August 30, 2010

Renowned Analyst Sees The S&P 500 Index At 450

Albert Edwards, whose opinion, of all macro economists, is among the most respected by Zero Hedge staff, has just thrown down the gauntlet. In his just released piece he mocks the Black Knight, compares the market to a Polish dude with a bullet stuck in his head, makes fun of koolaid drinking permabulls, and sets his estimate for the S&P... at 450.

in Daily Crux

Related ETFs: ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (ETF) (SDS) , ProShares UltraShort QQQ (ETF) (NYSE:QID)

September Is The Worst Month For Stocks


(Source: The Prag Cap)

This chart illustrates the Dow Jones` average performance for each calendar month since 1950. It is worth noting that the worst calendar month for stock market performance is fast approaching.

Related: Direxion Daily Finan. Bull 3X Shs(ETF) (FAS), Direxion Daily Finan. Bear 3X Shs(ETF) (FAZ) , Financial Select Sector SPDR (ETF) (XLF), Technology SPDR (ETF) (XLK), Materials SPDR (ETF) (XLB)

August 26, 2010

Oil Prices Forecast For 2010 And 2011

Barclays Capital has cut its oil price forecasts for 2011 and this year, citing concern about the economic slowdown. The bank cut its 2010 price forecast for benchmark US crude by 4 dollars per barrel to $78 and reduced its 2011 forecast by 7 dollars Âșer barrel to 85.

The report added, "There is enough fundamental strength to support prices above the $70 which is increasingly looking like a minimum for the basic health of the industry, but there is also enough macroeconomic disquiet to make any breakout of prices to the upside difficult to sustain"

Related stocks: Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP), Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO), Suncor Energy Inc. (USA) (SU) , BP plc (ADR) (BP), Murphy Oil Corporation (MUR) , Transocean LTD (RIG), Halliburton Company (HAL), Schlumberger Limited. (SLB)

August 23, 2010

Gold Outlook: A New High Is Coming

The primary trend for gold remains very much intact and upward. The recent drop in price from the historical high of $1265 to $1155 looks to have been nothing more than a small correction in the bigger picture. However, I expect to see some formidable resistance at $1250 level. But, I believe that this level will be breached and we will soon see a new historical high for the gold price.

David Levenstein is a leading expert on investing in precious metals .He brings over 30 years experience in futures, equities, forex and bullion.

in Mineweb.com

Related: SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (GLD) , Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) , Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM) , Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD), Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation (CDE), Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (GG)

August 22, 2010

Intel (INTC) Has A Higher Dividend Then Procter & Gamble (PG), Coca-Cola (KO) And General Electric (GE)

Intel (INTC) has one of the higher dividend yields in the Dow as well at 3.33%. One would never think it, but Intel has a higher yield than names like Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and General Electric.

in Bespoke

Is The S&P 500 Opening Price Important For The Day`s Price Action?

Ever wonder what the direction of the market at the open means for the rest of the day? On days when the market opens up, does it usually continue higher or go lower? Using the S&P 500 tracking SPY ETF, we went back to 1993 (when SPY began trading) to see what the historical trend has been.

In the chart below, we highlight the number of days over the last 50 days that the SPY ETF opened in one direction and then went in the other direction from the open to the close. This criteria is met if the ETF opens up and then goes down from the open to the close or opens down and then goes up from the open to the close. Historically, the average reading over a 50-day period is just over 25. This means that half the time the market continues in the direction of the pre-market futures during regular trading hours, and half the time it goes the other direction. There are definitely 50-day time periods where the market is continuing in the direction of the pre-market futures more often than not, and there are also periods where it reverses more often than not, but the long-term average is just about 50/50. This shows how difficult it is to pick the direction the market will take on a day-to-day basis.

And if the market seems like it's been pretty difficult lately, you're right. Over the last 50 days, the SPY has gone in the opposite direction of where it opened 26 times and in the same direction 24 times. When the reading is right around 50/50 like it is now, the market is giving investors fits.

in B.I.G.

Related ETFs: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (ETF) (SDS), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), iShares Russell 2000 Index (ETF) (IWM)

Jeremy Siegel: The Great American Bond Bubble

Last week, The Wall Street Journal published a letter from Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel and Jeremy Schwartz, director of research at Wisdom Tree Investments Inc., that likened Treasurys to dot-com stocks of the late '90s before they crashed. The headline: "The Great American Bond Bubble." They noted that yields on some bonds are the lowest in 55 years.

