MIDDAY CHOP

My trading platform (TS) still with issues so just watching the chop and losing dollars to it- anyhow:

CNBC all excited about the 3 cent dividend raise at JNJ - clearly a bull market in pain relief and band aids. I think UPS is the real story of the day and just wondering if they or AAPL is the true tell of the day. Anyhow- JNJ down 2% as I type.

Gold also quite the story today as it moves on up through $900 and is testing the $910 level.

Market internals continue to worsen- NAZ- 900 and NYSE -440;

Other economic readings -not so great:

The IMF just downgraded its global growth outlook … again: The group now expects the world economy to sink 1.3% this year. That comes against its January projection of +0.5% growth. This time last year, the IMF was looking for global growth to come in at 3.8% in 2009. Advanced economies are expected to continue to lead the global economy on the way down, shrinking 3.8% this year. Emerging economies are forecast to eke out a 1.6% growth rate this year. Witnessing an outright contraction in global GDP, as the below chart attests, is unprecedented (data back to 1970). Take a look at page A9 of today's Wall Street Journal, "IMF Says Global Recession Is Deepest Since Great Depression".

Universities fall on hard times: Some colleges across the country are so financially-strapped that some are selling off school radio stations, paintings and dipping into their endowments to stay afloat, causing anger among many donors. Have a look at the front page of today's WSJ, "New Unrest on Campus as Donors Rebel".

If the earnings out of the nation's big health insurance companies are any indication, Americans are losing their health insurance at a rapid rate. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, for every percentage point increase in the unemployment rate, the number of uninsured grows by roughly 1.1 million. For more, take a look at page B1 of today's WSJ, "Health Plans Lose Members Due to Layoffs".