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In this age of constant contact we email, IM and now Twitter with such rapidity that time itself seems be passing even faster than it actually is. It would appear the stock market is in tune with the new trend[More...] Read More …
“There is only one side of the market and it isn’t the bull-side or the bear-side but the right side”–Jesse Livermore, Legendary Stock Market Trader We want to thank Investopedia.com and Jack Guinan for the Livermore quote and the hilarious cartoon above. Many have been brainwashed to believe that “…for higher (stock market) returns” we need to take more risk. Nothing could be further from the truth. For more profitable returns on our investments we need to be on the “right side” of the market’s direction and on the right side of those who control the market’s direction.[More...] Read More …
45% of retirees aged 55-75 have either not calculated how long their assets are anticipated to last during their retirement years or they have never given the issue any thought at all (Financial Advisor Magazine: June, 2009). This to me is a startling statistic. Almost half of the surveyed population doesn t plan for the years when they are no longer working? Is retiring one day really not on people s minds? Maybe it s not given how poorly the stock market has performed over the past decade. Even so, the time to think about retirement is well before it starts, not once you ve already decided to permanently quit the workforce. Entering retirement without a plan can put huge restrictions on your retirement lifestyle. A common mistake made by those who don t plan properly is overspending given your asset levels at the time of retirement. People don t realize that the average retiree needs about 80% of their pre-retirement income to[More...] Read More …
Since the beginning of July, the most prominent feature of the market has been the divergence in volume between financials and “all other” stocks. While overall stock market volume has been flat if not down over the past two months, and a continuation of a long-term downward trend since the March ramp up, the volume in financial stocks has staged an unprecedented pick up. First, note the volume drift of the SPY since March, the best proxy of overall volume participation via key money managers: As the chart below demonstrates, five primary names have been responsible for the bulk of the volume in not just financials but across the entire market. The five stocks are Citi, AIG, CIT, Fannie[More...] Read More …
“The end game for this bullish phase (on stock markets) needs to be considered well before the event. While the timing is largely guesswork at this stage, the usual causes are not. Bull markets are usually assassinated by tighter monetary policy,” said David Fuller. This post considers the likely timing of an exit strategy of central banks and the implications for stock markets. Please visit my website (by clicking on the heading above) for the full article, as well as other interesting investment snippets. [More...] Read More …
Another good reading from Schwab’s Liz Ann Sonders. Still maintaining the long-term bullish view while admitting recent strength is due to investor “panic buying”. She also stresses the importance of China with regards to the current rally we’re seeing. Not as much figures and data as before, but balanced and insightful commentary. What I like is that the article allow us to detach ourselves from daily stock market volatility and[More...] Read More …
I get emails occasionally asking why I sound bullish sometimes and bearish sometimes. For example my last post below sounds relatively bearish. First of all, in answer, I think one can and should always be bearish on some asset classes or markets and bullish on others. Second, I am always thinking in multiple time frames, and I am bullish in some time frames and bearish in others. My shortest time frame is the approximately four to eleven day cycle of the tides. In this time frame I was bullish on stocks for a week into yesterday, and now I will be expecting the stock market to go sideways to down for a week to ten days. I don’t buy and sell much at these short term bottoms and tops, but I do use the tops to take some profits on some positions if I am seeing other things I might want to own.[More...] Read More …
