Bullish trader Laszlo Birinyi, published his forecast for year end in Bloomberg News. While reducing his forecast for 2010, he still sees the S & P climb 17% to 1225 by year's end. His original prediction was that the S & P would reach 1325. On Thursday the S & P closed at 1047.22Persistent Bull Laszlo Birinyi Sees Market gains to Year End
Bullish trader Laszlo Birinyi, published his forecast for year end in Bloomberg News. While reducing his forecast for 2010, he still sees the S & P climb 17% to 1225 by year's end. His original prediction was that the S & P would reach 1325. On Thursday the S & P closed at 1047.22Continue reading Persistent Bull Laszlo Birinyi Sees Market gains to Year End
Currency Trading Soars to $4 Trillion a Day
Are you looking for some real action? Then come here, my friend. Come to the $4 trillion dollar a day currency market.Continue reading Currency Trading Soars to $4 Trillion a Day
Chasing Value: Apple Falling, Opportunity Calling
Investors are running scared again and that always means that stock bargains are not far behind. Apple Inc. (AAPL) dropped another $5.87 Tuesday, landing at $239.93, and another 8 cents was lost after-hours. For most of the year I have felt that Apple was not cheap and was not going to hit $300 per share, contrary to almost anyone else with a voice. Now I feel it is worth watching as things might get silly to the downside.
Apple rose to a high of $279.01 before pulling back 14%. That is not enough of a margin of safety for me, but it has become interesting again. It clearly has earned a spot on my watch list.
Continue reading Chasing Value: Apple Falling, Opportunity Calling
Fed Loses Appeal and Must Disclose Information on Bailouts
Over a year ago, two Bloomberg reporters filed under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain information from the Federal Reserve on their bailout activities during the market crash of 2008-09. The Federal Reserve has blocked their attempts maintaining that disclosure would harm the financial institutions involved. The latest attempt at blockage was at the U.S. Court Appeals Court.
Continue reading Fed Loses Appeal and Must Disclose Information on Bailouts
Gold Powers to a 7-Week High of $1,234.55 per Ounce
A combination of factors is driving gold prices today. First off, Reuters reported that initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose to 500,000, when analysts expected only 476,000. This took the stock market into a dive with the Dow down almost 100 points. Continue reading Gold Powers to a 7-Week High of $1,234.55 per Ounce
Hedge Manager Druckenmiller Bows Out
In the investing world, Stanley Druckenmiller is one of the legends. His investment fund, Duquesne Capital Management LLC, has averaged 30% annual returns. What's even more remarkable is that Druckenmiller has not had a negative year.However, since the financial panic in 2008, Druckenmiller has definitely experienced a tougher environment. In fact, the fund is down 5% so far in 2010.
Bernanke: Economy Still Short of a Full Recovery
Speaking to state legislators, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke detailed specific areas in the economy that are still weak and holding back full recovery.
Among them are:
- Topping the list is high unemployment and a weak housing market. Speaking to this point Bernanke said: "We have a considerable way to go to achieve full recovery in our economy, and many Americans are still grappling with unemployment, foreclosure and lost savings."
Continue reading Bernanke: Economy Still Short of a Full Recovery
American Credit Scores Plunge
Now here's a real worry for the Federal Reserve. According to the Associated Press,25% of Americans have a credit score below 600.A score below 600 automatically puts you in an unwanted category. If you happen to fall below 600, forget about buying a house. Lenders and landlords will look at your FICO score before renting and really don't care what the reason is for the low score.
Office Vacancy Rate Still Rising
The fallout from the financial meltdown has taken its toll on office space. As the recession took hold, companies laid off more and more employees. It stands to reason that all that office space isn't needed. Reis Inc. tracks office space. Reis reported that 1.8 million square feet of office space were lost in the recent quarter, with a vacancy rate of 17.4%.Office space is tied to employment. The recent numbers indicate that employers are still not planning to hire additional employees who, in turn, would occupy more space. Some agencies of the federal government have expanded but this has been countered by a cutback from banks and larger corporations.
The New World of ETFs
Twenty years ago, Nathan Most invented the exchange-traded fund (ETF) as a simple mutual fund that trades on exchanges like a stock. Then other creators like Blackrock Inc. (BLK) joined in, creating ETFs for commodities as well as exotic ones that double and triple returns. They are called 2x and 3x shares.
When first introduced, ETFs were shunned, mainly because investors knew little about the way they worked. Slowly, they gained momentum, and now there are some 260 such funds trading $40 billion globally. On some days, more than four out of ten trades on U.S. stock exchanges involve ETFs.
Number of World's Millionaires on the Rise
Well, millionaires of the world, your club has become a bit less elite. The number of millionaires across the globe rose by an astounding 17% in 2009, according to the 14th annual "World Wealth Report" published by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini SA. That's a lot of wealth in a time of global economic crisis. But first, what defines a millionaire? No, having a baseball-card collection that might fetch that kind of a price tag doesn't count (unfortunately). The way the Merrill study defines it is those households with at least $1 million in investable assets, not including primary residences. There are now 10 million of these households in the world, up from 8.6 million in 2008.
Nassim Taleb, Author of Black Swan, Predicts Trouble Ahead for World Economies
Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan, predicts trouble ahead for world economies. The Black Swan is a metaphor for unexpected events because people view the world as something structured, ordinary and comprehensible.Some of his statements are factual, and some are conjecture. Here is list of quotes from his interview on CNBC:
Continue reading Nassim Taleb, Author of Black Swan, Predicts Trouble Ahead for World Economies
BP May Disappear While Trudging Through Its Own Sludge
The endless oil rising from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico has sunk BP (BP) stock; investors fly away, while the vultures are circling above.It is sad to learn of BP's poor adherence to basic safety precautions and the conflicts between managers on the drilling rig. It appears from the news reports that have trickled out that this mess was created by more than damaged equipment and poor decisions. The actual decision-making process on the leased Transocean (RIG) platform was faulty from the beginning. Sadly BP is not alone in this regard -- just the most recently exposed.
Continue reading BP May Disappear While Trudging Through Its Own Sludge
Serious Money: Powerful Dividends Powering the Nation
We can make this short and sweet: buying utilities pays off in many ways that other investments do not. Utilities pay regular dividend distributions that are higher than most stocks, bonds, Treasuries, and certificates of deposit. In these volatile times, utility stocks add stability to your portfolio and moderate the wild swings. And, here is the kicker that everyone but day traders will appreciate: long term returns beat all of the major indices over time.The following charts and stocks will further make the case.
Continue reading Serious Money: Powerful Dividends Powering the Nation
EU Collapse Inevitable? No Matter: NVS, TEF and UL Are Buys
Perhaps the European Union was doomed from the start and it just took a decade for the more productive member states to realize it.
If you went into a business with a bad partner is there any way for it to work? Inevitably there will be a split and that might be the case for the EU members and the battered euro.
Regardless of the end result shrewd investors should be on the lookout for stock bargains in large successful European companies undermined by the failure of the monetary system. The following three stocks are examples worth considering.
Continue reading EU Collapse Inevitable? No Matter: NVS, TEF and UL Are Buys
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