Monday, April 02, 2007
Market Recap
A lower than anticipated manufacturing number put a lid on the markets early on though, the number does indicate economic expansion albeit at a slower pace.
Commercials have increased there net long positions/decreased short positions in recent weeks.
Utilities and energy are leading the way while tech and financials are lagging.
As expected New Century filed for bankruptcy. I expect companies like Countrywide to benefit tremendously as some of the weaker lenders go bust. People will still get mortgages and that means more business for the survivors in the mortgage lending industry.
Is the ethanol craze going to be replaced by the biobutanol craze ?
With Microsoft and Google bidding for Doubleclick, there are other names that could potentially be taken out in the online ad placement niche.
PRE MARKET
Private equity continues buyout spree with purchase of First Data.
Xerox is acquiring Global Imaging Systems for 1.5 billion.
The major US indices are expected to open higher this morning. I expect the mergers and acquisitions announced to have a positive impact on todays market.
Friday, March 30, 2007
MARKET RECAP
The US decision to impose trade sanctions on China was the impetus for the 100 point drop.
The stand off between Iran and the UK continues to bear down on the markets.
Rising income and consumer spending dampens any hopes of a rate cut.
Corn futures plummet as farmers plant crop in record numbers in part due to ethanol demand.
PRE MARKET
Consumer spending is up more than forecast due to higher gasoline prices.
The US is considering imposing economic sanctions on China to deal with trade deficit.
The Chinese economy is expected to continue to expand at a mind boggling pace.
The markets are set for a higher open. I expect the momentum from yesterday to continue.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
MARKET RECAP

The chart shows, the Dow bouncing off the area from where it previously broke out. ( Around 12,300). The same is true for the Nasdaq and the S&P. The sell off till the final hours offered a very safe long entry point. I believe in the coming week we will test the previous highs ( Dow 12,511 , Nasdaq 2,460, S&P 1,440) .
On another note Bernanke is scheduled to speak tomorrow. Considering he failed to trigger a rally last time round, maybe this time he'll be more successful.
Dell shares drop in after hours on reports of accounting 'misconduct'. Define 'misconduct' ....
Oil prices continues rising amid continued tensions in the Persian Gulf. Are we going to finally get to $100 per barrel ? That could be the dagger in the heart for market bulls.
Economic growth expected to be subpar. Where's Goldilocks ? Hello ! Anybody !
PRE MARKET
4th quarter GDP growth was better than expected.
Jobless claims came in lower than expected.
US Steel is buying Lone Star Technologies, an oil field pipe maker, at a 39% premium.
The indices are expected to open higher. Judging by the strength in overseas markets, I expect US equities to put in a decent rally.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
MARKET RECAP
Sometimes trading the market feels like this....
PRE MARKET
The investigation of Beazer homes for mortgage fraud was the big after hours news yesterday. I wonder how many other home builders will suffer the same fate.
There was a $5 spike in oil after hours after rumors of an Iranian missile strike against a US warship. Oil is still trading up a buck. Whoever planted these rumors made a killing I suppose.
Orders for durable goods increased less than expected. I think its obvious by now that the economy is slowing.
Today, Bernanke is testifying before Congress on the US economic outlook. Bulls will hope he paints a rosy picture of the economy. I expect he will. The indices are opening lower but I expect a Bernanke rally .
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
MARKET RECAP
Inflation is still an issue. Maybe Bernanke will drop rates to ease inflation.
Goldman is raising a fund to buy out the entire market. Maybe they'll pay a 50% premium.
Over 2 million homes are expected to be lost to foreclosure over the next few years. Maybe I can finally buy that ocean front penthouse on South Beach.
Crude oil continues to move higher. Is a confrontation with Iran priced in ?
The economic picture is getting worse. In the short term however, I believe the markets will continue trending higher. Bernanke is speaking tomorrow and we all know how he rallies the markets. I expect early weakness followed by a Bernanke rally.
PREMARKET
Home prices across the nation have fallen for the first time in 6 years a study shows. I'm shocked that the fall is only 0.2%.
Lennars 1st quarter profit tumbles 73%. Things are only getting worse for the home builders.
Consumer confidence data will be key to the markets movement today.
Monday, March 26, 2007
MARKET RECAP
The bottomless Housing market
Crude Oil prices are rising to 3 month highs on tension between Iran and the UK.
New home sale numbers will be announced at 10am EST.
