An aggregation of headlines from the top stock blogs.
In The Money » Monday Morning Musings
The market is trading lower this morning, after the S&P 500 Index ran into resistance at the 1150 area, which is the level of its previous highs back in January.The Nasdaq is also lower, led down by Apple (AAPL), which looks to just be profit taking, and Google (GOOG), which is down by -3.3% after news came out that the search engine giant is no longer censoring its search results in China. This could cause …
Financial Armageddon » Forget About 'Black Swans'…
…if you think "black swans" are something to worry about, how about a black penguin? "All-Black Penguin Is One-in-a-Zillion" (CBS) Mutated Bird Spotted During National Geographic Journey to Antarctica How big is a zillion? It's "an extremely large, indeterminate number," according to Dictionary.com. And how rare is an all-black penguin, rather than the black-and-white tuxedo-like colorings on most of the adorable, big, wabbly birds? It's a one-in-a-zillion mutation, scientists say. …
Random Roger » Municipal Avoidance
John Spence had an article run on Marketwatch over the weekend weighing the pluses and minuses of municipal bonds and municipal bond ETFs. A few days ago Matt Hougan wrote a favorable piece on the PowerShares Build America Bond ETF (BAB). Over the weekend the Barron's cover story was about the current state of the states. Mike Shedlock writes prolifically about current economic events in the states. Read all of this, if you haven't already.The …
Financial Armageddon » Another Ticking Time Bomb
In "Safe…or Sorry?" I discussed some of the many risks municipal bond investors have been ignoring in their Quixotic quest for safety and high yields. This week's Barron's details yet another financial time bomb ticking in the shadows of state and local government finances in a report by Jonathan R. Laing, entitled, "The $2 Trillion Hole": Promised pensions benefits for public-sector employees represent a massive overhang that threatens the financial future of many cities and …
Financial Armageddon » A Simple Question
Question: If things keep getting better in consumerland, why aren't retailers looking to hire more staff? Answer: Maybe they believe it's 2007 all over again?
Financial Armageddon » A Seasonal Blip
In "Out of Touch with Reality," I highlighted a post at The Economist's Free Exchange blog, which featured remarks by economist Mark Zandi suggesting that the February rebound in retail sales was less than it seems. In fact, as Mr. Zandi notes in an Investor's Business Daily report, "Extra Stimulus Aid Fuels Sales, But Fiscal Flood Cresting Early," factors that helped direct wads of cash into consumers' hands are poised to disappear [red italics mine]: …
Random Roger » Sunday Morning Coffee
As a followup to yesterday's post about the Super Cycle Oscillator pointing to several more years of bad real returns in the equity market Barron's published a short article drawing the same conclusion using what appears to be a completely different data set.The article was written by Thomas Kee Jr. from Stock Traders Daily. The indicator is called the Investment Rate and it measures demand for asset classes based on demographic trends. As a very …
Financial Armageddon » Running Out of Steam
In a post at OilPrice.com, "Shipping Indices Highlight a Potential Commodities Sell Off," Dave Forest points us to an interesting development. It appears that the bulk of a recent decline in the China Containerized Freight Index, which tracks shipping prices for goods sailing from China to 11 different regions around the world, stems from a drop in just two CCFI sub-indexes: Eastern and Western U.S. According to Forest, rates for shipments from China to Eastern …
Financial Armageddon » Where the Hiring Is
Each month, Monster Worldwide publishes its Monster Employment Index (MEI), a "gauge of U.S. online job demand based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of corporate career Web sites and job boards, including Monster.com." Although many analysts drew comfort from the fact that the long-term growth rate turned positive last month, with the index up 2 percent year-on-year, for the first time since the December …
Financial Armageddon » The Upsides and Downsides of the Great Recession
While it may not be obvious at the time, a dramatic change in economic circumstances can have its upsides and downsides. On the upside, because fewer people can afford to drive, the number of people who die in traffic accidents is falling. According to preliminary data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, both the number of fatalities and the fatality rate hit record lows in 2009. On the downside, more people are apparently …
Financial Armageddon » Out of Touch with Reality
According to many of the "experts," today's data on retail sales was unequivocally good news: "This is a pleasant surprise, especially in the light of the severe winter weather across large parts of the country last month," said Ian Shepherdson, an analyst at High Frequency Economics…. "Consumers are beginning to come out of their shells," IHS Global Insight analyst Nigel Gault said. "Today's data suggests that real consumer spending will rise about 3% in the …
Financial Armageddon » Hyperinflation: Is Black the New White?
If Nassim Nicholas Taleb (and others) posit that an outcome once considered extremely rare is increasingly likely, does that mean a certain type of swan has changed its colors? That is, based on the following Bloomberg BusinessWeek report, "'Black Swan' Author Concerned About Hyperinflation," is black the new white? Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of “The Black Swan” about how unforeseen events can roil markets, said he is concerned about hyperinflation as governments around the world take …
Financial Armageddon » Not Durable?
