Wall Street’s Biggest Blunders in 2011

We all know that bailing out Wall Street has cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of
billions of dollars. But the collateral damage caused by Wall Street propaganda
is much higher. How much did investors lose during this summers meltdown and why
did Wall Street recommend buying before stocks tumbled? More importantly, how
can you use Wall Streets predictions to make money in 2012? The Real Damage
Caused by Wall Street Five Wall Street heavyweights say its time for individual
investors to shun the perceived safety of bonds and get over their fear of the
U.S. stock market so they can take advantage of what they predict will be a
third straight year of solid gains for stocks in 2011. Before you go out and buy
stocks, beware that you just read the 2011 outlook printed on the front page of
USA TODAY s Dec. 17, 2010, edition. USA TODAY wasnt the only one distributing
Wall Streets Kool-Aid: Outlook 2011 10 strategists see the S&P 500 finishing
next year at 1,373 Barrons , Dec. 18, 2010 Long way from dog days: 2011 might
see record Dow AP, Dec. 17, 2011 Greenspan says U.S. economy is gaining
momentum, may expend 3.5% next year Bloomberg, Dec. 17, 2010 2011 Casualty
Report Wall Streets bullish outlook paid off for the first 34 trading days of
2011, but starting in mid-February, the major U.S. indices a la Dow Jones, S&P
500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 suffered a series of set backs. As the chart of
the S&P 500 below shows, there was one major high and one major low along with a
number of minor highs and lows within a general trading range. What was Wall
Streets advice right before the May high and the October low? Buckle up, enjoy
the ride and get ready to make a brand-new New Years resolution. Guilty on All
Counts The S&P 500 topped on May 2 at 1,370.58. Ironically, that was the same
day Osama bin Ladens death hit the wire (so much for news driving the market).
Here are some headlines found right before the May high: World revs up U.S.
profits Wall Street Journal GE CEO Immelt says global economy is improving AP
The S&P 500 breaks out Yahoo Breakout The Dows going to 20,000 Yahoo Sales
growth the big surprise on Wall Street AP Buffett says odds of another U.S.
banking crisis low AP Quite to the contrary, the May 1 ETF Profit Strategy
Newsletter recommended to go short at 1,369 with a tight stop-loss. This trade
was in line with the outlook provided in the April 3 ETF Profit Strategy update:
In terms of resistance levels, the 1,369-1,382 range is a strong candidate for a
reversal of potentially historic proportions. During the next few weeks, the
newsletter recommended to lock in profits a couple of times, but most
importantly reaffirmed its recommendation to go short before the summer meltdown
occurred.