The US indices are expected to open higher. The Dow is on a 5 day winning streak. If this can continue remains to be seen. I expect the new home sale numbers to have a positive effect on the market. If the numbers are good than all is well with the economy and if the numbers stink, than we should expect a rate cut soon or atleast that is how I perceive the market to react.
Friday, March 23, 2007
PRE MARKET

Home resales across the US declined for the first time in 3 months. Not a big surprise there.
Yahoo is on a roll with its new Panama Program. Is the new pair trade short Google, Long Yahoo ? It was the other way around for most of last year.
Oil prices continue to head north.
Genentech reports flat sales for the 1st quarter. Shares drop.
Nike reported some soft sales yesterday evening but saw global growth.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
MARKET RECAP
The 'Godfather' of private equity, the Blackstone Group is going public. Sign of a market top ?
Palm got crushed today after analysts rejected buyout rumors. I happen to think Palm will do well in the coming years. Their new Treo is an impressive device and should help sales tremendously.
More buyout rumors. This time its Rackable the maker of a sleek brand of servers. The stock is trading not too far from its IPO price from 2 years ago. A price below $20 reflects a bargain in my assessment. Its also a heavily shorted stock which can cause it to rocket upwards.
Big wall street firms are battling to save their intellectual property. Their "research is ``in the throes of being Napsterized"
PRE MARKET

Initial jobless claims have dropped to a 2 month low.
Motorola dropped a bomb. Apparently the KRZR is not selling well.
Bernanke and company are still worried about growth and inflation. The fact they dropped any hint of rate increases i.e. tightening meant the bulls were off to the races.
I expect today will be another bullish day across the indices. We should be able to carry on from yesterdays momentum and the strength in overseas markets.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
MARKET RECAP

MARKET ALERT
PRE MARKET

Shares in Morgan Stanley are surging after the company reports profits exceeding all estimates. Trading gains played a big factor. Could they have been short February 27 ?
FedEx reports first drop in earnings in three years. Winter storms and slowing US economy to blame. Shares are tumbling pre-market.
Could this be a contrarian indicator for a big rally ? Merrill Lynch survey shows investor bearishness at 7 month high.
Based on the price movements in the US and overseas markets, it appears the bulls are making a comeback. Today will be an important one for the markets with the FED decision being announced at 2:15 ET. Rates are expected to stay the same. I believe the reaction of the markets after 2:15 ET will be crucial.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
MARKET RECAP
The S&P 500 had its best 2 day gain since last August.
Solid housing starts announced today were the major factor in the market advance.
Palm was up on takeover speculation. The new Treo smartphone has been getting rave reviews and appears to be a product that can put a dent in the Blackberry.
Oracle and Adobe are two companies that are reporting solid profit growth after the bell. Shares in both companies are up in after hours.
The FED announcement is tomorrow. Rates are expected to be kept unchanged. It appears the bulls have the upper hand for now but, we all know that a 2 day 180 point rally can be wiped out by the likes of 400+ and 242 point drops that we have seen in the last 3+ weeks.
MARKET UPDATE
In retrospect I feel foolish selling a good chunk of my ultra bull ETFs - QLD etc while adding to the ultra shorts QID etc. Miraculously despite my fund being biased to the bearish side I am actually in the green today with gains in GLD - gold ETF while some of my long positions have been running wild such as SNDK and COGT. I figure if the FED continues to pump liquidity into the system, gold will benefit and thus GLD is a good hedge to my ultra short positions.
On days like these I am Jacks smirking revenge .....
PRE MARKET
ICSC-UBS store sales shows increases in part due to warmer than expected weather but, warns that high gas prices are hurting the consumer.
The Asian markets are relatively strong this morning but Europe is considerably weak .
The Fed starts their 2 day meeting today in which they are expected to keep interest rates the same.
I expect the US equity market to open higher but weaken throughout the trading day.
Monday, March 19, 2007
MARKET RECAP
Apart from some mergers and takeovers, there was not any significant market moving news out today. The M&A activity along with short term oversold conditions were the likely impetus for todays rally. Tomorrow will see some important economic data such as ICSC-UBS same store sales, housing starts and the red book.
PRE MARKET
There is no market moving economic data of any significance expected out today. I expect US equities will play of European and Asian strength.
There is more takeover news from Europe. The potential target being ABN Amro. I expect this news to boost stocks of big banks today.
South American companies are getting into the buyout act.
