Market Fear? Not As Necessary As “They” Want You To Believe

May 17, 2010

With all the volatility and uncertainty that’s returned to the market in recent weeks, it would be easy to fall back into panic. On Thursday, May 6, financial TV channels showed endless loops of a few Greeks protesting in the streets. To the networks’ delight, police in riot gear were challenging the protesters.

I say “of course” because such images play right into the agenda of the media, which is to frighten you.

Here’s an excellent article by Alexander Green on this very topic.  He actually goes on to address the bigger issue of using television as a substitute for real life — and I agree with that, though it’s a longer discussion for another day.

Read the full post
Read the full article →

Simple Stock Watch: Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW)

April 28, 2010

Well, the market took a crazy beating on Tuesday. Investors clearly started freaking out about the wider ramifications of the debt crisis in Greece, and sent equities plummeting.

But today, we’ll look at one that bucked the trend, Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW).

It’s easy to get discouraged on a day like this. But remember: Every market decline is followed by a new uptrend.

And one of the crucial things to do while you wait for the market to find its footing is to keep trolling for stocks whose price and volume action are outpacing the indexes. On Tuesday, there were precious few names meeting that description. But here’s a look at one of them, Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW).

Read the full post
Read the full article →

What To Make Of Low-Volume Stock Rally?

April 12, 2010

A lot of analysts are fretting about the low volume rally on the stock market indexes. Ideally, of course, you want to see heavy-volume trading as stocks move higher.  That’s an indication of confidence among professional investors, like mutual funds and hedge funds.

So what should investors make of the steady low-volume climb in the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500? Remember: The market looks ahead, so rising stock prices signal investor optimism about the situation a few months from now.

Read the full post
Read the full article →

Simple Stock Watch: Rue21 (RUE)

March 29, 2010

A lot of people like getting their fashion fix on the cheap. That’s why Ross Stores and TJ Maxx have continued to perform well.

But think about who those stores attract. Families looking for bargains for the whole gang. Or adults, saving money on clothes for themselves.

There’s nothing terribly edgy about either of those companies, even though both stocks have made steady price advances in the past 15 months.

But a recent IPO, Rue21, takes the value clothing concept to a different level. Check out this video from the company’s IPO road show:

Rue 21 Road Show

Read the full post
Read the full article →

The Best Investors Never Stop Educating Themselves

March 21, 2010

The other day, I came across this blog post by Steve Place called “A New Way To Look At Market Volatility.”

Steve opens his article with these words: “I’m always searching for different ways to approach and perceive the market– I feel that sticking to a set of knowledge without flexibility or adaptation will lead to underperformance in the market.”

Now, I ended up liking the article a lot, and agreeing with Steve. But my initial reaction was, “That’s crazy. You can’t just go changing your approach every time you hear something new.”

Read the full post
Read the full article →

Use Stock Charts, Not Stock Tips, To Make Your Investing Decisions

March 16, 2010

Here’s a nice, encouraging, happy kind of story I read this morning:

Rumor Confirmed: Idle Ships Pouring Back Into Service In Response To The Global Rebound

Investors love stuff like this, because it’s easy to invest on tips and stories. As humans, we’re hard-wired to love stories. It’s part of our DNA. So along comes a great story about a down-and-out company that’s roaring back. Or a scrappy new little company that’s like David taking on the Goliaths. Or maybe it’s the return of the conquering hero: A guy who successfully ran another company is back with his new venture, smarter than ever and with a “can’t miss” way of meeting the latest demands.

Read the full post
Read the full article →

China Agritech (CAGC): Simple Stock Watch

March 12, 2010

Check this out: China Agritech, a China-based company that makes organic fertilizers, has continued its skyrocketing gains.

Now, I realize that a lot of investors don’t even consider stocks that have already run up like this, because they figure it’s up too high already. I’ve seen too many stocks keep climbing after reaching a series of new highs. So I’m keeping an eye on this one, and I’ll be ready the next time it finds support at its 10-week moving average. That would show that professional investors are scooping up more shares, which, of course, is a vote of confidence.

Read the full post
Read the full article →

Using Relative Strength To Spot Buy Point For Stocks Outperforming The Market

March 7, 2010

Here’s a great video that shows one way to use a stock’s Relative Strength to identify a buy point, even before it’s cleared a proper chart consolidation.

Relative Strength Video

Joe Fahmy uses a similar methodology to my own, where he combines fundamentals and technicals to zero in on the best stocks.

Relative Strength shows you how much a stock’s price action is outperforming the S&P 500.  For years, I’ve used it as a method to screen for stocks with outstanding potential, and it has an excellent track record of reliability.

Read the full post
Read the full article →

Amazon.com Is More Than A Kindle Seller

March 5, 2010

I admit it. I fell victim to the “opinion” trap.

One of the most difficult things for an investor to do is to avoid making decisions based on something you’re “sure” of. I put that word in quotes because what we think we know is often very wrong.

Here’s some backstory: In 2004, 2005 and early 2006, when oil and gas stocks were motoring higher, a friend of mine kept insisting that those stocks were “long in the tooth.” It was a reasonable, intelligent-sounding assumption, since many of those names had been rallying for months, and appeared ready for a breather. Because this guy is an accomplished investor and someone who knows his market rules in and out, I fell prey to his opinions.

Read the full post
Read the full article →

Are Small Investors Too Lazy To Get The Best Returns In Their Stock Portfolios?

March 3, 2010

Bill Ackman thinks so! He’s a hedge fund manager at Pershing Square Capital Management.

In a talk last week, he said that individual investors use diversification because they are too lazy to research stocks and figure out which are the best to own.

The commenters on this post seem to think Ackman is just an arrogant prick. Maybe he is; I have no idea.

But I happen to think he’s correct on this point. Way too many individual investors just run out and buy up dozens of stocks and throw ‘em in a portfolio. With that many stocks, there’s just no way you can keep track of developments at the companies, to know whether you should buy more shares, hold, or sell.

Read the full post
Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →