These few big blue-chip stocks have been a bit dull lately: Philip Morris International dropped a straight -3% today. It feels like the defensive consumer and financial sectors have no fight in them at all. Even Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble are slightly down. It's enough to make one adopt a zen-like attitude. The volatility in U.S. stocks doesn't look exciting, but seeing your account balance slowly eroded is the most agonizing part.

American Express, on the other hand, is a bit interesting, up just a tiny bit, but the financial sector as a whole is still weak.

Holding these stocks now is really like being stuck with an old landlord. A major blow-up is unlikely, doubling is out of the question, holding them feels uninspiring, but selling them risks missing out on a new market rally...