Random Roger had an interesting take on the China market and whether it might make sense to ease back in with a conservative allocation. He concluded that “this all might flow into an idea I have expressed before that maybe “buy and hold” should be replaced with “buy and hope to hold.” Buy and hope to hold? I must admit …
Sunday Musings: Get Smarter Using Simple Heuristics
I’ve been reading “Simple Heuristics that make us Smart” by G. Gigerenzer and P. Todd, since I found it referenced in an investment book. The authors define the term “heuristic” as “serving to find out or to discover.” In the early 1900s, Einstein used the term as “an approach to a problem that is necessarily incomplete given the knowledge available, …
Never Too Big To Admit Mistakes
I have repeatedly talked about the importance of not only tracking a sell stop but actually executing it when the price point is triggered. Many readers have told me that this is one of the most difficult things to do. Why? Very simply, because it is an admission of having been wrong especially if that sell stop triggers a loss …
No Load Fund/ETF Tracker updated through 4/24/2008
My latest No Load Fund/ETF Tracker has been posted at:http://www.successful-investment.com/newsletter-archive.phpBulls and bears engaged in a tug-of-war with the bulls coming out ahead for the week by a slight margin. Our Trend Tracking Index (TTI) for domestic funds/ETFs has moved now +1.33% above its long-term trend line (red), which means we remain close to breaking out to the upside of the …
Going Nowhere
The markets zigzagged yesterday, but ended up closing modestly higher thanks to support from industry heavyweights Boeing and Microsoft. Despite this higher close, participation was not widespread, which explains why our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) retreated slightly. The domestic TTI fell to a level of +1.37% above its long-term trend line, just below the upper range (+1.50%) of the neutral …
Off The High
The markets retreated yesterday as the dollar’s record new low against the Euro, along with soft earnings and oil prices hugging the $120/barrel mark, proved too much resistance. The bears prevailed and sent the major indexes lower, although a rebound late in the session cut down on the losses. Our domestic Trend Tracking Index (TTI) came off its high, and …