Analysis Topic: Stock & Financial Markets
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Thursday, February 24, 2011
Crude Oil and Middle East Crisis Requires Defensive Bias / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
We head into Thursday’s trading session with an extended market that now has two negative fundamental factors to focus on; the Middle East and rapidly rising oil prices. Regardless of how long oil prices remain elevated, the market sees it as a reason to sell. According to today’s Wall Street Journal:
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Thursday, February 24, 2011
Stocks Bear Market Beginnings, There Goes the First Sector / Stock-Markets / Stocks Bear Market
Bear markets begin when something fundamental breaks. Usually the sector initially affected will roll over before the general market and tends to be a warning sign of what lies ahead.
The last bear market was triggered when the credit bubble created by Greenspan's foolish monetary policy burst. It was exacerbated by Bernanke's foolish attempt to debase the currency and reflate the bubble. All he succeeded in doing was to inflate oil to $147, which put the finishing touches on an already crumbling economy.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
What the Looming Inflation Tsunami Means for the U.S. Housing Market and Commodities / Stock-Markets / Inflation
Kerri Shannon writes: A few weeks ago, Money Morning Contributing Editor Martin Hutchinson warned readers about the looming inflation tsunami threatening the United States.
Easy money policies like those of the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks have helped raise prices in emerging markets, as well as the United States, and sent the commodities sector surging.
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Thursday, February 24, 2011
Stock Market Downside Follow Through! / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
The stock market indices started the day with a little bit of a bounce to the upside, and then rolled over immediately. At that point they spent the rest of the morning dropping. By midday they reached their session lows, and in the early afternoon they started to bounce back. That lasted until about 45 minutes to go, when they backed off again to increase the losses.
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Thursday, February 24, 2011
Rough Few Days For The Stock Market Bulls.... / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
Markets tend to catch the masses off guard. It's an old story with the stock market. The bull-bear spread has stayed quite high, and actually increasing in the number of bulls, and decreasing in the number of bears over the past few weeks. More and more are getting bullish which explains how the weekly charts got so extremely overbought, especially on the S&P 500 and Dow. High-70 readings on the Dow, and mid-70 readings on the SPX said it was time to reign it in some.
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Time To Buy Stocks In The Face Of Fear? / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
The MARKETS HATE UNCERTAINTY and that’s where we are at currently.That uncertainty can be summed up in a few words MID-EAST, from Libya to Bahrain and then some is what’s creating the uncertainty. Should Libya fall then some of the uncertainty will with it. We’ve all seen it before once some sort of certainty comes back into the markets the futures will be up big in after hours markets (think 1991 Iraq). When Libya’s Saturday Night Live dictator falls (and how), sure it could create a knee jerk down on the news event but keep in mind fast that a level of uncertainty will have diminished too.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Fastest Doubling of the S&P 500 Since the Great Depression! / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
Since its low in March 2009 the S&P 500 Index has doubled. Last week The Wall Street Journal stated that it was the fastest doubling since 1936. That rally began in March 1935 and reached the 100 percent gain mark in 501 days. The red vertical line in the chart below depicts the start of the rally.
This time the market needed a bit longer to double … 707 days.
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Stock Market Calls for Incremental Approach / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
As of 7:50 a.m. ET, the markets are stable, which is a good sign for now. The situation with Col. Moammar Gadhafi needs to be monitored closely. This morning’s Wall Street Journal (WSJ) provides a good visual of the unrest:
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Federal Stimulus Should Keep Stock Market Bulls Happy / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
Jon D. Markman writes: Stocks rose fitfully last week in a typically strange, exciting, exasperating options-expiration week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index all ended roughly 1% higher, while the Russell 2000 small-caps rose 1.5%
Treasurys enjoyed their firmest session of the past month in part due to an unexpected rise in unemployment claims. Bonds love misery because it suggests that inflation -- their arch enemy -- will remain under control. Inflation will be a problem as long as home prices retreat, jobs are scarce and wage hikes are a far-off dream.
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Secular Stock Market Insights, Stay Out of the ROOM / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
One of my favorite analysts is Ed Easterling of Crestmont Research. We used to get together a whole lot more when he lived in Dallas, but he has since moved to the wilds of Oregon. Ed’s first book, Unexpected Returns, is a classic work that I think is a must-read for all stock market investors.
And now he favors us with yet another book, called Probable Outcomes: Secular Stock Market Insights, in which he takes on the mostly silly research, done by so many analysts, that purports to show what an investor can expect to make from his retirement portfolio over time. I can’t tell you how disastrous this simplistic analysis can be for retirees.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Picture of the Two Latest Cyclical Stocks Bull Markets and Where the Current One is Headed / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
The US "stock market" is but a reflection of the US econo-political system firmly in control of the corporate crooks that put the top powers (Presidency and the Chairmanship of the Federal Reserve) in hands of those who would not shy from policies that result in evil economic and financial deeds. No other nation is the cause of America's economic problems. They are all homemade. The reason Americans are angry and anxious about the future is that evildoers, driven by desperation, have led the US economy and there is no change in sight. Obama was lying when he promised change.
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Stock Market Cycles Looking for a Peak! / Stock-Markets / Cycles Analysis
Since the Summer of 2010, the various U.S. stock indices have garnered an impressive run, pushing up some 32% from our last major bottom with the 9 and 18-month cycles.
The current upward move was anticipated, with the 180-day (i.e., 9-month) cycle confirming various upside targets along the way. In terms of cyclic price projections, back in September this 180-day cycle had confirmed an initial upside target to the 1187.09 - 1226.23 region for the SPX, which was satisfied on 10/21/10.
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Stock Rising on "Rivers of Blood" / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2011
"Libya is at a crossroads. If we do not agree today on reforms....rivers of blood will run through Libya.
We will take up arms...we will fight to the last bullet.
We will destroy seditious elements.
If everybody is armed, it is civil war, we will kill each other.
Libya is not Egypt, it is not Tunisia"- Saif al-Islam Kadhafi, 38 (Moamer's son)
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Monday, February 21, 2011
Commodity and Financial Markets Cycles Analysis / Stock-Markets / Cycles Analysis
Hugh Hendry of Eclectica Asset Management and Gary Shilling of A Gary Shilling Company are bearish on China, and the world. We must pay respect to both of these market players as they have had an abundance of correct market calls in the past. Their opinions are contrarian, so for trends to change, major cycles must be ready to roll over. Lets review a few...
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Saturday, February 19, 2011
Stock Market Up, Up and Away, Elliott Wave Analysis for Week Starting 21st Feb / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
For the eleventh week in a row the SPX made new bull market highs this week. Statistically that is quite a run as this seven month uptrend continues to extend. Economic reports were plentiful and positive. Thirteen were positive or improving, four negative or weakening, and one flat. The negatives were declines in industrial production, building permits and the M1-multiplier, plus an increase in weekly jobless claims. The NAHB housing index remains flat and bouncing along the bottom. On the positive side; the PPI/CPI were positive, along with import/export prices, retail sales, the leading indicators. On the improve were the NY/Philly FED, business inventories, capacity utilization, the monetary base and the WLEI.
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Saturday, February 19, 2011
Mutual Fund Investors Are Piling Into the Stock Market / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
Gallup Finds U.S. Unemployment Up to 10.0% in Mid-February
Underemployment surged to 19.6% in mid-February from 18.9% at the end of January
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Saturday, February 19, 2011
Stock Market Rapidly Approaching Long-term Resistance....... / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
What a great ride this has been for us. Fun for sure. Bigger picture, as long as printing press Ben is active, the fun should last a lot longer. That doesn't mean the market won't take some time out to pause and sell down some. There are a plethora of reasons to expect a sell off some time soon. The three primary ones are major resistance on the Nasdaq (chart included) at 2861. Add strong resistance on the transports and small caps (charts also included), and you have a lot of sectors close to major resistance. The second reason is overbought daily charts, and finally, you have confirming, very overbought, weekly charts on the major indexes. RSI's in the upper 70's on the Dow and S&P 500 on those weekly charts. Stochastic's a hair under 100. It doesn't go higher than 100.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 18, 2011
Investor Wealth Preservation and Enhancement via Reality Checks / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2011
“Ron Paul has written a book, End the Fed, well known in these circles. We have a better idea: Stiff the Fed.
In case you missed it, the financial cable network CNBC actually produced something informative a little while ago. It listed our 15 biggest creditors, the entities to which the captive citizens of the United Snakes of America owes money…
We owe Japan $877.2 billion. China ranks a measly third: they've been shedding U.S. debt like crazy, converting it to stuff we used to do, like mineral and oil production, but they're still just a hair shy of a trillion, $895.6 billion to be precise.
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Stock Market Selloffs Ignite U.S. Dollar Rallies / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011
The inevitable periodic selloffs in the general stock markets indiscriminately hammer all stocks lower. But they pose a special magnified risk to commodities stocks. In addition to weighing on this sector directly, stock selloffs ignite fast US dollar rallies. This rapidly drives dollar-denominated commodities prices lower, amplifying the selling pressure faced by commodities stocks.
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Global Investing Strategies 2011, U.S. Stocks, Dollar, Inflation and China / Stock-Markets / Investing 2011
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes: If you're a regular Money Morning reader, then you know that, d uring my appearances on national television or when I'm doing media interviews around the world, I frequently participate in something called a "lightning round " - a rapid-fire interview technique in which the announcer (and sometimes even audience members) run through a list of questions in rapid-fire order.
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