Sketchy, shady street slime

Mr. Nice Guy within me thinks that hey, when Morgan Stanley downgraded Baidu yesterday, well, it was about reality and the possibility of BIDU's growth rate slowing, revenues tailing off, blah blah blah.

But Mr. Skeptic in me knows that Morgan Stanley laid off a bunch of employees yesterday, and in a further potentially profitable manuever, called for the downgrade to spur a selloff ... and inevitably, cheap shares to buy for the books.

Mr. Nice Guy within me also thinks that Citigroup's downgrade of Blue Nile (NILE) this morning is more of a possible downturn in online jewelry purchases, a byproduct of a slowing economy, indirectly related to foreclosures.

But Mr. Skeptic knows that it's a bunch of bullcrap, that Citigroup is simply trying to knock down NILE's shares to rake up cheap. With all the exposure to the mortgage meltdown, a whole lotta big boys out there are going to keep trying to scare the average investor out of his/her shares, all so they can get a stock like NILE down to 90 or 80 bucks when it's worth more than 100 right now.

Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me. But it won't scare me. Hell no. Still don't believe me? How about this: Deutsche Bank downgraded Citibank from buy to sell this morning, citing severe management ineptitude. You don't think Citigroup is desperate to do whatever it takes to maximize a profit?

I'm holding my NILE, you downgrading Citigroup bastards.

Time to roll the dice?

Is this a buying opportunity in Las Vegas Sands (LVS)? Maybe. The stock took a nasty fall today when new figures for Macao gaming were robust (55% growth), but not as magnificent as the street had anticipated.

Forbes: Investors Lose A Bet On Macau

The stock fell nearly 12% to $127, a huge drop from yesterday's intra-day high of 145.

Little more than a week ago, I took a closer look at LVS. Found that I like the new location, the product (I actually stayed at the Venetian in Las Vegas almost a decade ago) and the open field ahead for the stock. But I couldn't conclude that a buy was in order because the stock was technically out of sight. Way, way above its moving averages, and traders who rode a big gain this year could have left the table with fat profits.

With today's plunge, the stock is well below its 10-day simple moving average (135) but still far above its 50-day SMA (107). So, is LVS a buy here?

I think the impact of the Macao numbers isn't over yet. I think there's still too much profit on the table for some traders to let this one ride. So I'm going to keep watching until LVS finds a floor. If the stock levels out and starts riding back up, I won't mind losing a few points. Trading or investing in Asia is still a fairly decent hedge against a slowing U.S. economy, and there is far too little exposure to that region in my portfolio.

Pupule says: Buy small, if at all, and/or wait for a) a better price, or b) a return by the bulls. There's a reason why I graded LVS as a B+ rather than an A or A- 11 days ago. There's no need to gamble here.