Seagate Is Not Likely to Find “Ruthenium-Like” Relief from Soaring Rare Earth Prices

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece.) Last week (July 22) I summarized Seagate’s earnings commentary partially blaming a “bubble” in rare earth prices for causing a margin squeeze for the company. Seagate management claimed that the soaring prices of rare earth … Read more

T2108 Update – July 26, 2011

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page.) T2108 Status: 58%. VIX Status: 20.2 General (Short-term) Trading Call: Hold. Commentary T2108 dropped slightly to 58%. The S&P 500 also dropped slightly with a 0.4% loss. Most interesting is the … Read more

Seagate Blames A “Bubble” In Rare Earth Prices for Causing A Margin Squeeze

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece.) For some time now, rare earth supply, demand, and prices have been hot topics of discussion and debate. While these elements are critical components in many high-tech products, they usually represent a very small part … Read more

Boring Week Waiting for RIM’s Buyback, But A Big Move Is Brewing

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece.) The management at Research In Motion (RIMM) disappointed this past week as it appears they failed to launch the long-awaited buyback. Who can blame them? It was a week of dour headlines filled with yet … Read more

How to Play Research In Motion’s Imminent Buyback

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece.) If you followed anything I have written about Research In Motion (RIMM), you know that the company may begin its latest massive share buyback as early as Monday, July 11. RIMM will buy up to … Read more

Chart Review: Apple Finally Breaks Its Downtrend

Apple (AAPL) initially failed a critical technical test at the 200-day moving average (DMA) and even made a new low for 2011, but the stock’s under-performance has finally ended. AAPL has gained over 10% since its 2011 low June 20th. The majority of the gains have come on just 4 days with strong bursts of … Read more

Short Interest in RIM Climbs Again

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece.) An apparent downward shift in short interest was part of my premise in speculating that Research in Motion (RIMM) could experience significant upside after its last earnings call. It turns out that shorts increased almost … Read more

Chart Review: These Giants Must Not Fall – PG, CLX, and ORCL

On June 20, famed money manager Doug Kass tweeted a stock market warning: “once again the strength in consumer non durables (pg pep cl clx k gis etc) are a market warning sign.” So what happens when these stocks start to break down along with so many others? Is their weakness suddenly a harbinger of … Read more

Chart Review: Can RIMM Finally Stake Out A Bottom?

Research In Motion (RIMM) has been locked in a steep downtrend since February and printed its post-recession highs in September, 2009, so it is hazardous to make any upside predictions for the stock (for example, “Judgment Day for Research In Motion Could Yield Upside Surprise“). However, I could not resist making the observation that RIMM … Read more