Jobless claims rocketed up in December as new people filing for unemployment rose.  New layoffs caused jobless claims to rise 39,000 to 325,000 in December.  This is potentially just the start as the housing and housing related company's layoffs continue to impact financial and financial company layoffs, which will then create a smaller wave into many other sectors of the economy.  While the market has declined on the Dow from over 14,000 to below 12,000, and has some of this priced into it, the uncertainty will continue to pressure the market until we get some positive quarterly results under our belts.  This usually translates into a market testing it's 'bottom', and creating a sideways pattern for many months.

In other news, consumer spending also plummetted in December.  While it did rise .2 percent, it was way down from a November rise of 1 percent.  This is very negative given December is a seasonly very strong period for the consumer.  The Limit Order portfolio of stock picks is holding up well and we have a significant cash position (around 50%) to put to work when we get some re-test of the lows.