A Good Time to Shop for Liz Claiborne

Editor's Note: Gary B. Smith's column runs exclusively on RealMoney.com; this is a special free look at his column. For a free trial subscription to RealMoney.com, click here. This article was published Feb. 19 on RealMoney.

We have to be near a bottom. We just

have

to be. Why? OK, remember during the height of the bubble, we had to put up with that smug

Ameritrade

kid who went around trying to get his boss to buy

Kmart

(KM)

stock online? (A double-whammy of all things: plugging Kmart... at the top!)

Now we have to put up with that sour-grapes

TD Waterhouse

guy. Gee, he's a real ray of sunshine, isn't he? Like Peter Boyle having a really, really bad day. Yikes, just depressing.

Anyway, if smug kid marked the top, Mr. Happy has to mark the bottom. I hope so, anyway!

Today, the

Nasdaq

,

Liz Claiborne

(LIZ)

,

Interpore International

(BONZ)

,

EchoStar Communications

(DISH) - Get Report

,

Macromedia

(MACR)

,

Principal Financial Group

(PFG) - Get Report

and

Schlumberger

(SLB) - Get Report

.

And that is the final word from Park City, Utah, where I am seriously hoping we have more ice skating controversies, not fewer. It's the only thing that's really spiced up this snoozer of an Olympics!

Gary B. Smith is a freelance writer who trades for his own account from his Maryland home using technical analysis. At time of publication, he held no positions in any securities mentioned in this column, although holdings can change at any time. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Smith writes a daily technical analysis column for RealMoney.com

and produces a daily premium product for TheStreet.com called

The Chartman's Top Stocks. While he cannot provide investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to send your feedback to

Gary B. Smith.