Toxxic graph, page-3

That is just one chart of many that you can use to look at the broader state of the economy. The thing about charts though, especially economic indicator charts, is you can put whatever spin you want with them.

I'm personally of the opinion that we're approaching a pretty rocky period as far as global markets go, but we won't go there.

In all honesty though, what that means is, in my opinion, we are approaching a period where you will have to be very selective about the stocks you pick. The old mantra of "buying the dip" of your stock standard blue chips isn't going to continue to work in conditions where earnings are decreasing and the consumer economy in general is struggling.

It means that you've gotta companies with genuine growth prospects. That is companies with a proven, disruptive product that's going to snag market share, rather than simply maintain their current market share.

That's because in many markets, there's a decent chance that the overall size of that market is going to shrink over time, or at the very least, it's not going to grow at a rate thats sufficient to significantly grow your companies earnings, simply by maintaining market share.

AJX fits that bill perfectly. Now, AJX will undoubtedly move around, especially during periods of panic - that's why I've got some dry powder sitting there should such events happen - you've gotta be prepared for that and be ready to see it as an opportunity, rather than something that's painful.

I'd actually love to see her back at 50c