http://www.juancole.com/2010/01/jumping-from-worlds-largest-building.html

Catch a falling knife
And put it in your pocket
Save it for a rainy day

Bad employment news in Europe and US (although not as bad in the latter perhaps as the headline suggests).

Japanese intent (despite Prime MInister’s rebuke (!) of Finance Minister) on pushing the Yen back down where it belongs.

Thus, the picture has grown clear: All three — dollar, euro, yen — will be racing to the bottom for the coming months.

Makes the currency pairs hard to call — but gold seems a reliable winner, and the chart set up is nice, coming off a little correction.

Thus I got back in gold in my retirement account today, and also into Japan, to join China.

Hoping for a little tech drop this month to allow an opening there.

That should take care of the first quarter.

As for short-term trades, unable to resist some gold miners today and a little critter I won’t name (since it’s so little).

But … Unhappy that I bailed out of my Financials calls on Tuesday with the targeted modest gain. Holding thru Thursday would have been a major kill.

Then again, happy to have bailed on the UPS puts with negligible loss before they Revised Up this morning.

So … First week back in harness. Feeling not bad.

Japan is indeed looking attractive — but — CRAZY — the Japanese prime minister came out today and publicly rebuked the FInance Minister for talking down the yen yesterday. !!!

In Japan!

Much face down toilet. Suparuku or whatever.

Nevertheless, Japanese stocks are up and nobody seems to think the Japanese are not going to work on getting the yen back down. Good for the big japanese exporters.

Have just listened to the CTL presentation, live, at a telecom conference today, after the valuation downgrade yesterday.

Nothing newly negative in the presentation or questions. They’re a landline company, 4th largest, with focus on broadband competing against local cable.

Are in process of digesting recent acq of Embarq, another small landline company.

Thus … the current 35 level on chart, which is major support for several reasons, seems a good entry.

Thus am in, for the third-lot intended on Tuesday.

Dividend here yields just under 8%.

If it breaks down thru 35, one must consider stopping out.

China makes a big central banking move to restrict its economy for the year, fearing asset bubbles.

This weakens any reason for holding Chinese stocks, although they may yet be one of the better markets a year hence, I imagine.

Japan’s new finance minister says he wants a weaker yen. Feeds the strong dollar thesis. And makes Japanese manufacturers like Toyota more attractive. TM. Honda HMC. Or a Japanese ETF: EWJ. Or Sony. zzz

And wouldn’t you know it — a valuation downgrade by a minor brokerage on CTL, the day after my unhappy purchase.

Today, however, they present at a telecom conference. Perhaps something positive will make the valuation dump a buying opportunity.

Never a dull moment.

So far the NY Times seems to have ignored it.