Related ETFs: ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Trea (ETF) (TBT), iShares Barclays 20+ Yr Treas.Bond (ETF) (TLT)

August 16, 2010

Fed Says Banks Are Lending Again

Banks have eased lending standards for small businesses for the first time in nearly four years, the Federal Reserve said Monday .

In its new survey of bank lending practices, the Fed found that the loosening of loan standards was occurring primarily at the country's largest domestic banks.

Banks had been reporting relaxed credit standards for big corporations. But the new survey marked the first indication that credit was beginning to ease for smaller companies.

This can be a major shift for the US economy and for the markets as well. Time will tell.

Related Stocks: Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI), Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), Financial Select Sector SPDR (ETF) (NYSE:XLF), Direxion Daily Finan. Bear 3X Shs(ETF) (NYSE:FAZ), Direxion Daily Finan. Bull 3X Shs(ETF) (NYSE:FAS)

August 13, 2010

Oil Futures Breaking 50 And 200 Day Moving Averages. That Is Bullish.


Oil futures broke below its 50 and 200 day moving averages on the same day. Since 1990, this is the 20th time oil has broken below both moving averages on the same day. Looking ahead at oil's performance following these occurrences, however, shows that a break of both moving averages isn't the signal of impending doom that some technicians suggest it is. In the nineteen prior periods, oil has averaged a gain of 1.36% over the next week and a decline of 0.25% over the next month. Over each time frame, the commodity has seen gains 58% of the time.

Source: Bespoke Investment Group

Related ETFs: United States Oil Fund LP (ETF) (NYSE:USO), iPath S&P GSCI Crude Oil Total Return (NYSE:OIL) , Energy Select Sector SPDR (ETF) (NYSE:XLE)

August 11, 2010

Nassim Nicholas Taleb: The US Government Bonds Will Collapse


Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who warned that unforeseen events can roil markets in “The Black Swan,” said he is “betting on the collapse of government bonds” and that investors should avoid stocks.

in Bloomberg

August 9, 2010

Dennis Gartman: Bearish On The Euro


“The euro has had a spectacular bounce. Were all of the problems that were attendant and discussed and so obvious in February, March and April of this year, have they been alleviated? Not even slightly. The major trend for the euro is still toward disintegration.”

Dennis Gartman, editor of the Gartman Letter in Suffolk, Virginia

Related ETFs: PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSE:UUP) , SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSE:GLD), iShares Silver Trust (ETF) (NYSE:SLV)

August 4, 2010

Meredith Whitney: Investors Should Avoid Financials At All Costs


"It was a quarter of real revenue shortfalls, real revenue weakness, and I think that is a persistent theme that we’re going to see throughout the next several quarters.

Wall Street didn’t make a lot of head count changes and I think what you’re’ seeing now is the revenues don’t support the expense structure.

Investors should avoid financials at all costs, primarily because of the financial reform bill."


Meredith Whitney

Related stocks: Bank of America Corporation (Public, NYSE:BAC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Public, NYSE:JPM), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (Public, NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (Public, NYSE:MS), Citigroup Inc. (Public, NYSE:C), Fifth Third Bancorp (Public, NASDAQ:FITB), SunTrust Banks, Inc. (Public, NYSE:STI), Regions Financial Corporation (Public, NYSE:RF)

Related ETFs: Financial Select Sector SPDR (ETF) (Public, NYSE:XLF), Direxion Daily Finan. Bear 3X Shs(ETF) (Public, NYSE:FAZ), Direxion Daily Finan. Bull 3X Shs(ETF) (Public, NYSE:FAS)

August 3, 2010

Stock Pick: Lubrizol (LZ) Going Through 100


Lubrizol (LZ) is one of the strongest stocks, outperforming the majority of US stocks.

I think Lubrizol (LZ) can easily rally to 100 USD per share in a first move, and then breakout to 110-120 USD due to no overhead resistance (this stock is near a all time high).

Trick of the trade:

Buy Lubrizol (LZ) market, place a sell stop at 87.5 (risking 7.5 dollars per share and target 110, representing a 15 dollar per share target)

August 2, 2010

Alan Greenspan: We Are In A Pause In A Recovery


Alan Greenspan gave a bearish economic outlook this weekend in the "Meet The Press":

"We're in a pause in a recovery, a modest recovery but a pause in the modest recovery feels like a quasi-recession"

Greenspan added that a new recession is possible if housing prices keep trending lower,

"It is possible if home prices go down. Home prices as best we can judge have really flattened out in the last year."

Related stocks: Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN), KB Home NYSE:KBH), D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI), Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL), The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE:RYL), Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:HOV), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)