I am playing for strength in the US equity markets today. The direction of the overseas indices suggests we will have a moderate to strong upside day.
Friday, March 16, 2007
MARKET RECAP
Here are a few of my thoughts for the week.
- The PPI and CPI numbers have confirmed that inflation is still a problem. This limits the ability of the Fed to cut rates anytime soon.
- The subprime blow up is increasing pressure on Bernanke to cut rates. With inflation still being a problem, Ben is in one hell of a tight spot.
- The housing market is nowhere close to bottoming with a record 4 million + homes on the market. Add this to tightening credit and decreased demand and you figure it will only get worse.
- Treasury Secretary Paulsons remarks about subprime being contained don't inspire any confidence .
UPDATE
The Euro is poised to break 2 year highs versus the US Dollar.
Crude oil is rallying today after weakening the last few days.
DBA is an ETF that I really like. Its a commodity ETF composed of the softs such as corn, wheat and sugar excluding energy and metals. In a commodity bull cycle the softs tend to outperform in the latter part. Energy and the metals have outperformed in the last few years. I expect the agricultural commodities to outperform here onwards.
PRE MARKET
US consumer prices are up sharply, making it a lot tougher for the Fed to cut rates.
Industrial production was up 1% which was higher than forecast and a good sign for the economy.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
RECAP
Optimus Prime vs Megatron . Bulls vs Bears.
Like I expected, we closed in the green on the major indices. There was some concern over higher than expected PPI numbers and a weak Philly Fed Survey . To their credit the bulls held their ground and we were in the green for most of the day.
The mortgage lenders were on fire today . Stocks like LEND and NEWC were up over 60% and 90% respectively.
Old Alan expects subprime fallout to spread to broader economy. No shit. Here's a good article courtesy of Minyanville explaining how subprime affects us all.
Tomorrow is the all important CPI numbers. Based on the PPI, the CPI numbers will come in above consensus, showing us that inflation is still a problem and rate cuts will be harder to come by. Added to it being option expiration tomorrow, we could be in for a roller coaster in contrast to todays laborious action.
PRE MARKET
Big jump in PPI shows inflation is still an issue and limits the ability of the Fed to cut rates.
ICE makes an offer for CBOT. Expect strength in exchange stocks today.
I expect the US equities to play of the strength of the world indices. There will likely be initial weakness due to the higher than expected PPI.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
MARKET RECAP
A very volatile day in the market. Option expiration is on Friday and volatility is taken to extremes on days like this. Today was a great trading day. Based on yesterday and the overnight indices across Asia and Europe, weakness was to be expected during the early part of the session. The market did pierce its March 5th lows that I had mentioned however, this temporary break of support brought in the buyers and a strong rally unfolded. This rally in all likelyhood is a result of market participants trying to pin the indices to certain levels ahead of expiration. In addition, we were at oversold levels from a short term perspective. I do believe we will head lower in the weeks ahead. But I do think we may see a rally all the way to Fridays expiration. Key economic data such as PPI and CPI are being released in the days ahead which will result in increased volatility.
The homebuilders were the big winners today. Looks like an oversold bounce and short covering to me.
The story being told to support the rally is that the subprime mess is not as bad, as originally feared. I do not think this is the case. I do not believe a bottom is in for housing or the mortgage sector. What we had today, was an oversold bounce along with the volatility of option expiration week and an effort to 'pin' the price of indices and stocks to certain levels.
MARKET UPDATE
Here is a very good piece explaining how the mortgage process works and what happens when things go wrong.
PRE MARKET

US current account deficit shrinks on lower oil prices and a cheaper dollar.
Lehman net rises and their mortgage risk is hedged through a credit-default swap index. I'd like to know who the seller of the swap is . In other words, who is holding the bag ?
General Motors finally profitable but misses estimates on mortgage losses. No surprise here since, GM is heavily exposed to the mortgage industry, through their GMAC finance unit.
Treasury Secretary Paulson believes economy is healthy and housing has bottomed.
We could be in for a rough day especially if the Dow 11,973 level does not hold. The futures are indicating a lower open. If the above mentioned level holds, we could get a strong bounce and a nice rally into the close.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
MARKET RECAP
This will be the bulls best friend the rest of the evening.The markets opened weak and got progressively weaker throughout the day. We closed near the lows which is a bad sign and a taste of things to come tomorrow. We may very easily test the Dow 11,973 lows of March 5th tomorrow. Support at these lows will be an encouraging sign from a bullish perspective. A break will be very bearish.
