chartAnd so it begins. Today, after the bell marks the official 3rd quarter earnings reports from companies. So have already announced in the past few days, but today is the official start and as the markets showed themselves today, there was a lot of struggle for direction in the choppy waters which managed to close the markets with modest gains off light volume. Today a Wall Street Journal cited that analysts expect companies in the S&P 500 to show a 25% decline in profits, which is actually better than 27% drop that was seen in the second quarter. I guess you need to find the good in every situation (no matter how bad it looks). With the drop in commodity prices, the biggest drops could be seen in the energy sector which might indicate a good time to sell if your up, or prepare for buying opportunities.

A few companies that were in the news today were AirTran Holding and Avis which are both going to try to sell their debt.

Now as I type this today, its already been announced that Alcoa has posted a surprise 3rd quarter profit which is the first for the company in a year. This is great news as I called it a few times during each earning season, buy if you believe there will be a spike. I won on Apple last quarter and today managed to get a small stake in (AA) Alcoa for $13.99/share for 200 shares. The stock closed at $14.20 and right now I cannot see an after hours price, but will sell for a quick profit if the spikes AH are good enough or will unload at the open tomorrow on the panic buyers who will try to get in on the media hype. **edit** my account shows a price of $15.05 after hours. I am selling and taking a quick and easy profit off the table before a pullback. Sold at $15.09

Total Profit on Aloca (AA) = $220

Here is the market close summary for Wednesday:

News:
U.S. Consumer Credit Fell By $12 Billion in August

Dell to lay off 905 in plant closure.

Costco Profit Tops Analysts’ Estimates; Shares Gain

Blackstone to buy AB InBev parks for up to $2.7 bln

For tomorrow I will be watching Pepsico and Marriott. These are two stocks that announce before the bell and I wish I had a piece of either before they announced but its too late now. Both are expected to surpass their estimates which should provide a nice bounce for the stock prices. Will they sustain any potential spikes? That will depend on the outlook the companies provide. Also, with the US dollar on the decline again, the Canadian currency is starting to hit new highs for the year. This could be a good time to start using Canadian dollars to purchase US dollar near parity which can be later converted for a gain. I will be starting to hedge my cash to take advantage of these opportunities.

Happy Investing!

Aman, MBA

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