Like a Broken Record
I read a stat last night that said only 1% of Americans hold off taking social security until 70. That low number really surprised me as it means 99% of Americans do not get the maximum amount of social security. When I meet with clients and prospects, one of the foundation conversations is when to take social security and why. If you are approaching retirement or already take social security, do yourself a favor and spend some time researching this! […]
Read More
Date: July 12, 2016
On the Way to Dow 20K
With the short-term volatility over the past few weeks, this is no clear trend to take advantage of post today’s employment report. By that, I mean, our short-term trading system specifically created for this report has no strong edge. The report came in strong and pre-market indications are for a higher open which can sometimes point towards a short-term peak. With the much better than expected report, the recent market leaders may be under pressure. Utilities, staples, REITs, telecom and […]
Read More
Date: July 8, 2016
Separating Pretenders from the Contenders
Greetings from 34,000 feet as I head to CO for the weekend with my wife and some friends. Of course, they’re all her friends because who would really want to hang out with me?!?! As is typical when I take a day or two off, Mother Nature thumbed her nose at me with a forecast of rain, rain and thunderstorms with highs in the low 60s and lows in the upper 30s. Thanks! We may have set a record for […]
Read More
Date: July 1, 2016
Who Knew?!?!
Thanks to everyone who tuned in for my BREXIT segment on FOX61 in CT yesterday. You view it HERE. A few days post BREXIT and all seems well in the financial world. Listening to the business channels, everyone called the top and now everyone called the bottom. Isn’t revisionist history wonderful! Until proven wrong, I will keep referring to the Playbook I first outlined last Friday for a clue as to where stocks go from here. So far so good. […]
Read More
Date: June 29, 2016
Red is the Theme Short-Term But Green is on the Way
After Friday’s big down day which historically has occurred less than 1% of the time, the model for Monday is another large red day of 1-3%. From there, stocks should attempt to form a low on Tuesday or Wednesday and rally for a few days to a week. This is right in line with the Playbook I offered here on Friday. As you would expect, the financial sector has been hit the hardest, but I am a little surprised that […]
Read More
Date: June 27, 2016
The Aftermath & Shock of BREXIT – A Market Playbook and Dow 20,000
Good for the citizens of the UK! In true democratic form, the majority were unhappy and voted for change. And that’s what they got. Kinda, sorta. If I had the power to vote, I guess I would have voted to leave because I would rather be the first one out than the last. The pundits were embarrassed. The markets got it wrong. The bookmakers appear to have lost a fortune. In my piece earlier this week, http://investfortomorrowblog.com/archives/2292, on Twitter and […]
Read More
Date: June 24, 2016
BREXIT, SCHMEXIT – Much Ado About Nothing???
Like Y2K, the second war in Iraq and other date certain events, the United Kingdom will vote on Thursday whether it wants to remain in the European Union (EU), otherwise known as BREXIT (BRitain EXIT). Unlike most geopolitical events which just happen, the BREXIT vote has been known about for some time as UK Prime Minister Cameron promised to hold this referendum if he won reelection in 2015. What is the BREXIT & Why Depending on who you ask, the […]
Read More
Date: June 22, 2016
Biding Time to BREXIT
After an almost celebratory opening on Monday which saw the Dow up 200 points, stock steadily declined throughout the day and closed at their lows. On the surface, the average person saw all of the major indices nicely higher with the vast majority of stocks up on the day. The short-term trader saw a tired market that couldn’t hold early gains and closed at the low tick. Both observations are correct but time frame determines your viewpoint. I fall somewhere […]
Read More
Date: June 21, 2016
Bulls’ Time… AGAIN
As has been the theme since the February bottom, weakness is buying opportunity until proven otherwise. Except for the brief period from April 21 to May 20, I have been pounding the table on the bullish front. The Fed, earnings, China, BREXIT, employment have all given ammunition to the bears, but someone forgot to tell the stock market. Last Thursday saw a somewhat dramatic reversal the day after the Fed meeting which helped our Fed trends. While the bulls took […]
Read More
Date: June 19, 2016
***Special Fed Meeting Update & The Continuous Loss of Credibility and Clue***
Six weeks later and it’s Groundhog Day all over again! Or is that deja vu all over again?!?! It matters not. I began my Fed day comments with this in April. “The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee concludes their two day meeting with an announcement at 2 pm that interest rates will not change today. That’s what the markets are expecting. There has been all kinds of hot air coming from several Fed officials that rates need to rise now, […]
Read More
