Markets Cranky To Start New Week
I hope those who observe Easter and Passover had a good holiday. The markets return from the long weekend on the cranky side with pre-market indicating a 1%+ loss at the open. Last week, I wrote about a pullback coming and this certainly looks like it. Unless I am totally misreading the market, there should be another rally coming later this week or next. Stocks basically remain in the range from that wild up 10% day from two Wednesdays ago. […]
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Date: April 21, 2025
Looking At Other Similar Crashes As Stocks Target All-Time Highs In Less Than A Year
The stock market bounced as expected from both a time and price standpoint. A pullback is next. I do not believe stocks will breach or come close to the lowest levels we have seen in April, at least not yet. Ideally, I would like to see the S&P 500 get to at least 5550over the coming few weeks. My thesis remains that a wide, 15% trading range is likely in place for the next 4-8 weeks and the final bottom […]
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Date: April 16, 2025
Tariff Crash To Tariff Surge – 4 to 8 Weeks More Of High Volatility
A new video is up. Tariff Crash To Tariff Surge – 4 to 8 Weeks More Of High Volatility On Friday we bought SDS and EIS. We sold EPOL and some QLD.
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Date: April 14, 2025
Are You Committing These Generational Wealth Transfer Errors?
It’s a story well-known to wealthy families: You’ve worked hard to build great wealth, and you’re willing to share it. But note the following statistics—70% of wealthy families lose their wealth by the second generation, and 90% by the third. That’s a staggering fact, and it doesn’t occur because the next generation spends wildly. More often, it’s a result of inadequate planning and insufficient communication. Wealth transfer from one generation to the next is more than a will. It is […]
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Date: April 14, 2025
“A” Significant Low Is In For Stocks – “THE” Bottom Likely 4-8 Weeks Off
When we left off on Wednesday morning which seemed like a year ago, I showed a number of charts that were supportive of the stock market finding “A” bottom earlier this week. I didn’t then and still question whether we’ve “THE” bottom. I doubt it unless the Fed comes in with the nuclear weapons like they did on April 6th 2020. Wednesday’s rally was one for the ages. The stock market rallied more in three hours than the average one […]
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Date: April 11, 2025
Volatility At Historic Highs – Comparing Other Crashes
There is so much to write about today, but I think I will table most of it and do another video this week. I want to start with the volatility which is at historic levels. Spikes like you see below in the chart of the VIX are almost always terminal, meaning the moves go straight up and die. I don’t want to say “never”, but I can’t find nor recall any period in history where the VIX spiked and remained […]
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Date: April 9, 2025
Spring Forward into Retirement: Active Portfolio Management for a Secure Future
Retirement planning is not merely saving; it’s making smart choices to safeguard and grow your money. Active portfolio management can help your retirement funds withstand market fluctuations and take advantage of good opportunities. Employing a fee-only financial planner, like Heritage Capital, offers the necessary guidance to gain financial independence. Paul Schatz, President of Heritage Capital and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) designee, sets the tone for the firm’s strong commitment to helping clients make the best-informed financial choices. The Need […]
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Date: April 8, 2025
Market Correction Turned Into A Waterfall Invoking 2022 & 2020 – Zone For A Bottom Opens This Week
In last week’s video, I discussed how Thursday’s plunge didn’t look like the decline was complete. Rather, the market needed some more downside and time to attempt to forge a low again. In that thesis, I certainly wasn’t talking about nor expecting the complete rout that happened on Friday where 90% of the volume came in stocks that declined. After very constructive behavior leading up to April 2nd, the two-day, about to be three-day, drop has turned into an emotional, […]
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Date: April 7, 2025
Stock Market Bottom Could Be In As Tariffs Begin
Tariff day is here. Love it or hate it, we have another highly anticipated event after the close. My sentiments have been shared many times. I am firmly against tariffs. All of them. Not just what the U.S. is retaliating for. No one wins a trade war. There are just varying degrees of losers. I hate losing. I heard a Canadian politician on TV this morning saying how much he loved the American people. His beef was only with Donald […]
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Date: April 2, 2025
Here’s The Good News – Stocks Getting Close
Interesting stats to begin the new week. When the stock market decline more than 1% on the 4th Friday of the month the next 7 days are usually up significantly. On top of that, April begins tomorrow and we know that when April starts the month in a downtrend like today, the month averages +2.5%. That’s a powerful seasonal tailwind. Last Wednesday I wrote that I thought it was an opportune time for the bears to come out. I thought […]
