Early this morning I was doing my research and noticed that the futures didn’t look any better than they did Sunday night. In fact they looked a little worse. I’ve held the view that that the banks, who have been one of the leaders of the recent stock market rally don’t have any real reason to do it. It’s not like the credit markets are running well again. It’s not like toxic assets are all gone, and it’s not like the real estate market is any better. Banks are still hurting but to watch the market, you would think that a big money tree had grown in the back yard of each of the big banks.

What separates the great stock pickers from the amateur? You will be surprised to find that it’s many of the same attributes as any other discipline. I was a guest contributor to another website where I answered that question. Here is a brief excerpt of that article: