Analysis Topic: Stock & Financial Markets

The analysis published under this topic are as follows.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Stock Market 2012 Inflection Point / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2012

By: Tony_Caldaro

A quiet holiday week closes out the volatile 2011. After making a new uptrend high at SPX 1269 on tuesday, the market declined to 1249 on wednesday. And that, was the entire range for the week. For the week the SPX/DOW were -0.60%, and the NDX/NAZ were -0.45%. Asian markets lost 1.1%, European markets were +0.8%, and the DJ World index was -0.1%. On the economic front reports were mainly to the downside. On the uptick: Consumer confidence and the WLEI. On the downtick: Case-Shiller, Pending home sales, the Chicago PMI, the Monetary base, and weekly Jobless claims increased. During the year the SPX traded between 1371 and 1075 ending with a net loss of 0.04 points. Trading for 2012 starts on tuesday with a full economic plate for the week. Highlights include the FOMC minutes, ISM, and the monthly Payrolls report. Happy New Year!

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Sovereign Debt Collateral Damage, What to Expect 2012 and How to Prepare / Stock-Markets / Global Debt Crisis 2012

By: John_Mauldin

Which path will we take? If we could only grow our way out of our sovereign debt problems. But growing debt creates even more problems if not dealt with, making it even more difficult to deal with; yet getting the debt and deficit under control brings its own form of pain. As I keep pointing out, there are no easy choices left. Some countries must choose between difficult and very bad, and others are faced with either disaster or calamity. Greece simply gets to choose what it wants to be the cause of a depression. Long and slow or fast and deep? Choose wisely.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Financial Markets 2012, Entering the Mayan’s Final Year / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2012

By: PhilStockWorld

You would think, coming into what the Mayan’s may have predicted to be the final year for this planet, that people would want to make sure they get things right but no – most people just predict for next year a variation of what they thought would happen this year – no matter how wrong they were in 2011.  

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Stock Market Review...2011 and What May Be Ahead For 2012..... / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011

By: Jack_Steiman

2011 was clearly the year of the bull.

Why, you ask?

Think about it, folks. This market was hit with a tremendous amount of bearish news from all over the world. Europe in terrible shape with many of the Eurozone countries tinkering on bankruptcy. Desperate measures are being taken to try to keep things afloat. Day after day we hear of how dire things are overseas. We know that Japan and China are struggling with their economies, and things are slowing quickly.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Stocks Bull Market Relief Rally Sends Dow to 5.5% Gain for 2011 Before Dividend Income / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011

By: Nadeem_Walayat

The DJIA closed an extremely volatile 2011 up 5.5% at 12,217 (11,577) before dividend income is taken into account, which in terms of the indices is about the minimum return one should expect from long-term stock market investing, so as to beat Inflation. Now before readers start stating a string of indices that failed to end the year in positive territory i.e. showed significant divergence to the DJIA. In which respect the Dow has always been my primary stock index for analysis and trading for the past 25 years, and highlights the mistake many analysts tend to make which is to play pick and mix with stock indices, such as the perma-bear's who jump from index to index, whichever with the benefit of hindsight supports the bear point of view, which at this point would have many opting for the european stock markets, China's SSE (-21%) or for a really big 'ouch' factor India's BSE (-24%), though it is unlikely the bear trends in any of these markets would have actually been capitalised upon since most are only being mentioned with the benefit of hindsight.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011, Wall Street Shysters Stock Market Targets Year in Review / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011

By: James_Quinn

“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” - Mark Twain

I published my predictions for 2011 on January 3, 2011 in my article 2011 – The Year of Catch-22. Humans evidently enjoy being embarrassed by how pitiful they are at predicting the future, because we continue to do it year after year. The mainstream media pundits don't dare look back at their predictions or the predictions of the Wall Street shills that parade on CNBC and get quoted in the Wall Street Journal, eternally predicting 10% to 15% stock market gains. The multi-millionaire Wall Street strategists like the spawn of the squid, Abbey Joseph Cohen, have used all of their Ivy League brain power to predict at least a 10% stock price gain every year since 1999. The S&P 500 stood at 1,272 on January 6, 1999. As of this writing it currently stands at 1,261. ZERO appreciation over the last twelve years.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011 A Year Of Odd Global Stock Market Divergences! / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011

By: Sy_Harding

Global economies and stock markets have always had a strong tendency to move in lockstep with each other. That tendency has become even more pronounced as global economies have become increasingly dependent on each other in international trade of their goods and services.

So the divergences this year have been rather odd.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Preparing Your Finances for 2012 / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2012

By: EWI

It's hard to believe that 2011 has passed so quickly and that 2012 will soon be here. Now is a good time to look back over the past year and assess your finances. Did your choices this year put you in better or worse circumstances? Do you have the information needed to make wise decisions in the next year? Are you prepared to protect your financial future?

Friday, December 30, 2011

Financial Crisis Script for 2012 / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2012

By: Money_Morning

Shah Gilani writes: Welcome to 2012, the third act of a tragic play. As an investor, you have a part in it.

So, if you haven't been paying attention to character development or lost sight of the plot, you're going to be frozen onstage when it's your turn to act.

