This is telling:

When we are seeing valuations like this (and continual selling even near the low), there is something seriously wrong with the investment environment. What that is, I am not sure at the moment.

I think it's just lack of interest. I noticed this in Jan/Feb. Even though Venture was rising, there weren't a lot of individual stocks popping, so the enthusiasm (like we got in the last half of 2010) wasn't really there. Normally, I sell stocks that spike up, but there were only a few, so I had to sell anything that had a decent run. Since Venture broke trend early March, I started selling everything that had a decent bid. Now, I'm afraid I'll wind up selling stocks breaking down below their tax-loss lows. Any stock that does that is bad news.

As expected, the juniors participated well in the Santa rally, but since then, they have acted very poorly. What's really worrisome is that the US markets have continued to stay strong - what happens to the juniors when US markets correct? It's still possible the juniors will hold up during a general market correction, but I wouldn't bet on it with my own money. At the very least, the juniors should be avoided until there is a break of the March downtrend in the Venture. When that happens, it will be time to reassess.

I am looking for another good run in the juniors at some point in the latter half of the year, but for now, I'm going to continue to raise cash.