Following the severe downturn we've had, many economists would probably agree that one key ingredient for a sustained economic recovery is a healthy (i.e., low level) of inventories relative to sales. Relatively speaking, if businesses are carrying too much inventory on their books, that can act as a drag on growth because they will be hesitant to crank up production — and hiring — until stocks are whittled down to more comfortable levels. So, what …
Financial Armageddon » Why So Concerned?
Since hitting their lows last March, Fedex shares have rallied more than 150 percent and are not far off their 2009 highs. Given that equity investors are supposedly able to anticipate the future, that must mean things looks are looking up for America's premier transportation and logistics company. Right? And since the company's fortunes are also closely tied to the health of the U.S. and global economies, money managers must also be betting that the …
Random Roger » The Big Picture for the Week of March 14, 2010
Earlier in the week Barry Ritholtz posted this chart from Bronson Capital Markets Research. It shows 139 years of nominal returns for equities (probably somewhat familiar to you) along with 139 years of real returns.The real return component is called the Reversion To The Extreme Supercycle Oscillator. The fist observation one might make is uh-oh. I imagine the big thing should be the consistency in where the market has reverted to in the bottom of …
Financial Armageddon » Out of Touch with Reality
According to many of the "experts," today's data on retail sales was unequivocally good news: "This is a pleasant surprise, especially in the light of the severe winter weather across large parts of the country last month," said Ian Shepherdson, an analyst at High Frequency Economics…. "Consumers are beginning to come out of their shells," IHS Global Insight analyst Nigel Gault said. "Today's data suggests that real consumer spending will rise about 3% in …
Closing Comments from TheTechTrader.com » Consolidation Session Closes Narrowly Mixed
The stock market indices moved higher in the morning and reached new rally highs but backed off sharply shortly thereafter. The rest of the day they bounced back and forth and vacillated in coil-type fashions, but were not able to make any progress either way, although a late afternoon test of support threatened to break but held. Net on the day they closed very narrowly mixed, with the Dow up 12.85 at 10,624.69, the S&P …
Financial Armageddon » Hyperinflation: Is Black the New White?
If Nassim Nicholas Taleb (and others) posit that an outcome once considered extremely rare is increasingly likely, does that mean a certain type of swan has changed its colors? That is, based on the following Bloomberg BusinessWeek report, "'Black Swan' Author Concerned About Hyperinflation," is black the new white? Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of “The Black Swan” about how unforeseen events can roil markets, said he is concerned about hyperinflation as governments around the …
HedgeFundBlogger.com by Richard Wilson » UK EU Hedge Fund Rules
UK EU Hedge Fund Rules UK's Brown and Sarkozy Meet Over EU Hedge Fund Rules Continuing with our European hedge fund coverage, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he is confidant that the European Union can reach an agreement over regulating hedge funds although he admitted there had been no major breakthrough in his talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Brown and his UK negotiators are working to soften the EU Directive over fears …
Financial Armageddon » Not Durable?
Following the severe downturn we've had, many economists would probably agree that one key ingredient for a sustained economic recovery is a healthy (i.e., low level) of inventories relative to sales. Relatively speaking, if businesses are carrying too much inventory on their books, that can act as a drag on growth because they will be hesitant to crank up production — and hiring — until stocks are whittled down to more comfortable levels. So, what …
HedgeFundBlogger.com by Richard Wilson » Geithner EU Regulations
Geithner EU RegulationsGeithner Criticizes European Union Hedge Fund Regulations U.S. officials have questioned the European Union's plans to regulate hedge funds. Although Britain is pushing to soften the EU proposal, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner still expressed his U.S. concerns in a letter stating, "We are concerned with various proposals that would discriminate against U.S. firms and deny them access to EU markets that they currently have." Here is a copy of his letter about …
Random Roger » Portfolio Tweak
Earlier this week I made an across the board swap that is worth talking about. I sold China Mobile (CHL) and then replaced it with Partners Communication (PTNR).From the top down this does not change the exposure to equities or to the telecom sector but it does mostly eliminate China and increases Israel (we've held Teva (TEVA) for years now). We still have a little China as embedded in some of the ETFs we use.My …
Stock Picks Bob's Advice » Walgreen (WAG) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT) "Trading Transparency"
Hello Friends! Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting my blog, Stock Picks Bob's Advice! As always, please remember that I am an amateur investor, so please remember to consult with your professional investment advisers prior to making any investment decisions based on information on this website. As part of this blog, I try to share with you my actual trades in my 'Trading Account' and let you know why I made this trade …
Closing Comments from TheTechTrader.com » Indices Press Onward
The stock market indices ended on the plus side once again, but struggled in the morning. They opened lower, barely held support, then came on to retest the highs but couldn’t get through. They pulled back once again, then backed and filled and narrowed to the apex of intraday wedges on the SPX & NDX. During the last half hour the indices exploded to the upside, took out the 2-day highs, closing right near the …
Financial Armageddon » Why So Concerned?
Since hitting their lows last March, Fedex shares have rallied more than 150 percent and are not far off their 2009 highs. Given that equity investors are supposedly able to anticipate the future, that must mean things looks are looking up for America's premier transportation and logistics company. Right? And since the company's fortunes are also closely tied to the health of the U.S. and global economies, money managers must also be betting that the …
