For the past 2 months, the Bear-o-meter has migrated between readings of 2-3. As you’ll notice in the scale below, that level kept the Bear-o-meter in the “higher risk” territory. You can do a search on this blog for other Bear-o-meter readings to track its readings –the last one being in June. Note that the Read More
Will marijuana stocks get high(er)?
Back in November of last year, I noted that I had a non-investment savvy friend ask me about Bitcoin. I told him that it was massively overbought by about 300% – and ready to crash. In fact, I was so convinced of this argument that I posted a blog predicting that very event- and here Read More
Automation dulls the senses
This is my yearly rant, with a bit of technical analysis application mixed into it. Hope you enjoy it: I’m an old fashioned chart reader by nature. True, there are a few quantitative screens that I like to use, such as my Bear-O-meter. That indicator is a compilation of 11 factors that are assigned positive Read More
Gold’s failure
I’m on BNN today at 1:00. One of the questions that I know I will get is regarding gold. Its always something people want to know about. So- I’ve taken the liberty to post the same chart that I have been posting on my blog for the better part of 3 years. Interestingly, the Read More
Comfortably numb
Eric Parnell, a US Portfolio Manager, wrote an interesting article in Seeking Alpha recently. Here is the link to his article Uncomfortably Numb As we approach the end of the first half of the trading year, Eric notes that the stock market has had only 2 days that fell 0.7% or more in the past Read More
Words from the wise
At ValueTrend, we pride ourselves in being one of the more open and “fully disclosing” Portfolio Managers on the street. Our clients receive very detailed email updates on the existing positions held within our models – including current and future expectations as to when we might be selling these holdings, or buying new positions in Read More
Bear-o-meter flashes danger
I posted my Bear-o-meter reading a couple of weeks ago when it showed a low- neutral reading of “3”. That is, the indicator suggested a flat market, with some caution. Things have changed – the indicator now reads a bearish “1”, so I thought I’d better update readers. Just a quick refresher on what the indicator Read More
Oil’s well that ends well
WTI crude took an abrupt punch in the gut yesterday after a nice rally that began in early March. A couple of my long time readers asked me for an update on oil – so I thought I’d oblige. There are a few factors we may want to examine when looking at any sector or commodity Read More
Refining VIX entry and exit signals
Last week, I noted that the VIX had been moving up along with gold. Both of these vehicles can be considered “risk off” vehicles – a sign that investors are running for the hills. Here is the blog. The VIX is a good vehicle for spotting overbought and oversold markets. As I noted on Read More
Small caps still in the game
Small caps have taken a breather on both sides of the border. It’s easier to analyse US small caps due to the widely followed Russell 2000 index, and the very widely traded IWM ETF shares. On the other hand, the Canadian small capped index is not widely followed and the iShares XCS ETF is pretty Read More