Dow closes above 10,000 (again)

The Dow closed above 10,000 today due to the news that Germany is considering loan guarantees for Greece's debt. It's not surprising that someone stepped up to the plate to save the euro zone from experiencing a default, but it is surprising that investors seem so confident it will happen.

I am having flashbacks of when people were so confident when Lehman would be saved from the brink of bankruptcy. Oh no, a 150+ year old firm could never go down in flames. JPM and BAC and Uncle Sam will be around to save them. Sound familiar? Perhaps I am being too bearish after all this time sticking my head in the sand. Perhaps not. If you are a day trader, the last few trading days should have been a dream come true for you.

Last Thursday and Friday, I decided to place some Limit Buy orders on a few securities. One was for the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) and the other was for Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). Even though a handful of researchers are calling for the end of Gold Rush III to be over soon (i.e. lack of inflationary pressures in the near term), I believe there is enough fear remaining in the markets that it is always good to buy some bling.

As far as my choice to purchase some Pfizer, I read a bunch of positive reviews from Money magazine, Merrill research analysts, as well as S&P analysts regarding PFE's prospects. Bruce Berkowitz picked PFE in Money Magazine (Jan/Feb double issue due to its 8.4x PE and believes that the stock will see some good movement this year. Diane Jaffee picked PFE in the same issue, highlighting the company's recent acquisition of Wyeth as an opportunity for the drug giant to cut costs and generate cash. Hopefully, Jaffee is right and the dividend will go back up this year. Either way, no matter what happens to the healthcare reform on Capitol Hill, boomers will continue to flood the big pharma market with more customers. I think PFE is a pretty safe bet, short and long term.

So, what stocks/ETFs have you purchased recently?

Note: A Limit order is a an order to buy or sell a set number of shares at a specified price or better. This gives me more control regarding what price I pay for a stock vs a market order, where it can be $1.00 more or less, depending on when my order was placed online.