<I can not short - makes me way too nervous>
Makes me nervous too. All my conclusions are tentative.
As I've posted before, my KLIC short is a small fraction of my portfolio, and I am still net long the market. This is a hedge for market risk, a way to reduce overall risk. My long positions are in energy and drugs. My largest position by far is cash.
<What if they get the pumps going tonight with that power line.>
That would be a step, one single step, towards getting control. Unfortunately, with each passing day, the amount of released radiation makes it steadily harder to do anything anywhere near the reactors and spent fuel pools. With each passing day, there is more damage to all the containment structures, and more melting of spent fuel and reactor cores.
And, although it is off the front pages, the Middle East revolutions and Europe debt crisis haven't gone away. The Saudi army is killing protesters in Bahrain, the civil war in Libya is ongoing, Europe's hi-debt nations continue to see credit ratings cut and interest rates rise.
You are right, that buyers can find alternative sources, for electronics components and most other items. But this takes time and money. In the meantime, shortages develop, production lines get shut down, and sales are lost. |
