Blog Feed: Market Playground

Watch Out: Another Big Bernie Madoff-like Scam is Possible (Video)

Published on 2012-05-25 15:35:06

By Michael Tarsala You would think someone’s BS detector should have triggered a lot sooner. The SEC this week charged a California investment adviser with operating a $60 million Ponzi scheme under the name GLR Growth Fund. The adviser’s marketing materials claimed the fund was returning between 17% and 25% a year since 2003 by investing in common stock [...] > read more

The Markets Are Stuck In A Stalemate

Published on 2012-05-25 14:17:38

By Christopher Ebert The Long Straddle/Strangle Index (LSSI) is within normal limits, so no surprises are expected. The Covered Call/Naked Put Index (CCNPI) is weak, but still mildly bullish while the Long Call/Married Put Index (LCMPI) is non-bullish. The markets are stuck in a stalemate, waiting for Europe to make the next move. With the approaching U.S. holiday weekend, the [...] > read more

Here’s How AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL) Ruined The Huffington Post’s Business Model

Published on 2012-05-25 13:42:08

By Mick Weinstein Activist hedge fund Starboard Value owns a little over 5% of AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL), and has been agitating since December for board changes and a refocused strategy. From a just-released 96-slide deck outlining its position, here’s Starboard’s problem with how AOL has handled The Huffington Post since acquiring it in February, 2011 for $315 million. [...] > read more

10 Reasons Why Buying Individual Stocks is a Risky Business

Published on 2012-05-25 12:25:37

By John Gerard Lewis It’s a seldom heard and even more seldom heeded maxim: In general, people should not buy individual stocks. Of course, you’d never know it today as an abiding investing principle, what with the paucity of personal finance acumen – exacerbated by frenetic financial TV shows. There rarely appears a story about, [...] > read more

Robert Reich: Mitt Romney’s Regressivism

Published on 2012-05-25 09:34:13

By Robert Reich Fine to nail Romney with Bain Capitalism. But let’s not forget Romney’s budget proposal, which mimics Paul Ryan’s. Take a moment to make yourself aware of both, because they’re eye-opening and scary. Both would restore the military budget, slash Medicare (turning it into vouchers that shift costs to the elderly) and Medicaid [...] > read more

How to Survive a Whipsaw Market

Published on 2012-05-25 09:19:20

By Michael Tarsala  Robert Sinn, “The Stock Sage”, is making the case for whipsaw market action in the weeks ahead. His expectation is for generally sideways trading within the big picture. Yet within that range, head-spinning volatility is possible, amid news and rumor-based market moves emanating from Europe. This is what it might look like: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY) – [...] > read more

If Greece Weren’t Enough, Check Out The Problems In China

Published on 2012-05-25 08:55:44

By Xavier Bremner  Global investors are anxious about a possible messy Greek exit from the Euro Zone and what that might mean for regional banks and economies. Yet there is another big area of concern for the world economy in 2012: China. The world’s second biggest economy behind the U.S. is decelerating and that has big implications for [...] > read more

Why I Don’t Believe Silver Has Bottomed (Video)

Published on 2012-05-25 08:42:00

By Jeff Pierce $SILVER (Silver – Spot Price) CME – Weekly Video: Technical Analysis with Jeff Pierce of Zentrader Jeff Pierce is a momentum trader that specializes in market timing. He utilizes a proprietary timing system that helps minimize emotions and trading biases within his trading plan. He offers a free newsletter at zentrader.ca that alerts you to trend changes [...] > read more

Insider Sellers Capitulate — Now Let’s See More Buying

Published on 2012-05-24 11:03:44

By Michael Tarsala Insiders are selling a lot less stock than they were just a few weeks ago — a far less negative sign for markets. As Mark Hulbert at the Hulbert Financial Digest writes, the usual ratio of insider selling to buying over the last four decades is between 2-to-1 and 2.5-to-1. Citing data [...] > read more

Past Performance Eventually Guarantees Future Results

Published on 2012-05-24 07:50:05

By Christopher Ebert I could not help chuckling a little when I opened my mailbox last week to find a large envelope containing a prospectus for one of my mutual fund investments. It was amusing because I am a trader, not an investor. I would gladly sell all my shares in the fund if the [...] > read more

A Big, Fat Greek Mess Still Hangs Over The Markets

Published on 2012-05-24 07:28:52

By Gregg Giboney The issue of a Greek exit from the Euro has gained further altitude with hints that plans and expectations are being made for such an outcome. Rumors that Greek officials have discussed an exit plan have been denied, but the German Bundesbank has outwardly stated that a Greek exit is manageable. Greece has [...] > read more

President Obama Has to Explain Why Fairness is Essential to Growth (and Why Some Democrats Have to Stop Believing Otherwise)

Published on 2012-05-24 07:05:50

By Robert Reich The Cory Booker imbroglio has ignited a silly but potentially pernicious debate in the Democratic Party between so-called “pro-growth centrists” who want the President to focus on how well he’s done getting the economy back on its feet after the Bush administration almost knocked it out, and “pro-fairness populists” who want him [...] > read more

When to Get Aggressive with Investments Again

Published on 2012-05-24 06:37:26

By Michael Tarsala One of the best posts on market timing I have seen in a long time comes from Michael Arold, manager of the Technical Swing model. The upshot: Volatility helps you time big and meaningful changes in market direction. And as it relates to the markets as they stand right now, it may be better to wait for the [...] > read more

CytoSorbents (CTSO): A Quick Rebound Indicates Belief in Progress and Potential

Published on 2012-05-23 16:04:52

By VFC’s Stock House Barely a week ago shares of CytoSorbents Corporation (OTC:CTSO) looked to be in the midst of collapse after an earnings report indicated that the company was still working at a methodical pace to advance CytoSorb onto the European market — a pace, as we’ve seen, that the more impatient investors do not feel is quick [...] > read more

Why Portfolio Manager Bill DeShurko is Lovin’ McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD)

Published on 2012-05-23 15:39:56

By Michael Tarsala Bill DeShurko, manager of Covestor’s Dividend and Income Plus model, calls McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) a low-volatility, high quality value play — precisely why he’s Lovin’ it, and plans to add it to his model. Low volatility investments have been DeShurko’s MO since early April. Since turning defensive ahead of the market decline, there is not a stock [...] > read more

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) ‘UnFriends’ Its Fan Base

Published on 2012-05-23 14:35:23

By VFC’s Stock House What should have turned into an historic day for the post-recession IPO market has turned into a calamity. Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is a business based on leaving its users “feeling good.” Feeling good about interacting with family, friends and colleagues, and feeling good about finding products, services and stories that may [...] > read more

Portfolio Manager Michael Arold Calls Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) One Of His Best New Ideas

Published on 2012-05-23 14:08:14

By Michael Tarsala  Michael Arold, manager of the Technical Swing model, says Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) is one of his best new ideas, and one of the only long plays in his trading portfolio, which is 79% in cash and taking on few new bets. Arold bought shares of the homebuilder on May 21 at $26.04 a share; they now [...] > read more

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) Confronts the Law of Large Numbers

Published on 2012-05-23 11:28:09

By Patrick McFadden Beware of a Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) top! Ahead of the social network’s initial public offering (IPO) on May 18th, there were competing news reports about the level of investor interest and outlook for Facebook. It is refreshing that we can see exactly where people stand on Covestor.com. Facebook’s IPO price was set at $38 per share on [...] > read more

The Pain in Spain is a Buying Opportunity

Published on 2012-05-23 09:18:00

By Charles Sizemore The first time I set foot on Spanish soil was the spring of 2000, and what a fantastic time it was to visit. The dollar was near its all-time high versus the Euro, and an American could live like a king on a pauper’s budget. My, how times have changed. I most recently [...] > read more

Barron’s Highlights Covestor Manager Robert Gay’s Technology and Process

Published on 2012-05-23 08:53:27

By Michael Tarsala Last weekend’s Barron’s story featuring Robert Gay, manager of several Covestor investment models, provides some insight into the technology behind his stock picks. As Barron’s reports, Gay, the former Director of Quantitative Research at DLJ, and the current head of GEARS, has created a sophisticated technology to extract financial statement data and create fundamentals on the 1,500 largest U.S. companies over the past 17 [...] > read more

Why President Obama Should Be Attacking Casino Capitalism — Both Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital and JPMorgan Chase

Published on 2012-05-22 18:52:30

By Robert Reich I wish President Obama would draw the obvious connection between Bain Capital and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). That way his so-called “attack” on private equity is neither a personal attack on Mitt Romney nor a generalized attack on American business. It’s an attack on a particular kind of capitalism that Romney and JPMorgan [...] > read more

Peter Schiff: The Real Crash

Published on 2012-05-22 14:14:57

By Peter Schiff I first came to national attention back in 2008 and 2009 when the housing and credit markets imploded. I became known as the guy that other market “experts” laughed at when I warned of trouble brewing in the seemingly indestructible American economy. After the wheels ground to a halt in mid-2008, people [...] > read more

Jeffrey Saut Recommends a Gradual Re-Accumulation of Investments

Published on 2012-05-22 11:25:51

By Michael Tarsala One of my weekly reads is always the research commentary from Jeffrey Saut, investment strategist at Raymond James. He has a great sense of market history, and often takes a contrarian point of view. You can read his entire commentary here. This week, his commentary had four key takeaways: – The AAII investment sentiment survey is at its [...] > read more

Synergy Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SGYP) May Be Ready To Roll

Published on 2012-05-22 10:55:05

By VFC’s Stock House Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGYP) ran to over seven dollars last month on increasing volume as the company’s billion dollar potential took shape and numerous analysts jumped on board with encouraging write-ups and bold price predictions. Synergy also received a boost when its chief competitor, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) received a setback at the FDA that allows SGYP [...] > read more

Steel Sector On My Short List: DJUSST, ATI, CLF, VALE, X, ZUES

Published on 2012-05-22 10:36:20

By Jeff Pierce The Steel sector has been particularly weak during this latest selloff on the markets. Having went into the low 20′s on the daily RSI this sector has proven to me that it’s extremely weak and is a short candidate on a decent bounce. I’m watching this to bounce back to 55-60 level [...] > read more

Hedging a ‘Face-Ripping’ Gas Stocks Rally

Published on 2012-05-22 10:11:14

By Michael Tarsala  A potential “face-ripper”: That’s the kind of rally technical analyst JC Parets thinks we could see for natural gas at some point, possibly benefiting stocks in that sector. It’s true, gas is historically cheap relative to oil. And gas prices are on the upswing relative to crude in recent weeks. $NATGAS (Natural Gas – Spot Price) [...] > read more

Market Watch: Save These Dates

Published on 2012-05-22 09:35:34

By Jeff Pierce The markets have definitely gone on red alert lately and we may stay that way for the next month with some critical macro news events coming up in June. Here are some dates to add to your calendar. June 17 - Greek Vote. Do they stay in the EU or do they go? June 19-20 - FOMC Meeting [...] > read more

Ampio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPE): Positioned For A Rebound

Published on 2012-05-21 19:31:17

By VFC’s Stock House After a five percent drop on Friday, shares of Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPE) started to rebound along with the broad markets on Monday, posting a three percent increase on the day. Ampio’s drop over the past couple of months could be attributed to the dramatic increase in the number of shares short on [...] > read more

Ray Dalio: Europe Today is Like Post-Revolutionary America

Published on 2012-05-21 19:04:03

By Mick Weinstein  Ray Dalio heads the world’s largest hedge fund firm, Bridgewater Associates, where has a stellar track record of outperformance. In a cover story Q&A in this week’s Barron’s, Dalio explains in an extremely clear manner why he believes the U.S. is currently undergoing what he terms a ‘beautiful deleveraging’ process, while Europe struggles under its ongoing [...] > read more

Stock Watch: Volume Flows Into Premier Alliance Group (OTC:PIMO) Trading, Price Spike Follows

Published on 2012-05-21 18:47:14

By VFC’s Stock House Premier Alliance Group, Inc. (OTC:PIMO) pushed the dollar mark late last year after a flurry of encouraging company events and news announcements circulated the wires, and another round of interest may be forming again after a Monday press release announced that the Orange County, California municipality had requested the services of Premier to [...] > read more

Don’t Pick a Money Manager at a High, Drop at a Low

Published on 2012-05-21 18:29:20

By Michael Tarsala It’s true, stocks were down every day last week. And with volatility still not very high in the big picture, there is no sense yet of a capitulation that would set up the next big rally. Some investors may be wondering if they should sell at this point, noting a long list of potential shocks that may [...] > read more

I’ll Have Another Covered Call

Published on 2012-05-21 14:49:25

By Christopher Ebert Given the importance of emotions in trading, it may come as surprise that widespread measurement of these seemingly intangible aspects of the stock market is a relatively new phenomenon. Fear indices such as the VIX, VXD and VXN, while commonplace today, were almost unheard of 20 years ago. The VIX is a [...] > read more

In This Uncertain Market, Portfolio Balance Is Key

Published on 2012-05-21 14:17:15

By Dan Plettner The broad market is facing some headwinds. Although recent Greek political developments were anticipated by many market participants and appear “priced in,” it has stimulated volatility. In the very near term I expect that yield-focused Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) and other income styles will outperform, although I don’t anticipate changing my allocations. Because of structural [...] > read more

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals’ (NBY) Market Cap Is Not Adequately Valuing Pipeline Potential

Published on 2012-05-21 13:57:49

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:NBY) were cruising along for months in a price range pretty much centered at right around the $1.30 mark until a sudden slide took shape along as the general market started to experience an overall downturn. No news hit the streets to justify the share price [...] > read more

The Best Tweets On Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) Stock Collapse

Published on 2012-05-21 12:55:56

By Mick Weinstein Absent Friday’s underwriter support, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is tanking today, down over 12% as I write this. The twitterverse has some great running commentary this morning… here’s some of the best I’ve seen: Since their first trade at $42, Facebook shares have shed about $11 billion, the value of two Zyngas, or one LinkedIn.$FB — Dennis K. [...] > read more

Option Trader’s Emotions Are Shifting

Published on 2012-05-21 12:41:09

By Christopher Ebert All three option indices experienced changes last week, signaling a shift in the emotions of traders. When emotions change, trading patterns tend to do so as well. The most notable difference last week was in the Long Call/Married Put Index (LCMPI), which saw all three measurement periods sink into negative territory for [...] > read more

Big-Name Strategists Who Zig When Others Zag

Published on 2012-05-21 12:23:57

By Michael Tarsala Josh Brown, The Reformed Broker, has a cool chart that lends even more support to the argument that extreme pessimism is a reason for stock market optimism: The line in blue is the recommended stock weighting of stock strategists polled weekly by Bloomberg. As you can see, it’s at 52%, not too far above recommended weightings when the stock [...] > read more

The Short Trade Is Getting Crowded

Published on 2012-05-20 21:37:43

By Jeff Pierce We are seeing some extreme readings on the put call ratio and we need some time to work off these oversold readings. Remember that the crowd is mostly wrong. Given the the Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) IPO was a flop and expectations so high we may see more follow through on the downside at [...] > read more

Market Watch: Are We There Yet?

Published on 2012-05-20 20:06:59

By All About Trends We’ve talked for a long time about us being in an ABC down pullback and that has been exactly what’s happened over the last few weeks, albeit the last two days throws the whole subject of this being just a pullback into question. Especially when one looks at all the damage [...] > read more

Weekly Stock Watch: FB, NBY, DNDN, AMPE, PFE, HGSI, ACTC, SGYP, IRWD, CTSO, CVM, TTNP, KERX, CELH, SIRI, MCD, AGEN, BIEL, BVTI, ABPI, AMZN, NFLX, IMSC

Published on 2012-05-20 16:23:52

By VFC’s Stock House As expected, all eyes were on the historic Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) IPO last week, although continued economic trouble in Europe probably deserved more attention and should prove to be a whole lot more relevant to the markets from here on out. Although having only one full day of trading in the [...] > read more

Robert Reich: The Commencement Address That Won’t Be Given

Published on 2012-05-20 14:22:00

By Robert Reich Members of the Class of 2012, As a former secretary of labor and current professor, I feel I owe it to you to tell you the truth about the pieces of parchment you’re picking up today. You’re f*cked. Well, not exactly. But you won’t have it easy. First, you’re going to have [...] > read more

Market Watch: We Are In Oversold Territory (Video)

Published on 2012-05-20 14:05:07

By Jeff Pierce With that said we are also entering crash territory. We are getting in a grey area where a crash could happen, but those always have a small odd percentage. I’d say 85% we bounce and 15% we crash. Every day we’re down I would say subtract 5% from the bounce category and add [...] > read more

The Time to Short Stocks is Ending

Published on 2012-05-20 13:55:01

By Michael Tarsala One of Covestor model managers I think has an excellent feel for the markets is Michael Arold, who runs the Technical Swing model. He says he’s now backing out of his short positions. “The direction of the trend is still down, but oversold conditions are telling me that a bounce is coming, then it could be time [...] > read more

Melanoma Awareness Month Investment Opportunities: AMGN, ONCS, PVCT

Published on 2012-05-18 12:22:43

By Amy Baldwin May is officially melanoma awareness month. Affecting more than 65,000 new patients and claiming about 11,000 lives annually, melanoma treatment represents a huge unmet need. Studies have confirmed that sun exposure is responsible for the development of about two-thirds of all melanoma cases. Like many diseases, prevention should be key in fighting this [...] > read more

Portfolio Manager, Know Thyself: RSH, DVN, CHKR

Published on 2012-05-18 11:09:49

By CJ Brott I recently read a client letter by Barton Biggs that was very enlightening. Mr. Biggs and I are both macro investors and have both been investing professionally for over 40 years. So much of what he had to say sounded very familiar. The gist of his thinking deals with the two battles all [...] > read more

The Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) IPO: Don’t Believe The Hype

Published on 2012-05-18 10:16:13

By VFC’s Stock House No doubt Friday’s Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) IPO marks an historical moment in the history of the tech and financial sectors, but that’s all that this much-anticipated event might turn out to be — a moment in time that, at the end of the day, means little in the grand scheme of things, [...] > read more

Robert Reich: How Odd that Mitt Romney’s Smitten with Bill Clinton

Published on 2012-05-18 09:15:36

By Robert Reich Mitt Romney is full of praise for Bill Clinton even as he heaps scorn on Obama. “Almost a generation ago, Bill Clinton announced that the era of big government was over,” says Romney, “Clinton was signaling to his own party that Democrats should no longer try to govern by proposing a new [...] > read more

No Rush to Buy Precious Metals

Published on 2012-05-17 11:27:31

By Jeff Pierce There are 2 major views on the metals right now. the bull is dead the bull is hibernating I’m in the 3rd group.  The bull is still alive, but I would not be in any rush to buy any miners until there is a significant flush out. Let these two groups fight it out [...] > read more

The Real Lesson of the 2010 Flash Crash

Published on 2012-05-17 11:02:30

By  Charles Sizemore Men are not always the best about remembering anniversaries, but there are a few that we would all like to forget. A little over two years ago on May 6, 2010, the infamous “Flash Crash” saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average swing by 600 points in 20 minutes. What is perhaps most remarkable about that [...] > read more

Why a Summer Rally is Possible

Published on 2012-05-17 10:45:27

By Michael Tarsala The ongoing stock market selloff should be less harsh than in the past two years, says Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab’s chief investment strategist. You can read her latest strategy update here. Here’s a cheat sheet: – A Q2 selloff could set the stage for a summer rally. – Sell in May doesn’t work well in election [...] > read more

Robert Reich — President Obama on JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM): The Dog That Didn’t Bark

Published on 2012-05-17 00:25:16

By Robert Reich The dog that didn’t bark this week, let alone bite, was the President’s response to JPMorgan Chase’s (NYSE:JPM) bombshell admission of losing more than $2 billion in risky derivative trades that should never have been made. “JPMorgan is one of the best-managed banks there is. Jamie Dimon, the head of it, is [...] > read more

Celsius Holdings (CELH): First Quarter Numbers May Have Company Positioned For Growth

Published on 2012-05-16 14:21:36

By VFC’s Stock House Another stable earnings report may have once again positioned Celsius Holdings, Inc. (PINK:CELH) as a solid growth play to consider as the company’s calorie burning, pre-workout beverage gains traction in its niche market. The reported sales of $2.5 million for the first quarter of 2012 were up from a number of $2.2 million [...] > read more

The Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) IPO: Think About This Before Buying

Published on 2012-05-16 11:42:36

By Michael Tarsala Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) at its IPO is probably not a stock for most long-term investors to buy: It’s not a core holding for retirees — some of whom are reported to be clamoring for it. You don’t bet your kid’s entire college fund on it (or any one stock). Given the 41 times forward PE, more than 3x the broad [...] > read more

The Case for Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX): Analyst Upgrade May Be Justified

Published on 2012-05-16 11:24:44

By VFC’s Stock House An analyst upgrade last week and renewed investor interest in Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX) had shares heavily on the move over the past week, a move initially sparked, in part, by positive Phase III data for Zerenex in Japan. The KERX run culminated in a renewed push through the two dollar mark before a mid-week [...] > read more

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Analysts See a Storm, Then Sun

Published on 2012-05-16 11:12:23

By Michael Tarsala The latest market analysis from Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) sees dark clouds, a storm, then the likelihood of a summer rally. The latest from its technical team calls for a stock correction to the 1,250 to 1,300 range on the S&P 500, although the team recommends buying dips. You can read more here. S&P 500 [...] > read more

The Death Of The Bull Market Is Near

Published on 2012-05-16 10:57:01

By Christopher Ebert As with all technical indicators, the Option Indices are intended to be tools to help traders plan future trading in a manner that increases the probability of a profit. Last week, it was reported here that the Long Call/Married Put Index (LCMPI) was in danger of reaching a level that would indicate [...] > read more

Market Astrology: The Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) IPO Risk Trade

Published on 2012-05-16 10:42:16

By Karen Starich Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is set to launch it’s initial public offering (IPO) on May 18th. The social media giant has an initial target valuation as high as $100 billion. Looking at the astrology for May 18th we can get some clues as to how the stock will do, and the potential risks involved [...] > read more

Deflationary Forces Set to Push Market Lower

Published on 2012-05-16 10:21:20

By Beau Wolinsky In April we saw the market reach an overbought level and took a short position in ProShares UltraPro QQQ (NASDAQ:TQQQ). The precipitous drop that followed was due to socialist election gains in both Greece and France, and we managed to identify the worst 5 day period for NASDAQ-100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) stock indices with this trade. We [...] > read more

Robert Reich: Mitt Romney Has Public and Private Morality Upside Down (Video)

Published on 2012-05-15 17:50:20

By Robert Reich Mitt Romney’s reaction to J.P. Morgan Chase’s (NYSE:JPM) mounting losses from reckless trades is “the market will take care of it.” His spokesman says “no taxpayer money was at risk” so we don’t need more financial regulation. Romney has even promised to repeal Dodd-Frank if he’s elected president. Yet at the same [...] > read more

JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) Will Be Fine, As General Electric (NYSE:GE) Was After Immelt’s Error

Published on 2012-05-14 11:31:30

By Gregg Giboney There have been a couple of recent developments worth commenting on. The first one is JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and the $2 billion write-off they will be taking for a very poorly executed risk hedge. $2 billion is quite a bit of money but it only represents just over 1% of the company’s [...] > read more

What if the Greece Doomsayers are Wrong?