The following factors played a key role in todays market slump.
- Weaker than expected retail sales
- Rising business inventories
- Continued weakness in the mortage sector
I expect weakness in Asia and Europe overnight and I expect continued weakness in the US equity markets tomorrow unless, we test those March 5th lows early and rally into the close.
MID DAY ALERT
PRE MARKET
The Asian indices are mixed while Europe is in the red .
Goldman Sachs earns record profits on trading gains. Keep in mind this is for 3 months ended February 23. Could they have lost money trading on February 27 ?
I am looking for weakness in the markets today.
Monday, March 12, 2007
MARKET RECAP
A slew of mergers and acquisitions gave the market hope which the bulls were able to ride through the middle all the way to market close.
Is KKR telling us something by their acquisition of Dollar General ? Telling us that they expect worsening economic conditions that will force all of us to shop at dollar stores.
Asset managers were the biggest winners today while builders were the biggest losers.
All indices were strongly in the green. But volume was exceptionally light. Just take a look at the Qs . Lightest volume in 15 trading sessions.
Light volume is an indication traders are on the sidelines awaiting key economic data such as retail sales and business inventories being released tomorrow.
I expect tomorrow to see heavier trading volume. As to which side the market will lean, I do not have a clue. If retail sales are weak, the market could drop as fears increase over a possible recession or atleast, a bigger than anticipated slowdown. On the other hand we could rally strongly because, traders believe a rate cut will be imminent.
Friday, March 09, 2007
RECAP
Fed Governor Susan Bies made the headlines today, with her remarks about the subprime melt down only being the beginning. I'm on the same page as her. The mortgage and real estate industry will only get worse from here. In related news, over 500,000 homes could be added to current inventory based on, the rise in defaults and foreclosures. You also have Bernanke taking a hard line on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. You can be sure that the Fed and company are very worried about the mortgage/real estate situation. They may not act like its a big deal but, deep down inside they know its a problem and in their subtle and not so subtle ways, ( case in point Bies) they are acknowledging its a serious issue that must be reckoned with.
China is forming a fund to invest its $1 trillion in reserves. Lets hope they don't use the proceeds to short the US equity market.
Wasn't it barely a year ago when AMD was the darling of Wall Street ? My, how times have changed . All that talk about AMD eating Intel for lunch and now this. On a personal note, I think AMD is a buy at current prices .
Smartmoney has my favorite sector tracker tool. Steel was tops for the week. Year to date Tires are up a whooping 33.59 %. Starting Jan. 2nd you could have invested in the tire sector and be done for the year.
Why India's mind boggling growth could come to a screeching halt . Maybe this is a good contrarian play.
Is the volatile market wrecking havoc on Goldman Sachs ?
Option expiration is next week. Could make for good volatility. I am confident the Dow will trade somewhere between 5,000 and 15,000 next week. I hope I am right.
PRE MARKET WATCH
The trade deficit slid nearly 4% in January. A weaker dollar and a curbing of the US consumers appetite, for relatively more expensive foreign goods, played a part no doubt.
Overseas markets are mixed.No big gainers in Asia but India was down over 1%. Europe is a mixed bag as well, with a lack of clear direction.
My take: The markets will open strong, drift throughout the day and finish weaker on profit taking ahead of the weekend.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
RECAP
The rumors of New Century Financials pending Chapter 11 bankruptcy soured the bullish mood.
I think Tom Brown is a very brave man. But, there is a very thin line between being brave and being downright foolish. Right now the only mortgage company I would bet on to survive the subprime melt down would be Countrywide . All bets are off when it comes to the other lenders. I wouldn't even count on Freddie and Fannie making it through.
Traders appear to be anxiously awaiting tomorrows job numbers . We could see weakness if traders decide to go cash for the weekend.
I cut back some long positions as I sensed weakness later on in the day. I added to my QID , DXD , SDS and MZZ positions. Took in some TWM as a precaution . Judging by the down, up , down , up trend of this week I expect tomorrow to be a red day. As I mentioned before, neither the bulls nor the bears appear to be pressing their advantage.
Economists are forecasting stronger US economic growth .
Retailers had a lackluster February. 'Unseasonably cold weather' to blame. If the market rallies from here I do think retailers are a very good buy though.
The European Central Bank raised rates from 3.5 to 3.75%. Euro is going to show strength as a result.Long FXE.
