Based on the full parking lot at the Gaylord Palms Hotel in Orlando, there was no doubt that the "World Money Show" enjoyed record attendance last week. I had to valet my car, since finding a parking place was eventually futile. I enjoyed seeing many of my subscribers there. I must say you are among the most sophisticated investors I meet. I can see that my PortfolioGrader Pro, and my weekly letters and hotlines help educate and empower investors more than ever.

Although I'm still a bull on global markets, I strongly object to the bulk of advisors in Orlando, who told folks that it was time to go "bargain-hutting" in financial stocks, especially major banks. Profits have essentially been wiped out in the financial sector and are now back to where they were 20 years ago. I see continued write-downs, mostly due to escalating mortgage woes, over the next five to six quarters. In fact, the housing market may not improve until late 2009, due to excess inventories.

At the Money Show, I also commented that much of the freefall in the operating profits of the financial sector is attributable to the collapse in derivative securities, especially Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) and Structured Investment Vehicles (SIVs). The only bright spot that I could see is that maybe the massive multi-billion write-downs from major banks and financial institutions might get a bit smaller in the upcoming quarters. In Florida, I also argued that the "seismic shift" out of value and into growth would continue to persist, due to the fact that the Russell value indices are dominated (30% to 38%) by financial stocks, predominately banks.

Due to the "anchor" that financial stocks will likely continue to have on the U.S. economy and the overall stock market, I stressed at last week's Money Show that selected Blue Chip Growth, Emerging Growth and other "A"-rated stocks would continue to represent the "silver lining" in the stock market chaos. I stressed that there are now obvious problems with some emerging markets, like India, but that our quality would likely continue to fare well. I also told investors that I jumped into the stock market recently with my own money, in mutual funds that I manage, but of course I am an aggressive investor. I stressed that the overall stock market will likely have to "retest" its recent lows and then trade within a wide range. Only then, after the volatility dies down, will there be a good buying opportunity for more conservative investors. I expect that to fall some time between mid-March and early May, after the Fed makes more rate cuts, on March 18 and perhaps April 30.