Published on 2012-05-14 10:44:03

By Michael Tarsala Conventional wisdom says that a Greek return to the drachma is inevitable, and a best-case scenario is a smooth transition from the euro. But what if all the doomsayers are wrong? To be honest, the newsflow remains very negative. For two weeks, there has been no government in Greece. If a government cannot be formed by [...] > read more

Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) Pointless IPO Fear

Published on 2012-05-14 05:01:01

By Barry Randall It’s interesting to see the lengths to which Mark Zuckerberg is going to avoid taking Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) public. Never mind that Facebook has actually filed to go public with the SEC and did its road show last week. You’d think poor Mark was trying to avoid going to the dentist. But of course [...] > read more

Market Timing Signal: Down (Video)

Published on 2012-05-14 04:40:09

By Jeff Pierce Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPQ) – Daily Technical Analysis Video: Jeff Pierce is a momentum trader that specializes in market timing. He utilizes a proprietary timing system that helps minimize emotions and trading biases within his trading plan. He offers a free newsletter at zentrader.ca that alerts you to trend changes within the market so you’ll always be [...] > read more

John Hussman: The Market’s ‘Dancing on the Edge of a Cliff’

Published on 2012-05-14 04:36:36

By Mick Weinstein In his recent weekly commentaries, mutual fund manager John Hussman has warned that current market internals – vis-a-vis its return/risk profile – are among the worst recorded on the historical record. In this week’s commentary, Hussman finds that over the past 7 days things have become even worse, and offers a chart to illustrate (emphasis added): [...] > read more

Doug Kass Buys JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) as an Investment

Published on 2012-05-14 03:55:07

By Michael Tarsala Doug Kass over at TheStreet.com says he’s buying a small amount of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JBM) here as an investment. Among his arguments: The stock is trading at a low price to book multiple, despite an ongoing share buyback. JPM and the big banks already trade at low PE multiples (JPM is at less than a 7x forward [...] > read more

Market Watch: Option Index Update

Published on 2012-05-14 03:31:32

By Christopher Ebert Recent selloffs in the market were nearly enough to cause a change in the option indices. The LCMPI came very close to a level that would have strongly indicated the end of the 2012 Bull Market, but has not reached that level as of May 10th. The LSSI remains normal and the [...] > read more

Why We Changed the Lineup on Our ETF Models

Published on 2012-05-14 02:56:32

By Charles Sizemore Sizemore Capital is making a strategic allocation shift for all ETF portfolios with U.S. large cap exposure. This affects the Tactical ETF Portfolio and the Strategic Growth Allocation. To be consistent with Sizemore Capital’s focus on dividend growth, we are eliminating our long-term positions in the iShares S&P 500 Index ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV) and replacing them with the Vanguard Dividend [...] > read more

Latest Economic Data Indicates a Slow, Steady Move Higher

Published on 2012-05-14 02:26:17

By Michael Tarsala Covestor manager Gregg Giboney, who runs the Dividend and Growth model, is among many who say the economy continues to chug slowly ahead. In line with that thesis, consumer sentiment reached a four-year high, based on the May data release. Source: FXTimes.com The chart above bears out what Giboney is saying — a slow, but steady move to the [...] > read more

TomTom (AMS:TOM2) Now Offering Free Roadside Assistance

Published on 2012-05-14 01:22:35

By Lynn Shannon TomTom NV (AMS:TOM2) announced it will offer free roadside assistance along with its “Start” portable navigation devices (PNDs), and it will extend the offer to its VIA and GO LIVE products in the coming months. The service provides a basic level of roadside support, including the “quick and reliable dispatches of responsible and professional [...] > read more

Super Moon Brings Down The Financial Sector

Published on 2012-05-13 17:36:31

By Karen Starich Full Moon May 6th, 2012 The distance of the full Moon on May 6th is 356,954 km from earth, which is the minimum range. If you have an opportunity to see the Moon at night you will notice the size is larger than normal. The Moon’s gravity on the earth becomes much more [...] > read more

How to Play the Indian Growth Story: INFY, HDB, RDY

Published on 2012-05-13 16:47:23

By John Linnemeier All three of my holdings in my model are Indian ADRs. I’m in for the long haul. One of the truest things I know about the stock market is the axiom, “In the short term the market is a voting machine, and in the long term it’s a weighing machine.” I can’t say for sure [...] > read more

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) Shows Why Volcker Rule Has No Teeth

Published on 2012-05-13 14:21:09

By Michael Tarsala A $2 billion loss at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is arguably small; the bank earned more than $18 billion last year. What’s the big deal then? It’s a question of whether banks are still making outsized speculative market bets and now calling them hedges to satisfy the Volcker Rule. And whether we can expect even bigger “hedging” losses at other [...] > read more

Weekly Stock Watch: SIRI, FB, JPM, C, BAC, M, JWN, JCP, SKS, TGT, PBTH, KERX, HGSI, CELH, IMSC, TROV, ARNA, VVUC, NEPH, MNKD, ACTC, CVM, AGEN, DIS, SGYP, TTNP

Published on 2012-05-13 12:41:34

By VFC’s Stock House Huge trading losses at JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) that sent company shares spiraling by 10% on Friday accentuated an already lackluster trading week in the broad markets and left the door wide open for another volatile week ahead. Combine that sentiment with growing uncertainty in Europe, where recent Greek and [...] > read more

Market Watch: The Best Reason for Optimism is Pessimism

Published on 2012-05-13 10:47:21

By Michael Tarsala There’s a whole lot of pessimism about the stock market right now. I hear it in hallway conversations and read about it in the media. There are people out there looking for the next big short strategy, trying to pretend they are the next John Paulson. It goes beyond my anedcotes, though. Here are some data points: [...] > read more

Robert Reich: How J.P. Morgan Chase Has Made the Case for Breaking Up The Big Banks and Resurrecting Glass-Steagall

Published on 2012-05-11 08:55:56

By Robert Reich J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the nation’s largest bank, whose chief executive, Jamie Dimon, has lead Wall Street’s war against regulation, announced Thursday it had lost $2 billion in trades over the past six weeks and could face an additional $1 billion of losses, due to excessively risky bets. The bets were [...] > read more

Silver/Gold May Again Be Giving Market Cues

Published on 2012-05-11 08:34:54

By Michael Tarsala The good folks at Market Anthropology make the case that a reversal could come soon for risk-on assets. For me, this is the key chart: Source: Market Anthropology It’s the silver-gold ratio, one of many closely followed risk indicators. It has a long history of moving more or less in line with the S&P 500. As a [...] > read more

In Search of the Pinnacle Cancer Therapy: Redefining the World of Oncology

Published on 2012-05-10 11:02:52

By The Swiss Trader In the world of biotech, there is the quest for the cancer cure and companies will do whatever it takes to reach that goal. Just like the Fellowship had a long journey to Mordor, the journey to reaching a cancer cure is long and requires persistence and steadfast motivation. One major [...] > read more

The Grumpy Old Accountants

Published on 2012-05-10 11:01:48

By Michael Tarsala If you don’t know them already, allow me to introduce you to the Grumpy Old Accountants. Two accounting professors — Anthony Catanach Jr. at Villanova, and J. Edward Ketz at Penn State — have been running a blog by that name for about a year now. Keep it on your reading list. These old [...] > read more

Market Watch: Real Estate Surprisingly Strong

Published on 2012-05-10 08:38:27

By Jeff Pierce In a market that has been considerably weak over the last week it has surprised me how resilient real estate has been. What prompted me to look at the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA:IYR) today is that Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) and D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) showed up on a very short list of [...] > read more

Why Greece Matters, Despite its Small Economy

Published on 2012-05-10 08:07:05

By Michael Tarsala Greece leaving the euro might not have much of an effect in the U.S. or globally, suggests Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. After all, Greece and Portugal only make up about 5% of the Euro Zone economy. He said this week in a story that ran in the Vancouver Sun, ”it may [...] > read more

Robert Reich — The 2012 Election: Of Bedrooms and Boardrooms

Published on 2012-05-09 19:57:39

By Robert Reich The 2012 election should be about what’s going on in America’s boardrooms, but Republicans would rather it be about America’s bedrooms. Mitt Romney says he’s against same-sex marriage; President Obama just announced his support. North Carolina voters have approved a Republican-proposed amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage. Minnesota voters will [...] > read more

A Volatility Index Hedging Strategy Built For This Market

Published on 2012-05-09 14:23:32

By Robert Zingale Currently, short-term VIX futures are experiencing rolling costs (first to second month futures) greater than 10%, which is working in favor of my short position in the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures TM ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX) position. Therefore, I plan to maintain my current asset allocation strategy of shorting 100% of VXX and going [...] > read more

Stocks On The Move: PBTH, DNDN, TROV, AGEN

Published on 2012-05-09 14:06:20

By VFC’s Stock House It has been a rough couple of days for the markets as huge uncertainty in Europe and a stalling US recovery send shockwaves through the investing world, but there are still a few companies out there making news that are worth keeping an eye on. The broad downturn could also open [...] > read more

Why We Are Not Starting A Major Market Correction

Published on 2012-05-09 12:50:00

By Michael Tarsala Here are three reasons to think we are not in the beginnings of a major stock correction: 1) Financial stress is up, but not much Yes, financial stress has risen in recent days, amid new worries about Greece. But let’s put that in perspective: Source: Bloomberg.com   The chart you see above is Libor-OIS spread chart, one of the key [...] > read more

Market Watch: Bulls Need To Make A Stand

Published on 2012-05-09 12:29:35

By Jeff Pierce Lots going on here, and here are the reasons why this would be the logical point for the bulls to make a stand and we may get a relief rally here. RSI is still strong near 39. It hasn’t completely broke down and is still hovering around the 40 level. Price bounced [...] > read more

The Dendreon (NASDAQ:DNDN) Dip: Should Investors Jump In Or Out?

Published on 2012-05-09 12:09:53

By VFC’s Stock House On the heels of Dendreon Corporation’s (NASDAQ:DNDN) first quarter earnings announcement on Monday that was - for the most part – in line with expectations, DNDN shares spiraled downward throughout the trading day on Tuesday and closed twenty five percent lower than the previous day’s closing price. The quick drop returned shares right back to [...] > read more

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR): The Sun Didn’t Shine

Published on 2012-05-09 11:14:04

By Brendan Ruchert-Dixon In April, the market became more volatile and less clearly bullish, as investors grew more concerned about another possible slowdown in economic growth. The short ETF portion of my portfolio took this in stride, but my new investment in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) did not. Since I began to buy into FSLR early [...] > read more

Mid-Week Stock Watch: SIRI, HGSI, TROV, ONTY, PIMO

Published on 2012-05-09 10:54:01

By VFC’s Stock House Some hot stocks and stories to watch mid-week… Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:HGSI): Long on potential but short on results has been the name of the game for the lupus-treating drug Benlysta since its commercial launch last year, but an offer last month by Human Genome’s partner GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) to purchase the company has not only reinvigorated [...] > read more

Market Support Levels of Importance

Published on 2012-05-07 15:41:07

By Michael Tarsala Here’s some perspective on the important market levels to watch in coming weeks: S&P 500 Large Cap Index – Weekly Source: Stockcharts.com The top black line on the chart shows support around 1340. It’s important for several reasons. It’s the year lows. It is a key retracement area. Plus, there is volume support at [...] > read more

Option Index Update

Published on 2012-05-07 14:34:52

By Christopher Ebert The option indices remained mostly unchanged over the last week. As has been the case since early April, the options market is giving no clear signals of a trend in either direction. The CCNPI is often the quickest to react to a change in the market. Any changes will be reported here [...] > read more

Here’s Why the Big Money Likes Stocks

Published on 2012-05-07 14:13:18

By Charles Sizemore It’s that time of year again, dear reader. Twice per year, Barron’s does a survey of large professional money managers to get their outlook for the market (see “ Reason to Cheer “). I get a lot of value out of reading the survey results, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think. This [...] > read more

Weekly Stock Watch: DNDN, DIS, FCEL, SGYP, IMUC, IMSC, SIGA, HGSI, CPST, GSK, GLTC, TLON, BVTI

Published on 2012-05-07 13:36:38

By VFC’s Stock House European elections, the people’s protests of Putin in Russia and Walt Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) ‘The Avengers’ dominated headlines over the weekend. As the Russian people displayed their dismay with the re-election of Vladimir Putin in Russia, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy was the latest European politician to receive the boot from voters still feeling the pain [...] > read more

Robert Reich — A Question of Timing: What America Can Learn from the Revolt in Europe

Published on 2012-05-07 12:22:05

By Robert Reich Who’s an economy for? Voters in France and Greece have made it clear it’s not for the bond traders. Referring to his own electoral woes, Prime Minister David Cameron wrote Monday in an article in the conservative Daily Telegraph: “When people think about the economy they don’t see it through the dry [...] > read more

NeoStem (NYSEAMEX:NBS): A Key Player in Stem Cell Research

Published on 2012-05-04 13:38:41

By Dutch Trader As an investor I am always searching to find the next “big thing”. Looking for that company that is developing a technology that will revolutionize its industry. Coming from a family of healthcare professionals, I often find myself joining their conversations, because of the success I have had previously investing in biotech [...] > read more

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK): Covestor Manager Derek Pilecki Still Sticking with the Beaten Down Company

Published on 2012-05-04 12:56:39

By Michael Tarsala Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) is mired in controversy, but Covestor Manager Derek Pilecki who runs the Long Only Energy model is not selling it. He is bullish on long-term natural gas fundamentals to boot. “The asset value is still there for Chesapeake based on its land holdings,” Pilecki says. “I do not have plans to sell it in the near term.” [...] > read more

Robert Reich: The Economy Has Stalled

Published on 2012-05-04 12:00:29

By Robert Reich The economy has stalled. Friday’s jobs report for April was even more disappointing than March. Employers added only 115,000 new jobs, down from March’s number (the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised the March number upward to 154,000, but that’s still abysmal relative to what’s needed). We need well over 250,000 new jobs [...] > read more

Investor Lessons from the Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) Affair

Published on 2012-05-04 03:22:55

By Michael Tarsala Comparisons of the latest troubles at Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) to the notorious frauds at Worldcom and Enron are misplaced for two reasons: To date, there’s been no fraud found at Chesapeake Fraud gives investors few, if any, warning signs But in Chesapeake’s case, the red flags were right there. As Reuters reported, CEO Aubrey McClendon was moonlighting as [...] > read more

Keeping an Eye on the Dollar for Stock Direction

Published on 2012-05-04 02:59:54

By Michael Arold In April I took a passive stance to let the market consolidate its first-quarter gains, staying mostly in cash and trading the Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3x Shares (NYSEARCA:TZA). I expected a much stronger move to the downside, but stocks turned north during the last April week and prompted me to close my [...] > read more

Robert Reich: Why the Economy is Heading for a Stall

Published on 2012-05-04 02:24:22

By Robert Reich We’ll know more tomorrow when the jobs report is announced, but today’s report on America’s massive service sector – which make up about 90 percent of the economy – is sobering to say the least. The Institute of Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index fell to a four-month low in April (53.5, down from [...] > read more

Three Counterpoints to ‘Sell in May’

Published on 2012-05-03 16:14:26

By Michael Tarsala A lot of folks are now saying that the old market adage “Sell in May” is not the way to go this year. Columnist David Berman says you do so “at your peril”. And the analysts at S&P also think it’s a bad idea. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are super bullish: It just means that [...] > read more

Market Watch: Have Your Positions Hedged

Published on 2012-05-03 16:00:01

By Jeff Pierce The main theme here is were getting a lot of mixed signals on the markets. One of the market leaders Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) seems stuck in a bearish channel after blowing out earnings and yet I’m adding a lot of names to my momentum watchlist. Here are a few. Copper which is a baraometer [...] > read more

Will Telsa Motors’ (NASDAQ:TSLA) New Electric Model S Power Growth?

Published on 2012-05-03 12:43:28

By Eric Steiman Tesla Motors’ (NASDAQ:TSLA) financial success hinges on the next few months of Model S production. The model S is a luxury sedan priced to compete with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. The car is a fully electric vehicle with battery ranges of 160 miles, 240 miles and 300 miles per charge. The car has added storage in the trunk [...] > read more

Why Alan Greenspan Is Saying Stocks Are Cheap

Published on 2012-05-02 13:30:44

By Michael Tarsala Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan thinks stocks are cheap. He spoke at a Bloomberg event yesterday, citing low price-to-earnings ratios, and that he thinks rising earnings will at some point be reflected in the markets. It’s true, at a little more than 14 times earnings, the S&P 500 is trading about 13% below its average going [...] > read more

Option Indices Suggesting Cautious Optimism

Published on 2012-05-02 12:29:21

By Christopher Ebert The option indices are currently indicating cautious optimism in the market. A detailed description of each index may be found here. The Long Straddle/Strangle Index (LSSI) which measures the justification of fear is well within the normal limits of -5% to +5%. After the turmoil of the last half of 2011, the index returned to normal [...] > read more

Liz Claiborne’s (NYSE:LIZ) New Makeover May Be A Profitable One

Published on 2012-05-02 11:35:56

By Mark Holder Quick, can you name the retail brand that had the fastest growth rate in March? Bet not many people come up with kate spade. For March, the fashion brand had a 73% comparable growth rate. Now don’t officially quote the fastest part since I don’t have access to any database of all brands [...] > read more

Synergy Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SGYP): Key Appointment Marks Another Win

Published on 2012-05-02 11:12:35

By VFC’s Stock House Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGYP) has been a stock on the move over the past few weeks based on the the billion-dollar potential of its pipeline and increasing analyst coverage that has attracted a significant amount of new trading volume. Synergy’s short and long term prospects have also been strengthened by a recent news development of a competitor setback [...] > read more

Dow Jones Industrials Close in on 2007 Levels

Published on 2012-05-01 15:00:32

By Michael Tarsala Take a look at the Dow Jones Industrials (DJI) and you would be hard-pressed to present a bearish case. Source: MetaStock Three things are of note: 1) After recent consolidation, we are now close to overtaking the 2007 weekly close of 13,366. It’s taken nearly four-and-a-half years, but the index is now solidly above [...] > read more

Robert Reich: The Tinder-Box Society

Published on 2012-05-01 14:33:22

By Robert Reich The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 13,338 Tuesday, it’s highest since December, 2007. The S&P 500 added 16 points. Wall Street will remember May 1 as a great day. But most of these gains are going to the richest 10 percent of Americans who own 90 percent of the shares traded on [...] > read more

Stock Volume Watch: Premier Alliance Group (PIMO), Amazon (AMZN), Barnes & Noble (BKS), Synergy Pharmaceuticals (SGYP)

Published on 2012-04-30 19:32:54

By VFC’s Stock House Monday proved to be a ho-hum day for the broad markets, with not much excitements as the major markers trading slightly in the red for the duration of trading. There were, however, some stocks on the move making noise while a few nice volume plays were worth noting because, as they say, many [...] > read more

Linkedin (LNKD) Owes Facebook (FB) a ‘Thank You’

Published on 2012-04-30 18:06:24

By Kris Tuttle Linkedin Corporation, Inc. (NYSE:LNKD) has Facebook (FB) to thank for saving its business and making it a valuable property. LinkedIn struggled over the years to expand usage and discover business models that would generate revenue. It had some luck with using the platform for recruiting and selling premium subscriptions to Linkedin power users. But [...] > read more

AT&T (NYSE:T): The Future of Teen Tracking

Published on 2012-04-30 14:40:43

By Amy Gilroy AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) wants to play a leading role in “smart car solutions” in the future and so it has launched a research project that could be the future of teen tracking. The technology might also be used to tell if an elderly driver is no longer driving safely. The company has [...] > read more

Three New Indexes to Interpret Market Emotions

Published on 2012-04-30 14:17:45

By Christopher Ebert Today, three new indexes are being introduced as an aid to traders. Each index provides additional insight into the current conditions of the stock market that may be helpful to stock traders as well as option traders. Over the coming weeks and months I will be analyzing these option indices and reporting [...] > read more

The Importance of GDP to an Investor

Published on 2012-04-30 13:09:07

By Michael Tarsala There’s a predictable avalanche of financial news coverage when the Commerce Department issues an initial quarterly GDP figure, as it did late this week. GDP does help economists gauge the U.S. economy, but has a lack of direct relevance for most long-term investors. Here are a few thoughts about what’s useful — and not — [...] > read more

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) Entering Parabolic Phase

Published on 2012-04-30 12:50:14

By Jeff Pierce Earnings were the fuel that pushed this out of a multi year up-trending channel, however  I suspect this is a trap for those buying at these levels. If you have a good profit in this stock now is the time to unload in my opinion as this is shaping up to be similar to the chart [...] > read more

A Portfolio Designed for a Baby Boomer’s Golden Years

Published on 2012-04-30 12:32:27

By John Gerard Lewis The youngest of the Baby Boomers turn 48 this year, and so many of them weren’t able to take full advantage of the greatest secular bull market of all time from 1982 to 2000. For much of that period, these youngsters were still getting started. In fact, in 1982 they were just [...] > read more

Weekly Stock Watch: April 30th – May 4th

Published on 2012-04-29 09:25:11

By VFC’s Stock House Another strong week was recognized by the markets, with a slew of positive earnings reports boosting stocks higher every day and into the close on Friday. The most notable report may have come from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Although AAPL shares had slipped over the previous weeks, another strong round of earnings that again confirmed [...] > read more

