Macro Outlook

Why gasoline will NOT drop below $2.00:

Average commutes in Major U.S. cities:

San Francisco: 10 miles

Seattle: 9.5 miles

Chicago: 10 miles

LA: 10.6 miles

Washington DC: 10.6 miles

Boston: 9.6 miles

Anchorage: 6.4 miles

San Diego: 9.9 miles

Denver: 8.6 miles

Portland, Ore.: 8.2 miles

Bucks spent on commuting per year:

Average annual cost per driver: $13,313 times

134 Million U.S. Commuters: $1.7 trillion.

Okay, that may be a tad high, as not everyone struggles through DC beltway traffic like I did for a couple of decades.

But I think you get the picture.

Material Profits

An early heads-up…

I'm on my way to New York for my second appearance on Cavuto on Business. The show will air on Saturday morning at 10:30 am EST on Fox News.

If you get a chance, watch it and let me know what you think. Send me an email at wavestrength@taipangroup.com with the subject line “Saw you on Cavuto.”

Trading Tactics

I reported yesterday that we have a one-up, one-down earnings situation that's keeping the Dow stuck right at the 12,000 level. This morning, we're seeing the same thing happen once again.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT:NYSE) is down more than 10% after the heavy-machinery maker reported a lackluster third-quarter profit. At the same time, Google Inc. (GOOG:Nasdaq) is up $30 as the top search provider reported earnings in the most recent quarter rose to $733 million, or $2.36 a share, from $381 million, or $1.32 a share, a year ago.

Merck & Company Inc. (MRK:NYSE), 3M Company (MMM:NYSE) and Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP:NYSE) are all up around 2% due to their earnings reports. Nevertheless, the Dow has once again dipped under 12,000, trading off 43 points as I write.

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