Job losses fell but are still showing weakness .
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
MARKET RECAP
The oil sector did really well today. As to how long this strength will last I have no idea. Its notable that the oil sector has the least correlation, to the overall markets.
The Bank of England and the European Central Bank will meet tomorrow to decide interest rate changes. A rate increase by the BOE or the ECB would likely have a bearish effect on the overall markets.
These were the big hedge fund losers in February. The guys ( and gals) who got caught with their pants down so to speak. Question: How can you be a hedge fund without being hedged ? Seems to be the case these days with Amaranth, Red Kite and so on.
The mortgage blowup has spread beyond subprime. Reminds me of a memorable Dennis Gartman quote " When they raid the house of ill repute, the good girls and the piano player also go to jail".
MARKET UPDATE
Look whose back ! Is he going to keep doubling down to regain his losses, like he did last time around ?
Asia is mixed but Japan is down. The US markets tend to correlate strongly with Japan so we could see some downside. Europe is mostly in the green .
Expect the bull prepare for the bear.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Remember the Bull
The bulls took over and never took their foot of the pedal . My stock today was NYX. I had almost forgotten I had this in the portfolio till it took of after 2pm. Short squeeze or whatever it jumped nearly 6 points. The indices closed near the highs of the day so I expect more upward momentum tomorrow unless ofcourse, we have a sea of red in Asia and Europe.
MARKET UPDATE
RALLY
The Yen has seen a big decline which should help us plenty since, it was this 'unwinding' of the carry trade and subsequent appreciation in the Yen, that was a big factor in the stock market plummet.
The economic data released today has been pretty crappy. Lets see if that puts a lid on US equities. Productivity is down and same store sales stink.
Greenspan is at it again . Now there is a 1/3 chance of a recession. Hmmmm. How does Mr. smarty pants figure that out. 1/3. Why not 2/5 or 1/6 or 30% or............
Will bad debt from the sub prime mortgage fall out be limited ? Paulson certainly thinks so. I do not.
The plan today is to expect a rally. Nothing less than 100 points on the Dow, 25 on the Nasdaq and 15 on the S&P 500. And we have Bernanke speaking . Will he spark of a huge rally ?
Monday, March 05, 2007
GOING FISHING
I am going to find some issues to go long today. There is too much doom and gloom out there. Picking some high beta names. Some NTRI, a bit of BLUD, a little AKAM, a pinch of CELG and a topping of HANS. I think I'll toss in some TZOO and a helping of GOOG for good measure.And I'll close out that blasted AAPL short position for good measure. Maybe we'll rally, maybe we won't. But if we rally I think I may outperform. If not I will just dump 'em all.In a bear market its best to position for a rally before the actual rally because, once you spot the rally its usually too late.
More on the subprime blowup . And people couldn't see this coming ? Seriously, if you could breathe, you were entitled to a home loan. With all those marginal consumers getting home loans and equity lines of credit, an accident was waiting to happen. And this is far from over. The worst is yet to come.
Oil prices extend decline. Makes sense since global growth is slowing, based on the economic data we have seen and oil prices are likely to pull back, with a reduction in demand. However I do not see oil prices falling below $40 over the next 12 months.
Is he going to be the poster buy for the leverage buyout excess of the 2000s ? With a cover on Fortune the chances are pretty high.
This could go a long way in displacing the US as the world's technology leader. If the brains no longer want to come here, the chances are the next great technology companies, will be conceived in Bangalore, rather than Silicon Valley.
The restatements continue.Lucky for me I am short RIMM. Could all these restatements be a result of option related expenses or could fradulent accounting be playing a part ? I wonder.
Friday, March 02, 2007
California Dreamin
Wow. That was one wild week. Lots of opportunity to make money. Even more opportunity to lose money. With that close today you could smell the fear. Nobody wants to be holding going into this weekend. I can't blame them. As for me I'm going back to Cali for some R & R. And work on some market 'strategery' as Dubya would put it.
Now Poole says there could be a recession. Then in Greenspan like fashion, he hedges his bet and says the central bank does not forecast one. Hmmmm.
Goldman , Merrill and Morgan Stanley 'almost' junk ? Not surprising considering the majority of their profit comes from trading , derivatives and other 'higher' risk activities.