U.S. Banks Are Still Living Large Four Years After The Crisis: JPM, BAC, C, WFC, GS

Published on 2012-04-27 13:06:18

By Xavier Bremner Paddy Hirsch at American Public Media’s Marketplace notes in a new whiteboard video that four years after the U.S. financial crisis America’s shadow banking system is as big and potentially risky as ever. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke recently argued that unsupervised financial transactions and entities (special purpose vehicles, derivatives trading, nonbank mortgage origination companies and so [...] > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stores See 85M Visitors

Published on 2012-04-27 07:41:10

By Amy Gilroy Not all of the lack of retail floor traffic can be blamed on the web. A lot of that traffic has simply been diverted to Apple stores. The company said Tuesday its 363 stores around the world average 18,000 visitors a week. The stores enjoyed over 85 million visitors for the recent [...] > read more

How Peruvian Horses Show Us the Way in This Market

Published on 2012-04-27 05:44:48

By Charles Sizemore Ah, to be back in South America. Long-time Trading Deck readers might recall that I spend a fair bit of time in Peru (see “Going Long Two Beaten Down Euro Stocks”). When you marry a Peruvian, you don’t really have a choice. Not that I’m complaining. I can say in all seriousness that [...] > read more

The Challenge of Trend Trading: Video

Published on 2012-04-26 21:55:24

By Jeff Pierce The more I look at my charts now it appears I may have bailed on my shorts prematurely and I feel better about added some short exposure in the form of DIA near the close (all is explained in video). I normally try and wait for the end of the day before making any [...] > read more

Q&A with Master Curator and New Book Author Tadas Viskanta

Published on 2012-04-26 21:38:51

By Mick Weinstein Tadas Viskanta’s Abnormal Returns provides an invaluable daily service to anyone following markets and investing. A while back, Tadas ran adesert island quiz asking a bunch of independent bloggers, “If you could only read one blog, not Abnormal Returns, what would it be?” His wording was appropriate, since everyone was naming only their second choice [...] > read more

Robert Reich: The GOP’s Death Wish

Published on 2012-04-26 20:58:32

By Robert Reich What are the three demographic groups whose electoral impact is growing fastest? Hispanics, women, and young people. Who are Republicans pissing off the most? Latinos, women, and young people. It’s almost as if the GOP can’t help itself. Start with Hispanic voters, whose electoral heft keeps growing as they comprise an ever-larger [...] > read more

Tapping into Low-Risk Biotech and Specialty Pharma Stocks for Growth with Steven Palmer: TRL, ZMS, ZMSPF, MSL, MSLI, PLB, PLI, IGX, IGXT, JAZZ

Published on 2012-04-26 15:22:57

By George S. Mack The somewhat obscure specialty biotechs and pharmas seek to add value by giving new life to older technologies and molecules. President and Chief Investment Officer Steven Palmer of AlphaNorth Asset Management embraces this strategy to generate exceptional returns while mitigating some of the risks inherent in drug development. In this exclusive [...] > read more

Technical Analysis: Using RSI to Identify Waning Momentum

Published on 2012-04-26 08:19:29

By Jeff Pierce So there are a couple of bearish patterns going on within the Nasdaq Advance Decline Volume chart. The head and shoulder top is the obvious one, but the one I want to draw your attention to is the stair stepping pattern of the RSI. It goes from very overbought to the 50 [...] > read more

Shale Investment Plays for a New Energy Era

Published on 2012-04-26 08:01:09

By Xavier Bremner Covestor manager Tyler Kocon sees tremendous potential in the shale oil and gas formations in North America and has developed an investing strategy suited to the changes sweeping over the U.S. energy industry. I recently caught up with Kocon, who is a portfolio manager with Split Rock Private Trading & Wealth Management, to discuss the [...] > read more

What the Forex Market Has to Say About the Next Major Move for Stocks

Published on 2012-04-25 20:01:20

By Michael Tarsala Want to know where stocks are headed next? Ask a forex analyst. Currencies can provide a heads-up to where equity markets are headed several months out. Right now, those markets suggest a large extension of the rally since October is unlikely — and so is a crash. “A lot of stuff in foreign exchange is [...] > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Makes Everything OK

Published on 2012-04-25 15:19:10

By Jeff Pierce Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) rising earnings does not equate into a healthy US economy. While today is not exactly the scenario I would have like to play out after Apple released earnings it’s just one more example of how delusional the market is in regards to what is considered reflective of a growing economy. The effect of this [...] > read more

Galena Biopharma (NASDAQ:GALE): Acquisition Imminent or Merely Likely?

Published on 2012-04-25 14:58:53

By Amy Baldwin Performing the research often necessary to determine if and what kind of position to open in a biotech stock often requires a deal of time and work.  Trial data, market size for certain indications, likelihood of dilution and insider buying/selling all give objective means by which to make informed decisions. Biotech investors [...] > read more

Market Astrology: More Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Downside

Published on 2012-04-25 14:18:14

By Karen Starich In light of yesterday’s big drop in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), I thought I should do an update on the company since I have heard from many readers who have jumped in on the short game with this stock. Yesterday bought May 75 put options on NFLX @ 135 Today sold the puts @ [...] > read more

Technical Analysis: Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) in Pullback Mode

Published on 2012-04-25 13:58:03

By Jeff Pierce Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) is now in a corrective state after falling below the critical $2.20 level where multiple points of confluence suggested this was a good support level. New buys should wait until support is reached on the weekly chart, which I’ve deemed is between $1.97 – $2.00 due to Fibonacci retracement levels. This is an [...] > read more

How Europe’s Double Dip Recession Could Become America’s

Published on 2012-04-25 12:10:32

By Robert Reich Europe is in recession. Britain’s Office for National Statistics confirmed today (Wednesday) that in the first quarter of this year Britain’s economy shrank .2 percent, after having contracted .3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. (Officially, two quarters of shrinkage make a recession). On Monday Spain officially fell into recession, for [...] > read more

Learning To Let Go Of Past Trades

Published on 2012-04-24 06:55:48

By Jeff Pierce One of my important methodologies of trading is that every stock has a very specific point in time to buy it that will give you the best reward/risk from a chart pattern perspective. I don’t look for stocks to trade, I look for patterns to trade. Once a pattern has been identified I [...] > read more

Cautiously Bullish On Stocks For The Rest Of 2012

Published on 2012-04-24 06:43:26

By Charles Sizemore This year is off to a torrid start. The S&P 500 finished the first quarter up 12 percent, its best start to a year since 1998. The Nasdaq had an even better quarter, up nearly 19 percent — its best start since 1991. The more staid Dow Jones Industrial Average gained “only” 8.1 percent, but this put the index [...] > read more

The Patent Wars Continue: Will The Selling Of Intellectual Property Be Enough To Save The Likes Of Research in Motion, Yahoo?

Published on 2012-04-24 04:59:31

By VFC’s Stock House As the buyout offers for new technologies and drugs heats up in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, it’s the patent games — which have turned into all-out legal wars at times, that are heating up in the tech sector. While Facebook (FB) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) took to the courtrooms to battle over patents, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) [...] > read more

Robert Reich: Why Anyone Should Care That Bill O’Reilly Calls Me A Communist

Published on 2012-04-24 04:08:04

By Robert Reich Bill O’Reilly, the tumescent personality of Fox News, said on his Friday show “Robert Reich is a communist who secretly adores Karl Marx.” (This came after Fox News’ Neil Cavoto called me a “sanctimonious twit” for suggesting the rich should pay more in taxes.) O’Reilly’s accusation is odd, to say the least. If we [...] > read more

Flush With Fresh Cash, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Could Be Ready To Realize Some Speculative Moves

Published on 2012-04-23 16:01:44

By VFC’s Stock House Although trading near its 52-week high these days, and boasting a significant cash influx through the sale of its non-core businesses, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) still has the task ahead of rebuilding the company’s drug development program with a slew of big-name drugs coming off label, including the blockbuster Lipitor that lost its patent protection [...] > read more

Mortgage REITs: Better to Trade or Hold?

Published on 2012-04-23 15:30:26

By John Gerard Lewis When I first began studying mortgage real estate investment trusts (mREITs), one of the first insights I gleaned came from an online message board. “No run-up to the ex-date!” posted profitdog3879 about one of his mREIT holdings. The contributor’s enthusiasm made me assume he preferred to capture the dividend rather than [...] > read more

NeoStem Inc. (NBS) Is Poised For Growth In 2012

Published on 2012-04-23 14:31:33

By Chemistfrog The stem cell biotech field is slowly growing more crowded, but is a risky venture as the technology is very time and money intensive, draining profits for those actually generating revenue and requiring much investor contribution, via stock offerings or private placements for others. A review of those biotechs leading the way shows varying [...] > read more

Market Watch: Consider the Time Factor in the Nasdaq Composite Chart

Published on 2012-04-23 13:32:19

By Jeff Pierce It’s important to consider the “time factor” when projecting key turning points in a chart. These vertical bars represent 20 trading days and while this is an imprecise art one can clearly see a trend around the recent head and shoulder pattern that has been forming over the last 2 months. Tops take time to [...] > read more

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX) Reborn as a Speculative Play Following Positive Trial News

Published on 2012-04-23 13:22:26

By VFC’s Stock House Last week we wondered whether or not shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KERX) were heading for the dollar mark.  This week it’s a whole new ballgame as a Monday morning press release issued by Keryx informed investors that Japanese partner, Japan Tobacco Inc. (TYO:2914) and Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TYO:4551), had announced positive top line results of [...] > read more

Why the Law of Large Numbers Doesn’t Apply to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Published on 2012-04-23 10:56:14

By Amour Gefen We have come a long way from the lows set in 2011. Job data continues to improve, and the European headlines continue to show commitment to a resolution. We cannot dismiss the fact that plenty of risk abounds to the recovery in Europe, but I believe the recent rally is warranted and the [...] > read more

Weekly Stock Watch: HGSI, CPST, AAPL, SBUX, GE, MCD, MSFT, SGYP, IRWD, GERN, ACTC, DIS, AMRN, TTNP, DNDN, IMUC, CTSO, SIGA, SPPI

Published on 2012-04-22 00:43:46

By VFC’s Stock House At the conclusion of each week, VFC’s Stock House examines some news items, stocks and stories that made headlines during the previous trading week, but may also make headlines or influence trends during the upcoming week as well. Although focusing intently on the biotech and healthcare sectors, due attention is also given to [...] > read more

SodaStream International (NASDAQ:SODA) Still Has Plenty of Fizz Left

Published on 2012-04-21 22:10:34

By Eric Steiman Global investors have beaten down SodaStream International (NASDAQ:SODA) from its all-time highs of around $80 dollars per share. The stock is currently trading in the mid-30s. The company has continued to beat Wall Street’s estimates in each of the past five quarters. However, the shorts have gained control of the stock and have not relented. [...] > read more

Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ:CPST): CNBC Appearance Sparks Rally

Published on 2012-04-20 13:05:00

By VFC’s Stock House Thursday afternoon VFC’s Stock House informed readers that Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ:CPST) had issued a press release stating that the company’s President and CEO, Mr. Darren Jamison, would appear for a brief a segment on CNBC’s “Fast Money” after the market close. Shares of Capstone closed the day up by nine percent, while after-hours trading pushed shares [...] > read more

Where Fundamentals and Technicals Meet

Published on 2012-04-20 12:45:47

By Michael Tarsala, CMT Like religion and politics, there’s dogma in investing. And it is repeated, and sometimes generated, by money managers. One of the places this dogma may appear is in a manager’s bottom-up, fundamental view of the investing world. I have studied both fundamentals and technical analysis for years. And I wonder why [...] > read more

Market Astrology: Gold and Silver

Published on 2012-04-19 22:49:50

By Karen Starich My projection for a move up beginning 4/10 was more beneficial for gold than for silver.  We could continue to see some price movement that is bullish into 4/23 however there is growing potential for another sell off.  I think there is risk for fast moves both up and down next week.  [...] > read more

This Stock Market is On Track for Multi-Year Highs: TWX, LOW, WLP, GPS, GS, ITUB

Published on 2012-04-19 19:25:16

By Mark Holder The Net Payout Yields model gained a solid 4.3% in March versus 3.1% for the benchmark S&P 500. The model remained strong all month even as the S&P 500 struggled toward the end of March. This month was a normal trading period for this model with only one trade initiated in order to reduce the cash [...] > read more

Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ:CPST) On CNBC: Will Exposure Spark Another Run?

Published on 2012-04-19 18:21:07

By VFC’s Stock House Last year shares of Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ:CPST) broke through the two dollar mark for a period time, in part due to a boost provided by U.S. President Barack Obama when he gave the company a mention during a speech about energy policy in Brazil. Although CPST has since retreated – and even fell below [...] > read more

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR): An Uncommon Covestment

Published on 2012-04-19 18:02:13

By Michael Tarsala Covestor’s Brendan Ruchert Dixon is still taking a cautious stance toward equity markets — with the exception of his new bet on First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) shares this month. It’s a contrarian investment by Dixon — he believes that the market has it wrong on this stock. Despite the unpopularity of the solar group, he’s positioned 12% [...] > read more

Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) Receives a De-Facto Buyout Offer After Years of Speculation

Published on 2012-04-19 13:35:56

By VFC’s Stock House Sometimes the patience pays off. For months now, if not years, discussions of a possible GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) buyout of Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:HGSI) have been discussed among the speculative – and sometimes not so speculative - circles, given that the two companies were essentially married already through a partnership deal for Benlysta, Human [...] > read more

Robert Reich: What President Barack Obama’s Plan Should Be for Boosting the Economy

Published on 2012-04-19 13:19:24

By Robert Reich President Obama’s electoral strategy can best be summed up as: “We’re on the right track, my economic policies are working, we still have a long way to go but stick with me and you’ll be fine.” That’s not good enough. This recovery is too anemic, and the chance of an economic stall [...] > read more

America’s Oil and Gas Boom is a Big Plus for Manufacturing

Published on 2012-04-19 12:58:48

By Ben Dickey Last year’s markets were full of fear which prompted investors to forget fundamentals and pursue a “risk off” mentality. The market lurched between euphoria, when the European Central Bank had positive news, then swung to depression when one of the PIIGS (as in Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) showed signs of economic trouble or [...] > read more

Stock Watch: Premier Alliance Group (PIMO)

Published on 2012-04-19 11:16:12

By VFC’s Stock House After opening this week on a lackluster trading volume note, shares of Premier Alliance Group, Inc. (OTC:PIMO) saw a bit more action on Wednesday with over 17,000 shares trading hands — about a third higher than the norm. As discussed earlier in the week, Premier is primed to take advantage of the [...] > read more

Look to Earnings Season for Economic Clues

Published on 2012-04-19 10:30:31

By Gregg Giboney On April 6, the government released its March monthly report on employment conditions. In general, the numbers were positive but potentially indicative of deceleration in the positive trend seen over the past few months. Warm weather at the start of this year is thought to be a contributing factor with fewer layoffs in January and [...] > read more

Stock Watch: ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC:IMUC)

Published on 2012-04-19 04:09:44

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC:IMUC) have been on the fly since the opening days of 2012, even having tripled at one point before settling down to a trading range of just below the three dollar mark. With numerous catalysts still pending this year, including a possible move to the AMEX and [...] > read more

Looking Forward With These Six Stocks: GIGM, DGI, CLGX, CASS, DLB, JMBA

Published on 2012-04-18 11:42:42

By Yale Bock The Concentrated GARP portfolio performed poorly in 2011, and as of 4/4/12 the portfolio is down over 20% from inception, but I continue this believe this portfolio has merit if an investor can look into the future a few years. I believe 2012 could prove quite interesting for several of this model’s [...] > read more

The Significance of Citigroup’s (NYSE:C) Shareholder Revolt

Published on 2012-04-18 10:47:56

By Robert Reich The shareholders of Wall Street giant Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) are out to prove that corporate democracy isn’t an oxymoron. They’ve said no to the exorbitant $15 million pay package of Citi’s CEO Vikram Pandit, as well as to the giant pay packages of Citi’s four other top executives. The vote, at Citigroup’s [...] > read more

Smartphone to Car Radio Patent Awarded

Published on 2012-04-18 10:22:17

By Amy Gilroy A patent that covers many wireless and voice recognition smartphone connections to a car radio or video system has been awarded to Ira Marlowe the owner of Blitzsafe, a car interface manufacturer. The patent, issued on April 10, addresses car radios with the ability to connect to a cell phone wirelessly to [...] > read more

The Real Deal Behind Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) New Class of Stock

Published on 2012-04-18 10:00:21

By Barry Randall Why did Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) just announce the issuance of a class of stock with NO voting power? Why do rock stars marry supermodels? Because they can. When Google went public eight years ago, they did so with a dual-class structure that helped preserve the founders’ voting control over the company. So this recent development came as no [...] > read more

Mid-Week Stock Watch: IMUC, IMSC, BDSI, CPST, PIMO, SGYP, CELH, DNDN, HGSI, AGEN

Published on 2012-04-18 09:18:55

By VFC’s Stock House It’s been a nice week for the rebounding markets. Here’s a few stocks to watch as the week goes on… ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC:IMUC): Shares of ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (IMUC) have been on the fly since the opening days of 2012, even having tripled at one point before settling down to a trading [...] > read more

How I Approach Biotech Investing

Published on 2012-04-17 11:02:10

By Jeremy Zhou When it comes to investing in biotech, it is useful to be clear about definitions. Biotech firms are not Big Pharma companies such as Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) or Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY). Biotech firms are not generic drug makers such as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ:TEVA) or Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:WPI). Biotech is not the same as the specialty pharma [...] > read more

Synergy Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SGYP) Could Realize Billion Dollar Potential

Published on 2012-04-17 10:08:39

By VFC’s Stock House Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGYP) has numerous catalysts pending for the remainder of 2012 and could be gearing up to make a splash in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors as those catalysts unfold. Proof positive may be the fact that – within just the past month – three analysts have issued enthusiastic [...] > read more

Stick with Cash-Generating Stocks, Bonds and Gold

Published on 2012-04-17 09:41:18

By Tom Yorke As I usually do, I waited until the monthly unemployment number was released to see what guidance it was going to offer us for the weeks ahead. Were things truly getting significantly better, positioning us for stage two of 2012 lift off? I had my doubts. That said, strength in jobs has been [...] > read more

Robert Reich: Thoughts on Tax Day

Published on 2012-04-17 08:57:18

By Robert Reich As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., wrote in 1904, “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.” But the wealthiest Americans, who haven’t raked in as much of America’s income and wealth since the 1920s, are today paying a lower tax rate than they have in over thirty years. Even [...] > read more

Jackass Investing: Setting The Record Straight

Published on 2012-04-16 15:31:50

By Jeff Pierce Michael Dever, Founder, CEO & Director of Research of Brandywine Asset Management, has the successful track record and the experience to author a book that questions the paradigms that investors so often take for granted with their poor-folios. Jackass Investing details 20 easy to follow chapters that turn every mantra that traders commonly use [...] > read more

Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:HGSI): Could Be a Buying Opportunity as the Market Pulls Back

Published on 2012-04-16 14:44:06

By VFC’s Stock House With the market expected to continue on its southward journey this week, it might be worth keeping an eye on Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:HGSI) as a potential ‘rebound buy’ to hang onto until after the market settles and the downward momentum is eased. HGSI shares traded down by over three percent [...] > read more

Understand Supply and Demand’s Impact on Stocks

Published on 2012-04-16 14:14:28

By Barry Randall Pop quiz: How many companies are in the Wilshire 5000 Index? Before I get to the answer, let’s have a look at this classic benchmark, which was established in 1974 by Wilshire Associates, a financial consultancy based in California. The Wilshire 5000 (“W5000”) was designed to reflect the movement of the entire stock [...] > read more

Weekly Stock Watch: GOOG, FB, BAC, C, IMSC, DNDN, HGSI, AGEN, MNKD, PIMO, FCEL, CPST, SIGA, SNSS, CELH, AMLN, ILMN, NRIFF, TTNP

Published on 2012-04-15 16:16:28

By VFC’s Stock House At the conclusion of each week, VFC’s Stock House examines some news items, stocks and stories that made headlines during the previous trading week, but may also make headlines or influence trends during the upcoming week as well. Although focusing intently on the biotech and healthcare sectors, due attention is also given to [...] > read more

What Goldman May Be Indirectly Saying About Residential REITs

Published on 2012-04-15 14:36:34

By Michael Tarsala A new Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) index is reflecting the oversold condition of the U.S. housing market, and may indirectly be saying something about residential REITs as long-term investments. You’ll need to read the latest from Sober Look for background. What’s different about Goldman Sachs’ index is that it tracks the percentage of U.S. metro area [...] > read more

Robert Reich: Why a Fair Economy is Not Incompatible with Growth but Essential to It

Published on 2012-04-15 14:08:30

By Robert Reich One of the most pernicious falsehoods you’ll hear during the next seven months of political campaigning is there’s a necessary tradeoff between fairness and economic growth. By this view, if we raise taxes on the wealthy the economy can’t grow as fast. Wrong. Taxes were far higher on top incomes in the [...] > read more

Jim Cramer’s ‘Home Gamers’ Should Stop Playing Now

Published on 2012-04-13 13:13:45

By John Gerard Lewis Are you a “Home Gamer”? Jim Cramer says you are. That’s how the ubiquitous CNBC Pied Piper refers to his viewers. And it’s not an altogether faulty label – Cramer is indeed urging them to play a game. Many of the Home Gamers probably don’t recognize it as playtime, because they think they’re [...] > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) — The First Real Crack Appears

Published on 2012-04-13 12:05:39

By Jeff Pierce If this is a normal correction in the markets (between 5-10%), then Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) should visit $570 at a minimum. If the correction turns into something more severe (greater than 10%), then I could see AAPL falling as low as $450-$470. The best reward/risk to short would be to wait for a [...] > read more

Yes, Virginia, There is a Seasonal Effect

Published on 2012-04-13 11:00:46

By Michael Tarsala Covestor’s Bill DeShurko at 401 Advisor is in the process of getting more conservative with his investment model, in anticipation of a weaker “sell in May and go away” season for stocks. He recently detailed part of his plan, which includes investments in lower-beta dividend names and dropping his high-yield bond exposure. He tends [...] > read more

Thursday’s Stock Roundup: TTNP, SPPI, AMPE, CCLR, HGSI, AMRN, IMSC, NBY

Published on 2012-04-12 12:22:31

By VFC’s Stock House Mets fans, it was a heck of a four game stretch. Now it’s time for us to start looking forward to spring training next year. The markets halted a five day skid on Wednesday, and early indicators are that Thursday could bring some additional rebound. It’s my opinion that we haven’t [...] > read more

How To Track Market Sentiment On Your Own

Published on 2012-04-12 10:02:48

By Michael Tarsala, CMT Market sentiment is the one set of technical factors that even many of the strictest fundamental investors track. Sentiment indicators are watched by dozens of Covestor model managers. Sentiment is often very important from a contrarian point of view. The masses are not always wrong, but they often extend to extremes. The reason [...] > read more

Facebook-Yahoo/Microsoft-AOL and The Power of the Patent: This Battle is Not Won Online

Published on 2012-04-12 09:25:34

By VFC’s Stock House With the Facebook (FB) IPO quickly approaching on the horizon you’d think that all attention in Cyberworld would be focused on that historic event, which is being touted as the biggest IPO in its sector since Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) stormed onto the scene years ago. Unfortunately for those that are monitoring this [...] > read more

The Case for Financials as an Investment, Continued: Video

Published on 2012-04-12 08:52:05

By Michael Tarsala  Asset quality continues to improve for the banks. It’s No. 1 on the list of reasons why financial stocks could continue to outperform the S&P 500, says Andy Schornack, manager of the Covestor Financial Services model. Adding to that idea, Patrick O’Hare at Briefing.com recently made the case that the latest round of bank stress tests made the case for financial [...] > read more

Cracks In The Recent Leaders: CMG, PCLN, AAPL

Published on 2012-04-12 08:14:54

By Jeff Pierce The 3 Horsemen These have been the most ridiculously overbought charts I’ve seen in awhile. Traders can’t continue to hide in these stocks. The pattern I added to the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) chart is what we are looking for to see the first sign of weakness among these leading stocks. Priceline.com, [...] > read more

Why a Money Manager Thinks Financials Can Still Outperform

Published on 2012-04-12 07:38:13

By Michael Tarsala Banking and related stocks took a hit after the market’s worst session so far this year, although some money managers continue to hold a bullish investment thesis for the group. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLF) (in blue) is up more than 16% on the year, compared to just 9% for [...] > read more

A Virtuous Economic Cycle May Boost Stocks Higher

Published on 2012-04-12 07:03:09

By John Frankola Equity markets rallied strongly in the first quarter of 2012 as the US economy continued to show signs of improvement and fears of a debt crisis in Europe subsided. The S&P 500 Index generated  a 12.6% total return for the quarter. It was the best quarterly performance since the third quarter of 2009 and the strongest [...] > read more

How Did Mitt Romney Make So Much Money and Pay So Little in Taxes?

