Analysis Topic: Stock & Financial Markets
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Saturday, March 10, 2007
Weekly Stock Market Technical Analysis Report - 10th Mar 07 / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
The good news is: New lows which hit 106 on the NYSE and 159 on the NASDAQ last Monday declined to 23 on the NYSE and 58 on the NASDAQ on Friday.
Short Term
New lows will reveal the short term condition of the market, but, for now, the picture is unclear.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Unwinding the Yen carry Trade and its Effect on the Financial Markets / Stock-Markets / Yen Carry Trade
Two weeks ago I wrote:
I suspect that in the context of an inverted yield curve (and especially of a steepening inversion) the market's PE is unlikely to continue to expand as it has since last summer. Note that since '03 there has been a strong correlation between the sinking market PE and the flattening (and then inverting) yield curve. At present PE is rising as the trend in the yield curve resists doing likewise. I continue to suspect that that divergence is unsustainable.
The above was written in reference to the following chart when the market PE (blue line) was peaking at 15.2. It has since sunk (abruptly) to 14.5.
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Friday, March 09, 2007
Stock Market Rallies after last weeks slump - The Worst is Far from Over! / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets
With today's relatively benign jobs report coming in close to the consensus forecast and with the stock market comfortably above Monday's low, most on Wall Street are breathing a sigh of relief. The popular position is that last week's turmoil was simply a speed bump on the road to greater prosperity, and that a recession and a bear market are low probability events. As you may imagine, I beg to differ.
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Friday, March 09, 2007
Stock Market Analysis - A Major Crash...or a Major Bottom? / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
On Tuesday, Feb. 27, the stock market experienced its biggest 1-day tumble since 2001. That it created quite an impression on the minds of millions of investors is undisputed. What is disputed, though, is whether this sharp decline represented a needed correction of an ongoing intermediate-term bull market...or perhaps the start of a major bear market?
The debate continues with everyone having a different take on the matter. But the market itself is giving clear and decisive readings as to which side of the argument is likely correct.
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Thursday, March 08, 2007
Another Potential Crisis for Investors - Israel Plans to Attack Iran’s Nuclear Facilities / Stock-Markets / Iran
There's a heck of a lot happening right now! The markets have been volatile, so I want to give you a quick update on where I see things heading next. And I also want to tell you about a looming threat that many investors are still ignoring. Let me get right to it ...
First, with rare exceptions, my indicators on the U.S. markets are turning south. It appears that my warnings are coming to pass — investors are finally starting to notice weak real estate markets, too much debt in the country, peaking corporate earnings, and the weak dollar. So don't be surprised one iota if U.S. stock markets start to yo-yo like crazy, or even fall sharply.
Second, in direct contrast to the U.S., and despite all the scary things you're hearing, Asia is booming . There's been no change in the spectacular fundamentals underlying China, India, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, or Indonesia. All of these countries are exploding with economic growth. Their stock markets, while a bit more volatile right now, are in strong long-term bull markets .
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Thursday, March 08, 2007
Subprime mortgages hit Banking sector and likely to lead to further Stock Market Falls / Stock-Markets / US Housing
Let's look at a 3 year picture of the S&P 500 versus the Banking Index today.
Why is it important to look at the Banking Index at this time?
The answer is, "because of mortgages, the home building industry, and a credit contraction."
First, the home building industry caved in, but our economy seemed unaffected.
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Thursday, March 08, 2007
Paulson downplays Stock Market worries - Despite Yen carry trade warnings / Stock-Markets / Yen Carry Trade
Hank Paulson is sweating bullets right now.In fact, a shrewd investor could probably make a fortune just figuring out what type of high-blood pressure medication he's on and then betting the farm on the manufacturer.
Last week the stock market bull plopped down on an I.E.D. and wound up in intensive-care sucking food from a straw and drifting in and out of consciousness. That put Paulson on the road to South Korea, Japan and China where he'll meet up with his foreign counterparts to strategize on the deteriorating state of world markets. It's a daunting task. The sudden rise in the yen has set off a brushfire that's swept through the global system clearing out the dead-wood and sending panicky fund managers out onto the streets.
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Thursday, March 08, 2007
Crash Proof your Stock Market Invesment Portfolio / Stock-Markets / Investing
You buy home insurance to protect your home against fire, storm damage and theft ... auto insurance for your car ... and perhaps even long-term care insurance to prevent undue erosion of your assets in later years.
