Tuesday, July 5, 2011

BACK TO WORK AFTER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND

It was a rough start to the work week for me, half our opening staff called in, so I was overloaded with work all morning.  Had to take a nitro tablet to get rid of chest pains, so I decided it was best not to work an extended shift.  It's really hard to read my employers' response to my health problems since the heart attack.  On the one hand, if I just do my job, I work circles around most of the other workers, but on the other hand I'm not quite as capable of doing all the extra work I used to do.  So I'm never really sure where I stand with them, even though they are currently short on help and my medical problems hasn't cost them anything, since I'm not covered under their insurance program.  I sometimes get the feeling they would just as soon be rid of me all the same.  You'd think my boss would be a little more sensitive given that her husband suffered a heart attack around the same time I did.  But who knows???

Anyway, the stock market ended its' 5 day rally, closing down today.  So maybe I'll still have a chance to pick up some bargains over the summer.  Just have to wait and see what happens with the jobs report later this week.  If the numbers are good I'd expect to see more upward movement in the market.

I read an article yesterday about a money management company who moved their clients out of stocks entirely, thinking that the efforts to forestall default in Greece is simply a stall tactic.  While cash isn't a bad thing, I'm not so sure I'd expect the bond market to perform much better than stocks for the remainder of the year.  With interest rates so low and governments scrambling to come up with the money to pay their debts, I'm thinking it's just as iffy a proposition either way.  I'd prefer to stick to dividend stocks myself.  Still no guarantees there, but I'd choose a well managed corporation paying out dividends to government bonds any day.  I figure anything politicians have their hand in is not a very safe place for your money. 

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