Published on 2012-04-11 19:51:48

By Robert Reich Now that Mitt Romney is the presumed Republican candidate, it’s fair to ask how he made so much money ($21 million in 2010 alone) and paid such a low tax rate (only 14.9 percent). Not only fair to ask, but instructive to know. Because the magic of private equity reveals a lot [...] > read more

Mebane Faber: Have an Investment Plan and Stick to It (Video)

Published on 2012-04-11 13:59:13

By Michael Tarsala It’s old advice, but sage advice: Have an investment plan, and stick to it. Mebane Faber is the Chief Investment Officer at Cambria Asset Management, a Chartered Markets Technician and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst. He also writes about the markets regularly on his World Beta Blog. In his experience, the No. 1 mistake investors [...] > read more

Company SitRep: Biovest International (BVTI) to File in Canada for BiovaxID Approval

Published on 2012-04-11 10:43:03

By VFC’s Stock House Biovest International, Inc. (PINK:BVTI), a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (PINK:ABPI), announced on Tuesday that the company will file with the Canadian health authorities for the approval of BiovaxID for the treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, an incurable cancer of the immune system. The filing in Canada is part of [...] > read more

What Copper Prices May Be Saying About Stocks

Published on 2012-04-11 10:25:08

By Michael Tarsala Copper prices may be giving us cues about where the S&P 500 is headed next, says Michael Arold, manager of the Covestor Technical Swing model. More than any other industrial metal, copper is seen as a health gauge for the world’s economy. The reason is simple: Big construction and telecom projects depend on copper. [...] > read more

Beware of Mindless Diversification when Picking Stocks

Published on 2012-04-11 09:53:02

By Walt Sokira Most investors and financial professionals have been taught that you must diversify. The investing dictum, “thou shall not put all your eggs in one basket” is often spoken like a commandment sent from down high above. At Focus Stock Research, we say find better baskets. If you focus on finding the greatest baskets, then [...] > read more

Hot Stock SitRep: Implant Sciences (IMSC) Providing Security in Colombia

Published on 2012-04-10 23:17:30

By VFC’s Stock House With a market downturn currently in effect, at least by the looks of it since the new quarter started, we’ll take a look at some companies that may be able to buck the trend and outperform the markets over the short term. Tuesday morning we presented ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTC:IMUC) as one such company [...] > read more

Beware of Sofia Vergara-like Stocks

Published on 2012-04-10 22:52:27

By Michael Tarsala  High beta stocks are the Sofia Vergaras of the investing world: Unquestionably sexy, and as much as you may like it to be the case, probably not your best friend. In fact, there is a good deal of academic research that says  it’s the low-beta names that will outperform over the long haul. That flies in the [...] > read more

Market Timing Signal: Down (Video)

Published on 2012-04-10 22:21:17

By Jeff Pierce Even Apple Couldn’t Save The Market Today There was so much to go over tonight I had to make two videos. Yes my timing signal turned bearish today but it wasn’t time to enter the shorts. I will wait for a bounce before entering as I’ve refined my entry as the markets [...] > read more

Why I Took Some Risk Off the Table and Sold Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO)

Published on 2012-04-10 22:03:42

By Bill DeShurko I’m currently on vacation, and anxious to head to the beautiful beach here at Kiawah Island Resort outside of Charleston. Maybe being away from the office has made me a little skittish, but on April 5th I took a lot of risk off the table in our Dividend and Income Plus Model. Decided to [...] > read more

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (IMUC) May Be Immune To A Broad Market Downturn

Published on 2012-04-10 21:32:29

By VFC’s Stock House With a new trading quarter upon us, the broad markets as a whole look ready to take a downswing after a strong first quarter and months of running higher as the global economy demonstrated a strength and resiliency not seen for years. Although a downswing, or “correction” as some might term [...] > read more

How Dow 30,000 Could Actually Happen: Video

Published on 2012-04-10 21:06:06

By Michael Tarsala Is Michael Kahn of Barron’s Online wrong to think that Dow 30,000 is in the cards once a new secular bull market begins? Well, you have to listen to his entire reasoning. As Kahn. a market technician, explains, there are two timeframes that long-term investors need to know. One is the secular [...] > read more

Tuesday’s Market Roundup: Facebook, YHOO, AOL, MSFT, IMSC, CTSO, CPST, SPPI, AMRN, CLDX, AMPE, KERX

Published on 2012-04-10 13:32:57

By VFC’s Stock House The DOW started the new trading week on a down note, trading lower for the fourth trading day in a row and settling in at below the 13,000 mark. News headlines have gone negative on the hopes of continued economic momentum, as predicted, with both sides of the political spectrum playing up [...] > read more

Beware: This Stock Market Rally Lacks Conviction

Published on 2012-04-10 12:51:31

By Dennes Lupastean The Dow wrapped up the first quarter of 2012 posting its largest ever point gain for any first quarter in its history.  On a percentage basis, the United States markets experienced its best first quarter since 1998. The world markets were up about 11% for the quarter, with the S&P 500 up 12% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up around [...] > read more

Why the Buffett Rule Sets the Bar Too Low

Published on 2012-04-10 12:25:29

By Robert Reich Next Monday most Americans will be filing their income taxes for tax year 2011. This year, though, tax day has special significance. If there’s one clear policy contrast between Democrats and Republicans in the 2012 election, it’s whether America’s richest citizens should be paying more. Senate Democrats have scheduled a vote Monday [...] > read more

The U.S. Energy Sector can Thrive with the Right Policies from Washington

Published on 2012-04-10 12:16:41

By Patrick McFadden The upcoming presidential election will clearly affect the stock market, and the positive returns to date are in line with typical election years. However, the continued attacks on the oil and gas industry are worrisome. A recent CNN piece outlines the criticism. Non-cash expenses such as depreciation, depletion & amortization represent about 3% of Exxon Mobil Corporation’s (NYSE:XOM) revenues [...] > read more

Apple (AAPL): In The Eye Of The Climax Run

Published on 2012-04-09 14:46:27

By Jeff Pierce I want to keep Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock front and center because it’s such a phenom in our culture and in the markets that it makes an interesting case study on runaways stocks. Since I first wrote about the current climax run on March 21st, we’re up another $40 and one could argue it’s [...] > read more

Mid-Course Portfolio Moves: SAVE, DVN, XLK, AAPL, MSFT, INTC, DCIX, CHKR, RSH, MMI, SEA

Published on 2012-04-09 14:19:06

By CJ Brott Although the market continued to advance in March, the rate of growth for our holdings slowed. The performance of our recently added momentum holdings were mixed. The share price of Spirit Airlines, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVE) was slowed by higher prices for oil while the declining price of natural gas slowed down Devon Energy’s (NYSE:DVN) advance. Our position in [...] > read more

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI): Making Moves That Could Benefit The Short And Long Term

Published on 2012-04-08 14:31:24

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI) were dropping fast late last week, with Thursday’s trading day culminating in a near-ten percent price dip after the company announced that apaziquone – a late-stage treatment for bladder cancer for which the company planned to file for approval later this year – failed to meet individual Phase III [...] > read more

Market Watch: Keep an Eye on China and Copper Prices

Published on 2012-04-08 14:02:30

By Michael Arold Though stock prices gained slightly in the month of March, the markets recently have been sending out warning signs — for example, small cap stocks have been underperforming their larger peers. Also, copper prices turned sideways and a declining number of stocks participated in the rally. In the past four years, copper has been a great leading [...] > read more

Using Low Volatility to Your Advantage

Published on 2012-04-08 13:33:44

By Christopher Ebert Fear of falling stock prices, as measured by the implied volatility of stock options, is now at some of the lowest levels in recent years. Despite the efficiency of the options market, volatility is one area where the market displays characteristics that give the perception of inefficiency, and traders may be the [...] > read more

QuickLogic Corporation (NASDAQ:QUIK): A Small Tech Play with Big Ambitions

Published on 2012-04-08 12:54:07

By Gerald Gehman  Back on December 22, 2011, I wrote an article that noted that EZchip Semiconductor (NASDAQ:EZCH), then priced at $29.61 per share, offered investors an “extremely attractive investment opportunity within the next year.” On March 23, 2012, EZchip closed at $44.44. QuickLogic Corporation (NASDAQ:QUIK) also provides an opportunity to invest before the analysts and the public jump [...] > read more

Weekly Stock Watch: AMPE, PBTH, IMUC, NBY, NRIFF, CNDO, SIGA, IMSC, YHOO, FB, SIRI, CVM, AAPL, AGEN, MCD, SBUX

Published on 2012-04-08 10:12:05

By VFC’s Stock House At the conclusion of each week, VFC’s Stock House examines some news items, stocks and stories that made headlines during the previous trading week, but may also make headlines or influence trends during the upcoming week as well. Although focusing intently on the biotech and healthcare sectors, due attention is also given to [...] > read more

Strong Corporate Fundamentals Power Stock Rally

Published on 2012-04-08 08:38:32

By Robert Gay The Global Equity Analytics and Research Service (GEARS) team has completed the update of the fundamentals for US companies for the 2011 annual period with the appearance last week of the Security and Exchange Commission 10-k filings for companies (mostly retailers) with fiscal years ended January. Sales growth is high and profit margins are [...] > read more

Leerink Swann Analyst Frederick Wise on Small Cap Ideas with Double-Digit Growth Potential

Published on 2012-04-05 16:25:39

By George S. Mack You can own large medtech and diversified medical supply companies for low volatility and incremental upside in a trending economy (yawn. . .), but small- and mid-cap companies offer the real double-digit growth possibilities. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Analyst and Managing Director Frederick “Rick” Wise of Leerink Swann [...] > read more

The Tenuous Link Between Stocks and the Economy

Published on 2012-04-05 14:57:08

By Michael Tarsala The Marc Faber blog is out today with a comment suggesting that stock investors might want to own some gold, citing the tenuous link between stocks and the economy: “I think that people should own some gold and I think that people should own some equities, because before the collapse will happen, with Mr. Bernanke [...] > read more

Robert Reich: The Fable of the Century

Published on 2012-04-05 14:39:10

By Robert Reich Imagine a country in which the very richest people get all the economic gains. They eventually accumulate so much of the nation’s total income and wealth that the middle class no longer has the purchasing power to keep the economy going full speed. Most of the middle class’s wages keep falling and [...] > read more

Do You Need Gold in Your Portfolio? — Video

Published on 2012-04-05 13:00:40

By Mick Weinstein An entertaining exchange between Reuters’ Felix Salmon and The Economist’s Matthew Bishop, author of the new book In Gold We Trust? Watch Video: Among Covestor managers, Tom Yorke of Oceanic Capital has been particularly vocal and articulate about the importance of holding the yellow metal: Big picture, we believe that gold is a good investment for the long [...] > read more

Stock Market Roundup: Ampio (AMPE) Slammed by The Mad Blogger, Spectrum (SSPI) Slips, Implant Sciences (IMSC) Making a Move, ACTC, AMRN, KERX, NBY, GALE, NRIFF

Published on 2012-04-05 12:42:12

By VFC’s Stock House Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPE): TheStreet.com’s biotech blogger graced readers with an early edition of the Biotech Stock Mailbag this week, releasing it on Thursday vice its normal Friday publishing. In this week’s edition he criticized Ampio Pharmaceuticals for taking its treatment for premature ejaculation (PE), Zertane, overseas. Ampio has been seeking regional partners to commercialize Zertane, [...] > read more

Some Basics for Dividend Stock Investors

Published on 2012-04-05 09:58:21

By Michael Tarsala Dividend stocks are no panacea, though some money managers are starting to lean on them more heavily as a way to get paid for taking on added risk following the market’s more than 25% runup since the October lows. “I believe we’re still in a secular bear market, so I think the averages five years [...] > read more

Market Astrology — Strategy Going Forward: RAX, AMLN, VCLK, TBT

Published on 2012-04-05 09:20:54

By Karen Starich In April we could see some very bullish moves in the markets that carries into May. We have had a couple corrections in March that have provided some very good buying opportunities. For Astrology Traders subscribers we recommended some stocks and entry points to take advantage of the pullbacks. We also had [...] > read more

A Backtest On What Happens After a Big S&P 500 Rally

Published on 2012-04-05 08:26:45

By Michael Tarsala After six months of the S&P 500 going up at least 28% — like it did October to March — the folks at Birinyi Associates worked up a cool backtest on what happened next for the index the past 20 times the index saw a similar rally. The Takeaways: Both the average and median returns were slightly [...] > read more

Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ:CPST) Banks Another Foreign Order as Stock Trends Lower

Published on 2012-04-05 07:31:22

By VFC’s Stock House Carrying a heavy short interest of nearly 20% and the move towards profitability still a little bit of ways away, shares of Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ:CPST) have been beaten back to the dollar level, a place where recent history has proven to be a decent buy-in level. At times shares have briefly dipped below the [...] > read more

Will This Stock Market Recovery Roll Without the Fed’s Support?

Published on 2012-04-05 07:05:30

By John King  After a profitable quarter for all of the major equity indexes, we are beginning to see some weariness in a few of the economically sensitive stocks along with those companies that cater to the proverbial 1%. That said, we find Corporate America in the best profit position as a percentage of GDP since World [...] > read more

News And Stock Roundup: IMSC, ILMN, CELH, SIGA, CTSO, AAPL, SNSS, CPST, FCEL, PCYC, AGEN, YHOO, KERX

Published on 2012-04-04 14:02:19

By VFC’s Stock House Some news, notes and stories wrapping-up Tuesday and trending towards Wednesday… Weak Moves of the Week: These events may or may not have occurred this week, but they’ve been identified as ‘weak’ this week… President Barack Obama: Attempting to intimidate members of the Supreme Court and questioning their powers was a weak [...] > read more

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN): A Lesson in Due Diligence

Published on 2012-04-04 13:26:10

By Michael Tarsala You didn’t need an accounting degree to see this Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) restatement mess coming. Multiple people outside the company had raised detailed concerns about its books ahead of its November IPO. But at that time, there was no stopping the surge of market orders on its first day of trading. Fast forward [...] > read more

The Choice in 2012: Social Darwinism or a Decent Society

Published on 2012-04-03 22:35:40

By Robert Reich The returns aren’t all in yet on today’s Republican primaries but President Obama didn’t wait. He kicked off his 2012 campaign against Mitt Romney with a hard-hitting speech centered on the House Republicans’ budget plan – which Romney has enthusiastically endorsed. That plan, by the way, is the most radical reverse-Robin Hood proposal [...] > read more

Tuesday Stock Roundup: ILMN, KERX, HGSI, AMLN, SIRI, BVTI, ABPI, TTNP, NRIFF

Published on 2012-04-03 11:02:12

By VFC’s Stock House A roundup of news to watch for Tuesday’s trading… Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN): Volume has been impressive for Illumina (ILMN) over the past few trading days after Illumina’s board rejected a buyout offer from Roche Holding AG (PINK:RHHBY) for $51 per share. The rejection was unanimous and followed a previous offer of $44.50 [...] > read more

American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC): Why this Mortgage REIT is Worth a Close Look

Published on 2012-04-03 07:27:39

By John Gerard Lewis To be sure, “high yield” connotes “high risk.” High-yield bonds suggest principle vulnerability. Companies may offer eye-popping dividends because they’re unable to produce sufficient funding through operations. Hence, high yield may well mean that another shoe is dangling and may fall eventually. So what of mortgage real estate investment trusts, those exotic [...] > read more

Ampio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPE) Eyes Australia for Zertane

Published on 2012-04-03 06:57:14

By VFC’s Stock House In continuing with the swift progress that Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPE) has been making on all pipeline fronts over the past months, the company announced this week that it has reached an agreement with the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Canberra, Australia, on a plan of drug manufacture and quality control for Zertane. Zertane is a treatment for premature [...] > read more

Constant Contact (NASDAQ:CTCT): Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) Without the Accounting Follies

Published on 2012-04-03 06:37:23

By Barry Randall In the field of comedy, there is something called “a gift.” It’s a person or event that seems to provide an endless stream of material, a mother lode of comedy gold. Like Newt Gingrich. Or Octo-mom. Or Lindsay Lohan. In the world of investing, Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) is our gift. From the video of [...] > read more

Robert Reich: Turning America Into a Giant Casino

Published on 2012-04-02 16:23:16

By Robert Reich Anyone who says you can get rich through gambling is a fool or a knave. Multiply the size of the prize by your chance of winning it and you’ll always get a number far lower than what you put into the pot. The only sure winners are the organizers – casino owners, [...] > read more

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM): Solid Rebound Play Or Another Blockbuster?

Published on 2012-04-01 16:30:19

By VFC’s Stock House Given the company’s fall from grace and the potential for investors to view its share price drop as a potential rebound play, Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) is going to be a hot stock to watch for quite a while. Investors looking for a quick turnaround, however, were disappointed last week when losses [...] > read more

The Financial Muppets are Voting with Their Furry Feet

Published on 2012-04-01 16:05:13

By Michael Tarsala Reuters is out with a report that says big-fish customers are fleeing the big, traditional brokers, a trend that is expected to continue. Four of the top wealth management shops will see their share of high net worth customers significantly drop heading into 2014, according to Cerulli Associates. The report did say why, exactly. But I’ll go out on [...] > read more

Mobile Market Index Gains 52% in Q1: MM, AUGT, ETAK, GLUU, MITK, VELT

Published on 2012-04-01 15:49:25

By Mobile Guru While the first quarter of 2012 was positive for the major indexes, the Mobile Index continued to outshine returning an impressive 52%. Just this past week, newcomer Millennial Media, Inc. (NYSE:MM)  saw its shares climb over 80% from its IPO price of $13.00, well above the predicted range from just months ago. [...] > read more

Weekly News & Stock Watch: RIMM, FCEL, SIRI, SNSS, ONTY, CVM, ACTC, SIGA, CNDO, AMPE, TTNP, CPST, BVTI, ABPI

Published on 2012-03-31 04:11:02

By VFC’s Stock House At the conclusion of each week, VFC’s Stock House examines some news items, stocks and stories that made headlines during the previous trading week, but may also make headlines or influence trends during the upcoming week as well. Although focusing intently on the biotech and healthcare sectors, due attention is also given to [...] > read more

Megaupload: The MegaConspiracy is a MegaTravesty of Justice

Published on 2012-03-30 15:25:05

By Michael Robertson In what reads more like a movie script than a factual presentation of a legal case, the US government filed a 90 page criminal indictment against 2 companies and 7 individuals for copyright infringement. Then they pressured the New Zealand government to send in armed forces including a helicopter to arrest a Dutch citizen [...] > read more

A Long-Term Observation of Precious Metals and Mining Stocks

Published on 2012-03-30 15:01:24

By Michael Tarsala Fears of a China economic slowdown appear to be weighing on the metals and mining sector, although it remains to be seen how long this group will underperform the rest of the stock market. The chart below shows how much metals and mining stocks, represented by the SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF [...] > read more

Why Central Banks Could Help Push Gold Prices Higher: Video

Published on 2012-03-30 14:32:07

By Michael Tarsala  Beyond the technical arguments, one fundamental factor likely to affect gold and related investments for the rest of 2012 will be what central banks decide to do with the precious metal. They are more likely to be net buyers, which should put upward pressure on recently stalled gold prices, says Christopher Henwood, former [...] > read more

How The Media Manipulates The Masses: Video

Published on 2012-03-30 14:08:06

By Jeff Pierce First off, I have no love for the media and this short video interview illustrates the exact reason why. It astounds me how blatantly negative the media remains on Ron Paul despite all he stands for and everything he’s accomplished. The anchor just has to start the interview off stating that Paul “hasn’t [...] > read more

Market Internals are Flashing a Stocks Warning

Published on 2012-03-30 13:45:01

By Michael Tarsala, CMT One measure of the stock market’s strength — the number of new highs — is petering out. NAHL – Nasdaq New Highs-New Lows Index (Daily) The blue line above shows the rolling number of new net 52 week highs on the Nasdaq (so the number of new highs, minus the number of [...] > read more

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) Shifts Focus from Consumer to Business

Published on 2012-03-30 13:24:55

By Amy Gilroy After years of losing market share to slicker phones, Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry will now be sold mainly to business markets. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Limited (RIM) said Thursday it will return to its roots and focus on enterprise business, where it still has a leading position, reported Bloomberg Businessweek and [...] > read more

Profit Margin Worries Make Their Way to Wall Street

Published on 2012-03-30 11:00:00

By Michael Tarsala Wall Street analysts appear to be bracing for a decline in record corporate profits, backing investor John Hussman’s view that what goes up must come down. Here is the latest from Thomson Reuters: Source: Thomson Reuters Alpha Now The blue line in the chart above shows the number of S&P 500 companies that have reported higher earnings on [...] > read more

The American Economy: Whose Recovery?

