We’ve just had our Winter Solstice for 2008 – hooray for us. The solstice is where the when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is most oriented toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to reach its northernmost or southernmost extreme. We have two solstices a year and this is the winter one. It also is the longest day of the year when we have the least amount of sunlight and from this day going forward, the days start to get longer.
In ancient times, people use to attribute all sorts of mystical events to the solstice and the equinox. I think we’ve had enough mystical events with the collapse of the home industry and banking system so there isn’t anything that the ancients could bring forth – including the ridiculous end of the universe Mayan prophecies – that would scare people at this time of year. It should be a time for reflection, peace and good thoughts and actions to all men and women!
How does this affect business for the week of Dec 22? Well, most people should have already done the bulk of their holiday shopping. The few stragglers may get some sensational bargains because I doubt that retailers are doing great this particular year.
A lot of people are either laid off or were asked to take time off to help keep their companies afloat. There may be a lot of people with time on their hands and they may actually decide to buy something at the last minute.
The stock market tends to shut down volume-wise for this week with the exception of any programmed trading to adjust portfolios for the end of the year. I am not aware of any earth shattering news coming out to drive the stock prices up or down so expect things to hover for the next week.
It probably will be that way the week after with events leading into the New Year. Earnings from firms will start to trickle in and hopefully some of the banks out there will have let loose money to customers to get them spending and juicing up the economy.
Start gathering your receipts and organizing your files, spreadsheets and documentation for tax time. Starting in a few weeks, the W-2s will be going out (well, probably later on than the beginning of Jan) but if you are anticipating a refund, get ready to file after making sure you get all and I mean ALL your paperwork. That means wait till the bank sends you all your year end statements and 1099 documents. Check to see if they update your account on the web to see if you can get the info earlier. Make sure they are FINAL documents! If not, they will not match what the institution sends the Federal government.
Taking a tip from the Solstice, remember that it is dark outside depending on where you live and remember that eventually it will get light again. That silly little analogy is meant to apply to business and our world economy. Things will get better though like the changing of the seasons, we will have to wait patiently.
In the meantime, stay flush with cash and start doing research for investing as things are fluctuating.
And don’t party too hard! You don’t want to start the New Year feeling like you were in a train wreck…
Hang in there everybody and have a great week ahead!
Kim Isaac Greenblatt
Happy Winter Solstice 2008 and Business for Dec 22 week