Facebook
Twitter
The apparent calm in Egypt‘s protests didn’t last
long. A day after scenes of peaceful protests with citizens interacting
with friendly soldiers has been replaced by scenes of Mubarak loyalists
attacking the protesters and violence escalating.
There are accusations that the new round of
violent confrontations have been instigated by Mubarak and may involve
policemen in civilian clothes. Whatever the source, it’s an unfortunate
development. But were it not for the Egyptian military’s apparent support
for the protestors, things would no doubt be worse.
But let’s not overlook what’s going on in
the Middle East in general. We’re seeing political change come to
Tunisia,
Jordan,
Yemen, and
now Egypt.
Citizens of authoritarian countries want more freedom, they want to enter
the 21st century and take part in the global economy.
That’s undeniably positive, and I would argue it’s
a critically important step toward easing the long-term tensions between
the Middle East and the West. Democracy will necessarily further marginalize
extremist groups that continue to pursue their agendas with violence.
Economic stability and growth is the great equalizer.
*****Stocks ripped higher on Tuesday, February 1.
That was no surprise to anyone who caught the article
TradeMaster
Daily Stock Alerts strategist Jason Cimpl shared
with us. To recap:
David Rosenberg, infamous investor, noted that
last year the
SPX was up a cumulative 134 points on the first day of the
month.
Considering the annual increase was 143, the first day of the month
accounted for 95% of last years gains. In other wards, you could have
traded 12 times last year and matched the
market.
Does that mean we’ve already seen all the gains
we’ll see this month? Good question…But you