Published on 2012-03-30 10:25:44

By Robert Reich Luxury retailers are smiling. So are the owners of high-end restaurants, sellers of upscale cars, vacation planners, financial advisors, and personal coaches. For them and their customers and clients the recession is over. The recovery is now full speed. But the rest of America isn’t enjoying an recovery. It’s still sick. Many [...] > read more

Friday’s News & Stock Market Roundup: CNDO, RIMM, ONTY, AGEN, AMLN

Published on 2012-03-30 10:12:44

By VFC’s Stock House With the quarter coming to a close on Friday, the broad markets all traded relatively flat for the week and some economic numbers in the United States hinted at a prolonged recovery while concerns in Europe continue to quell any all-out euphoria. Spanish workers took to the streets in protest and [...] > read more

Beware: Facebook IPO, Other Frauds Are Making The Rounds — Video

Published on 2012-03-29 21:10:21

By Michael Tarsala It may be just a matter of time until we see another fraud of Bernie Madoff magnitude, says Pat Huddleston, author and former SEC enforcer. Right now, Huddleston says, lower-profile, but similar scams are rampant. Take the recent case of G3 Capital Management. Its owner pleaded guilty this week to derauding investors for more than a year. He promised [...] > read more

Estimize: First Call for the Social Finance Age

Published on 2012-03-29 20:50:18

By Mick Weinstein To a fundamental investor, a company’s earnings are the most important driver of market value and stock prices. In projecting earnings these days, market participants don’t take sell side earnings estimates very seriously. Jeff Miller today describes why – in a typical scenario: A big-time firm sets a price target for a stock. The stock [...] > read more

What a Citigroup Index Says About Potential Stock Market Weakness

Published on 2012-03-29 18:56:09

By Michael Tarsala Here is an important index to know about, and one that the folks at Citi say is now flashing a near-term stock market warning signal: The Citigroup Economic Surprise Index is still positive, but is now on the decline, as you can see below. It reflects more modest or disappointing economic data [...] > read more

Conquering The Psychology Of Trading

Published on 2012-03-29 18:02:12

By Susan Porter Psychological Errors When Trading and Ways To Prevent Them   Making trades is stressful. Every trader has successes and failures, losses and mistakes. Psychological errors are almost always stress based, meaning that due to the stress of the trading situation itself, traders make poorly considered or impulsive choices that create panic or fear. The simplest [...] > read more

The Very Latest On The Facebook IPO: Video

Published on 2012-03-29 14:36:21

By Michael Tarsala Facebook’s IPO is now in sight, with the company taking the preliminary step of planning to halt secondary market trading by the beginning of April. The deal is set to go down in May, according to the latest from the Wall Street Journal. That’s despite reports of slowing ad sales, a fresh warning about the company’s patent dispute with Yahoo Inc.(NASDAQ:YHOO), and Wall [...] > read more

Break Up The Big Banks, Says The Dallas Federal Reserve

Published on 2012-03-29 14:14:30

By Robert Reich As the Supreme Court shows every sign of throwing out “Obamacare” and leaving 30 million Americans without health insurance, another drama is being played out in the quiet corridors of the Federal Reserve system that may affect even more of us. Taxpayers will be on the hook for another giant Wall Street [...] > read more

Costco (NASDAQ:COST) Still Looks Reasonably Priced Despite Advance

Published on 2012-03-29 14:01:22

By Bob Freedland I received an interesting series of questions today from a reader of mine who wrote: “Noticed that Costco (Costco Wholesale Corporation, NASDAQ:COST) is flirting with a new 52-week high and has delivered about 22% over the last year and 7% or so YTD. It’s a hugely important stock to a lot of investors. [...] > read more

Update On The Canadian Markets

Published on 2012-03-29 13:25:06

By Jeff Pierce Yesterday on Twitter I mentioned if we breakdown from 12350 I expect this to drop all the way to the neckline in rapid fashion. This morning it appears that is happening and this sell off seems to be different from the view that this is the first time since I received a sell signal [...] > read more

General Electric (NYSE:GE): Reasons for Buying

Published on 2012-03-29 12:42:37

By Brian Michaud There are certain companies in this world that have the ability to impact virtually every aspect of human life. From the moment we wake in the morning to the second our eyes close from a tiresome day at the office one company in particular has been integrated into every part of your day. [...] > read more

Can You Make Money Investing With Astrology?

Published on 2012-03-29 12:22:06

By Karen Starich In February Forbes ran an article “Can The Planets Affect Your Portfolio?“ that I thought I should chime in on. The answer is yes! I have to say that as an astrologer and trader I think the article is very timely. Uranus rules astrology and technology and just happens to have recently moved into [...] > read more

Why mREITs Aren’t as Risky as You Might Think: AGNC, CMO, ANH, HTS, NLY

Published on 2012-03-28 15:35:51

By John Gerard Lewis The cadre of mREIT analysts is often focused on dividends and their sustainability. This is understandable, as high dividend payouts are theraison d’etre of mortgage real estate investment trusts and the lure for those who buy their shares. The obsession with yields is matched by hope that the share prices remain relatively stable, [...] > read more

Putting Fears of a U.S. Earnings Collapse in Perspective

Published on 2012-03-28 14:43:57

By Michael Tarsala Record corporate profits simply cannot last forever. That said, the market will likely provide cues about when it’s time to get far more defensive, says Covestor model manager Bill Deshurko at 401 Advisor. The chart you see below is the latest from John Hussman, known for predicting the 2008 recession. It makes the case for shrinking profit margins going [...] > read more

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) 7-Inch Tablet Expected at $199

Published on 2012-03-28 12:24:55

By Amy Gilroy Some industry watchers believe Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) will offer a 7-inch tablet in coming months, and a report now says Google has partnered with ASUSTEK Computer Inc.(TPE:2357) to produce a $199 device that may ship around June. The Android device will be a Google Nexus model that goes into production in April, reports Taiwan-based [...] > read more

Macau Trumps Las Vegas for Gaming Companies: WYNN, LVS, MPEL, MGM, CZR, HOT

Published on 2012-03-28 11:34:44

By Xavier Bremner   Covestor manager Yale Bock is a keen observer of the global gaming business and has written extensively about the recent dispute between Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) and its former strategic investor Kazuo Okada, the chairman of Universal Entertainment Corporation. I recently caught up with Bock to get his latest thinking on the Asian gaming market and other matters. A [...] > read more

The Companies That Are Revolutionizing Financial Markets

Published on 2012-03-28 10:49:47

By Michael Tarsala A fresh and objective report from the merchant bankers at CoRise names the movers and shakers that are set to democratize and revolutionize finanical markets in the coming years. It’s an independent look at businesses that are improving the exchange of ideas and information, directing capital in better ways, and killing off the financial supermarket concept. The report [...] > read more

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC): A Stock to Watch

Published on 2012-03-27 16:06:20

By Jeff Pierce Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) is one healthcare stock that had a nice earnings run last month and looks to be in the consolidation phase before making another run at recent highs. It’s recently gotten a while candle on the 3 Line Break chart and I’ve outlined the area on the 60 min. chart [...] > read more

Moore’s Law and the Financial Markets

Published on 2012-03-27 15:44:51

By Daniel Beckerman The pace of change in the U.S. economy has accelerated over the past few years. I had an opportunity to sit down with Jim Sarni, who helps to oversee $60 billion at the Los Angeles-based investment firm Payden & Rygel. We discussed the idea of market cycles whereby one would expect a period of [...] > read more

Tuesday Morning News & Stock Market Roundup: SIGA, MCD, AGEN, NBY

Published on 2012-03-27 09:32:05

By VFC’s Stock House The DOW, S&P and Nasdaq all jumped by well over one percent on Monday, opening the week on a strong note following the worst week of 2012 thus far. Bernanke gave investors the warm/fuzzy, but economic concerns in Europe, rising oil prices and threats from the Middle East are all factors [...] > read more

The Closed-End Fund That Could See A Catalyst This Week: Boulder Growth & Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:BIF)

Published on 2012-03-27 08:09:11

By Michael Tarsala It’s not every day that a closed-end fund is a mover and shaker, but a potential catalyst could come as early as this week for Boulder Growth and Income, a CEF that is heavily invested in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A, NYSE:BRK.B) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares. Source: Yahoo Finance Closed-end funds are collective investments with a limited number of shares. Their values are determined [...] > read more

Sunvalley Solar (SSOL): A Penny Stock With Real Potential To Shine

Published on 2012-03-26 10:15:15

By Kirk Merritt Sunvalley Solar, Inc. (OTCQB: SSOL) is a full service solar power solution provider in southern California, with a solar product and packaged solar system solutions to over 600 customers in twenty-one states. Sunvalley Solar was founded by Hangbo (Henry) Yu in January of 2007 and Mr. Yu has served as General Manager and [...] > read more

The Best Stocks in the Computer Hardware Index (DJUSCR): AAPL, EMC, NTAP, PAY

Published on 2012-03-26 06:20:50

By Jeff Pierce As a follow up to my Apple article I wrote last week about the impending pullback in that sector, I wanted to draw your attention to the Computer Hardware Index and the ridiculous state of overbought it is in as one more reason to expect a pullback not just in Apple, but in this [...] > read more

Three Nasdaq 100 Stocks Moving Up: SBUX, PCLN, AAPL

Published on 2012-03-26 05:55:06

By Jim Van Meerten On Friday I used Barchart to screen the Nasdaq 100 stocks for the three with the most steady upward price momentum and found Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), Priceline.com (NASDAQ:PCLN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) Barchart technical indicators: 96% Barchart technical buy signal Trend Spotter buy signal Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages 16 new highs and up 14.24% in the last [...] > read more

Dominion Resources (NYSE:DRU): Something’s Rotten in the Stock Chart

Published on 2012-03-26 05:13:31

By Jeff Pierce There was a strange sell off in Dominion Resources (NYSE:DRU) towards the end of last week that reeks of forced liquidation. Eric Parnell over at Seekling Alpha noticed this and I wanted to do a chart that better illustrates when DRU has a price shock such as it did last week it can spell disaster [...] > read more

Market Watch: Stay Grounded In Reality

Published on 2012-03-26 03:11:36

By All About Trends On Friday we said: “The bull count is looking like we could fly into quarter end, but don’t get emotionally attached to that. We are all about staying grounded in reality around here.” Below are the micro short term 15 minute index charts. As you’ll see everyone of them except the [...] > read more

Weekly News & Stock Watch: AMRN, IMUC, FCEL, MCD, AMPE, KERX, HGSI, CELH, PBTH

Published on 2012-03-24 20:49:58

By VFC’s Stock House At the conclusion of each week, VFC’s Stock House examines some news items, stocks and stories that made headlines during the previous trading week, but may also make headlines or influence trends during the upcoming week as well. With and emphasis on the biotech and healthcare sectors, VFC’s Stock House also takes a [...] > read more

Dispute Between Mobile Marketing Leaders Augme Technologies (OTC:AUGT) and Velti (NASDAQ:VELT)

Published on 2012-03-13 15:50:50

By Mobile Guru Augme Technologies Inc (OTC:AUGT), one of the mobile marketing emerging leaders took direct aim at its competitor Velti (NASDAQ:VELT) on Friday. Augme Technologies filed suit for patent infringement citing three separate patents (6,594,691,7,269,636,7,783,721) on Friday in the Delaware courts. Both companies have performed well year to date in my Mobile Market Index, Augme Technologies(+44%) and [...] > read more

Stress Tests May Show Banks Are Investments, Not Just Trades

Published on 2012-03-13 15:08:53

By Michael Tarsala The Fed’s annual stress test results are due this week, and they should show that the long-term investment outlook for the largest U.S. banks continues to get better, says Patrick O’Hare, chief market analyst at Briefing Research. O’Hare will detail his findings as part of the free Next Invest online conference, March 20 and 21. I also [...] > read more

Lpath, Inc. (LPTN): Trial Restart Provides Potential Catalyst

Published on 2012-03-13 14:29:20

By VFC’s Stock House Last week shares of Lpath, Inc. (OTC:LPTN) took a twenty percent dive after news circulated of a financing agreement that priced shares well below the price for which they were trading on the open market. Just a short time before that shares had already taken a hit following news that two ongoing proof-of-concept trials for [...] > read more

Stock Prices Have Peaked — Time For Cash

Published on 2012-03-13 12:30:01

By Terence Grennon Bottom Line: Stocks have peaked. Asset protection is the main objective at this point. A 100% allocation to Cash is recommended. Long-Term Stock Pattern (3-5 yrs) – Bearish, Lower stock returns ahead Intermediate-Term Stock Trend (1 year) - Bullish, Stock prices have peaked Short-Term Stock Volatility (30 days) - Bearish, Lower stock prices ahead Inflation – · Developed Economies [...] > read more

Gotta Give These Markets Credit: Video

Published on 2012-03-13 12:08:53

By Jeff Pierce Gotta give these markets credit. Their resiliency is quite impressive. Finished flat on the day with my iShares MSCI Canada Index (ETF)(NYSEARCA:EWC) short up, but my positions are starting to be a concern. I’ve seen this lots of time with my timing signal where one has to sit through a period of melt up, but [...] > read more

Robert Reich: Why We Need a Surtax on the Super Wealthy

Published on 2012-03-12 20:03:29

By Robert Reich Let Santorum and Romney duke it out for who will cut taxes on the wealthy the most and shred the public services everyone else depends on. The rest of us ought to be having a serious discussion about a wealth tax. Because if you really want to know what’s happening to the [...] > read more

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) May Be For Real Again

Published on 2012-03-12 15:24:38

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of Agenus Inc (NASDAQ:AGEN) were up by as much as ten percent to open the trading week on Monday, with volume surpassing the daily norm by mid-day. The spark to this latest run flared last week when an announcement of an expansion of a partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) ignited buyout talks in regards to [...] > read more

Market Watch: Rangebound or Down

Published on 2012-03-12 15:10:23

By All About Trends We’ve talked numerous times around here about how consolidations or corrections can occur in two forms, that being sideways or down. Sideways could actually be construed as a bullish correction. I know I know, sounds weird and like an oxymoron, but it is what it is. Upon looking at the daily index charts I [...] > read more

Oncothyreon (NASDAQ:ONTY) at Five Dollars — Buy Time or Sign of Trouble?

Published on 2012-03-11 18:16:53

By VFC’s Stock House Oncothyreon Inc. (NASDAQ:ONTY) 40% haircut last week after the company released its latest earnings report. It’s not likely the report, however that disappointed investors as much as it was the indication that Phase III Stimuvax trial results would not be available until early in 2013. Many investors had expected a much earlier release, while [...] > read more

YPF SA (ADR) (NYSE:YPF): A Smart Argentinean Energy Play

Published on 2012-03-11 17:45:37

By Chris Rees We had a good January and February. The portfolio is up more than 30% year-to-date. We trimmed back our overweight positions in Hutchinson Technology (NASDAQ:HTCH) and Chipmos Technologies (NASDAQ:IMOS) after both made big moves and we increased our cash holdings. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) also contributed to the models positive performance so far this year. While artificially low interest rates [...] > read more

Dendreon Corporation’s (NASDAQ:DNDN) Newest Challenge — Competition

Published on 2012-03-11 17:01:43

By VFC’s Stock House A week after cautionary statements from company officials regarding first quarter Provenge numbers sent Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ:DNDN) shares slipping, the company faced a new challenge last week — competition. According to reports that circulated last week, Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) prostate cancer drug, Zytiga, was primed to mount a huge challenge to Provenge on [...] > read more

Bearish on Silver: SLV

Published on 2012-03-11 16:40:42

By Michael Arold I turned bullish on silver on January 17th and added the iShares Silver Trust ETF (NYSEARCA:SLV) to my Covestor portfolio. On Friday, March 2nd, I finally closed the position. Prices of the metal are highly correlated to the U.S. Dollar. The 10 day correlation is currently at -0.85, which essentially means that if the Dollar goes up, silver is [...] > read more

Weekly Stock Watch: SIRI, DNDN, LPTN, HGSI, IMUC, AGEN, ONTY, PPHM, CPST, OVIT, MCD, KERX, ACTC

Published on 2012-03-11 15:50:55

By VFC’s Stock House At the conclusion of each week, VFC’s Stock House examines the stocks and stories that made news through various sectors during the previous trading week, but may also make headlines or influence trends during the upcoming week as well. Encouraging jobs numbers last week supported the recent sustained higher prices in the markets, while [...] > read more

Why Zillow (NASDAQ:Z) Trumps Linkedin (NYSE:LNKD)

Published on 2012-03-09 15:03:37

By Barry Randall February brought with it the quarterly re-balancing of the Crabtree Technology model. We take this action every three months as part of our disciplined investment process. We sell those companies no longer demonstrating our preferred characteristics of cash generation, market share gains and operational and financial execution. And we replace those companies with those [...] > read more

Robert Reich: The Precarious Jobs Recovery

Published on 2012-03-09 14:02:43

By Robert Reich February’s 227,000 net new jobs – the third month in a row of job gains well in excess of 200,000 – is good news for President Obama and bad news for Mitt Romney. Jobs are coming back fast enough to blunt Republican attacks against Obama on the economy and to rob Romney [...] > read more

Stock Picks for a Market that has Room to Run: TEF, TKC, CHL

Published on 2012-03-09 13:51:19

By Charles Sizemore We are genuinely pleased with the performance of most asset classes in 2012. As we expected, bond yields have moved mostly sideways.  But the real story has been the remarkable rally in stocks. The strong start in January was followed by an equally strong February. After multiple months of bull market conditions, some sort of mild [...] > read more

Reasons to Stick with Vale (NYSE:VALE) Despite the Volatility

Published on 2012-03-09 11:12:43

By Bill DeShurko A common view in investing is that “conservative” somehow equates with “buy and hold”, and the corollary to that is that trading equates to higher risk. One of my recent portfolio additions, Brazilian minerals and mining concern Vale (ADR) (NYSE:VALE), was down 35% last year. Hardly the type of stability one would expect from [...] > read more

Option Trading Basics

Published on 2012-03-09 10:52:22

By Christopher Ebert Options are a complex subject, and there are many experienced traders who discuss them in ways that are sometimes difficult for new traders to understand. With the ever-increasing popularity, many traders are discovering options for the very first time; and they have questions such as this one recently received from a reader: I [...] > read more

Stock Portfolio Updates: GIGM, DGI, CLGX, CASS, DLB, JMBA

Published on 2012-03-08 13:30:20

By Yale Bock February was a good month for the model as a few of the companies saw a modest rise in their stock prices. The portfolio is still down a great deal, but I believe 2012 could prove quite interesting for several of the holdings. Already, we have seen a few reasons why results could be vastly [...] > read more

Market Caution: This Bull Market Run is Uncertain

Published on 2012-03-08 13:01:56

By Richard Moore The market continued its winning ways in February as it slowly but surely moved ahead. Most major averages surpassed the levels attained in the spring of 2011. A diversion has developed, though, because the average stock, as measured by the Value Line Geometric Average is still more than 9% lower than its peak achieved in May of [...] > read more

Dr. Copper Looks Sick

Published on 2012-03-08 12:31:20

By Jeff Pierce Copper has been forming a short term top over the last couple of months and is now in a rising bearish wedge at resistance. Volume has been rising on down weeks ever since the big sell off of last year. Keep your eye on the $3.90-4.00 level because if copper can break thru there [...] > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Introduces New 4G iPad

Published on 2012-03-07 16:38:00

By Amy Gilroy Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled the next generation iPad to be available March 16th. The  “new iPad”, as it is called, adds a Retina Display with more pixels that any mobile device and 4G LTE capability on Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T (NYSE:T). The newest iPad also gets quad-core graphics, plus a new 5MP “iSight” [...] > read more

Why Liberty Interactive (NASDAQ:LINTA) and DirectTV (NASDAQ:DTV) Continue to Perform

Published on 2012-03-07 14:14:05

By Yale Bock In the Long Term GARP model, nearly  85% of the market value of the portfolio is held in five holdings, including Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:LINTA), Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), DirectTV (NASDAQ:DTV). The management team at Liberty decided to break LINTA up into two tracking stocks, and that should take place by July 4, 2012, according to the transcript of a recent [...] > read more

CEL-SCI Corporation (CVM) Moves Forward with Debenture Now in the Past

Published on 2012-03-07 12:36:34

By VFC’s Stock House CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSEAMEX:CVM) has put some bad news in the rear view mirror. An announcement on Tuesday informed the public that the company has paid off the full outstanding convertible debenture, having paid it down $1 million per month. The debenture was the result of settled litigation and frees up Cel-Sci to concentrate additional resources [...] > read more

The Facebook IPO: Five Insights

Published on 2012-03-07 12:09:48

by Michael Tarsala There already has been plenty of ink spilled — electronic ink mostly – on the pending Facebook IPO. It’s been slammed as a sucker’s bet and praised as the great hope for the next generation of investors. Without picking sides, here are five things to think about as you weigh whether an investment in Facebook is worth the risk: 1) Performance of large [...] > read more

Stock Watch: Lpath (LPTN), Oncothyreon (ONTY)

Published on 2012-03-07 11:46:12

By VFC’s Stock House In a day that saw the DOW drop by just about 200 points, these companies were falling as a result of factors not associated with the broad market downturn… Lpath, Inc. (OTC:LPTN): Shares of Lpath, Inc. (LPTN) were on the dive on Tuesday as the result of a agreement that priced shares [...] > read more

Three Momentum Holdings and Two Income Producers: DVN, XLK, SAVE, CHKR, DCIX

Published on 2012-03-06 12:43:33

By CJ Brott While the ETF Only model remained fully invested throughout the month of February,  the Macro Plus Income became fully invested as the February rally rolled on. Although we are still convinced the market is due a pullback, we are not willing to fight the Fed indefinitely. So while we are keeping one eye [...] > read more

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX): The Pre-Decision Runup Is In Full Effect

Published on 2012-03-06 11:23:53

By VFC’s Stock House The pre-announcement KERX runup is in full effect. Shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX) have been in the spotlight since late last year when investors starting taking notice of the company’s expected release of Phase III trial results for the cancer treatment Perifisone, partnered with AEterna Zentaris (NASDAQ:AEZS). This week KERX shares blew past [...] > read more

Four Things S&P 500 Average Stock Correlation May Be Saying To Investors

Published on 2012-03-06 11:10:10

By Michael Tarsala Scott Barber at Reuters always comes up great insightful charts, and his latest may be saying something fairly positive about the health of the stock rally: Scott’s latest chart shows the steepest drop in 5 years in the degree to which the S&P 500 index are moving with its underlying constituents. As you might expect, periods of low [...] > read more

Stock Watch: OncoVista Innovative Therapies (OVIT) Still Moving Up

Published on 2012-03-05 11:35:05

By VFC’s Stock House Keep an eye on shares of OncoVista Innovative Therapies, Inc. (OTC:OVIT) this week. A noticable boost in volume has started to result in a price boost, too, and Friday’s late day trading action could be an indicator that speculative investors may be starting to take notice. In fact, Friday’s volume was nearly twenty [...] > read more

Three Important Money Flow Trends from Lipper’s Tom Roseen

Published on 2012-03-05 11:12:16

By Michael Tarsala Investors closed the month of February with their highest net long exposure in 14 months, according to Lipper data, with last year’s sector pariahs seeing some of the largest dollar inflows. I talked to Tom Roseen, Lipper’s research director extraordinaire, to help me put the current fund flow trends in context. In the big picture, [...] > read more

Commodities Have Further To Fall

Published on 2012-03-05 10:42:46

By Jeff Pierce Commodities have further to fall. However, I don’t think the pullback will be that severe as there does seem to be decent support in the $850 area. It’s also worth noting the last time in October when the sell off reached it’s worst levels, the RSI remained above 30 — which is [...] > read more

Reasons to Stay Bullish on Gold for the Long Haul

Published on 2012-03-05 10:21:38

By Tom Yorke Wow! For a few minutes there at the close of trading in the gold market on February 29th I felt like I was witnessing a slow train wreck. How did the market get so freaked out?  Like Sadie Hawkins Day, we can only hope this happens once every four years and not [...] > read more

Celsius Holdings (CELH): Signs of Stability Emerge, Renewed Growth Next?