But do you take similar steps to protect your investment portfolios? Think it's not needed? Before you answer, consider these facts:
Fact #1. For many investors, the total amount at risk in their stock portfolio is similar to — or even larger than — the amount at risk in all their other assets combined.
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Tuesday, March 06, 2007
The Damage has been done to the Financial Markets as Volatility Soars and The Carry Trade Unwinds / Stock-Markets / Yen Carry Trade
Up to last week, people were saying the Dow and other major markets were ever rising, the VIX was at super low levels, risk pricing was way too low in all markets.
The Dow appeared to climb ever higher, super bearish writers and economists were questioning themselves about the stock markets that never seemed to drop, but just kept climbing ever higher. There was talk about the ever greater liquidity continually pouring money into financial markets. That is was/is true.
But that was then – a couple of weeks ago. Now, market sentiment everywhere has been badly shaken. The VIX rose an incredible 60% last week. Previously, its historically low levels indicated there was virtually no investor fear in the markets. In a very real sense, the damage has now been done, and financial markets of all types are like a seriously wounded aircraft carrier, listing badly and on fire. It still floats, but just barely. Just about anything can now finish it off.
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Tuesday, March 06, 2007
What the media isn't saying about China's Stock Market Plunge / Stock-Markets / Chinese Stock Market
The Shenzhen/Shanghai Index of 300 stocks fell 9.2% last Tuesday.
Why? Because the State Council, China's highest ruling body, said it started a special task force to clamp down on illegal share offerings and other banned activities. Investors were worried that the government's zeal could damage the whole stock market.
There's no question that 9.2% is a big single-day drop. However, just looking at that one day doesn't tell the whole story. In the previous six days, the same index had jumped 13%. That means that, despite the big drop, the index was still up 3.8% in seven trading days. I'd hardly call that a disaster.
Regardless, a parade of market watchers has been bad-mouthing Chinese stocks, blaming them for the Dow's plunge, and more. Today, I want to tell you some things that you're not hearing from these so-called experts.
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Tuesday, March 06, 2007
In depth Market Wrap - US Economy, Stocks, Bonds and Currencies - China Crisis / Stock-Markets / Global Stock Markets
The Economy - The Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product last quarter rose at a 2.2% annual rate. New home sales plunged, while orders for durable goods slid the most since October.
Personal Income was up 1.0%, while personal spending was up 0.5%. If the figures are correct, such is a good thing, as less was consumed then produced and earned, which allows for savings.
The ISM Manufacturing index was up 3 points to 52.3. Prices paid were up 6 points to 59. Production and new orders both increased by almost 5 points.
Confidence among U.S. consumers fell last month from a two-year high as fuel prices ate into personal income, and employment weakened.
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Monday, March 05, 2007
Stock Market Manipulation - The secret maneuverings of the Plunge Protection Team (PPT) / Stock-Markets / Analysis & Strategy
The Working Group on Financial Markets, also know as the Plunge Protection Team, was created by Ronald Reagan to prevent a repeat of the Wall Street meltdown of October 1987. Its members include the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Chairman of the SEC and the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Recently, the team has been on high-alert given the increased volatility of the markets and, what Hank Paulson calls, "the systemic risk posed by hedge funds and derivatives.”Last Tuesday's 416 point drop in the stock market has sent tremors through global system. An 8% freefall on the Chinese stock exchange triggered a massive equities sell-off which continued sporadically throughout the week. The sudden shift in sentiment, from Bull to Bear, has drawn more attention to deeply rooted “systemic” problems in the US economy. US manufacturing is already in recession, the dollar continues to weaken, consumer spending is flat, and the sub-prime market in real estate has begun to nosedive. These have all contributed to the markets' erratic behavior and created the likelihood that the Plunge Protection Team may be stealthily intervening behind the scenes.
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Monday, March 05, 2007
Un-winding of Yen Carry Trade Likely Cause of China's Stock Market Crash / Stock-Markets / Analysis & Strategy
A BOWL OF RICE topped with chicken and egg, oyakodon translates literally as "mother and child" – a tasteless joke for the chicken and its babies, perhaps. But add a dash of soy sauce and it makes for a very tasty meal.The chicken-and-egg question of Japanese carry-trades, on the other hand, is rapidly making investors sick the world over. Which came first – the end of carry, or the collapse of share prices in Shanghai? The newswires blame Beijing's threat of higher interest rates...new restrictions on stock market IPOS...even a tax on financial speculation!
But what if the sudden unwinding of the carry-trade caused Shanghai to collapse instead? If you think that oyakodon has got little to do with the S&P losing 5% since this time last week, take note. For the chicken and egg question also applies going forward.
