So Far So Good!
Just two ago, I wrote about the stock market “groping” for a bottom and laid out a scenario for that to begin on Wednesday. The beaten down Russell 2000 was the key as it very quietly had been outperforming the market for three days. That behavior is not what you typically see if a crash was unfolding. Our indicators and systems backed up my own thoughts and our equity strategies went to maximum exposure at the close on Wednesday. When […]
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Date: October 17, 2014
Stock Market Groping for a Low
If you woke up this morning, turned on the computer or TV and saw another Texas healthcare worker with Ebola, European markets under siege yet again and our own stock market futures in collapse, you probably did not feel so great. Anxiety? Panic? As the morning progressed and our stock market opened, your saw an immediate mini panic with the Dow down 370. At the same time, the 10 year treasury note’s yield absolutely and totally collapsed under 2%. That […]
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Date: October 15, 2014
Who Turned the Lights Out… Again
Yesterday, I wanted to see what leadership emerged after Wednesday’s big surge and more importantly, I wanted definite confirmation from the plan vanilla high yield (junk) bond mutual funds that the canary wasn’t dying. That was before the open. I have to say that the depth and tenaciousness of Thursday’s decline definitely caught me off guard. While giving back 25% or even 50% of the big rally would not have out of the ordinary, losing all of it certainly was. […]
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Date: October 10, 2014
BOOM! Now High Yield is Key
What a great day in the city on Wednesday! I knew I was okay when Metro North actually ran on time to start the day. I did two segments with the good folks at Yahoo Finance, one discussing the most overused word in investing, “bubble”, and the other on the current state of the bull market. As they are posted I will share the links. I headed to the floor of the NYSE in the afternoon for a quick stint […]
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Date: October 9, 2014
History Says 15% Chance of 8-11% Decline Right Now
Today (Wednesday) I am excited to head to New York City for a day full of media (and a tiny bit of shopping). My first stop is with the good folks at Yahoo Finance to create two or three segments on what’s hot now. I know for sure we will do one on market bubbles which should be controversial and interesting. I imagine there will be one about the bull market or Fed and then one on the hot story […]
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Date: October 8, 2014
Stocks Trying to Keep Bounce Going
The stock market ended last week with a very nice bounce from the lows seen on Thursday and I discussed in the last update. Market internals were fine, but certainly not great, so far. At this point, the most prominent stock market indices saw yet another pullback that couldn’t gather steam once it approached 5%. While very unusual historically, this has been business as usual since mid 2012. The most important things to watch now are how stocks behave as […]
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Date: October 6, 2014
Bears Stepped It Up
For most of September, I discussed the very negative seasonal period that ended on September 30. Remember, poor seasonals with strongly negative short-term trends from the Fed and options expiration usually just provide a headwind or accelerant to a market move already in place. The second half of September was certainly a poor showing for the bulls, which is part of the reason October began so weak. For those who watch the charts, the Dow and S&P 500 visited their […]
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Date: October 2, 2014
Alibaba, Twitter and Facebook Oh My!