Date: June 15, 2016
Yes, I Know… The Pullback to Buy
At the end of last week, stocks looked a tiny bit tired. Two days later and 2% lower, it’s getting ripe for at least a bounce. Over the past week, the inverse volatility ETF (XIV), which is really just the S&P 500 times 5 or 6 is down a whopping 34%! That’s some odd behavior and historically does not portend more significant downside. Stocks are pulling back as they approached all-time highs which is certainly not unexpected. There are few […]
Read More
Date: June 14, 2016
The Answer is NO
If we were playing Jeopardy, the question would be, “Has the Stock Market Peaked?” The other day, I wrote about the potential for a 1-3% pullback in the context of generally higher stock prices. That remains my view and weakness can be bought. It’s amazing that a single day of decline in the stock market after a 5% rally can bring out so many bears. Stocks were overdue for some weakness and now we have it. While it’s probably a […]
Read More
Date: June 10, 2016
Chicken Little is Alive and Well
In Friday morning’s piece, The “All-Important” Jobs Report, I discussed that it’s much more important to watch how the markets react to the news rather than what the actual news is. The jobs report was abysmal and the media reacted in kind by rolling out every bearish economist to let us know that the economy was as weak as anytime since 2009. Market strategists also responded as expected with the same wrong calls for a major correction and new bear […]
Read More
Date: June 8, 2016
The “All-Important” Jobs Report
Another new month, another employment report. As usual, the media is hyping this to the Nth degree as a clue to what the Fed is going to do with interest rates later this month. I learned very early on that economic reports and earnings and geopolitical news don’t really matter. It’s how the markets REACT to the news that’s really important. In October 2000, companies started reporting very solid earnings, but stocks fell sharply day after day in what became […]
Read More
Date: June 3, 2016
Buy the Dip
As you know, I turned short and intermediate-term positive again last Monday. My long-term bullish view never changed. Stocks rallied really nicely for most of the week and should see higher highs coming in June. I closed Friday’s post with a comment that a pullback this week would not be so bad. I think it’s here and should be routine and healthy with a quick bout of 1-3% weakness. There is one caveat which I will mention in another post […]
Read More
Date: May 31, 2016
Bulls Have Room to Run
Having turned negative on stocks on April 21, I warned last week that our models were close to turning positive again. What I didn’t realize at the time was that it was going to happen just a few hours later and confirmed on Monday. If you recall, I wasn’t expecting anything major on the downside, just some normal and healthy weakness, or a pause to refresh before heading higher again. I did believe that it would be the largest pullback […]
Read More
Date: May 27, 2016
Bears Still in Control but Bulls Getting Closer
As you know from the suddenly negative piece below, I temporarily abandoned my bullish stance on April 21. At that time, we significantly raised cash, hedged and/or purchased securities that don’t perform with the stock market. http://www.investfortomorrow.com/newsletter/CurrentStreet$marts20160501.pdf At that time and every week since on www.investfortomorrowblog.com, I did not believe that stocks were on the verge of collapse or that a new bear market was unfolding. It just looked like a normal, healthy and much needed pullback that should end […]
Read More
Date: May 20, 2016
Plodding through the Pullback
Not much has changed this week. As has been the case since April 21, I am still looking for lower prices, but nothing dramatic. The selling has been orderly and constructive. The NYSE advance/decline remains very strong and healthy, not what you typically see during bear markets or large declines. High yield (junk) bonds, which we have owned for months, continue to behave very well with oil stable and rising. The major stock market indices are only a few percent […]
Read More
Date: May 18, 2016
“Bounce” Teetering
The “bounce” I mentioned here remains alive although it is living on borrowed time. I continue to believe the ultimate low remains in front of us. Retail and consumer discretionary stocks have been the latest to take it on the chin with a slew of poor earnings from Macy’s Nordstroms, etc. This sector is one of my key vital four groups and it’s important for the bull market’s health to keep the majority of them moving forward. While I do […]
Read More
Date: May 13, 2016
Here Comes the Bounce
The major stock market indices staged an impressive comeback on Friday as they all reversed early losses to close nicely higher. Given the very orderly pullback along with some modest losses of roughly 3% except in the NASDAQ, the odds now favor the bulls stepping up right here for at least a short-term bounce. Should the bounce materialize, the next question will be if it’s a bounce all the way to new highs or just back towards 18,000 before rolling […]
Read More
Date: May 9, 2016
