Published July 21, 2017
After an extraordinary seven months sitting in Buy, our Turbo Model finally succumbed to a pullback in the Nasdaq and issued a Sell signal at the end of June. That kicked off a string of signals, six in all, that was essentially breakeven with a -0.4% return. This came after a near +20% run from the seven-month Buy signal of early December. (more…)
Published July 14, 2017
As many of our subscribers are interested in various stock market strategies, and timing strategies more specifically, we thought you might enjoy this article from Dana Lyons.
“Seasonality in stock investing is a tricky thing. In one way, some of the most profitable and reliable timing systems are those which depend only upon seasonality. On the other hand, emotionally and rationally, they are extraordinarily difficult to implement, at least exclusively. (more…)
Published July 7, 2017
Since hitting $55 per barrel at the beginning of the year oil prices have steadily declined to a price around $45 now. This tumble below $50 marks a point where some newer wells might be unprofitable. Nevertheless, U.S. supply of oil has been surging higher for years now upsetting the decades-long dominance of OPEC oil nations and remaking the global oil market. (more…)
Published June 30, 2017
We found this recent post from Ben Carlson to be of interest:
Sir John Templeton wrote “16 Rules for Investment Success” in 1993. The following is by far the most quoted passage:
The investor who says, ‘This time is different,’ when in fact it’s virtually a repeat of an earlier situation, has uttered among the four most costly words in the annals of investing.
“This time is different” is something of a sacrilegious phrase in the investment industry. Every time markets, corporate fundamentals or long-followed economic ratios enter above-average territory there are sure to be pundits or investors warning about complacency and imminent mean reversion. Anyone who claims it’s different this time is mocked with disdain for daring to question long-term financial relationships. (more…)
Published June 23, 2017
We strive in our weekly blog posts to present all the major prevailing views on markets. Nevertheless, we have marveled over the years about the staying power of the doom-and-gloom crowd. How is it, in the midst of a long running bull market that the doom and gloom crowd has any remaining followers at all? (more…)
Published June 16, 2017
This week, for the first time this year, the Nasdaq 100 (symbol: QQQ) said “hello!” to its 50-day moving average. The 50-day moving average is a very common reference point for investors and machines programmed to trade. In Chart 1 below, the 50-day moving average is the blue upward sloping line. (more…)
Published June 9, 2017
A couple of months ago we posted on our blog an article titled “Risk Rises” which talked about the VIX volatility index shooting up almost +50% over a period of a few days. At the time it seemed this sharp jump in market volatility might presage a shift in market tone. (more…)
Published June 2, 2017
We are now a decade into the Federal Reserve’s latest period of monetary policy seeking to stimulate the economy. Prior periods of monetary policy focused on pushing very short-term interest rates higher or lower to accelerate or decelerate the economy and/or inflation. The unprecedented impacts of the financial crisis forced the Fed to adopt additional monetary policy tools, such as “quantitative easing” or “QE” for short. (more…)
Published May 26, 2017
One of the frequent narratives about this stock market is how it just keeps on rolling higher and must soon change its character. That there is a gravitational pull that will bring it back to something lower – e.g. a more “reasonable” valuation, a reset of time, etc. In consideration of the notion that this bull market is now some eight years old, we offer the recent article from market observer Mark Hulbert discussing whether this bull market is indeed quite as old as some might argue: (more…)
Published May 19, 2017
When we talk about risk we usually think about our potential for losing money. But there is obviously a very big difference between losing 1% of our portfolio and losing 10% of it. We can use the size of the investment to manage our risk. To do this, we determine how much money we are willing to “lose”. (more…)