Published on 2012-03-04 13:40:18

By VFC’s Stock House Celsius Holdings, Inc. (PINK:CELH), maker of the pre-workout calorie burning beverage Celsius, reported another round of earnings last week, although the report had little impact on the share price and sparked only modest, if any, new investor interest. After a volatile year in 2010 that saw huge expenditures thrown at a nationwide advertising [...] > read more

Market Internals Not Confirming Rally

Published on 2012-03-04 13:20:26

By Jeff Pierce This could end up being a significant tell that this rally is going to end badly. You can see that we’re hitting new multi-year highs on the Nasdaq, but the percentage of stocks above their 200 moving average are lower than where they were in 2011 (when the Nasdaq was lower than [...] > read more

Weekly Stock Watch: AMRN, DNDN, IMUC, HGSI, SIGA, CELH, OVIT, NVIV, PCYC, SIRI, GLTC, CTSO

Published on 2012-03-03 14:46:16

By VFC’s Stock House At the conclusion of each week, VFC’s Stock House examines the stocks and stories that made news through various sectors during the previous trading week, but may also make headlines or influence trends during the upcoming week as well. Last week, Investors continued to look for signs that the global economy was on [...] > read more

Market Rally Could Be Sustained By Strong Corporate Earnings

Published on 2012-03-02 12:58:50

By Joseph Agresti Earnings expectations for the S&P 500 were about $97.05 coming into the annual earnings season for 2011. (Fourth quarter reports for 2011 have been released in recent weeks.) We are more than halfway through and I will assume that earnings will be at least $100. Historically the market price-to-earnings ratio has averaged 16.5 since the 1920′s. We are currently trading at roughly 14 [...] > read more

Two Bullish IPOs to Watch: Jive Software (NASDAQ:JIVE) and Michael Kors Holdings (NYSE:KORS)

Published on 2012-03-02 11:10:08

By Jeff Pierce Overbought yes, but Jive Software Inc (NASDAQ:JIVE) and Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS) are two stocks to definitely watch. I could have thrown Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) in this list, but these are lesser known and I’m sure ZNGA is already on your watchlist if you trade momentum stocks. No follow through for the bears lessens the [...] > read more

Three Tickers Embraced By Top Hedge Funds: LMCA, DLPH, GLD

Published on 2012-03-02 10:21:15

By Michael Tarsala Cheat off the smart kid. It’s really Covestor’s MO: Watch what successful investors and traders are doing. Then do that, move for move. The world’s largest hedge funds are not yet on the Covestor platform. But we do have 180 investable models. At this point, Buffett and Paulson are not telling you every market move they are making as they are making it, [...] > read more

Bye Bye American Pie: The Challenge of the Productivity Revolution

Published on 2012-03-02 09:17:19

By Robert Reich Here’s the good news. The economic pie is growing again. Growth in the 4th quarter last year hit 3 percent on an annualized rate. That’s respectable – although still way too slow to get us back on track given how far we plunged. Here’s the bad news. The share of that growth going [...] > read more

Deconstructing Warren Buffett on Bonds, Gold and Housing

Published on 2012-03-01 14:53:59

By Charles Sizemore The Oracle of Omaha has had a lot to say in recent years, and by his own admission not a lot of it is new.  This is not to say that Warren Buffett is incapable of change, of course; consider his high-profile embrace of IBM (NYSE:IBM) last year after decades of shunning technology companies. But [...] > read more

The U.S. Department of Transportation Delays Backup Camera Rules for a Year

Published on 2012-03-01 14:18:41

By Amy Gilroy Updated! Marking its third delay, the Fed elected to postpone setting into law final rules for car makers on including backup cameras in all new cars on a mandatory basis. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) was expected to announce the guidelines Wednesday, but instead told Congress that it would delay a final ruling [...] > read more

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC:IMUC): Strong Volume, Developing Catalysts Push Stock Higher

Published on 2012-03-01 12:41:04

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC:IMUC) have stormed through the two dollar mark this week, with strong volume on Wednesday pushing shares as high as $2.43 before closing the day at a respectable $2.37. Both highs are well more than double the January lows and indicate that investors may be jumping on [...] > read more

Why The Smartest Investors Favor Small Cap Stocks

Published on 2012-03-01 12:16:49

By Michael Tarsala Small caps. They are the one and only asset class favored by successful, high IQ investors, based on a recent academic study making its way around the blogosphere (see related post). Why? Long-term performance. The Royce Funds does a nice job of stating the facts in this report. Here’s the key table: (Source: The Royce Funds) [...] > read more

OncoVista Innovative Therapies (OVIT): Rising Volume and Price, What’s Next?

Published on 2012-03-01 11:33:28

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of OncoVista Innovative Therapies (OTC:OVIT) had dipped into the mid twenty cent range during the early goings of 2012, but a nice spurt of volume over the past week had shares trading for as high as forty cents. In fact, more shares have traded hands over the past seven trading [...] > read more

Central Banks Gone Wild (European Edition)

Published on 2012-03-01 11:11:21

By Xavier Bremner News that the European Central Bank (ECB) has extended €529.5 billion ($712.8 billion) in cheap, three-year loans to 800 lenders is a reminder of the extraordinary economic times in which we live. This latest cash injection into Europe’s banking system comes in addition to the €489 ECB handed out back in December, which expanded [...] > read more

Maxim Group Analyst John Tinker to Discuss His BUY Rating and $3.20 Price Target on Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) — Tonight at 8:00PM ET

Published on 2012-02-29 16:19:23

By Demain Russian Maxim Group Senior Media Analyst John Tinker will be the special guest on Playground Radio tonight, Wednesday, February 29th at 8:00PM Eastern for an exclusive, live interview. Mr. Tinker will be discussing his thoughts on Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI), as well as his BUY rating and recently upgraded $3.20 price target on the [...] > read more

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (IMUC): Pending Catalysts Could Spark Share Price

Published on 2012-02-29 13:41:34

By VFC’s Stock House Already a swift mover and big winner for investors this year, ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd (OTC:IMUC) may still have enough short to mid term catalysts on the horizon to propel shares even higher. A financing deal announced early in the year restocked the company’s war chest with cash and exposed the fact that institutional interest in the company [...] > read more

The Truthiness of Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A, BRK.B) Performance

Published on 2012-02-29 13:22:28

By Michael Tarsala A long-time business contact asked me today if I knew why Warren Buffett’s annual letter always emphasizes the performance of Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE:BRK.A, NYSE:BRK.B) per-share book value and not simply the annual performance of the company’s shares. My surly (I prefer to say nuanced) response was that the year-by-year returns don’t matter all that much to a [...] > read more

Lpath (LPTN) Dip May Be Nothing More Than A Buying Opportunity

Published on 2012-02-29 12:47:16

By VFC’s Stock House Armed with a high profile licensing deal involving Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Lpath, Inc. (OTC:LPTN) and its share price were gaining momentum late last year and into the early stages of 2012 before a temporary halt in the company’s iSONEP trial was announced in January, an event that sent shares back to the sub-one dollar mark. Lpath [...] > read more

This Chart Shows Just How Strong The Market Is

Published on 2012-02-29 11:35:46

By Michael Tarsala You can’t expect to define a primary market trend without breadth. It’s arguably the REAL ”big mo.” The good news for bulls: Baird suggests that 95% of global markets are in defined uptrends. We have not seen this kind of strong breadth since the rally off the March 2009 bottom. And check out the latest from Bespoke: The ratio of [...] > read more

Today is D-Day for Backup Cameras

Published on 2012-02-29 11:14:55

By Amy Gilroy Today, Wednesday,February 29th, 2012, could prove to be a critical day for aftermarket sellers of backup cameras. Unless there are further delays from the Fed, todday is the day it should publish clear standards for backup camera inclusion in new cars. This would mark a final stage in enacting a law requiring all new [...] > read more

The Link Between High IQ and Successful Investing

Published on 2012-02-29 10:36:19

By Michael Tarsala There’s a link between high IQs and successful investing. At least, that’s the upshot of an academic study by economists at the University of Chicago, UCLA and Aalto University that’s gaining attention around the blogosphere. It offers a detailed look at the relation between IQ and the contributors to portfolio risk and return. The study [...] > read more

Robert Reich: Stop Starving Public Universities and Shrinking the Middle Class

Published on 2012-02-29 10:21:52

By Robert Reich Last week Rick Santorum called the President “a snob” for wanting everyone to get a college education (in fact, Obama never actually called for universal college education but only for a year or more of training after high school). Santorum needn’t worry. America is already making it harder for young people of [...] > read more

Robert Reich: The Ongoing Housing Crisis and the End of an Era

Published on 2012-02-28 12:12:08

By Robert Reich Economic cheerleaders on Wall Street and in the White House are taking heart. The U.S. has had three straight months of faster job growth. The number of Americans each week filing new claims for unemployment benefits is down by more than 50,000 since early January. Corporate profits are healthy. The S&P 500 [...] > read more

Reasons to Like Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) and Paychex (PAYX) at This Stage

Published on 2012-02-28 07:11:16

By Xavier Bremner I recently had a chance to ask Covestor Manager Sherman Lee of Prudent Value his thoughts on the early market action in 2012 as well as his stock picks and trading strategies for the rest of the year. As 2012 unfolds, what are the biggest surprises to you on the macro front? There were no real big surprises [...] > read more

When Warren Buffett May Finally Be Right About Housing

Published on 2012-02-28 05:09:30

By Michael Tarsala It could be three years or more until Warren Buffett is finally right on housing, based on a set of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) assumptions. If you haven’t heard, Buffett in his annual Berkshire letter this week said he was “dead wrong” in thinking that the U.S. housing market would rebound by now. That assumption hurt his [...] > read more

Was Yesterday Bullish or Bearish? (Video)

Published on 2012-02-28 04:28:25

By Jeff Pierce One could argue both points. Yes the dip was bought, however the trend is obviously weakening and the RSI is showing quite a bit of negative divergence. Bias is in the eyes of the beholder. One other thing I wanted to point out on the beige and green chart of the Nasdaq. [...] > read more

Facebook’s Online Game Dependency Problem

Published on 2012-02-28 04:01:11

By Xavier Bremner Facebook’s planned $5 billion initial public offering (IPO) set for later this year has generated plenty of investor interest and media speculation that the social network could fetch a market valuation of $100 billion or so. At that kind of valuation, the company would trade at 26.9 times 2011 sales. By comparison, search engine [...] > read more

Google Makes a Case for Oil, MLP Investments

Published on 2012-02-28 03:33:58

By Michael Tarsala Crude is in the midst of its longest rally in two years, and the latest research from technical guru Tom McClellan makes a unique, visual case using Google Trends data for why it oil prices could go even higher. McClellan, editor of the McClellan Market Report, is rarely afraid to try something new. His latest work is indeed novel. It [...] > read more

Robert Reich: As Santorum and Romney Battle for the Right, the Rest of Us Should Not Gloat

Published on 2012-02-28 03:04:16

By Robert Reich My father was a Republican for the first 78 years of his life. For the last twenty, he’s been a Democrat (he just celebrated his 98th.) What happened? “They lost me,” he says. They’re losing even more Americans now, as the four remaining GOP candidates seek to out-do one another in their [...] > read more

Japan’s Bond Market

Published on 2012-02-28 02:47:37

By Karen Starich The hopes of speculators shorting the Japanese bond market on reports that the economy is in a doomsday scenario may get spoiled.  Recently Kyle Bass,  who made a fortune betting against the subprime mortgages, is now wagering that the Japanese bond market is ready to implode. Kyle’s recent appearance on CNBC’s “The Strategy Session” called [...] > read more

The Bigger Picture

Published on 2012-02-27 11:27:31

By All about Trends The further out in time and price we go like this the more the odds increase that when we do see a healthy pullback it’ll be larger than what we’ve been seeing and currently accustomed to as more and more people by the day become convinced we can never go lower. That is called [...] > read more

I’ve Just Made a Horrible Investment: TKC, AA, MSFT, DDAIF, DEO, BID

Published on 2012-02-26 14:28:19

By Charles Sizemore I have made a horrendous investment that has cost me far more in time and money than I had planned. Yes, I bought a house. The idea of your home as an investment is one of those myths that refuses to die, even after the worst real estate crisis in living memory. It [...] > read more

Major Breakout in Light Crude Oil ($WTIC)

Published on 2012-02-26 13:26:43

By Jeff Pierce This appears to be going much higher after a recent breakout of a diamond pattern. Yes it’s a bit obscure to draw a diamond pattern this big, but the boundaries fit and the pattern just emerged one day when I was looking at the long term chart of Oil trying to determine [...] > read more

Poor Richie Rich: A Lesson About Company Stock

Published on 2012-02-26 12:43:08

By Michael Tarsala A guy I knew in the Silicon Valley heydey was known for two things: Parking his Datsun 280Z on his front lawn and crowing about his wealth. A lot of people were braggarts back then, but this guy did far more than most. Poor Richie Rich Richard (let’s call him) wooted to his buddies the day he had $1 [...] > read more

Slowly But Surely For The Financials: Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLF)

Published on 2012-02-25 11:48:11

By Jeff Pierce Yesterday the market stalled heading into the close, but at this point I think it’s going to take some sort of blow off top to put an ending to this upward grind. It feels like everyday is some sort of twisted groudhog day for the bears as every threat of a downward [...] > read more

Shifting Markets Mean Opportunity With VIX Contracts

Published on 2012-02-24 14:35:28

By Robert Zingale I recently switched my strategy to focus on hedging the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX) by taking a position in the iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXZ) — or solely shorting VXZ depending on the VIX term structure. Although short-term VIX futures are experiencing a high rolling cost, which [...] > read more

Gold Market Putting In A Top?

Published on 2012-02-23 21:49:47

By Jeff Pierce From a time cycle perspective the gold markets have already topped as each of these cycles corresponded to an appropriate top in the gold market. I’m as bullish on gold as the next guy but the chart is what it is and one shouldn’t turn a blind eye. Until this sets a [...] > read more

Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) is a Better Fit for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) than Meets the Eye

Published on 2012-02-23 16:12:07

By Mike Tarsala The most cogent, detailed reasoning to-date for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) buying Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) was posted this week by Eric Jackson, founder of Ironfire Capital, who says that Apple may need to take on bigger deals to keep its earnings growing at 90% a year. Jackson argued that by buying Yahoo, Apple would gain access to mobile apps, patents, Yahoo’s search business [...] > read more

Reasons to Own W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Published on 2012-02-23 14:00:00

By Donald Jowdy  This past year was one of measured progress that included strong corporate profits, low U.S. economic growth, marginal improvement in employment, and an uptick in housing starts coupled with less price declines. Financial stress was also present from the Euro-Zone on the brink of collaborative collapse, U.S. debt ceiling crisis, and one of the worst displays in a long, [...] > read more

Chart of the Day – NASDAQ Composite

Published on 2012-02-23 13:04:21

By All About Trends The following is an excerpt from yesterday’s mid-day report from All About Trends, who teach traders how to achieve consistent gains through stock selection and daily trading education. NASDAQ Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) – Daily To think that we are not going to go into our annual correction sometime soon is being foolish. [...] > read more

Five Reasons Why Defense Stocks Could Outperform

Published on 2012-02-23 12:03:17

By Mike Tarsala When someone in the NFL – like Colts owner Jim Irsay - says “it isn’t about the money,” then you know it must be all about the dinero, moolah and the Benjamins. And when Russian President Vladimir Putin says spending $770 billion on adding 400 nukes and 2,300 tanks is not a militarization of his country’s budget, [...] > read more

Robert Reich: Why is President Obama Proposing a Tax Cut for Corporations?

Published on 2012-02-22 13:06:01

By Robert Reich The Obama administration is proposing to lower corporate taxes from the current 35 percent to 28 percent for most companies and to 25 percent for manufacturers. The move is supposed to be “revenue neutral” – meaning the Administration is also proposing to close assorted corporate tax loopholes to offset the lost revenues. [...] > read more

Well-Priced Stocks Will Ride Out These Market Swings

Published on 2012-02-21 14:48:52

By Dan Plettner Is it time for the market to step back and digest the recent ascent, or time for investors to step up and realize the balance of risks remains skewed to the upside? As I discussed last month, 2011 had a frustrating feel. The volatility and tendency for managers to be challenged in outperforming indices was noteworthy even in [...] > read more

The Republican Party’s Big Investors

Published on 2012-02-21 14:11:58

By Robert Reich Have you heard of William Dore, Foster Friess, Sheldon Adelson, Harold Simmons, Peter Thiel, or Bruce Kovner? If not, let me introduce them to you. They’re running for the Republican nomination for president. I know, I know. You think Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney are running. They are [...] > read more

Auto Backup Camera Sales to Nearly Double

Published on 2012-02-21 13:51:14

By Amy Gilroy Backup cameras are expected to continue their ascent, growing by 40 to 50 percent in unit sales this year, according to three suppliers. Sales should accelerate even more rapidly in a few years, as a law is expected to go into effect around 2014 mandating that back up cameras be included in new all [...] > read more

Playing This Trending, Overbought Market

Published on 2012-02-21 12:56:01

By CJ Brott Both of our investing models, ETF Only and Macro Plus Income, have adjusted portfolio holdings and trading strategies as the market has evolved. Since the October bottom of last year, market volatility has declined and the markets have trended higher. As measured by the decline in the CBOE VIX to the rise in the Average Directional Index (ADX) price trends have surfaced which enable [...] > read more

This Market Rally May Have Some Legs

Published on 2012-02-21 12:19:47

By Jesse Barkasy The major stock market indices have had a good run in January and many stocks are breaking out to new 52-week highs. Our Trend Following model now seeks to find if there are any clear leaders to invest in while being cautious about a return to a choppy market. We have tested a few breakouts and they certainly [...] > read more

Welcome to the Economic Twilight Zone

Published on 2012-02-21 11:43:57

By Paul Franke The stock markets latest push higher in January and early February is starting to feel like the ending phase of a bull move. Market participants are way too eager to ignore the deteriorating macroeconomic setup. Whether it’s the highs odds of a war with Iran developing in the critical Middle East oil region, the still unchecked U.S. [...] > read more

Accumulating Cheap Stocks On This Market Rally

Published on 2012-02-20 23:51:12

By Mark Holder After a difficult performance in 2011, the Opportunistic Arbitrage model delivered a 25% gain in January easily outperforming the 4.4% advance for the S&P 500. We spent most of the month accumulating cheap stocks in order to take advantage of the market rallying against the proverbial ‘wall of worry’. January was an interesting month with stocks rising [...] > read more

Gas Wars: The Politics of Gas Prices

Published on 2012-02-20 23:28:13

By Robert Reich Nothing drives voter sentiment like the price of gas — now averaging $3.56 a gallon, up 30 cents from the start of the year. It’s already hit $4 in some places. The last time gas topped $4 was 2008. And nothing energizes Republicans like rising energy prices. Last week House Speaker John [...] > read more

Microcap Mobile Index Off To Fast Start In 2012: AUGT, ETAK, GLUU, MITK, VELT

Published on 2012-02-20 15:09:21

By Mobile Guru In early January, I created a Microcap Mobile Index consisting of stocks that have market capitalizations under $1B and a price over $1 that covered the companies below. Let’s take a look at how the group has performed year to date versus the NASDAQ composite. Impressively, the Mobile index racked up a 32% year to [...] > read more

Judge Andrew Napolitano Tells It Like It Is: Video

Published on 2012-02-19 09:10:09

By Jeff Pierce Judge Andrew Napolitano tells it like it is…and it gets him fired. Not cool Fox News. All you did and the message that you sent is that you didn’t like Judge Napolitano letting the political cat out of the bag so you canned him. Personally I agree with everything he says in [...] > read more

Market Astrology: About that Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Collapse…Again?

