Mike Marietti is the portfolio manager of Chicago based Resources Planning Group. To view his bio please visit his linkedin profile.

Two months into the Obama Administration, the market has not exactly endorsed the action that have been taken thus far. After falling more than 20% from the beginning of the year, the market rallied last week in one the strongest weekly performances on record. The greater then 10% movement upward in prices showed investors that prices don't have to fall all the time. The question remains as to whether the rally is the beginning of a sustained bear market rally or a head fake that will fizzle out in the face of renewed investor pessimism.

The rally was sparked by a couple of important events. First was the release of Consumer Confidence
and Retail Sales. Both were slightly better then expectations. Granted the bar was set low for
expectations, but the market was happy not to be disappointed by the numbers. The second was an
interview, carried on CNBC, of Warren Buffet. While Buffet was not optimistic about the near term, He
did allude to the fact that things should get better. With the size and efficiency in the US economic
machine, we should be able to work our way out of this recession.

That is something that is very important to remember. The entire total Stimulus package has been said
to total close to $2 Trillion. Of that amount roughly $500 Billion has been introduced in the economy
thru different measures. That implies that there is nearly $1.5 Trillion still to come. That is nearly three
times as much stimulus to have an effect. We are such an instant gratification society, that we want to
see the government action have an immediate effect. It won't happen that way. This is like how
doctors respond to emergency room victims. First they stop the bleeding, then they introduce
medication and finally there is a waiting period to see how things are going and what additional
measures should be implemented.

Technically the market was extremely oversold coming into last week. The Dow Jones Industrial was
trading at 65% of the 200 day moving average. That has happened less than 7 times and following each
was a rally. Cash is still on the sidelines and not yet convinced that it needs to come back in. Market
sentiment has not changed; it remains extremely cautious and bearish. Both of these circumstances
could actually feed the rally. With investors sitting out, if the market sustains itself here, then they may
feel like they will miss the move and come chasing equities.

For now, investors should look to remain in the holdings they have and selectively add to equity
positions as the market tests lower prices. For the long term investor, these drops are opportunities to
pick up some high quality names at discount prices. Areas that continue to attract our attention are the
Large Cap Growth sector in the US, the Pacific Rim ex Japan for foreign exposure and Treasury Inflation
Protection Securities for Fixed Income

If you would like to have further discussions, please don't hesitate to contact me at mikem@rpgroup.com.

Mike Marietti

INFORMATION IN THIS REPORT IS THE PERSONAL VIEW OF THE WRITER, NOT NECESSARILY REFLECTING THE VIEW OF RESOURCES PLANNING GROUP, INC. IT IS FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL USE. THE WRITER DOES NOT REPRESENT THAT IT IS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE. NOTHING IS GUARANTEED. ALTHOUGH THE INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT HAS BEEN OBTAINED FROM SOURCES RESOURCES PLANNING GROUP BELIEVES TO BE RELIABLE; WE DO NOT GUARANTEE ITS ACCURACY. ALL OPINIONS AND ESTIMATES INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT CONSTITUE THE JUDGEMENTS AS OF THE DATES INDICATED AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. THIS REPORT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED AS AN OFFER OR SOLICITATION WITH RESPECT TO THE PURCHASE OR SALE OF ANY SECURITY