ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
The S&P 500 printed fresh 2-year highs last week with decent volume. This marks a successful follow-through to the breakout from November’s trading channel. Given the index is now tagging the upper-Bollinger Band, it is even more likely that this move will be sustained, at least in the short-term. The longer-term chart suggests that the … Read more
NOW I better understand Wunderlich Securities’s bullish case for GT Solar (SOLR). When I wrote December 1 about how diversification into sapphire crystallization systems (used in the manufacture of LED products) is paying dividends for SOLR, I noted my confusion over Wunderlich’s reiteration of a buy rating on SOLR. That reiteration came at the same … Read more
Evergreen Solar’s balance sheet is a common concern in nearly every earnings conference call. After reviewing earnings on November 4, I concluded that Evergreen Solar (ESLR) “remains a very speculative bet on survival.” After Monday’s announcement of a major recapitalization plan, it is clear that ESLR’s balance sheet remains in precarious shape. The recapitalization plan … Read more
I have been reporting the breakout of U.S. Steel (X) on twitter since last week, so I thought I would quickly post a chart outlining the case and provide some additional commentary. Like most steel stocks, U.S. Steel has lagged the S&P 500 for most of this year. The stock has churned in a wide … Read more
Once again, negative news flow caught up with Lender Processing Services (LPS) – this time it was a Reuters report titled “Special report: Legal woes mount for a foreclosure kingpin” that provided additional sordid and scandalous details on now well-known allegations that have weighed on LPS for at least a year. Reuters essentially claims that … Read more
China Pledges Support For Solar Development Beijing will create 13 industry zones and pay up to half the price of equipment for solar power projects, the Finance Ministry said. It said other costs will be covered by a subsidy of 4 to 6 yuan (60 to 90 U.S. cents) per watt of generating capacity. (tags: … Read more
Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) reported earnings last week with excellent headline results and strong guidance, but the stock market rewarded the company with a 7% loss on extremely high selling volume. Wedbush even reiterated its outperform rating and $43 price target based on TSL’s performance (according to briefing.com). Most of those initial losses were erased … Read more
Time To Buy Solar Stocks? | Alternative Energy Stocks The sharp down move in recent weeks made me wonder if this might be a sign of capitulation. I don't follow the solar sector closely, but given its historic volatility, I think there is a lot of potential for astute traders to make money in the … Read more
Mark Carney, the governor of Canada’s central bank (Bank of Canada), must be one of the most relaxed central bankers in the Western world. In an interview posted on Paul Kedrosky’s website (minutes 9 to 35), Carney admits that his job is easy compared to the task still facing many of his contemporaries. For example, … Read more
The week ended with the S&P 500, SLV (a silver ETF), and GLD (a gold ETF) all approaching former 52-week highs. The U.S. dollar dropped 1.3% on Friday, decisively failing at resistance at its 200-day moving average (DMA) and putting an exclamation point on the week’s action. The S&P 500 broke through its last battle … Read more