work in economics and financial analysis and the CFA Institute, where he earned the Chartered Financial Analysts designation in 1973. His 40 years of investment experience includes institutional portfolio management at Scudder, Stevens and Clark and Bear Stearns. Steve's goal at Strategic Stock Investments is to help other investors build wealth and benefit from the investing lessons he learned the hard way.