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Date: March 31, 2025
Bears Coming Out? Inflation Data Now Partisan
The bounce from the March 13th low continues. That’s good although it should run into some bears this week as it has retraced about 40% of what it lost since February 19th. Recall that my second most likely scenario was a weaker rally that failed somewhere around 6000. It is still too early to say which scenario will play out. We do know that the on again, off again tariff saga remains in full play with April 2nd looming. Long-term […]
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Date: March 26, 2025
Eliminating One Scenario
Since the whole idea of tariffs and trade wars became reality this year, I have said that we will know when the market has fully priced it all in. That day comes when Donald Trump announces some new and large tariffs, but the stock market rallies. That will tell us that the market has moved on to other worries. That day is not today. Stocks saw sharp losses on Friday that were reversed after President Trump waffled again on the […]
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Date: March 24, 2025
Three Scenarios For The Next Few Months
The stock market enters Friday with a very modest gain on the week. However, pre-market looks weak and that gain will likely be wiped away. The bounce from the recent low has been impressive with back to back days where 90% of the volume took place in stocks that went up. But that is not a bell ringing buy signal in the short-term. It does indicate that the majority of the price damage has been done. A good number of […]
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Date: March 21, 2025
***SPECIAL Fed Day Update – Powell Behind The Curve Yet Again – Stocks To New Highs?***
The model for today is plus or minus 0.50% and then a rally after 2pm. It’s a decent signal, but not as good after the bulls rallied stocks into the close. However, any morning weakness towards 0.50% should be bought. Jay Powell and the FOMC are going to leave interest rates unchanged today and likely pivot to dovish with the possibility of a rate cut in May. They SHOULD be cutting rates by 0.25% today and another 0.25% in May […]
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Date: March 19, 2025
“A” Low Has Been Seen
Stocks finally saw a meaningful bounce on Friday. I imagine there were an awful lot of people short the market on Thursday when the S&P 500 breached the recent lows. 90% of the volume came in stocks that went up. Longtime readers may recall that 90% is an historically significant number as it is a confirmation sign of the bulls regaining control. However, before we get too excited that the final bottom is in, this is a process. A 90% […]
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Date: March 17, 2025
Still Not About Tariffs – Zone For a Bottom – Not a Decline To Do Nothing
Stocks continue to correct on a compressed path to what I have been discussing. In hindsight, obviously, we know that this is the 10%+ decline over 7-9 weeks I forecast was coming in Q2 or Q3 and not the mid-single decline I saw for Q1. Nonetheless, it doesn’t change anything in my view nor forecast. If you are keeping score at home, the NASDAQ 100 is down 12% since its last high on February 19th while the S&P 500 has […]
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Date: March 14, 2025
Bulls Need Less Momentum As Stocks Correct Lower
The markets continue to be more challenging to maneuver. Friday was the third time and second Friday during the pullback where stocks sold off sharply and then rallied to close well. The previous two times, the bears came right back to work the next day to thwart the bulls. The bulls will absolutely need to break that behavior for any kind of low to form. Pre-market looks like another ugly morning. And I would speculate that Friday’s lowest point will […]
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Date: March 10, 2025
Tariffs, DOGE and The REAL Reason Why The Markets Are Cranky
Tariffs, DOGE and The REAL Reason Why The Markets Are Cranky On Wednesday we bought EWS, ITB and more FDN. We sold EIS, XLB and some FXI. On Thursday we sold PCY, EMB, some GDX and some XMMO.
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Date: March 7, 2025
***Q4 Client Report***
While many events took place in Q4, none were more important nor high profile than the election. And certainly, we haven’t seen an election more anticipated than this past one. And I hope we don’t ever again although I know that is unlikely. Recall that coming into the election I offered that the single best outcome for your money and the markets was shared power, meaning neither party swept. That would force a number of grand bargains without a single […]
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Date: March 6, 2025
Eggs or Energy?
The S&P 500 is now down 6% on a closing basis and the NASDAQ 100 is down 8%. The opportunity I just wrote about on Monday evaporated quickly that day and we took action in both directions as I wasn’t willing to let small losses turn into large ones on new positions. The magnitude of this pullback is stretching what I expected if this decline was to be the appetizer for the 7-9 week, 10%+ correction I saw coming in […]
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Date: March 5, 2025