“Hot” IPOs like Alibaba, Twitter and Facebook are usually very emotional, much anticipated and huge financial media events. As I have discussed over and over, emotion in investing can have a very detrimental impact on your portfolio! I went back and found similar, much anticipated, “hot” IPOs to show you what transpired over the coming few months. The results should not be surprising. Twitter really bucked the trend over the past few years. While it initially dropped 20% from its […]
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Date: September 24, 2014
Alibaba… No Bubble to Me
With the Fed meeting, press conference and Scotland out of the way, markets turned to Alibaba’s initial public offering (IPO) to close a very busy week last Friday. Looking at possibly a record $20+ billion IPO, the money had to come from somewhere. And judging by tech stocks behavior over the prior week or so, it certainly looked like institutional investors were paring back holdings to pay for Alibaba. The hugely anticipated IPO priced at $68 and promptly opened at […]
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Date: September 23, 2014
Beware of Most Negative Seasonals of the Year
For the past three weeks I have written about the need for a short-term pullback in stocks. I have been and remain positive on the intermediate and long-term view for the stock market. Remember, pullbacks can come by stocks going sideways for a period of time or by price declining enough to entice buyers back in. In the major indices we saw a split pullback with the Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 going sideways while the S&P 400 and […]
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Date: September 22, 2014
Textbook Consolidation Ends
Late last month, I wrote a piece concluding that stocks looked a bit tired at all time highs. Nothing terribly damaging, but they were in need of some rest. Routine, normal and healthy pullbacks can come in different forms. The easiest way for stocks to digest is to decline 2-5% fairly quickly, while another way is to see sideways movement with a slightly downward tilt for a period of weeks. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 all saw […]
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Date: September 19, 2014
Headwinds Abound This Week
Almost all markets finished on a sour note last week and that spilled over to begin the new week. While I have written about stocks needing a short-term breather, I was surprised that treasury bonds could not get a lift as stocks weakened. In fact, both stocks and bonds peaked the same week, but bonds sold off more significantly, something that is unusual. The major stock market indices certainly look like they want at least a little rally, but the […]
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Date: September 16, 2014
More Airstrikes Announced… Markets Don’t Care
Last night, President Obama announced an expansion of the campaign against ISIS with targeted airstrikes in Syria. And as we have seen so many times over the past 10 years, the financial markets responded with a big yawn as if to say that, financially, nobody really cares. Are investors being complacent or realistic? My theory on geopolitical news is twofold. First, reaction depends on how solid a footing the markets are on. Cherry picking with the benefit of hindsight, in […]
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Date: September 11, 2014
Don’t Fall Asleep
Over the past few weeks I have written that stocks seem “tired” or “in need of a pullback or consolidation.” Remember, stock market digestion can occur two different ways; one by price declining 2-5% or price simply moves sideways for an extended period. Right now, it looks like we are getting the latter as the S&P 500 has essentially gone nowhere for more than two weeks. While all this boredom was occurring, we had a weak employment report, Russia/Ukraine cease […]
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Date: September 8, 2014
Beware the Ominous September… or not
Each year at this time, we hear the pundits roll out the ominous stats regarding the stock market’s performance for September. “It’s the worst month of the year.” “Be careful.” “Do some selling.” Those sound an awful lot like “Sell in May and Go Away.” The thing about compiling market stats is that over decades and decades the averages tend to really smooth out. Additionally, much depends on when you begin and end your study. Further, if you add enough […]
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Date: September 2, 2014
Happy Labor Day!
As we say goodbye to the unofficial end of summer, this Labor Day remember those who helped build our great country and celebrate the achievements of the American workforce. Wishing you a safe and enjoyable Labor Day filled with family, friends and cookouts! Heritage Capital LLC
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Date: August 31, 2014
Stocks Looking a Little Tired
The bull market remains alive and reasonably healthy. I am still long-term bullish. I am still fairly bullish over the intermediate-term. With that out of the way, stocks are looking a little weary at all time highs, which should not be totally unexpected. The market has powered higher all month and started to struggle a bit of late. At least for now, I think risk equals reward or perhaps even slightly outweighs reward. To refresh the rally, stocks can either […]
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Date: August 27, 2014
Treasuries Sneak Quietly into Favor
As you know, I have been a treasury bond bull almost all year, putting me squarely in the severe minority camp. 2014 began with the masses all forecasting much higher interest rates across the spectrum. Astute investors know that the masses are usually wrong, especially at major turning points. Jeff Benjamin from Investment News continues to listen to my usually contrarian side of investing and wrote a great article which you can click on below. Keep in mind that this […]
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Date: August 22, 2014
The Fed has It Wrong with the Taper
This is certainly not new news for my readers, but I continue to be in the very lonely camp that the Fed is misguided in tapering the $85 billion in monthly bond purchases and they should totally hold off raising interest rates until our economy gets to the other side of the next recession. As you know, we have been in the slow growth and no inflation camp for years, a theme we still have a high degree of confidence […]
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Date: August 19, 2014
Rumors of the US Dollar’s Demise Have Been Much Exaggerated
The second segment I did on Yahoo Finance last Thursday was not a new one for long time readers. As many of you know, I turned very positive on the US Dollar right about the time Bear Sterns needed a bailout in March 2008. That was long before any QE (money printing) began. Historically, the dollar spent most of its life oscillating between 80 and 120 on the US Dollar Index, an index containing a basket of currencies with the […]
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Date: August 18, 2014
