Three Years of Sun

Today I ended some solar stock picks in a "fantasy" style account. I had been monitoring solar companies for about 3 years following a conversation with a neighbor. With a weak economy, demand simply was not there. The "best loss" was 61%. To get back to former levels, these stocks would need to quintuple... Sure.

Turning Tide

I haven't been writing about economics lately, and wanted to share a couple things while I had a minute.

1. Everyone is talking about a double dip recession again. I'm not sure what to call it, but I'm wondering when the first dip ended. Looking at unemployment and stock market charts, I can't find it...

2. The fundamentals still suck. The U.S. Is now trying to shift away from the service economy we so proudly built. Every worker wants to know "Where are the jobs." Every employer wants to know "Where are the skills" 'cause folding towels isn't one (actually it is, robots have a difficult time with it).

3. I've been in love with gold (for my money, not my body) for a few years. My meager little IRA has done well by it. However, now EVERYONE is talking about gold. What?!? Did you miss all the "WE BUY GOLD" signs and commercials? The price of gold looks like it's going parabolic (read: STRAIGHT UP!). I'm officially scared. The trouble is, a parabola still looks like a parabola from the top, or the bottom.

Keep Calm, and Carry On