There is a lot of anticipation for today’s market openings, if you are into stock trading and options trading. Around the world the indices have dropped, so I’m not anticipating much different here, based on the futures. Even experienced online stock and online options brokers are sitting at the edge of their seats waiting for the latest news.

Retail sales are lower, and the September Consumer Price Index is flat. The news in general is terrible, and, worse, I am hearing from friends, neighbors and even strangers about the amount of money they have lost in the last couple of weeks.

It’s very difficult to find a decent to go long in today. In fact, I want to go short in most. In fact, I am short in most. That’s probably the way I will stay. I have no short or even mid range time frame of confidence.

But that does not mean money cannot be made. It will certainly be a bit more difficult.

Tech is questionable. Automotive is in the dumps. Financial — forget it.

Even consumer stocks are chancy to go long. They can go down further. That’s what’s frightening.

Listening to the presidential candidates give the ordinary online stock trading guy little to hang a hat on. Both don’t know economics. Not even the basics.

This means, really, that no one is skippering the ship. Not now, and now when either of the two presidential candidates is elected.

This is becoming obvious to even people like “Joe the Plumber”. Everybody is Joe the Plumber, and we are all seeing that we are passengers on a ship that looks a lot like the Titanic, only without the band play-ing.

So do you try to hedge against even further drops, or do you capitulate and pull everything out?

I’m going to hold a few long positions in consumer stocks, such as Johnson & Johnson, but I’m going to hedge against those going down as well.

The tech stock sector is a mess. Some, such as IMB and Apple, show long term promise, and would be worth hold-ing long positions if you have the money.

Financial stocks are worth considering — some. Huntington City Bank is one regional bank with a very strong balance sheet, and I understand that a lot of money is flowing in. Wells Fargo is strong as well. Bank of America has had difficulty in the credit markets getting low cost money to finance its credit card business, but fundamentally it is a strong bank.

There are a number of regional banks that may be in danger of becoming insolvent, but I would not plan on putting any money in them anyway.

The Dow Average is down now over 200 points, so it does not look promising at the onset.

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