The plan today is to play for a rally but stay alert for more downside. I am leaning towards a green finish on all indices but, there is the possibility of a selloff in the last hour of trading as traders fear holding over the weekend, in these volatile conditions. Than again Bernanke could spark of a major rally.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Some insider trading news. What else is new ? I would suspect anyone with an IQ of over 100, has a less than a 1 in 10 chance of being busted for insider trading. With those kind of odds can you blame them ?
Countrywide sees a rise in delinquent sub-prime loans. Wow. Big surprise there (Not).
Greenspan does a 180 on a US recession. Way to hedge your bet Alan ! Now either way he is right.
SHOTS FIRED
The bears did a Tony Montana on the markets this morning but now the bulls are trying to answer back. A pretty wild swinging day. I would think a short term bottom is in and we rally for a week or two till resistance which is Dow 12450-12500 or so.
I have lightened up the portfolio on QID, MZZ, SDS and DXD the double inverse indices. I have added QLD, DDM and SSO - the double bull indices into the mix. Have not lightened up much on the stock holdings yet because I still expect a rally. Still holding gold and the Euro via FXE. Looking to add more Yen as a hedge.
If we end in the green today, the excitement will likely spill over onto tomorrow. The first shots have been fired but the war is not over yet. I believe a change in market direction from bull to bear is on the horizon.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
UNEXPECTED ?
Funny how so many are calling this decline unexpected. We have had eight straight months of gains. The S&P 500 hasn't dropped 2% in the longest time ever and yet people are astonished by the decline yesterday. I blame it on complacency. Everyone else seems to be blaming it on the computers. When all else fails just blame the damn machines. The market didn't fall..it was just a glitch in the system. LOL
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
MARKET MELT DOWN ?
Monday, February 26, 2007
Lets see if the Nasdaq can close below 2500 and the S&P 500 below 1450. This might give some strength to the bears. But as usual the bears tend to over play their hand , get burned and run for cover pushing the indices to record highs. Will it play out again or will we get a meaningful retreat ? I guess the days ahead will tell.
Friday, February 23, 2007
We have some dangerous airports nationwide .
How is Google v Microsoft going to play out ?
Buffett betting on housing .
Are Russian banks a winning bet ?
The breaking of the diamond cartel .
Breaking down the carry trade.
Inside the mind of a corporate raider.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
And the shit continues to hit the fan .
"The high end of the market is still very weak" . If the high end of housing is weak, the low end can only be worse.
Will rising oil prices hurt consumers pockets ?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
So much for a WFMI pullback. Stock is flying after hours on news Whole Foods is buying out fellow organic producer Wild Oats. I don't usually average up into my positions during an extended bull market so I will likely sell WFMI when it reaches the overbought level and wait to buy it during weakness, in a bear market.
NYSE Group Inc (NYX) is a momentum stock which I am glad I got into last Friday. I felt the pullback was overdone and it looks to continue its upward momentum atleast temporarily.I don't like chasing momentum but will buy during pullbacks when I feel the previous trend is ready to resume and NYX fit the bill nicely. Look at the large volume on Friday which suggested the current turnaround. I expect resistance at the 50 day moving average around $98 and I will be keeping a close eye on this level.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Whole Foods Market
Gold breakout
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Things to Ponder
HP beats yet again. Can it continue to beat ?
Will central bank governor's testimony hinting at rate tightning have an affect on the Australian market ?
Huge drop in earnings. No forward guidance. New CEO . Could there be trouble brewing in Home Depot ?
Is Jetblue 'dead money' for now or do I smell opportunity ?
Monday, February 19, 2007
NEWS AND VIEWS
What do we have here ? Goodness its Sirius and XM trying to merge. Is this a merger of idiots or are these two collusus of negative cash flow, actually going to accomplish something positive ? Either way I do not see satellite radio as something that is sustainable in the future. To me the future is digitally imported internet radio. SiriXM or XMius or whatever they call this behemoth is going to be history in a decade. Kaput.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
REAL ESTATE MARKET RECOVERY ?????
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL INDICATORS.
The NYSE New High/ New Low ratio is currently at 89%. Any reading above 85% is bullish while a reading below 20% is bearish. A drop below 70% is considered bearish. We have had a bullish reading since mid October with the indicator rising to over 95% at times over the last few months . We have cooled off a little in recent weeks though we can still cool off a lot more. So while this indicator is very bullish for now, the better part of this rally could be behind us and we do need to keep an eye out especially for a drop below 70.
