New Jobless Claims

It appears that new jobless claims have dropped "sharply". http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100422/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy

Good news, right? Last week the consensus estimates were that the number would be 440K new jobless claims but it came in at 480K. This week it was at 456K. The nuttyness is that the 440K was forgotten and the 480K became the new benchmark. Within a week we've gone from disaster (with the high increase from 440K estimate to a reality of 480K) to a recovery (with the decrease from 480K to 456K).

Yesterday, I moved most (not all) of my 401K money into bond funds for the time being. The stock market is insane. I think we've finally reached the high. I think it makes sense to stick to things like bonds that have a consistent rate of return for the most part. Over time there will be opportunities when stocks or real estate or gold or other assets are low and you can move the bond money to those and ride the upswing. I predict there will be increasing volatility as insiders game the system through establishing quarterly expectations. You can also take advantage of it if you pay attention.