You call that a sell-off?

See an article I recently wrote here. In this piece, I am arguing that yesterday’s selloff is not a watershed event and basically a non event. Jeff Macke called the article a very Russian one, when I inquired why he explained “My ancestors ate frozen wood while staving off Napoleon. 300 points doesn’t scare me.”

But 2.3% decline on 25% plus appreciation over last 12 months? That is not just me being “tough Russian” that is just common sense. This sell of in financials created opportunities in two of my favorite stocks First Marblehead (FMD) and US Bancorp (USB) (OK, USB is less of a favorite, but 5.2% yield and ultra conservative management is what I look for in a bank, I don’t want any lending heroism or Star-Treckish will go where nobody has gone before).

Also, Jos A Bank (JOSB) lost 10 points in over last couple weeks, and its valuation is very alluring at this point. A weak economy may shave off couple points of its growth rate over next couple years, but it should still do EPS growth somewhere in the mid-teens.