The NYSE 30 day advance/decline oscillator is currently at 165 having spent the better part of the fall in the 200+ territory indicating an overbought and therefore potentially bearish environment. Below negative 200 would be considered oversold and therefore bullish and we are not even close to those levels. Hence a sharp pullback in the market, may not be a bad thing to create an environment of oversold conditions and hence, a better risk to reward ratio going forward.
Now to one of my favorite indicators , the AAII sentiment index ratio. Many pundits are screaming that we are in times of extreme investor pessimism and others are calling it a time of extreme exhuberance. So you be the judge. The indicator is currently at 63% and though not at extreme bullish levels, we are more bullish than bearish as a whole. A reading above 70 indicates bullishness and below 30 is bearish. So we are a whole lot closer to bullish than bearish and this indicator has been moving upwards in recent months.
Mutual Fund cash levels are at historic lows of 4.4%. I hear a lot of commentators talking about all the excess cash sitting on the sidelines waiting to be deployed in the equity markets. This indicator however tells me that mutual funds are holding less cash than at any time since the 2000 market top. This indicator looks very bearish to me and I do think it is a fairly useful gauge of future market performance.
Can the market continue going higher ? It definately can. But I do feel we are at a level where the risk outweighs the reward. I do feel that cash sitting in a 5% money market account will outperform the indices this year.
Friday, January 05, 2007
WEEK 1 2007
Job growth rose unexpectedly which has dampened investors expecting a Fed rate cut.If the economy continues to show strength , a rate raise would not surprise me. When was the last time the Fed lowered rates into a rising stock market ? I don't know but all I do know is that when the Fed does decide to cut rates, it will be to the backdrop of investors fleeing the US equity markets.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
BULLS, BEARS AND BOB (Nardelli)
So lets examine all this. Could Nardelli have resigned because he sees a slowdown in HDs earnings ? He gets out before the shit hits the fan with a fat severance package. I'd be shorting this surge in HDs stock price in the coming days. I seriously doubt Nardelli would have quit if he saw good prospects down the line.
Walmart had already lowered its outlook for December after a drop in same store sales for the first time in 10 years in November. The fact they beat December estimates is nothing to cheer about. The question is how did all the other retailers do ? We will find out tomorrow.
On to the ISM manufacturing report. Up 51.4 from the Novembers 49.5. FYI Below 50 indicates a contraction in the manufacturing economy and above 50 correlates to expansion. A rise looks great but lets look at the history of the ISM for the last 8 years. Sure looks to me that the index peaked in 2004 and is showing a slowdown. It is highly likely we could see numbers below 50 in the coming months signalling a recession. One item to notice is that last time round the markets peaked in January of 2000 yet the index was positive and only started signalling a recession in August.
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
2006 54.8 56.7 55.2 57.3 54.4 53.8 54.7 54.5 52.9 51.2 49.5 51.4
2005 56.3 55.6 55.3 53.8 51.8 54.0 56.4 53.5 58.0 58.1 57.3 55.6
2004 62.9 62.2 62.3 63.0 62.9 61.5 61.5 59.6 58.0 56.8 56.9 58.6
2003 52.8 49.9 46.4 46.5 50.0 50.5 52.3 55.5 54.4 57.2 60.6 63.2
2002 49.1 53.2 55.0 54.4 55.2 55.8 51.2 50.9 51.3 50.0 49.2 53.1
2001 41.4 41.1 42.6 43.1 41.9 43.9 44.7 48.3 47.7 40.5 45.0 46.7
2000 56.7 55.8 54.9 54.7 53.2 51.4 52.5 49.9 49.7 48.7 48.5 43.9
1999 50.6 51.7 52.4 52.3 54.3 55.8 53.6 54.8 57.0 57.2 58.1 57.8
Constrution has pretty much been covered by all segments of the media. By now we all now that housing construction is down , sales are down, price appreciation has turned into depreciation and huge inventories of unsold homes glut the market. What does a less than expected fall in contruction mean ? That the housing market has bottomed out ? Highly unlikely with all the inventory glut. Real estate is a cycle like another other commodity or market for that matter. In real estate its usually the 15 year cycle where the market peaked in 1990, fell through the early 90s before bottoming around 1994-95 and then based till 1997-98 before rising and peaking in 2005.So its highly unlikely we will bottom in real estate especially after such a fantastic runup of 100-200% in many parts if the country. I would not expect a bottom till 2008-09 at the earliest. So much for new home construction and the home builders for now.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
CONTEMPLATIONS, REFLECTIONS AND CLAIRVOYANCE
First with the good. RIMM had an exceptional year. A nice 100% gain though one could have made more if they traded it through highs and lows. CRS was positively on fire through the early part of the year and one of my big winners (until I was stopped out). TIE was another rocket in the same group as CRS and I sort of regret passing TIE over for CRS. It was a toss up between TIE, ATI and CRS and I choose the slowest horse. Oh well, a 70% gain isn't so bad though I missed out on a 150% plus on the other 2. Speaking off ATI. The chart says it all. How could I have missed it ? What a Monster !! Speaking of monster the energy drink, here is a chart of HANS. I got stopped out early in the year with a small profit. I hated what happened next though I did manage to get short in the $180-200 range and ride it down to $120-130 pre-split . NTRI rocketed upwards with no stopping it till May and than recovered nicely for another big run which ended in what looks like a double top as evident from the charts ( May and December peaks). ZOLT was one hell off a stock and though it closed the year badly, it made a lot of people very rich. ERS could well have been the stock off the year if people had been smart enough to get off in early May. 600% gain in 5 months . Spectacular !! Than another huge potential gain for anyone going short. WOW !! Just look at the charts.