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Sunday, March 04, 2007
Stock & Commodity Markets Elliott Wave Analysis - 4th Mar 07 - What a Difference a Day Makes / Stock-Markets / Elliott Wave Theory
It's funny how one day can change everything for so many traders and investors. But at TTC we just did what we do every day and, as you're about to see, the strategy worked quite nicely!
First, we're still very proud to have ridden the bull market all the way up from last summer's lows, insisting each week that the ride wasn't over yet. After reaching the 1360 target on the SPX it was easy to say “done”, but I refused after reviewing literally hundreds of charts. Instead, I took the stance that a stronger, multi-decade Fib matrix target on the NYSE was asserting itself, and would need to be reached.
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Sunday, March 04, 2007
Canadian Stock Market - Bear Market has Possibly Begun - TSX - Elliott Wave Analysis / Stock-Markets / Canadian Stock Market
Wow! What a day!The sharp sell off today in all sorts of equities following the plunge in Asia is slowly confirming that the mood of market participants is now changing from greed to fear. A day like we experienced today is a precursor sign that we are now entering a bear market of larger degree. In this report, we will check what is going on using the Elliott Wave Theory.
To simplify the analysis below, we will only take a look at Canadian equities because we believe the TSX index is by far the easiest to analyze no matter the time frame we are looking at due to the very classical and simplistic patterns it made in the past. In other words, it is less complex than indexes tracking the American equities such as the SPX, INDU and COMPQ but yet still reflects what happens down the border and worldwide.
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Sunday, March 04, 2007
How do you Spell TOP in the Dow Jones and other Stock Market Indices / Stock-Markets / Forecasts & Technical Analysis
How do you Spell Stock Market TOP ?
Look at the projection on the chart below - The Red curve SOLD QQQQ 44.73 2c From the Top.
The Original projection was posted 3 days before the top !
"Sentiment is Super Bullish, Bearish transportation not confirming, buying pressure is rising, stocks not responding. Dow has either topped Wednessday or may have 1% more left".
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
Weekly Financial Markets Review - China Plunge, Dow Jones Index Errors and US Recession / Stock-Markets / Analysis & Strategy
The week was dominated by Tuesdays sell off in China's Shanghai Index by 9%, and its ripple effect across the Worlds Stock Markets, which saw falls of more than 4% across the board by the end of the week.
We had been warning of the likely hood of a sell off in China for much of February. Several articles preceded the sell off in the stock markets including Mondays US Subprime Mortgages Fallout and Declining Housing Market likely to hit the Stock Market.
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
Weekly Stock Market Technical Analysis Report - 3rd March 2007 / Stock-Markets / Forecasts & Technical Analysis
The good news is: Last Tuesday NASDAQ volume of declining issues (OTC DV) was 24 times the volume of advancing issues (OTC AV). In the past ratios of that magnitude usually occurred near short term lows.
Short Term
Last Tuesday's 24 to 1 ratio of OTC AV / OTC DV ranks 8th highest since 1978, the first year for which I have NASDAQ volume data.
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
The Real Reason for the the Stock Market Falls - Cheap Money from the Bank of Japan / Stock-Markets / Analysis & Strategy
If you think stock markets were the only ones that went haywire this week, look again:
The dollar fell sharply, especially against the yen ... Treasury bonds soared, with the long bond gaining almost a point and a half on February 27 alone ... and gold prices swung all over the place.
In other words, volatility went off the charts in almost every market I track. A volatility gauge maintained by the Chicago Board Options Exchange, for example, exploded 63% in a single day, the biggest increase in U.S. market history.
What single force links all this action? What little (or big!) beast could possibly be behind so many seemingly disparate market moves? Here's my answer …
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
Spike in VIX Stock Market volatility - The End Of Complacency? / Stock-Markets / Analysis & Strategy
This week we look at the recent upspike in volatility, see if we can connect some dots with the recent slew of earnings downgrades and the problems in the subprime mortgage world, and follow the money as risk is being taken off the table. I don't "buy" the China problem, but there may be an Asian connection. Let's try and keep it simple as we try and see what's behind curtain #3 labeled "Which direction is the stock market headed?"
But first, if you have not signed up for my Strategic Investment Conference in La Jolla, California, April 19-21, this week's market action is a perfect reason why you should. Want to get the real lowdown on China? Come listen to one of the premier Asian investment experts, Louis-Vincent Gave, give us his on-the-ground view of Asia.
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