The bottom line is — the market remains in shape. There are few areas that are not so good. Plenty of stocks that are not in good shape. But the things that are working, are working fine.

I just have to repeat something to you. I am a student of the past. I am a student of the Fed—not in understanding them, but in following them. Never in our lifetime have we seen such massive debt , leverage and printed money out at the same time…in order to do what? In 2008, there may have been a reason to go to zero percent interest rates and print money. We were losing a lot of jobs at the time and they were worrying about the financial system. Last time I looked, we now have a growing economy, though tepid. Employment is supposedly getting better, though not that great. But this Fed is acting like we are in a major depression. Not recession – DEPRESSION. And look no further than that on why the market’s doing whatever it’s doing. Keep in mind: The market, on most averages were down last year. And most averages are still flat from January 1^st 2011, notwithstanding a couple. And many foreign markets are still down.

But we’re seeing good action nevertheless right now. All selling has been picked up by buying. We’ve broadened out some. And the only thing I can say that’s bad is that we are so due to pullback at any time. Didn’t happen today.

A Couple Oils That Broke Out

A couple oils broke out of pretty long trading ranges today. Now remember what a breakout is. It simply means that the stock is trading between two points in price over a good period of time. And they either break below or above those levels. This usually indicates another move coming, starting with that move. Not all breakouts work. Sometimes they go up and they fail…and make you upset.  Just keep that in mind. We follow these breakouts because, IF a stock’s going to go up big, that has to occur. What we’re looking for are characteristics of success here in the market, in sectors and individual stocks. All we’re looking for us leadership and ability to buck the trend.

The following is for your review. I am not telling you to do anything. I’m just letting you know what occurred today. 

• First and foremost, Anadarko Petroleum (APC) on more than 2x average breaks above a one-year trading range today. That’s a very long base.
• On top of that, Plains Exploration (PXP) on almost 2x average did the same. Not as good looking as Anadarko.

9 States Target Pension Perks

In case you did not know this, in many places in the county, government officials have decided to pay those same government officials with ridiculous over the top pensions. Which means “So I was a government official and I was making $110,000 a year. I want to retire at the age of 52. I’m going to make my pension $125,000 a year.” I’m not making this up. Seriously. It’s nice to be able write your own rules and regulations and paychecks…of course all coming from the taxpayers. That’s on the front cover the USA Today. Good article.

Payroll Tax Crap

In case to you didn’t know, it was sold to you that we needed this recent payroll cut because it’s going to help put more money in the pockets of people. Well it turns out that in order to pay for the payroll tax, what they wanted to do was put this quiet little fee on your monthly mortgage payment. So the way it would turn out on average you’d get a few hundred bucks back on your payroll taxes. BUT OVER THE LIFE A MORTGAGE, IT WILL COST YOU AROUND NINE GRAND. 

You have people in Washington that should not be running lemonade stands. And frankly, the people that run the lemonade stands do a great job. We are at 16 trillion in debt and counting because of these people. It’s because of these perks I mentioned that people can get more when they retire than they were making in their regular salary. It’s where people in government can commit insider trading, felonies in our world, but not for them. I could go on and on.

I have been telling you for a long, long time…let’s make our votes count. I am no longer part of any party now because I can’t stand any of them. I think they are all full of it. We have got to start making these people accountable. There is a $16 trillion nightmare hanging over us because they are spending money like drunken sailors…and printing money like they’re on Quaaludes.

We better do something about this.

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Gary Kaltbaum owns Kaltbaum Capital Management, LLC (“KCM”), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The opinions expressed herein are those of Mr. Kaltbaum and may not reflect those of KCM. The information offered in this publication is general information that does not take into account the individual circumstances, financial situation or individual needs of an investor. The information herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we cannot assure its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Any reference to past performance is not to be implied or construed as a guarantee of future results.