Steve Jobs resigns

     It is the end of an era at Apple.  The man behind the iPod, iPhone and the iPad announced his resignation today after more than 30 years in the computer business.  Under Steve Jobs leadership, Apple grew into one of the largest companies in the world by market capitalization and its designs and innovation became the envy of the computer industry.  Jobs had been telegraphing this move for years as health problems had taken its toll on his abilities to run a company.  Jobs will remain on the board of directors but Tim Cook will replace him as CEO.  Apple's stock price quickly dropped almost 6% in the wake of the announcement trading around 358 dollars after earlier closing at 376.18.  Jobs will be missed.
     The other big news of the day was the action in gold.  Gold dropped over 100 dollars today as hedge funds took profits after a huge runup.  Traders may also be anticipating some negative news regarding gold prices from Ben Bernanke this Friday.  Gold had gotten so far above its 50 day moving average that something like this was bound to happen.  Dennis Gartman says this is the popping of the gold bubble and to get out now and do not look to buy this dip.  I happen to agree and foresee another 150 dollars of downside from here as the momentum is very strong to the downside.  After the bell, the CME hiked margin requirements 26 pct which should add to the downward pressure tomorrow.  I'm glad I didn't buy the dip in gold recently but will see where it stabilizes as I do want to get some exposure to gold.
     Market action today was once again very positive as the DOW gained 143 pts, the SNP 500 up 15 and the NASDAQ up 23.  This was a continuation of the rally that saw the DJIA gain 500 pts in the past 3 sessions.  The market is now in a confirmed uptrend, however this Steve Jobs news may derail the positive momentum.  A quick check of after hours action reveals futures down 46 points on the Dow and 24 pts down on the technology heavy NASDAQ.
     It was quite unfortunate for me today the timing of this news as I purchased some AAPL today and am now quickly in the hole 5 pct.  AAPL stock will probably flounder for awhile after this because Steve Jobs was AAPL and he is irreplaceable.  I may have to sell out tomorrow, but I will see what the market reaction is.  People may look at this as a dip buying opportunity as AAPL is still making money hand over fist and is one of the cheapest growth stocks out there.  I look for a continuation of the recent rally until Friday when Ben Bernanke is slated to give a speech from Jackson Hole Wyoming regarding the state of the economy and whether the Fed will provide more stimulis.  I have low expectations for what the Fed may do but it seems the market is anticipating some kind of help from the Fed.  We could rally until Friday and then sell off on the news is my expectation.  Good luck out there. 

MFW when I found out Steve Jobs resigned...

Disclosure:  Long NLY and AAPL