ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 24, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) I have been trying to create a shopping list of stocks for any sell-offs in the next month or so as plays on trading the final months going into November’s presidential … Read more
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) began the week with all of its gains for 2012 erased in the wake of news of its hedging losses. JPM ended the week in the same place after having dropped as much as another 3.9%. The brief rally from the lows carried strong buying volume. This action looks like a temporary … Read more
T2107, the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 200-day moving averages has been in decline since reaching a quick post-recession peak in late 2009. It is one sign that fewer and fewer strong stocks are supporting the overall stock market. So when the indicator takes a fresh plunge to the downside, I sit up … Read more
Every now and then I see a chart that undermines my expectation for an imminent pullback in the general market. This time, Goldman Sachs (GS) delivered the reluctant surprise. Today, the stock surged 5.2% to fresh 6-month highs. Source: FreeStockCharts.com This is what I had to say about GS in late January during a comprehensive … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 7, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Lender Processing Services (LPS) has gained 31% year-to-date. This jump follows the activity of intrepid traders/investors who loaded up on LPS June $21 call options in December – these call options … Read more
According to “Building a Better America One Wealth Quintile at a Time” by Dan Ariely and Michael I. Norton, Americans are generally misinformed about the true distribution of wealth in America. Robert Reich’s “Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future” represents an insightful and creative approach to educating the reader on income inequality and potential … Read more
In late October, I claimed that Goldman Sachs (GS) had finally found a bottom after two years of mostly declining prices. It has been all downhill for GS ever since. The chart below shows the signals I used to decide GS had finally printed a bottom. Note that on November 9, GS sliced cleanly and … Read more
I am a big fan of trading on insider buying (for example, see “The Market Is Ignoring These Insider Buys, But You Should Not“). So when I read that Jon Corzine had invested $3M of his own money in now bankrupt MF Global, shivers went up my spine. In “Why MF Global’s Collapse Matters“, Brett … Read more
This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 30, 2011. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Today, I am going to try again to make the case that LPS is potentially turning around. Here are the main points and observations: Short interest is down 34% from … Read more
Robert Reich recently asked “Which do you trust more: democracy or financial markets?” His article was written in response to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s proposal to hold a national referendum on whether to accept the conditions of a bailout on their unserviceable government loans. He concludes the piece asking readers whether we should “…rule … Read more