A Credit Picker's Market

We're dealing with a bit of mixed messaging in market-related news. It's hard to tell what's up and what's down. Here's our current state of affairs:

• Banks are telling you to buy stocks. According to them, the bottom is in and they're canceling their recession calls for Europe. Meanwhile, all of them are closing investments, departments & laying off staff.
• After inflation, 62.2% of the stocks in the Russell 3000 are negative year-to-date on a real return basis.?
• Inflation expectations rise again to 4.4%, the highest we've seen since April.
• Moody’s just placed U.S. debt on credit rating probation. One more false move and the nation loses its final AAA.

If your Spidey Senses are tingling and you're wondering if the bulls are bears in sheep's clothing, you're not the only one. As the kids say, the math just ain't mathin'.

Let's take a closer look at what's really going on and why it just might be a credit picker's market. Of course, we'll tie it all together with what it means for our fellow heroes on the journey.

Meanwhile, at Club Billionaire

If you're looking for a crystal ball into our financial future, look no further than what the billionaires are up to.

All across the country, the richest in the nation have reduced their exposure to the stock market by what experts say is the most dramatic margin in years.?

As of January, those with a million dollars or more in investable assets held more than 34% of their portfolios in cash, the highest level since 2002.

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