When does a Bull become a Bear

After four years of great returns on the TSX this week long losing stretch is bound to get people thinking the question 'is the bull dead and do we have a bear?'

My short answer is I don't think so. Why? What has really changed from last week beyond some numbers in some indexes? Not a whole lot, but I think we could be entering a period of a holding pattern for a while once everyone settles down.

The government looks like it could fall shortly after it introduces its budget or even fall on the budget itself which if the income trust legislation is included in that we could have a problem. Then add in the expected CO2 emission targets that are supposed to be out soon and that could really impact the oil companies depending how far the government decides to push them. Then add in the fact the banks have been getting some negative media coverage for ATM fees. We have a great recipe for an unstable investing conditions in the near future on the TSX.

So what to do? Perhaps some bargain stock shopping as I mentioned early this week is not a bad idea. Otherwise sit tight and review your long term investing plan and stick to it. After all the idea of a long term plan is to keep you from making rash emotional decisions during downturns in the markets.