----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007
10:23 AM
Subject: Re: RE: [RT] Trading
Diary: False Breaks Warn Of A Market Top
Hello Gene
Ira has been telling us this for month,,
corp, and gov is cheating us daily
we have at least 15-20% inflation
gas double
coffe double
food shopping TRIPPLE
and it is going to get worst,
how is this mkt going up i do not know
Ben
----- Original Message -----
From: Gene Pope
Date: Monday, December 10, 2007 8:19 am
Subject: RE: [RT]
Trading Diary: False Breaks Warn Of A Market Top
To:
realtraders@yahoogroups.com
> Hello All,
>
>
>
> For what it's worth, I just came back from my
yearly "solo week"
> in Florida,
> Singer Island to be
exact. I like to just go and detox, hang out
> at local
>
establishments, stick my feet in the ocean and clear my mind,
>
while staying
> as far away from the upper end hang outs as
possible. My
> observations were a
> little disquieting and
I'd like to share them with you.
>
>
>
> The
taverns I like to hang out in have always been among the
> most
popular,
> usually crowded to capacity on any weekend night,
including
> Sunday, and
> still at least half-full on a
Wednesday. One of them happens to
> be have one
> of the
greatest Karaoke stages I've ever seen. Very elaborate
> stage
with
> very high-end speakers and mics and even lighting. Very
popular
> DJ, people
> coming from 100 miles away to get
there. This is very a very
> locals oriented
> place. I've
been going there now every year at the same time
> since
1999.
>
>
>
> Last year, it started to
change, fewer people, but still a good
> time. But
> this
year, I was in total shock at what I saw. I came in first
> on
a
> Wednesday, and Mel, the DJ I've known for years, tells me
"Gene,
> I think I
> gotta hang it up soon. There's no
traffic anymore. My nightly
> fees are being
> cut. They've
cut out Sundays and it looks like Wednesday is
> going too.
I
> can't live like this. " He was right about the traffic. The
> place was like
> an empty bowling alley. I had to wait an
hour past the normal
> start time
> just to get one more
singer in the joint.
>
>
>
> Then on Friday
night, I returned and it was the same thing,
> perhaps 10%
of
> the normal crowd size for a Friday. Then came Saturday. I go
to
> pull into
> the parking lot at the regular time, and
there were no cars
> around AT ALL
> except the employees.
I was stunned. I went in, and I've never
> seen so few
>
people in that bar, ever, on any night, in all these years. It
>
was worse
> than the previous Wednesday, and you never see that.
The
> jukebox, which is
> usually cranking until the
Karaoke starts, was silent. The
> employees and
>
bartenders looks rattled and scared, roaming around aimlessly.
>
>
>
> From my conversations with them, they told me
the same story
> over and over.
> Nobody has any money to
go out and have a good time anymore
> (remember, this
> is
a very local joint, not some here today, gone tomorrow
> tourist
hang out).
> Their customers all tell the same story, that gas is
too
> expensive, food is
> too expensive, and their
mortgages are swallowing up all their
> money. They
> can't
afford to go out.
>
>
>
> This particular bar
is also one of the rare ones in the area
> that closes at
>
5 AM, therefore, it becomes a bartenders bar after all the other
> placesclose up at 2 or 3 AM. They tell me that this crowd is
> gone as well. The
> other bartenders and waitress's
business is so bad, they have no tips,
> therefore no money to use
after quitting time. So this is not
> just the tale
> of
some dump that fell under the radar. This IS the place to go
>
around these
> parts. I think it's a hell of a barometer, one that
is not being
> picked up
> on in the press.
>
>
>
> So what is this saying? If the majority of
the populace cannot
> afford to go
> out for a good time
anymore, and/or there's no tourists coming
> around, are
>
we already in recession and why aren't we hearing more about
>
this? Even 9/11
> or the hurricanes didn't affect business this
much. What I saw
> was truly
> outside the bell curve.
Where else is this happening? These
> people are truly
>
frightened for their livelihoods.
>
>
>
>
This may just be a localized phenom, but I wonder about that. To
> quote my
> friend Mel, "People I know, older couples up
north tell me they
> can't afford
> to come down here
anymore. They got too much to worry about back
> up
north."
>
>
>
> One more Mel quote: "My
friends that work at local Publix
> supermarkets say
> the
average "ticket" per customer is way down, as if they're
>
getting very
> selective in what they're buying."
>
>
>
> Just one man's observations. Anybody else out there
have any anecdotal
> evidence?
>
>
>
Gene
>
>