Friday, December 30, 2011

U.S. Markets and Election 2012, Pull Out The Big Guns! / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2012

By: UnpuncturedCycle

You know it's only a question of time. Ron Paul is in the lead in Iowa and running a strong second in New Hampshire so the press is bringing out the big guns in an effort to knock him down. The top two articles on MSN.com are "Is Ron Paul A Homophobe?" and "Romney Surges in Iowa" with the latter implying that his move to overtake Paul is all but in the bag. I know a thing or two about the Midwest since I grew up in Illinois and I can tell you that the folks in Iowa won't lose a minute's sleep if Paul came out against homosexuals or not.¹ The problem is no one expected him to be "in the game" right now and folks on the Republican side of the isle are very nervous. That means things will get very dirty.

Friday, December 30, 2011

New 2012 Massive QE Investor Opportunities / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2012

By: DeepCaster_LLC

“Even as the Dow struggles higher, the internals of the stock market grow weaker. It’s as if a mortally wounded soldier, a bayonet thrust into his stomach, rises to make a final dash towards the enemy. With his last breath he still presents the picture of a fierce fighting man.” Richard Russell, 12/28/11

Friday, December 30, 2011

When Ticks Outnumber Dogs, What to Expect for Investment Environment 2012 / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2012

By: Barry_M_Ferguson

A new year is upon us. What should we expect from the investment environment in 2012. Over the past several years, the stock markets have been transformed from markets to casinos, from investing to gambling, and from skill to fortune. Central bank intervention and manipulation has morphed into domination and control. We have witnessed, and continue to witness, a profound change in the way our economies function. We must adapt or we shall perish. If there is one fundamental difference that distinguishes today from decades passed, it is this. Going forward, I believe the key theme will be that the ticks now outnumber the dogs. Let me explain.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Stock Market Looks Poised to Reverse Hard to Downside Within Days / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011

By: David_Banister

The market has been in the process of a near 13 Fibonacci week corrective rally since the October 4^th 2011 lows at 1074 on the SP 500.  So far the highs reached on the initial rally of 218 points were in October at 1292.  That has remained the high water mark as we have consolidated over the last many weeks.  I expect the market to complete this counter-trend ABC bounce during the Dec 27^th-29^th window, followed by a good sized correction into Mid-January ahead of the earning season.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Stock Market Back on Crash Alert / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011

By: Anthony_Cherniawski

Yesterday the SPX decline to mid-cycle support/resistance at 1249.27. This morning it is taking a brief bounce to retest the 200 day moving average at 1258.87. As an alternate, it may challenge the 50% Fibonacci retracement at 1259.02.

Additional support may lie at the 50 day moving average at 1235.61 or the intermediate-term trend support at 1230.87. However, other circumstances dictate that those supports may have little influence on the decline.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Stocks Are Topping, Gold Has Topped and Gold & Silver Are Moving Lower / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2011

By: Chris_Vermeulen

The last week of the year volume tends to be light due to the fact that big money traders are busy enjoying the holidays and waiting for their yearend bonuses.

I was not planning on doing much this week because of the low volume but after reviewing some charts and risk levels on my top 5 trading vehicles I could not help but share my findings with everyone last Friday.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Get Ready for Another Stock Market Plunge! / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011

By: Anthony_Cherniawski

The VIX has staged a breakout of its smaller Ending Diagonal Formation, but is still underneath mid-cycle support/resistance at 26.94 and the upper trendline of its larger Declining Wedge formation. The VIX is posing a challenge to the equities markets again. My best interpretation of the cycles is that the VIX may be challenging the upper trendline of the Declining Wedge formation by the end of this week.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Stock Market Back To No Control........ / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011

By: Jack_Steiman

The market getting back up to the breakout area of 1267 on the S&P 500 looked so promising if you're a bull. We headed into the holiday weekend with breakouts that were the talk of the stock market world. The bulls were talking the talk as it seemed Europe was under control for the moment. The reports in the United States, currently, aren't at all bad. The reasons for a breakout seemed real. That is, until today when the bears, not so fast, stopped us cold when we tried to break things down. But now, we're stopping the bears as well. No one in control. Volume is light, thus, both sides need not apply too much pressure to hold the other side off from making the bigger move. Holiday time of year when volume is basically light.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Euro Holds Key For Stock Market Rally / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011

By: Chris_Ciovacco

The best way to monitor the sustainability of the current push higher in stocks (SPY) is to keep an eye on the euro and U.S. dollar. The correlation between stocks and the euro has been strong in recent months. In the current environment, when the euro strengthens, stocks tend to come along for the ride.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Stock Market Volatility Lurks / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011

By: Fred_Sheehan

The European Union is putting its money where its mouth is. Never taking the slightest blame for euro woes, its New York employees are moving to new offices at 666 Third Avenue. The EU's United Nations delegation will "take about 45,000 square feet .... and pay about $60 a square foot annually for 15 years...." reported Bloomberg on December 23, 2011. Negotiations with its prospective new landlord, Tishman Speyer Properties L.P., are nearing completion. The real estate company should consider an anti-EU hedge at the moment the EU signs up.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Central Bankers vs. Natural Stock Market Cycles in 2012 / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2012

By: David_Knox_Barker

Government fiscal policy and central bank monetary policy have the specific goal of stamping out the business cycle. Governments have been intervening in the economy and financial markets with fiscal policies for thousands of years. Central banking, at least its current form of the last one-hundred years or so, offers more sophisticated and less transparent methods of intervention including interest rates, quantitative easing (QE), reserve requirements, currency swap lines, bank loans, etc. Use of these tools has risen sharply in recent decades, but they have never really worked. It is time to realize that business cycles and their accompanying market cycles are natural forces that are here to stay.