Proprietary Trading Systems for Stocks, Futures, Currencies, ETFs, LEAPS & Commodities Trading Insights that Government, Media and Wall Street Don't Want You to Know
“Despite the onslaught of negative economic news this summer, they have barely reduced their estimates. The current forecast for the S&P 500 is an increase of 46 percent this year, then 14 percent on top of that in 2011. Such jumps would mean profits rising above their all-time high in 2006 during the boom. Not surprisingly, analysts are equally bullish on individual stocks. There are 9,936 analyst recommendations on stocks in the S&P. More than half, or 5,277, are recommendations to buy the stocks, according to Thomson Reuters. There are just 508 recommendations to sell.”
“…individual investors feel, as Alan Newman of Crosscurrents puts it, “the deck is stacked, the game is rigged against them.” And they feel that way because it is. As Alan laments, “The public has gotten the shaft from Wall Street, from the SEC, from short-oriented hedge funds and now from high-frequency trading.” The market everyone knew, he says, has disappeared, and in its place is an arena in which the long term not only doesn’t count, it doesn’t exist. Indeed, we suspect that the metamorphosis from exchange to casino is the root of individual investor disaffection. And the singular virtue—if that’s the word—of the ultimate meltdown Albert Edwards is yearning for would be to clear the air, restore the long-term to its rightful place in the investment quiver and eventually restore Jane and John Q.’s faith in the stock market.”
Nonsense.
Markets go up. They go down. They go sideways. Nothing new there. How in the world can buy and holders blame so-called high frequency trading for the Dow going sideways for 10+ years?
I do both: write books and blog. However, let’s face it blogging is candy and books are steak. No one can make a reasoned investment case in one blog post alone, but you can’t believe how many ask me to do so (lazy they are as Yoda would say). Oh sure I can talk bullet points of trend following, but only books allow depth. Want to judge my extended views and research? Then read my two trend following books:
Tell me a blogger who has put more wisdom in print about how great traders really make money? Cocky statement? Not at all. It’s just hard work and time commitment. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy blogging (and reading other good blogs; there are many). The process of making small bites ‘work’ is enjoyable, but at the end of the day people pay me to be very detailed — and books (at least for the time being) are still the best format for long form views covering sound investment strategy.
Note: What do others say about both books? Here and here.
Gov. Granholm: “If you care, if you care about democracy and what the everyday citizen believes, and you want to empower them, and they don’t want the Social Security system to be dismantled and they don’t want the Medicare system to be dismantled, because you’re picking and choosing, and this is a compact between generations to be able to make sure that all of our seniors have the funds when they retire that they’re not going to be homeless, so they’re not going to have to go to a shelter.”
Social Security is broke. It’s not going to keep people off the street, give seniors money to retire on or empower them. The seat belt light is on. Please take your seats. Clear air turbulence ahead.
“Investors withdrew a staggering $33.12 billion from domestic stock market mutual funds in the first seven months of this year, according to the Investment Company Institute, the mutual fund industry trade group. Now many are choosing investments they deem safer, like bonds. If that pace continues, more money will be pulled out of these mutual funds in 2010 than in any year since the 1980s, with the exception of 2008, when the global financial crisis peaked.”
It continues:
“‘At this stage in the economic cycle, $10 to $20 billion would normally be flowing into domestic equity funds’ rather than the billions that are flowing out, said Brian K. Reid, chief economist of the investment institute. He added, ‘This is very unusual.’“
This “stage in the economic cycle”? So there is a pattern since the summer of 2007 that we could have looked back at with expectations of future direction? “Unusual”? Unusual compared to what? This guy is held out as an expert and there is no there there. I don’t know Brian K. Reid, but he should be working at Burger King making Whoppers and not posing as a market useful voice.