Published on 2012-02-19 08:57:14

By Karen Starich Last September my interest in Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was peaked when suddenly the stock slid more than 50% in 2 months. I checked the Astrology chart for the company when Jeff mentioned the stock had hit support and was a potential “buy.”  What I found did not look promising, in fact it looked like [...] > read more

I Believe We’ll See Recovery, Not Recession

Published on 2012-02-19 08:34:18

By Gerald Gehman Gehman Capital’s Undervalued Growth Companies model is a small cap portfolio that is designed to maximize rates of return over an extended period of time. I do not market time to avoid losses, or take profits in the short term. I choose to invest in companies that I think have a product, or products, that [...] > read more

Trade Setup: Questcor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:QCOR)

Published on 2012-02-17 15:02:25

By Jeff Pierce Long trade in the 31.20 – 30.65 area. Stop on a close below weekly bollinger band. Questcor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:QCOR) – Daily Chart Earnings could be next catalyst for the uptrend to resume. Questcor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:QCOR) – Weekly Chart Jeff Pierce is a momentum trader that specializes in market timing. He utilizes a proprietary timing system that helps minimize emotions and [...] > read more

Trimming Bonds, Redeploying to Equities

Published on 2012-02-17 14:42:55

By Tom Yorke While on vacation with my family, I ran across a New York Times story entitled “Greek Wealth Everywhere except Tax Forms.” It should have hit me harder, but perhaps the sun was baking my brain that day or perhaps I just needed to turn off for a while… but it all comes back to me [...] > read more

Manufacturing Illusions on the Election Trail

Published on 2012-02-17 14:17:50

By Robert Reich Suddenly, manufacturing is back – at least on the election trail. But don’t be fooled. The real issue isn’t how to get manufacturing back. It’s how to get good jobs and good wages back. They aren’t at all the same thing. Republicans have become born-again champions of American manufacturing. This may have [...] > read more

Oil Poised For Upside Move

Published on 2012-02-17 13:27:20

By Jeff Pierce Oil is looking like it’s going to bust to the upside any day now. It’s forming a wedge on many different timeframes and the ADX on the daily and weekly are both low that if it does breakout it could make a large move in that direction. ADX identifies the strength of [...] > read more

How to Lower Correlation with the Broader Market

Published on 2012-02-16 15:17:51

By James Roberts On February 6th, Barron’s published its semi-annual Barron’s-Zacks ranking of Wall Street broker’s focus lists. It was not a pretty picture, with only one research firm achieving noteworthy results. The most significant thing in the article with respect to my investment strategy was the fact that the Charles Schwab’s Stock Equity Ranking System ranked ninth for the six [...] > read more

Remote Start-from-a-Phone Sales Update

Published on 2012-02-16 14:35:59

By Amy Gilroy Sales of smartphone-controlled remote start are beginning to make a dent in overall remote start sales. The In-Car Experts (ICE) marketing/buying group reports that despite a warm winter, sales of remote starters were up for 35 percent of its members. The overwhelming reason, they said is because of increased sales of smartphone-based [...] > read more

Trading Way Below Intrinsic Value: Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B), Posco (NYSE:PKX)

Published on 2012-02-16 14:07:56

By Sreeni Meka In my last letter I anticipated positive growth in third quarter GDP despite gloomy news in the financial media. In fact, both third and fourth quarter GDP ended up in a positive note. Fears of double dip recession and overwhelming European debt issues rocked the financial markets in 2011 with high volatility. The S&P 500 moved nowhere for the course of the [...] > read more

Portfolio Addition: DreamWorks Animation (NASDAQ:DWA)

Published on 2012-02-16 13:26:56

By Patrick Larkin The All-Cap Value fund outperformed the S&P 500 during January’s market rally. Most of my positions participated in the upswing, with top holdings Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Almost Family (NASDAQ:AFAM) leading the way. While January’s results are encouraging, it is important to keep in mind that returns to sound value strategies tend to be “lumpy.” No one really likes “lumpy” returns, [...] > read more

Gaining Confidence In These Top Holdings: SODA, QLIK, GHDX, LRN

Published on 2012-02-16 11:24:29

By Riddhi Ruparelia With 2012 now well underway, we started seeing the benefits of our strategy in the Long Term Growth Fund, with roughly 25% growth year-to-date as of February 3rd. Through market gyrations of last six months, we continued to refine our positioning, looking at troughs as opportunities to buy more small caps. We moved money out of [...] > read more

Climax Top In Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Published on 2012-02-16 11:00:46

By All About Trends The following is an excerpt from yesterday’s mid-day report from All About Trends, who teach traders how to achieve consistent gains through stock selection and daily trading education. They were spot on with their AAPL analysis as you’ll see below. WOW! How about that stick save into the close yesterday in this [...] > read more

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST): Buy Signals

Published on 2011-07-05 12:33:38

By Jim Van Meerten This morning on Barchart one of the growth stocks having projected double digit increases of sales and earnings that is having current price momentum is Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) with 14 new highs and a price increase of 16.3 > read more

Is Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad 3 Due in September?

Published on 2011-07-05 12:16:05

By Amy Gilroy Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) may introduce a new iPad 3 as well as an iPhone 5 this September, says a story in DigiTimes, a Tawainese journal with close ties to Apple parts suppliers. DigiTimes says the iPad 3 will go on sale in October and it w > read more

ScanSource (NASDAQ:SCSC): Buy Signals

Published on 2011-07-05 12:01:25

By Jim Van Meerten Today on Barchart one of the growth stocks with the most consistent price momentum is ScanSource (NASDAQ:SCSC). Analysts predict double digit growth in both sales and earnings and the stock is up in 16 of the last 20 trading sessi > read more

Stocks To Watch This Week: TTNP, DNDN, CYTR, AMZN, SIGA, CDXC, CPST, CTSO, BDSI, SIRI, IMUC, CELH

Published on 2011-07-05 08:43:02

By VFC’s Stock House It’ll be a short trading week after a long weekend, but there’s still always stories to tell… TTNP: Titan Pharmaceuticals (OTC:TTNP) provided quick resolution to the potentially troubling concerns of the > read more

Three Soft Beverage Stocks That Are Hard To Beat: PEET, HANS, FMX

Published on 2011-07-02 15:50:07

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I was screening on Barchart for sectors that had the best momentum in the last month and found the Soft Beverage sector was on a tear.  3 of the stocks stood out because of great momentum indicators:  Peet’s C > read more

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Starts Collecting Sales Taxes in California

Published on 2011-07-02 15:23:02

By Amy Gilroy Some say as California goes, so goes the nation. So the California law that went into effect Friday, requiring online retailers like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to pay sales taxes, may have implications for the rest of the country. Already 8 o > read more

SIGA Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA): The Shorts Might Be Doing You A Favor

Published on 2011-07-02 15:05:14

By VFC’s Stock House As shares of SIGA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGA) dip below the ten dollar mark, it might be time to take full notice of what’s going on with the stock and what might be ahead. Less than two months ago SIGA was ag > read more

I’m a Trader…It’s What I Do

Published on 2011-07-01 12:07:28

By Jeff Pierce A few minutes ago I closed out my index long positions because I was trying to justify holding on for more gains and at that moment I realized that “greed” was trying to gain control of the steering wheel. That and last night I b > read more

Managing Risk in Biotech Investing: Part 3

Published on 2011-07-01 11:42:47

By Rockford Coscia This article is part of a three part series. Part 1. Part 2. Catalyst Risk In order to survive and thrive in biotech investing you must be aware of the catalysts, or major binary events, facing the primary and significant seconda > read more

Too Much Strength Can Be A Bad Thing

Published on 2011-07-01 04:49:53

By Jeff Pierce ….(if there’s not some sort of intraday correction as the markets rally) This is a busy chart and I’m just going to give my 2 cents about the recent market action. With my timing signal flipping green earlier this week, it has b > read more

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:GMCR): One of the Fastest Growing NASDAQ 100 Stocks

Published on 2011-06-30 18:16:10

By Jim Van Meerten One of the fastest growing NASDAQ 100 stocks on Barchart has been Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:GMCR) which has been up over 248% in the last year. The company markets and distributes coffee using their K-Cup portion pac > read more

ChromaDex (OTC:CDXC): Another Milestone Met — Licensing Potential For pTeroPure

Published on 2011-06-30 17:58:42

By VFC’s Stock House It didn’t take long for ChromaDex Corp (OTC:CDXC) to issue an announcement that warrants a quick follow-up to my earlier write-up about the company.  Chromadex, which looks to be in the beginning stages of build > read more

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC): Pricing Advantage Over Trucking

Published on 2011-06-30 15:52:47

By Jim Van Meerten According to Barchart, one of the S&P 100 stocks showing great price momentum is Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC). The stock has seen four new highs and is up 2.26% in just the last month. The company has some new plans in place to > read more

CytRx (NASDAQ:CYTR): A Stock To Watch For Those That Believe Volume Precedes Price

Published on 2011-06-30 14:16:21

By VFC’s Stock House CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR), a company with an oncology pipeline that is bubbling with potential, made radars last Friday when over thirteen million shares traded with no news being released in conjunction with the volu > read more

3 Charts for the Bull Case

Published on 2011-06-30 10:31:00

By Jeff Pierce As the McClellan Oscillator confirms this rally we should expect the markets to move higher. Rarely does this indicator make new monthly highs and then the market fall flat on it’s face. Usually there is some sort of negative diverge > read more

ChromaDex Corp (OTC:CDXC): Positioned for Huge Growth

Published on 2011-06-30 10:10:36

By VFC’s Stock House It’s not every day that a company set to launch an innovative and potentially groundbreaking new product line in a billion dollar sector trades below the radar for too long, but that might be exactly the case with Chr > read more

Vale (NYSE:VALE): Brasil’s Best ADR

Published on 2011-06-29 12:59:10

By Jim Van Meerten Today I noticed that Vale ADR (NYSE:VALE) was one of the most popular stocks with individual investors and wondered how to fared on Barchart. All of the buy signals are strengthening and all of the sell signals are weakening. Val > read more

Cel-Sci (AMEX:CVM) Partner Initiates Trial In Israel

Published on 2011-06-29 12:06:56

By VFC’s Stock House It’s been a nice couple of weeks for Cel-Sci Corporation’s (AMEX:CVM) Multikine partners. Late last week Orient Europharma kicked off its portion of the Multikine Phase III trial in Taiwan, and on Monday morni > read more

Ford (NYSE:F) is a Buy

Published on 2011-06-29 11:50:14

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I decided to use Barchart to see how well Ford (NYSE:F) was doing. To my surprise I noticed it was down but starting to turn upward.  As the market and the economy recovers this is your best bet on an America auto ma > read more

Generex Biotechnology Corporation (OTC:GNBT) Defends Itself

Published on 2011-06-28 18:04:20

By VFC’s Stock House Early last week Generex Biotechnology Corporation (OTC:GNBT) issued a press release that outlined the current status of the Oral-lyn development program. Oral-lyn is the company’s developmental insulin spray that deli > read more

Dell (NASDAQ:DELL): Trading at a Discount

Published on 2011-06-27 15:38:45

By Jim Van Meerten This morning on Barchart I wanted to find stocks having current price momentum that were selling at a big discount to their normal Price/Earnings ratio and noticed Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) sold at an 18.0 Price/Earnings ratio over the p > read more

Epicept Corporation (NASDAQ:EPCT): Adding Another Arm to Ceplene Trial?

Published on 2011-06-27 15:02:10

By VFC’s Stock House Positive developments from Epicept Corporation (NASDAQ:EPCT) over the past six months have made this a nice rebound story, although the share price hasn’t responded just yet, and if the pipeline continues to advance > read more

Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) to Buy Pet Tracking Company

Published on 2011-06-27 14:34:35

By Amy Gilroy Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) has signed an agreement to buy Tri-Tronics, a leading manufacturer of electronic dog training equipment. The acquisition will allow Garmin to expand its role in pet tracking and training. Garmin is already in the pe > read more

General Electric (NYSE:GE): Double Digit Earnings Growth at a Bargain Price

Published on 2011-06-27 14:00:13

By Jim Van Meerten I know you may be tired of hearing me say they are some great stocks at bargain prices but I really think there are. Recently Steve Forbes was interviewed and made the statement: “Now is the time to buy stocks and get into th > read more

Cel-Sci’s (AMEX:CVM) Partner Orient Europharma to Commence Phase III Trial in Taiwan

Published on 2011-06-27 13:04:10

By VFC’s Stock House Cel-Sci Corporation (AMEX:CVM) announced on Thursday that its partner in Taiwan, Orient Europharma, has completed the necessary final steps before patient enrollment into the Multikine Phase III trial can commence. Accordi > read more

Dow and Dollar Technical Analysis

Published on 2011-06-27 12:40:37

By Jeff Pierce Yes we’ve broken through a major trendline on the Dollar but I don’t see much upside past $77.50 on this trade. That would be the area where I would be taking profits if I was fortunate to buy the lows and see how it reacts at th > read more

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Is Labopharm (NASDAQ:DDSS) Done?

Published on 2011-06-27 12:29:07

By VFC’s Stock House It’s been a rough, rough year for Labopharm (NASDAQ:DDSS) and its shareholders, as bad news has been compounded by more bad news, which leaves the current share price at a very unimpressive sixteen cents. To follo > read more

Transocean (NYSE:RIG): Deep Rigs at a Deep Discount

Published on 2011-06-24 12:37:25

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I was searching on Barchart for stocks that had glowing fundamentals but were selling at a deep discount and noticed Transocean (NYSE:RIG) selling at almost 25% off its recent high. The stock hit 17 new lows and is 2 > read more

Cel-Sci (AMEX:CVM): Other Market Opportunities? Not Sure It’s Relevant…

Published on 2011-06-23 08:53:20

By VFC’s Stock House Here’s one you don’t see every day. Cel-Sci Corporation (AMEX:CVM) is currently conducting a world-wide Phase III clinical trial for its lead product, Multikine, an ‘off the shelf’ cancer immunothera > read more

Tuesday Was Constructive From a Long Standpoint

Published on 2011-06-22 08:16:05

By Jeff Pierce My timing signal remains down, however now is the time for aggressive traders to take small positions on the long side and be completely out of any short positions. I’ve been suggesting that over the last couple of days on Twitter an > read more

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC:IMUC): The Company’s Growing Potential

Published on 2011-06-22 06:32:59

By VFC’s Stock House Already labeled as a stock to watch for its year-long price increase and powerful pipeline potential, shares of ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC:IMUC) broke through the two dollar mark again on Tuesday after announcing t > read more

How Do You Value Education?

Published on 2011-06-22 06:08:11

By Jeff Pierce It’s obvious that this is a very pro gold & silver biased documentary, but there is some very interesting and factual information contained here. It’s a shame it’s called “College Conspiracy” because right off the bat it > read more

SIGA Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA): Are High Profile Conflicts of Interest Playing a Role in Congressional Questioning?

Published on 2011-06-21 10:06:32

By VFC’s Stock House Last week we discussed the multiple setbacks experienced by SIGA Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) in landing a BARDA contract to supply the nation’s biodefense stockpiles with ST-246, a vaccine for smallpox.  The usual > read more

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Gains Momentum

Published on 2011-06-20 14:26:51

By Jim Van Meerten This morning while screening on Barchart for S&P 500 stocks having the highest technical buy signals Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was near the top of the list.  The stock hit 11 new highs and is up 4.95% against a market that > read more

EpiCept Corporation (NASDAQ:EPCT): Theme of Shareholder Meeting is Reverse Split

Published on 2011-06-20 14:06:48

By VFC’s Stock House Other issues were discussed at this year’s edition of the EpiCept (NASDAQ:EPCT) meeting of the shareholders, according to an early-morning press release on Monday, but the pronounced theme for the near-term future of > read more

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY): Technical Buy Signals

Published on 2011-06-20 13:49:24

By Jim Van Meerten This morning while screening on Barchart for S&P 500 companies experiencing a 100% technical buy signal near the top of the list was O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY). The stock hit 5 new highs last month and is up over > read more

Generex (OTC:GNBT) Provides Long-Awaited Oral-Lyn Update

Published on 2011-06-20 13:00:27

By VFC’s Stock House Last week Generex Biotechnology Corp. (OTC:GNBT) issued an update on the status of its Oral-lyn program. Previous estimations had investors believing that results from the Phase III trial would be due during the earlier p > read more

Managing Risk in Biotech Investing: Part 2

Published on 2011-06-20 12:34:56

By Rockford Coscia Short Interest So far we’ve talked about poor institutional ownership (no >5% owners) and poor analyst coverage as red flags in biotech – each indicating that a long position in a particular biotech may be an especially ris > read more

Stocks to Watch: SIRI, SIGA, CPST, CELH, IMUC, TTNP, CDXC, CLDX, MHAN, GERN, APRI, ONTY

Published on 2011-06-20 10:50:22

By VFC’s Stock House SIGA Tchnologies (NASDAQ:SIGA): Fresh off a week where Siga Technologies received yet another set back in the final awarding of a BARDA contract to supply a smallpox antiviral to the nation’s biodefense stockpiles, > read more

BB Width Indicator Vertical On Put/Call

Published on 2011-06-20 08:36:15

By Jeff Pierce The vertical ascent of the BB Width Indicator is astonishing as I’ve never known it to go straight up like this. Anytime you see these anomalies in the charts it’s always exciting to see how it plays out (yes..I’m a chart geek). > read more

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Settles Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit

Published on 2011-06-17 19:40:47

By Amy Gilroy Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) said it settled a discrimination class action suit filed on behalf of women and minority employees of the Minn.-based retailer. The suit alleged that Best Buy denied women, African American, and Latino employees prom > read more

Managing Risk in Biotech Investing: Part 1

Published on 2011-06-17 16:57:36

By Rockford Coscia One of the riskiest, and often most rewarding, areas of the stock market for the retail investor is in the land of small-cap biotechs. Investors must navigate a treacherous regulatory landscape, avoid stock promoters and ‘pumpers > read more

500,000 Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry PlayBooks Sold

Published on 2011-06-17 16:14:57

By Amy Gilroy With analysts like IHS iSuppli predicting tablets will be become a big factor in rear seat entertainment, we keep watching those 7-inch tablets that would fit nicely in a headrest or dash. Maker of the BlackBerry PlayBook, Research in M > read more

Advanced Cell Technology (OTC:ACTC) Trials Underway, History In The Making?

Published on 2011-06-17 12:19:20

By VFC’s Stock House The historic trials that launched Advanced Cell Technology (OTC:ACTC) from a little-known, sub-dime OTCBB company into the main stream of embryonic stem cell treatment are underway. ACT  announced on Thursday that the > read more

Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. (NASDAQ:RPTP): Upwards Momentum In Spite Of A Falling Market

Published on 2011-06-17 12:04:31

By Jim Van Meerten When the market tanks it’s time to look at some of the smaller companies that still have upward momentum. According to Barchart, Raptor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RPTP) still hit 12 new highs last month in spite of a falling ma > read more

Why It’s Important To Take Profits Quickly

Published on 2011-06-17 11:31:49

By Jeff Pierce What follows is a case study of a recent trade I had in CORN (Teucrium Corn Fund, NYSE:CORN). This trade could have gone really bad had I not recognized a situation where taking profits off the table was more important than letting my > read more

Generex (OTC:GNBT): Gearing Up For A Move Into The Future

Published on 2011-06-16 11:05:46

By VFC’s Stock House The heavy lifting is done for Generex Biotechnology Corporation (OTC:GNBT) management, having achieved the goal of receiving shareholder approval to conduct a reverse stock split. With the vote now down in the history book > read more

Powerful Moves With Correct Timing

Published on 2011-06-16 10:09:02

By Growth Stock Investor In this short piece, I want to show how using simple entry techniques with the timing method I went over a few days ago can create powerful results. The example will be a trade I took last year since that was the last time we > read more

CEL-SCI Corporation (AMEX:CVM): Multikine Phase III Trial Commences in Hungary

Published on 2011-06-16 09:35:33

By VFC’s Stock House Cel-Sci Corporation’s (AMEX:CVM) global Phase III trial for its experimental head and neck cancer vaccine, Multikine, has commenced in Hungary. According to a press release issued on Monday, the trial will soon s > read more

The Next Tablet Winners: Asus, Amazon?