Now to the not so good. Does anyone think GOOG's best days are behind it ? This is one stock that is all over the place. How is someone supposed to stay long or short a stock like this ? AAPL another totally unpredictable stock. Great for trading though. Look how RACK got decimated midyear though it pulled through at the end. NETL was downright ugly. Look at this crazy stock IFON . Jan though April downtrend, huge spike in April till early June and than total collapse through July before a couple of run ups and than a reversal to a downtrend. Great for trading by the seat of your pants. A killer in most ways though. This was a pretty crapy year for EBAY till the lows in June July. YHOO had a pretty terrible year. It was a year that had it all. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Friday, December 22, 2006
ECONOMIC HEADLINES
NEWS corp sends Direct TV to Liberty
PERSONAL spending up in November (Playstation 3 and Wii effect?)
TOYOTA forecasts record sales
ARIZONA is fastest growing state
GODFATHER of the Merc
Happy holidays. I am off to enjoy mine.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
HEADLINES AND ANALYSIS
GDP revised lower
FEARLESS forecasts
The market is evidently slowing as the data suggests. Yet analysts are overwhelming bullish about the coming year 2007. The 'soft-landing' theory is still in play and is mostly likely fully priced in to the markets. Any deviation from this theory and evidence of a hard landing may lead to a a fleeting exit from the equity markets and potentially a large drop in the indices. We have had an extremely bullish run from the June lows- nearly 1800 points on the Dow, almost 200 on the S&P 500 and over 400 on the NASDAQ. A big portion of this move came during the typically bearish months of September and October while we have had a rather mellow November and December. While January is a typically bullish month, we could see a market pullback especially if the data continues so suggest we are in for something more than a 'soft-landing'. For now I continue to be bearish equities in general with short positions in several leading tech stocks - GOOG, AAPL, RIMM and AKAM to name a few.
I am long energy for now as well as metal producers. I also have index shorts in anticipation of a broad market pullback.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
HEADLINES
CAUTION on FedEx
ARE all hedge fund investors really rich ?
ANOTHER tech buyout
BIGGEST innovation surprises for 2007
MORTGAGE applications drop
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
ECONOMIC HEADLINES
INFLATION rears its ugly head
CIRCUIT CITY short circuited
10 HOUSING markets to fall hardest
TRANSATLANTIC exchange merger approved
Monday, December 18, 2006
START TO ANOTHER WEEK
IS it me or does this happen every week
RISK free trade ?
YET another buyout
COULD buyouts spell trouble ahead ?
SURVIVING the Real Estate Bust ( which hasn't even happened !@!)
HANS (makers of Monster) a potential takeover candidate ?
Saturday, December 16, 2006
FINANCE HEADLINES
INFLATION MIA ?
US will be eclipsed by China - Jim Cramer
YAHOO playing catch up with Google
DOLLARS biggest gain in 4 months
ALL time high for Dow
GOOD times ahead ?
Friday, December 15, 2006
ARTICLES OF CONFLICTING INTEREST
FIRST time buyers getting back in real estate
RECESSION ahead (Merrill Lynchs David Rosenberg courtsey of Bill Cara)
BIGGEST Japanese takeover ever

