2.27.2015

Morning all....

Yesterday the market put in a long boring session which is about what we expected. We also thought the insane drive to NASDAQ 5K would continue and sure enough, while the DOW and S&P were soggy, the tech index did pretty well.

I'm typing this pretty early today as I have to get on the road soon, but at 6:30 am we've got the DOW and S&P futures slightly red. So what's today going to bring?

Just a heads up that our latest free investing newsletter is posted for all to read. This issue is concerning social media and the "bubble" that it has morphed into. While we all enjoy the FaceBooks and Twitter's for the service they can provide us, we see a lot of examples of where people have gone way over the top with their obsession with it.

2.26.2015

Good morning all... Sorry I'm late, but..well you all know the situation. In fact, tomorrow I will only be able to do a morning update ahead of the open, as I'll be heading to the airport shortly after. But things will return to normal for me by the weekend and I can get a bit more focused.

The market put in a soggy session yesterday, not able to draw the firepower it needed to really make a big follow on up day. Yet when you look at the big picture, you see that the NASDAQ is almost being "drawn" to that all time high level around 5000 almost like they want it so badly it has to happen.

Social Bubbles

Mania’s and bubbles have been around for centuries. Probably the most famous one of old was the “tulip” mania of the 1600’s.  At the peak of tulip mania, in March 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. It is generally considered the first recorded speculative bubble.  Basically what happed was that the Dutch had become quite wealthy via new trade opportunities and people had more cash than ever before. So when the rare flower bulbs first showed up, “everyone that’s anyone” had to have one to show how cool they were. There were many tales of people trading family farms and homes for a single bulb. Of course it all went terribly bad as all bubbles do, and many lost their entire life’s savings.

2.25.2015

Good morning all....

My schedule is a bit lumpy as you might imagine, but I'm free to make a few observations here this morning.

Yesterday the market put on a good show over the "prayer" that the Fed's will never do anything, ever. But the rise came as usual, on minuscule volume. We've seen that pattern for literally years now, where sell offs come on pretty large volume, but breakouts are on tiny volumes. So what's that mean actually? Well you'll get a lot of theories about it, but to us it simply means that we aren't breaking into new highs because "everyone" is in there buying with both hands....it means that the Central planners who need markets to be ever higher are buying the exact futures and the exact heavy weighted stocks that move the averages.

Today Janet Yellen will go to Capital Hill and tell our new Congress what she thinks about the economy, monetary policy, and a host of other things. Twice a year she's got to tell everyone at the Government level where the Fed sees themselves on the issues. Well, this particular meeting could be a bit more fiery than some of the previous ones. Why? The new Republicans.

2.24.2015

Morning all...

NOTE>  As I had mentioned lately, my schedule for a few days might get a little lumpy because of my mother in law's issues concerning her health. I'm saddened to have to announce that the dear lady did indeed pass last evening after a battle with late stage dementia following a series of strokes. While it is a blessing that she went fairly quickly, it's never "easy" on the family.  I will do my best to try and keep something of a normal schedule, but please bear with me if you see me miss an update or two over the next several days. 

Thank you.

Okay so the Greeks presented their resolution list to the Europeans and while not as complete as the ECB would like, they're accepting it as a good "starting point".  While the chances for all this to work is pretty slim, everyone's looking at it as a plus. Time will tell how that all goes. The markets have given it their blessings.

2.23.2015

Good morning all, I hope you all had a great weekend!

So, we all know what happened last week. We were grinding sideways, going nowhere fast when they announced the "Greek deal" on Friday and we jumped strongly on the news. No the volume wasn't so great, and it wasn't really a "confirmed" breakout, but everyone liked it all the same.

There's a million questions swirling about concerning the results of the Greek deal. Is it going to hold? Are the Greek people going to accept more "austerity?"  Is true structural reform in the cards?  While the market cheer leaders are telling us yes...the proof will be in the pudding so to speak and right now the pudding isn't done yet.

Not too long ago, the Swiss shocked the world by removing the peg to the Euro, which caused some wicked currency fluctuations for over a week. Along the way, many nations has slashed their interest rates to 0, and some have gone as far as "negative rates".  Now we see the Dane's talking about how they might see the need for  "capital controls" as they too have a harder and harder time keeping their currency stable in relation to the Euro.  Their currency is in free fall this morning, despite the denials that they would actually have to go that route.

2.20.2015

Good morning all.....

It's Friday, and not a day too soon.

You all know the plot. The market is being tossed around on the whims of oil prices and what's happening with the Greece situation. Neither of those issues are going to be solved today, so you can certainly expect a bit more chop. However we also have the issue of technical levels to deal with. While the S&P has managed to keep itself above the December resistance at about 2094, the DOW hasn't been able to cross that level.