Reader Dick had a general comment about what goes on in the markets: How can anyone think that the markets are behaving “normally” now? There’s High-Frequency Trading providing 80% of the market right now (from computers running in front of “regular” market computers); and ‘too-big to fail’ Investment Banks, including Goldman Sachs, able to pretty much borrow money for free, …
No Load Fund/ETF Tracker updated through 8/05/2010
My latest No Load Fund/ETF Tracker has been posted at: http://www.successful-investment.com/newsletter-archive.php Monday’s rally was almost wiped out by today’s poor unemployment report, but last hour buying along with short covering kept Friday’s losses manageable. For the week, the major indexes gained. Our Trend Tracking Index (TTI) for domestic funds/ETFs held above its trend line (red) by +3.48% (last week +2.50%) …
Edging Higher
Despite an early whip-saw move, the markets slowly but surely gained momentum yesterday and ended up closing higher as the chart above (courtesy of MarketWatch.com) shows. It wasn’t a huge move, but it solidified the price position above the S&P;’s widely watched 200-day moving average (currently at 1,115). Contributing to upside momentum were better than expected reports regarding private-sector payrolls …
Holding Above the Line
Some profit taking was expected after Monday’s strong push above the S&P;’s 200-day moving average. Although volume was fairly light, the pullback yesterday was modest, and we remained above the critical 1,114 level on the S&P; 500. Weaker home and auto sales, amidst worries about Friday’s upcoming jobs report, worked against upward momentum, but no harm was done. Interestingly, the …
Behind Schedule
First, a personal note. I am out of town, and my trusty laptop caught a nasty virus despite my many precautions. My email program has been down since Sunday morning, but I hope to have it restored by (hopefully) tonight or sometime tomorrow. Please be patient if you have emailed me; I will respond as soon as possible… Second, my …
Stadion Funds Responds
Several readers sent in positive responses regarding my post on Stadion’s ETFFX fund, which uses some form of trend tracking to avoid market exposure during bear market drops. Stadion’s Senior VP Steve Beard had this to say: Your recent writing in which you commented favorably about Stadion’s approach to managing money was gratifying. Thank you. Two things: ETFFX has actually …