Analysis Topic: Stock & Financial Markets
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Saturday, November 29, 2008
Important Questions for the Stock Market and U.S. Economy / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
Mike Larson writes: It's a beautiful, long holiday weekend. I've been celebrating Thanksgiving (and my birthday) with my family, and I'm sure many of you are also busy with relatives and friends. So I'm going to keep this week's column short.
Specifically, I'm going to highlight three big questions we should all be thinking about — and offer up my best answers. I feel these are the most important three questions to ask right now because the answers will determine the next big moves in the market and the U.S. economy.
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Saturday, November 29, 2008
Important Aspects of Dow Theory Interpretation / Stock-Markets / Dow Theory
It's amazing how many people write articles and publish material on Dow theory. The sad thing is that the vast majority of the material I see is dead wrong. Recently, I was sent an older article that was published by a Certified Financial Analyst stating that a Dow theory “buy signal” was triggered on April 18, 2008. I was asked why that so-called signal failed and why my read on the Dow theory has proven correct. It's simple. When I read these articles I always see a common denominator in that it becomes immediately apparent that the author had never actually studied the original writings of Charles H. Dow, William Peter Hamilton or Robert Rhea.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Stock Market Patterns Suggest More Upside / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
I'll keep things brief tonight as the holiday shortened week didn't do much to change my outlook from Wednesday. What appears to be setting up is the exact opposite of what was happening in the down trend for several months. The 60's would flash amazingly strong positive divergences along with very oversold conditions and the market could barely rally. The 60's are now very overbought with some strong negative divergences out there but it's not mattering.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 28, 2008
Healthcare Stocks ETF Looking Robust / Stock-Markets / Sector Analysis
Many of the major components of the SPDR Select Healthcare ETF (AMEX: XLV) have been acting well technically and exhibiting patterns that argue for more upside directly. These include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MKR), Pfizer (PFE) and Eli Lilly (LLY). Let's expect continued strength in the ETF that next confronts a key 8-week resistance line, now at 25.35/40. If hurdled that will trigger upside follow-through towards my optimal target zone of 27.20/60.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Is the tide turning for the Stock Market? / Stock-Markets / Global Stock Markets
I posed the following question a few days ago: “ Does the stock market rally have legs? ” We have now had four days in a row of a higher market, something we have not seen since June this year. This is also the S&P 500 Index's biggest four-day surge (+18.0%) since 1933.
A sharply weaker opening yesterday as a result of a barrage of gloomy economic reports was followed by a reversal on the news of former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker's appointment to a new White House Economic Recovery Advisory Board tasked to revive growth in the US. Involving the 81-year Volcker in this way is a smart move by President-elect Obama.
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Thursday, November 27, 2008
Dow Jones Stock Market Index Defies Gravity And Reality / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets
The Dow Jones is now on a 1,000 point, four day winning streak in a defiant bear market rally that defies the ever darkening economic backdrop and the awful cowardly terrorist attacks in Mumbai. So as the ghastly slew of economic data continued unabated yesterday the reality is that this mini rally has probably a lot to do with month end portfolio adjustments from cash and bonds into stocks. Look at US 10 year Treasuries yields which are below 3%, so the bond market is blowing this rally a big raspberry.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, November 27, 2008
The Millennium Wave Suggests Dramatic Technological and Economic Changes / Stock-Markets / Resources Investing
- A Thanksgiving Fire Drill
- The Financial Fire Trucks Are Gathering
- The Millennium Wave
"It will therefore be crucial that you see the world anew. That means looking from the outside in to reanalyze much that you have probably taken for granted. This will enable you to come to an understanding. If you fail to transcend conventional thinking at a time when conventional thinking is losing touch with reality, then you will be more likely to fall prey to an epidemic of disorientation that lies ahead. Disorientation breeds mistakes that could threaten your business, your investments and your way of life." -- James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg, The Sovereign Individual, 1997
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Dow Jones Three Up Days In A Row! / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
After the helter skelter of the previous two days of headline-grabbing gains, the stocks markets went about their business in a more sedate manner yesterday. They still finished above water , extending their winning streak to three. Equities were buoyed by Hank and Ben's latest trick, direct intervention into the frozen mortgage markets.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Stock Market Rally Impressive Resiliency / Stock-Markets / Tech Stocks
One thing is for sure: the major equity market ETFs in general, and the Q's (Nasdaq: QQQQ) in particular, all have exhibited some impressive resiliency today -- in the aftermath of 13-14% upmoves since last Friday's low. As to whether or not the pullback from 28.80 to 27.52 in and of itself represents a completed minor correction, I really don't know just yet. A climb that sustains above 28.30 ahead of the closing bell will argue that the Q's in fact have started a new upleg. Conversely, inability to hurdle 28.30 will leave open the likelihood of another loop to the downside that retests and possibly breaks today's intraday low at 27.52 prior to my expectation of another upleg.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Does this Stock Market Rally Have Legs? / Stock-Markets / Stocks Bear Market
Global stock markets rallied for a second consecutive day after the US government agreed to rescue the beleaguered Citigroup (C) and as President-elect Obama introduced his administration's new economic team, emphasizing the need for quick action to hasten an economic recovery and signaling that he may be willing to keep at bay higher taxes for the wealthy.
