Have you been listening to the talking heads on CNBC-TV? Or those talk radio stock experts? Getting all those good recommendations on what to buy now. Now?

Those guys keep telling me the market is oversold. It can't go any lower. (But it does.) I bet your broker has some hot tips for you too. Advice from a broker is a eulogy for your money. I don't think he has told you about the one position you should have in your account right now. It's a nasty four letter word to him - CASH. In a money market fund it will make you about 5%, maybe 6% and that is better than the bloodletting going on in the market.

There is an old saying - "When in doubt, get out". And right now everything is in doubt. The "experts" are confused as one says 'recession', another says 'hard landing', another 'soft landing', 'buy', and no one says 'sell'. That last word is a 'no-no' on Wall Street. Less than 3% of all brokerage recommendations are sells. They are afraid they will offend the company and won't be able to talk to the CEO any more. Hey, what about us customers out here? We are the ones who are paying the bills.

Garrett van Wagoner of the Van Wagoner family of funds said he follows 5,200 Nasdaq stocks and that more than 1,000 of them have lost 90% of their value and 200 have dropped over 99% in value. Yes, he says there are some great values out there, but he doesn't say which ones or when to buy. I'd like to ask him if he was smart enough to sell some of those puppies before they hit bottom.

The stock market mavens think they are market makers, but they are more like weather meteorologists who predict but cannot manipulate the weather. When the weatherman is wrong you get wet. When the stock experts are wrong you get soaked.

As I have said in past columns there is no hope that Nasdaq will go back to the 5000 level for many, many years. Ten years would be my closest guess. There are too many stocks being held by investors who are waiting for a rally up so they can get out "even". This kind of thinking keeps you poor. Your money is tied up in a stock that will never perform when it could be some place else making you a profit. There is always some dummy out there who will buy your garbage.

We are having a bargain basement sale now in the stock market. Most of it is something no one wants. Ever been to a garage sale? Can their junk be your treasure? There will be plenty of time to buy, but now is not the time to go shopping.

Al Thomas

Albert W. Thomas has spent most of his life in the field of finance. In 1965 he founded an insurance holding company, Security Dynamics Investment Corporation, after having been an agent and General Agent for several life insurance companies. In 1970 he became cofounder and president of Real Life Estate, Inc., that marketed a unique real estate and life insurance package.

After he became interested in commodities he bought a seat for his personal trading on the Chicago Open Board of Trade, which is now known as the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange. Later he became a full time trader and also acted as a commodity broker for a few select clients. By fellow floor traders Al is considered to be an excellent technical analyst much of which is outlined in his book IF IT DOESN'T GO UP, DON'T BUY IT! It became a best seller on Amazon.

In 1981 he sold his membership on the Exchange and with his wife, Carolyn, lived full time aboard their 41' ketch, the Aumakua (which means guardian angel in Hawaiian). They sailed in Florida and the Bahamas for two years.

He founded World Trading Group in 1984 that grew to the seventh largest introducing commodity brokerage firm in the U.S. with 35 offices from coast to coast, Alaska and Canada. It was sold in 1992.

Al is a graduate of Northwestern University with a B.S. degree in Commerce and is a member of MENSA. He is now president of Williamsburg Investment Company that syndicates his weekly financial column since 1999 to more than 300 newspapers and writes a financial market letter called Over My Shoulder that is quoted in Barron?s and many other publications. A 3-month trial subscription is available on his web site. He is a regular guest on several financial radio talk shows.

His favorite pastime is fishing.

Mr. Thomas is available for speaking engagements. Please call 321-453-5300 for more information.