Yesterday’s market activity reminded me of the classic Clint Eastwood movie titled “The good, the bad and the ugly,” only in reverse. The major indexes started out looking very ugly, then looked bad and ended up looking pretty good, as most of the losses were recovered by the end of the day. Earnings misses were one reason, while disappointment with …
A Mixed Bag
There was nothing straight forward about yesterday’s trading session. The major indexes bobbed and weaved within a fairly narrow range but managed to close at the unchanged line to slightly up despite a weak opening. The reason was a combination of punches thrown by the current heavyweights, the economy and earnings. While a report on home prices was disappointing, it …
G-20 Relief
It was a rally right from the start after yesterday’s opening with the S&P; 500 heading straight for the 1,200 level. Support came from the G-20 meeting, which ended as all of those types of meetings end: long on talk, but short on results. I guess the positive twist was that nothing was really decided other than a call for …
Protecting Junk
Chart courtesy of YahooFinance With interest rates near zero, income investors have been pouring money into junk bonds at an alarming rate. JNK, see above chart, is one of the more popular ETFs and has grown to over $5 billion in assets. With an average daily trading volume of almost $90 million, it’s a snap to get into or out …
Back To The U.S.
I am leaving Germany this morning and will be heading back to California, so I won’t have a chance to write Sunday’s musings. Regular posting will continue on Monday.
Reader Comment: Market Roll Over?
Reader Roger had these comments regarding an article he submitted with the title “Is the market ready to roll over?” The above article makes a pretty strong case indicating the market is about to reverse direction based on a large number of technical indicators. Of course this conclusion is based on the supposition that past market movements forecast future movements, …