That's how Chesley "Sulley" Sullenberger, the pilot that landed US Airways Flight 1549 was described in one report today. Sulley's plane was crippled after it flew into a flock of geese while en route from New York to Charlotte. The cool-headed pilot averted a complete disaster, landing the plane in the Hudson River, avoiding a deadly crash in a populated area, and assisted in the successful evacuation of all 153 passengers and crew safely from the plane. Reports state that he was the last to leave the sinking airliner, after twice searching every row of the cabin to assure that no one was left on board.
The above obviously has nothing to do with the financial markets, but I believe that Sulley's story is appropriate for this week's blog entry. It's a reminder of what can be done when those in charge take their responsibilities to heart without regard for their personal outcome. Unavoidable disasters can be survived, and the actions taken can serve as reminders for "the way it should be".
The financial markets have been in their own version of a crippled flight for the past several months. Our pilot and co-pilot, Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke, are trying to safely land the plane and get everyone to safety. But it seems that instead of helping us into the lifeboats, Congress has been intent on putting hurdles in the way, pointing fingers at the pilots, and trying to snatch a couple extra packets of peanuts for themselves on their way out of the plane. However, it seems that in the past few weeks they've finally come to the conclusion that they are going down with the plane if they don't start helping out.
I am pleased that the finger-pointing is decreasing, and the attempts to get things fixed are seemingly more constructive, rather than mere political ploys. That said, I am concerned about the eventual outcome. As I stated in the last entry, all this will have to be paid for somehow, and it isn't going to be comfortable when that happens.
The markets spent this week paying attention to earnings. Alcoa is the traditional lead-off man in earnings season, and often sets a psychological tone for the markets as earning season begins. And the tone set was not pretty. As companies have begun announcing their fourth quarter and full year 2008 earnings, the results have been pretty bleak. The estimates for the coming year are being reined in (predictably), and in some cases company management is choosing not to divulge their expectations for the coming year. In the latter cases, my presumption is that they just cannot foresee just how things are going to play out in an economy as weak as this one may become.
That said, we are seeing more value out there now than we have in years. We are slowly re-entering the market, and will be adding to equity positions over the coming weeks and months. We do not expect a rapid recovery in the broad market, but rather somewhat range-bound trading for the foreseeable future.