The MSCI Word Index has improved by 10.1% since the start of trading last Friday, whereas the MSCI Emerging Markets Index lagged somewhat and registered a more modest gain of 4.6%.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Citigroup Collapses! Global Banking System Shutdown Possible / Stock-Markets / Global Financial System
It pains me deeply to announce that, despite the massive government rescue, yesterday's collapse of Citigroup could ultimately lead to a shutdown of the global banking system.
For many years, I hoped this would never happen, and I thought we might be able to avoid it.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Paradox of Deleveraging Will Be Broken / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
We are clearly not having as much fun taking off leverage as we had putting it on, or at least the vast majority are not. This week in Outside the Box we look at some very thought-provoking insights from my good friend Paul McCulley, who helps us think about how we got here and what will be the end point. From the letter:
"But what ailed Lehman was but a manifestation of what ailed, and ails the global financial intermediary system: the presumption that grossly levered positions in illiquid assets can always be funded, because those doing the funding will always assume the borrower is a going concern."
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Monday, November 24, 2008
Stock Market Excellent Follow-Through Session / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
We had an excellent follow-through day to the rally on Friday. The indices gapped up at the opening, did have a quick pullback but held, and then came on very strongly. By late morning we had a pretty sharp pullback for about 20 minutes, but they held intraday moving averages, bounced and then made successively higher lows and higher high all afternoon until they finally spiked up with about 15 minutes to go at the session highs. At that point the Dow was up nearly 550 points, but they pulled back sharply over a 10- minute period, and with about 5 minutes to go, jumped back again.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 24, 2008
A Stocks Bull and Bear Market / Stock-Markets / Stock Market Valuations
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue! Up until Friday, last week was a pretty bad year, down over 13% and the specter of another US bank hitting the ropes along with most, if not all the auto companies sent investors running for the safety of government bonds. The yields are now below 0.05% on 3-6 month bills (that is NOT a misprint!). By Thursday's close, the markets had erased all of the gains from the bull market of '03-'07 and pushed the SP500 down to levels that were first breached during April of '07.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Stock Markets Remain at Extreme Risk of Crash Despite Rallies / Stock-Markets / Financial Crash
In his genius, E.F. Schumaker foresaw the eventual demise of present day central banking long ago, and offers a workable solution that can both co-exit and operate within transition from failing fiat currency based economies flaming out due to accelerating inflation . And make no mistake about it – the global economy is flaming out – with all strata of economies soon to begin the decentralization process. One need only look at the collapse in the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) for confirmation in this regard. The credit crisis, and lack of trust it sponsors between financial institutions both domestic and foreign alike, has crashed international trade markets the likes of which never witnessed in the history of mankind. As growing numbers begin to understand this condition is not temporary, but the future, process will take hold, and economies will increasingly regionalize.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Financial Market Forecasts and Investments Strategy / Stock-Markets / Stocks Bear Market
Market Guidance: Past, Present and Future - Despite the strong closing bounce off the new intraday low of around 7400 reached on Friday, it's likely the Dow has further downside. These lows may not occur for another 12-18 months. Alternatively, they could occur at any time. The timing is impossible to predict in advance. The important thing to focus on as it stands today is the likelihood that the stock market will head lower down the road. So you should adjust your investment strategy to reflect this scenario.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 24, 2008
U.S. Financial System Bailout Mushrooms to $7.4 Trillion / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis Bailouts
This news leaves us simply speechless.
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — Fed Pledges Exceed $7.4 Trillion to Ease Frozen Company Credit — The U.S. government is prepared to lend more than $7.4 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers, or half the value of everything produced in the nation last year, to rescue the financial system since the credit markets seized up 15 months ago.
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Sunday, November 23, 2008
Stocks Soar as Obama Assembles Recession War Council / Stock-Markets / Recession 2008 - 2010
Welcome to the Weekly Report. This week we look at new appointments, timings and why Obama is willing to start work early.
An hour before the stock markets closed on Friday we started to get some "breaking news" scrolling across the screens of the financial TV channels, pointing to new appointments in the Obama administration-in-waiting.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Financial Markets Wild Ride Between Fear and Optimism / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
A new bout of fear gripped financial markets during the past week, causing the slide in global stocks, commodities and emerging-market assets to deepen. As investors' angst escalated, positions in risky assets were liquidated in exchange for perceived safe havens such as the US dollar, government bonds and gold bullion.
“We have seen fundamental selling, technical selling, forced selling (deleveraging), short selling, capitulation selling and selling due to ennui,” commented David Fuller ( Fullermoney ).
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Sunday, November 23, 2008
Gold and Financial Markets- A Nova-view / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets
The jump in the gold price on Friday November 21st 2008 may be the harbinger of a sea change in attitudes in the markets in general. To understand the implications of this it is probably appropriate to take a step back and take a fresh look at the Big Picture.
The chart of the ratio of the gold price to the commodities index enables us to monitor whether the markets are viewing gold as just another commodity or, perhaps, something other than a commodity. Below is a 3% X 3 box reversal Point and Figure chart of this ratio (courtesy stockcharts.com).
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