Published on 2011-06-15 13:53:49

By Amy Gilroy Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), which all but admits, it’s working on a tablet, is preparing a 10-inch color iPad rival that can stream video, according to investment firm Detwiler Fenton. The device is code named Hollywood and is expected to > read more

Celsius Holdings (CELH): Could Be Time To Throw This One Back On The Radar Screen

Published on 2011-06-15 10:25:23

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of Celsius Holdings (CELH) have been deflated to the twenty to thirty cent level for the better part of 2011, and volume has grown minuscule as the year has progressed. Only three days in June has CELH experienced mo > read more

Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) Announces Plans to Buy Navigon

Published on 2011-06-15 09:52:09

By Amy Gilroy As expected, Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) announced its plans to buy Navigon, a German maker of portable navigation devices (PNDs) and a developer of GPS apps for smartphones.  The companies have signed an agreement where Navigon will become > read more

NuPathe’s (NASDAQ:PATH) Zelrix: Market Sizing and Valuation

Published on 2011-06-15 09:25:30

By Rockford Coscia On the near horizon, NuPathe’s (NASDAQ:PATH) Zelrix – an actively transported sumatriptan transdermal patch for migraine – faces new drug application decision date of August 29. For a small company trying to get its new patch > read more

Watch These Cancer Companies: IMUC, AGEN, DNDN, CYTR, KERX

Published on 2011-06-15 08:50:01

By VFC’s Stock House Cancer treatment is an ever-evolving business, with many potential breakthroughs and blockbusters being developed by small companies on any given day. Shareholders who are hoping to tag along as part of either an historica > read more

Despite the Recent Market Carnage… (CMO, CPHD, SWI, VVTV)

Published on 2011-06-15 07:41:36

By Jeff Pierce Here are four bullish chart patterns below that showed up on my bullish scans today. Tuesday’s bounce was rather weak when you consider the volume on the Nasdaq, but it’s a start. I closed my only position in CORN today after the s > read more

Why the Republican War on Workers’ Rights Undermines the American Economy

Published on 2011-06-15 07:20:29

By Robert Reich The battle has resumed in Wisconsin. The state supreme court has allowed Governor Scott Walker to strip bargaining rights from state workers. Meanwhile, governors and legislators in New Hampshire and Missouri are attacking private uni > read more

CytRx (NASDAQ:CYTR): Positive Phase II Preliminaries Demonstrate Growing Potential

Published on 2011-06-13 16:51:35

By VFC’s Stock House Already a stock to watch due to a solid pipeline of cancer treating products, CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR) issued a Monday morning press release announcing positive preliminary results from its ongoing ENABLE Phase 2 p > read more

Bollinger on Bollinger Bands

Published on 2011-06-13 16:23:33

By Jeff Pierce It seems like after you read many of the general classics in trading and in your specialized market of choice, there doesn’t seem to be  much new under the sun. It’s rare to come across a book that you absolutely must add to you > read more

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC:IMUC): Ushering In The Next Generation Of Cancer Immunotherapies

Published on 2011-06-13 12:07:42

By VFC’s Stock House It was an historic day for the future of cancer treatment when the FDA approved Dendreon’s (NASDAQ:DNDN) Provenge for the treatment of prostate cancer just over one year ago. It opened the doors to a new age in the tr > read more

Sugar Looks Sweet (NYSE:SGG)

Published on 2011-06-13 11:05:03

By Jim Van Meerten I was screening on Barchart for a commodity ETF with the best current momentum and noticed the UBS Sugar ETF (NYSE:SGG) with 14 new highs and up 17.07% in the last month. The Dow Jones-AIG Sugar Total Return Sub-Index (NYSE:SGG) > read more

Stock Watch: CYTR, RPC, GILD, AVNR, MCLN, GNBT, CTSO, CPST, TTNP, AMRN, FCEL, MCET

Published on 2011-06-13 09:10:41

By VFC’s Stock House CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR): Keep an eye on shares of CytRx. The stock was down by another five percent on Friday, but it’s a stock that might not be held down for too long as the company has a solid pipeline of > read more

Markets Are Due For An Oversold Bounce

Published on 2011-06-13 07:58:59

By Jeff Pierce I’m not about to get long in a big way, but I feel it’s important to take off the bear glasses every once in awhile and see if the market is telling us that it could bounce. No market goes any one way forever and 6 wks of declines > read more

Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ:CPST): Is The Fool Going Positive?

Published on 2011-06-12 23:16:15

By VFC’s Stock House For the better part of the year so far, as Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ:CPST) more than doubled in value, The Motley Fool has been playing the short side of the coverage, emphasizing the modest profit margins of th > read more

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) to Ship New TouchPad Tablet in July

Published on 2011-06-12 15:07:46

By Amy Gilroy Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) announced that its WiFi, 9.7-inch TouchPad—its first tablet using the webOS (rather than Android or Apple’s iOS) will be available at retailers in July starting at just under $500. A second version of the > read more

Generex (OTC:GNBT): Reverse Split Is A Go, But Is GNBT A Buy Again?

Published on 2011-06-12 14:45:45

By VFC’s Stock House The DOW may be sliding to the sub 12,000 mark again, and the economy may be taking a turn for the worse again, but none of that will put a damper on the mood at Generex (OTC:GNBT) Headquarters, where news that shareholders > read more

Beware of the Algorithmic Gatekeepers

Published on 2011-06-12 14:18:27

By Jeff Pierce I believe this to be an important video because the concepts presented here are some of those in which we don’t even consider. And when we don’t even realize that something is wrong how can we expect it to get fixed? “….the int > read more

CytRx (NASDAQ:CYTR): Looking For The Next Dendreon (NASDAQ:DNDN)?

Published on 2011-06-12 13:59:50

By VFC’s Stock House CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR), with a rapidly advancing pipeline and money in the bank, may be skimming below the radar for investors searching for an undervalued company that might be gearing up to make a big splash > read more

The Swamp of Washington and the Morass of the Economy

Published on 2011-06-12 13:02:51

By Robert Reich Washington was built on a swamp. In the summer, temperatures can reach over 100 degrees — as they did over the last few days when I made the rounds of Washington Democrats, repeatedly asking why no bold jobs plan is emerging. Here > read more

Generex (OTC:GNBT) Dips Below Twenty Cents as GMD Deal is Announced as Cancelled

Published on 2011-06-12 12:52:26

By VFC’s Stock House Late last year, when the management team at Generex Biotechnology Corporation (OTC:GNBT) was looking to entice shareholders to vote for a reverse split, a deal with Global Medical Direct (GMD) was announced, in which Gener > read more

Cypress Sharpridge (NYSE:CYS) Showing Momentum

Published on 2011-06-07 13:38:57

By Jim Van Meerten This afternoon while screening on Barchart for the stocks that have hit the most recent new highs, up popped Cypress Sharpridge (NYSE:CYS) with 17 new highs and up 5.58% in the last month. CYS is a leveraged investor in mortgages > read more

Will Epicept Corp’s (NASDAQ:EPCT) Nasdaq Lifeline Be Enough To Keep It Listed?

Published on 2011-06-07 13:20:58

By VFC’s Stock House Epicept Corp. (NASDAQ:EPCT) announced during the early hours on Tuesday that it had received a positive panel decision for continued listing on the NASDAQ board. The positive decision will keep EPCT able to trade on the Na > read more

Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) is Poised for Growth

Published on 2011-06-07 13:06:18

By Jim Van Meerten This morning while screening on Barchart for stocks having high growth rates and experiencing upward price momentum I came across Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM). Research showed they were an early innovator of the dedicated semic > read more

Three Line Break Charts Help With Volatility

Published on 2011-06-07 12:48:10

By Jeff Pierce Lately I’ve been utilizing the three line break chart view in my research as it allows me to see trends a little more clearly with the ability to avoid whipsaws. Steve Nison describes this alternative chart view as: “The three-line > read more

Stocks to Watch This Week: CTSO, GNBT, APRI, MCET

Published on 2011-06-06 14:19:20

By VFC’s Stock House CytoSorbents Corporation (OTC:CTSO): A 10% price move on Friday will have investors interested this coming week. News of secondary endpoints for the European CytoSorb trial will be key in determining the market potential of > read more

General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar Retail Mirror Due August 1st to Mixed Expectations

Published on 2011-06-06 11:25:13

By Amy Gilroy General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar FMV retail mirror is now scheduled to land in dealers August 1st, with many retailers placing final orders this month, they said. “Pre-marketing” for the mirror may begin at some retailers this > read more

BioDelivery Sciences (NASDAQ:BDSI): Proof That The FDA Doesn’t Like The Little Guys

Published on 2011-06-03 21:40:29

By VFC’s Stock House It’s been about, what, two years now since the FDA approved BioDelivery’s treatment for cancer pain, ONSOLIS? And two years later the company is still awaiting a final decision from the FDA regarding the REMS > read more

TSX is Looking Bearish

Published on 2011-06-02 22:57:15

By Jeff Pierce I’m bearish on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) as of today’s close and will be looking to short it via Canadian ishares (EWC). Precious metals are weighing this index down significantly and I think it’s getting close to having > read more

MultiCell Technologies, Inc. (OTC:MCET): Might Be Worth Taking A Look

Published on 2011-05-31 12:01:16

By VFC’s Stock House Multicell Tecnologies, Inc. (OTC:MCET) has already experienced a nice run earlier this year, and it might be worth taking a look at the company again, whether it be for a potential short term trade or long term hold — > read more

Tuesday Could Set the Tone for the Week

Published on 2011-05-31 07:50:50

By Jeff Pierce I remain bearish per my timing system, but this market needs to break and if it has a big rally day today that will put this market call in question. Below the video are a number of sectors that tend to do well when the markets are ent > read more

The Truth About the U.S. Economy

Published on 2011-05-30 13:27:05

By Robert Reich The U.S. economy continues to stagnate. It’s growing at the rate of 1.8 percent, which is barely growing at all. Consumer spending is down. Home prices are down. Jobs and wages are going nowhere. It’s vital that we understand the > read more

Market Briefs: Cel-Sci (AMEX:CVM), OncoVista Innovative (OTC:OVIT), Titan Pharmaceuticals (OTC:TTNP), MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD)

Published on 2011-05-26 20:37:14

By VFC’s Stock House CVM: Cel-Sci Corp (AMEX:CVM) announced on Thursday that its LEAPS treatment was effective in treating the H1N1 – in mice. The company has attempted to push LEAPS at various junctures over the past few years, most noti > read more

The Importance of Having a Trading Plan

Published on 2011-05-26 19:31:08

By Jeff Pierce The following is a true phone conversation I had with a good friend of mine during the fall of 07′, after I had learned that he started trading. My words are italicized and I’ve changed his name. “So you started trading, what ma > read more

RBC Capital Markets Analyst David Bank To Weigh In On Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) — Tonight at 8:00PM ET

Published on 2011-05-25 16:16:53

By Demian Russian RBC Capital Markets Global Media Analyst, David Bank, will be joining Playground Radio for a live, exclusive interview and discussing his thoughts on Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) tonight, Wednesday, May 25th, 2011, at 8:00PM Ea > read more

Paul Ryan Still Doesn’t Get It

Published on 2011-05-25 15:57:21

By Robert Reich Republican House Budget chief Paul Ryan still doesn’t get it. He blames Tuesday’s upset victory of Democrat Kathy Hochul over Republican Jane Corwin to represent New York’s 26th congressional district on Democratic scare tactics > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to Introduce Curved Glass iPhone 5: Report

Published on 2011-05-23 23:27:56

By Amy Gilroy Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has already purchased 200 to 300 glass cutting machines because the iPhone 5 will have a curved glass cover, say Taiwanese suppliers, according to DigiTimes. The glass slicing machines are presently being stored at v > read more

Why Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) is a Buy

Published on 2011-05-23 22:59:23

By Jim Van Meerten While screening on Barchart for S&P 500 companies having current price momentum I found Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) near the top of the list with 14 new highs in the last 2 trading sessions.  Duke is looking to increase sales and > read more

The Truth About Day Trading Stocks

Published on 2011-05-23 22:38:38

By Jeff Pierce The Truth About Day Trading Stocks: A Cautionary Tale About Hard Challenges and What It Takes To Succeed (Wiley Trading) If you are searching for a book that will get you started in day trading, this is it. Josh DiPietro will give you > read more

Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry Playbook Hits 250K: Analyst

Published on 2011-05-20 16:27:32

By Amy Gilroy We keep following Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry PlayBook tablet sales, because we have a hunch the PlayBook will make its way into the car, that is, if the product manages to catch on with consumers after early poo > read more

Market Analysis: May 20, 2011

Published on 2011-05-20 14:19:58

By Growth Stock Investor We have seen a pattern of higher volume on selling and lower volume on buying days. This action leads me to not trust this market. I see many turning bullish, in this clearly weak market, with only two anemic volume up days. > read more

Generex Biotechnology Corporation (OTC:GNBT): Run-Up Before Reverse Split Vote?

Published on 2011-05-20 13:50:06

By VFC’s Stock House Generex Biotechnology Corporation (OTC:GNBT) will be one to keep an eye on heading into next month’s shareholder vote on whether or not to approve the reverse split proposed by the company and explained in recent pr > read more

Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE:XEL) May Be A Sure Thing

Published on 2011-05-20 02:02:17

By Jim Van Meerten I was screening on Barchart for an electric utility with great price momentum and came across XCEL Energy (NYSE:XEL). When I say a sure thing I mean that the company is rated 100 for both price stability and earning predictabilit > read more

Why We Need to Rein In Government Contractors That Use Taxpayer Money for Political Advantage

Published on 2011-05-20 01:35:40

By Robert Reich President Obama is mulling an executive order to force big government contractors to disclose details of their political spending. Big businesses are already telling their political patrons in Congress to oppose it – and the pressur > read more

Bulls Have a Chance to Steal Momentum

Published on 2011-05-20 01:16:38

By Jeff Pierce The inability of the markets to fall could put the bearish call in jeopardy. Everything still points down, but if we have a strong rally today it would take us back to where the timing signal went negative and ultimately could cause it > read more

Lorillard (NYSE:LO) is a Cash Cow

Published on 2011-05-19 12:30:17

By Jim Van Meerten OK, all you tree huggers, vegans, health nuts and wackos take your best shot. I live in the Carolinas and just want to bring an investment opportunity to your attention.  This morning I was screening on Barchart for the S&P 5 > read more

Market Analysis: May 19, 2011

Published on 2011-05-19 10:47:22

By Growth Stock Investor While many are talking about the “large positive day” in the indicies, I really don’t see it. The market was due for a bounce and did so at a very logical and predictable point, the 50 day SMA. However, no real buying t > read more

The Super Rich and the Great Switch

Published on 2011-05-19 10:15:30

By Robert Reich Forty years ago, wealthy Americans financed the U.S.government mainly through their tax payments. Today wealthy Americans finance the government mainly by lending it money.While foreigners own most of our national debt, over > read more

Stay Away From the Dollar

Published on 2011-05-19 10:04:46

By Jeff Pierce I’m not sure why everyone seems to be a dollar bull these days. When you look at the chart below it’s still on life support as it’s just barely made it back to resistance, which is the lower trendline of the massive 3 year symmet > read more

Cytosorbents (OTC:CTSO): Cautious Statements

Published on 2011-05-19 09:36:32

By VFC’s Stock House Cytosorbents (OTC:CTSO) issued their 10-Q this week, which proved to be the first in-depth follow-up to the milestone news that CytoSorb had received CE Mark approval in the European Union to treat conditions where high cyt > read more

All About Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Rumored Phone & Tablet

Published on 2011-05-18 14:17:19

By Amy Gilroy It’s now presumed that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) will launch a tablet that will let users easily shop from their livingroom couch. And an Amazon smartphone is also rumored by the end of the year, which might let you shop at Amazon from any > read more

Briefs: CEL-SCI (AMEX:CVM), SIGA Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA), MedClean (OTC:MCLN)

Published on 2011-05-16 23:12:11

By VFC’s Stock House Cel-Sci Corp (AMEX:CVM) issued a PR on Friday announcing that the Phase III Multikine trial has commenced in Poland, the first site in the European Union to open. The trial also arrived in the New York Tri-State area last w > read more

Budget Jujitsu

Published on 2011-05-16 19:48:54

By Robert Reich Technically, the federal government has now reached the limit of its capacity to borrow money. Raising the debt ceiling used to be a technical adjustment, made almost automatically. Now it’s a political football. Democrats should ne > read more

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST): A Bargain

Published on 2011-05-16 19:38:34

By Jim Van Meerten While screening on Barchart for growth stocks hitting the most frequent new highs Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) was near the top of the list this morning.  As disposable income increases purse strings will loosen but shoppers will st > read more

AT&T (NYSE:T) to Sell Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) Personal Trackers

Published on 2011-05-12 13:00:51

By Amy Gilroy Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) may not have done too well selling nuvifones through wireless carrier stores, but its personal tracker just got picked up at some AT&T (NYSE:T) stores. Garmin will begin selling the GTU 10 through AT&T onlin > read more

Market Timing Signal: Down

Published on 2011-05-12 10:59:05

By Jeff Pierce The investing climate has shifted after the failure of the markets to follow through on yesterday’s strength. Prudent investors should be 100% in cash if they don’t want to short the indexes, which I did in the after hours market, > read more

Pioneer Car Electronics Returns to Profit

Published on 2011-05-11 22:29:52

By Amy Gilroy Pioneer Corporation (6773.TO) said its aftermarket car audio sales rose in North America during its fiscal year ended March 31, 2011. For aftermarket and OEM combined, Pioneer’s car electronics sales increased 1.9 percent for the yea > read more

Take A Gamble On Bally Technologies (NYSE:BYI)

Published on 2011-05-10 13:18:36

By Jim Van Meerten While screening on Barchart for stocks having current upward momentum I can across Bally Technologies (NYSE:BYI). The stock looks like a turnaround situation. 35% of revenue comes from new gaming equipment and at the present tim > read more

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Conference Call Rundown: Future Looks Bleak for Afrezza

Published on 2011-05-10 10:27:03

By Rockford Coscia MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) largely disappointed investors yesterday on its earnings conference call as it pushed Afrezza timelines back further by as much as nine months. For the second time in as many quarters, the quarterly earnings > read more

We All Need High Probability Trading Strategies

Published on 2011-05-10 09:24:01

By Jeff Pierce The following is a book review of Robert Miner’s High Probability Trading Strategies: Entry to Exit Tactics for the Forex, Futures, and Stock Markets (Wiley Trading). The market is a dynamic place where emotions change in an instan > read more

EpiCept (NASDAQ:EPCT): Not Out Of The Woods Yet, But The Long Term Potential Is Shaping Up

Published on 2011-05-10 09:09:09

By VFC’s Stock House So far EpiCept’s (NASDAQ:EPCT) claim to fame has been receiving an approval for the AML treatment Ceplene in Europe and in Israel. Although sales for the product were “not material”, according to the most > read more

Silver Chart Since 1999

Published on 2011-05-09 16:15:53

By Jeff Pierce Just an few observations: Silver is still up over 10% for the year and we still have a lot of year left. Anybody who tells you the bull is dead in silver is making a baseless conclusion and is more interested in making predictions tha > read more

McGraw Hill (NYSE:MHP) Showing Momentum

Published on 2011-05-09 11:57:02

By Jim Van Meerten This morning while searching on Barchart for stocks having great current momentum I ran across an old favorite McGraw Hill (NYSE:MHP). McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. serves business, professional and educational markets around the wo > read more

Optimizing My Market Timing Signal

Published on 2011-05-09 10:03:43

By Jeff Pierce I didn’t have time to include this chart in the video that shows a continued decline in he stocks above the 50 day moving average in the S&P since October of last year. You can see the chart of the S&P below and the rising tr > read more

Adam Feuerstein’s Got Jokes Too!

Published on 2011-05-07 22:17:22

By VFC’s Stock House Couldn’t help but comment on this one. In TheStreet.com’s weekly ‘Biotech Stock Mailbag’ — for which a more fitting title might be ‘Feuerstein’s Ode To Himself’ — the bi > read more

It’s All About the Earnings

Published on 2011-05-07 21:46:17

By Jeff Pierce Via Bespoke. If you look at the six earnings quarters you’ll start to see the stair step decline down, which can’t be good for the markets. More than 1,800 companies have already reported their quarterly numbers this season, and w > read more

Proctor & Gamble (NYSE:PG): A Steady Rock

Published on 2011-05-06 18:12:36

By Jim Van Meerten When I was screening on Barchart for large cap stocks hitting the most frequent new highs it was no surprise to see Proctor & Gamble (NYSE:PG) near the top of the list. This is a real “what you see is what you get” > read more

Why Washington Should Pay Attention to the Economy Here and Now

Published on 2011-05-06 14:07:48

By Robert Reich After a week of non-stop Osama Bin Laden, Washington is now returning to the battle of the budget deficit and debt ceiling. All over Capitol Hill Republicans and Democrats are debating spending caps and automatic triggers, and whether > read more

Timing Signal is Close to Turning

Published on 2011-05-06 04:59:39

By Jeff Pierce I’ll start off with the positives in the markets and it begins with the Semiconductors index (SMH). At one time today it appeared as if semi’s were going to break out, but a bout of late day selling from the major indexes caused th > read more

Vivus (NASDAQ:VVUS) Planning for Failure in Qnexa Birth Defect Study

Published on 2011-05-05 09:58:28

By Rockford Coscia This week, Vivus (NASDAQ:VVUS) reported financial results for the first quarter of 2011. In the press release, we were also updated on the company’s meeting with the FDA about a study to rule out birth defects with Qnexa. The FO > read more

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT): One Man’s Junk is Another Man’s Treasure

Published on 2011-05-05 09:43:29

By Jim Van Meerten While I was screening on Barchart for stocks having great growth potential and also have current price momentum I can across Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) a company that acts as an agent to dispose of cars and other vehicles. Since they m > read more

Cell Therapeutics’ (NASDAQ:CTIC) Pixantrone News: Reverse Split Next?

Published on 2011-05-05 09:20:14

By VFC’s Stock House The Pixantrone news, although encouraging in term of the company’s point of view, still make it look as if Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CTIC) is going to have to conduct an additional trial to ultimately receive approval > read more

Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) Unveils Slimmer BlackBerries with New OS

Published on 2011-05-05 09:03:54

By Amy Gilroy Two new BlackBerry models with a slimmed down design and faster processors were unveiled by Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) this week for shipping this summer. The Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are also the first to use a new BlackBer > read more

I’m Becoming Less Bullish

Published on 2011-05-04 21:44:29

By Jeff Pierce I don’t have much to say except that I’m getting less bullish as each day passes. This longer time frame of the Nasdaq shows a bearish wedge forming and a break below will probably send this index back around the 2600 level. Do I t > read more

CytoSorbents Corporation (OTC:CTSO): Waiting on the Secondaries

Published on 2011-05-03 22:38:01

By VFC’s Stock House Cytosorbents (OTC:CTSO) will be one to watch until the release of the full data from the European trial for CytoSorb that led to CE Mark approval for the medical device earlier this year. There is definitely some suspicions > read more

Five Earnings Winners: ACOM, TNAV, LAD, VOCS, WTI

Published on 2011-05-02 12:15:41

By Jeff Pierce Five earnings winners that should outperform many other stocks over the next one-three months. They’re all breaking out to new highs, clearning important previous levels of resistance, and investors loved their earnings reports based > read more

Talon Therapeutics (OTC:TLON): Will The Run Continue?

Published on 2011-05-02 11:38:14

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of Talon Thereapeutics (OTC:TLON) (formerly Hana Biosciences) dropped by nearly 15% on Friday, after having tripled in price in just over a month. Volume significantly increased over the last three trading days of l > read more

Markets Overbought, But Could Go Higher

Published on 2011-05-01 13:39:33

By Jeff Pierce This week is going to be interesting to see if the markets have a much needed pullback. I almost get the impression that a lot of traders are expecting that and while so many of my indicators are aligned with that thinking, the market > read more

Charlie Sheen to Launch E-Cigarette Business: ‘NicoSheen’

Published on 2011-04-30 21:59:54

� By Demian Russian Actor Charlie Sheen is moving into the fast growing e-cigarette business. According to people familiar with the situation, the controversial actor will be launching a new e-cigarette company with several business partners, on > read more

CEL-SCI Corporation (AMEX:CVM): Phase III Ready To Go in Canada and India

Published on 2011-04-30 17:16:10

By VFC’s Stock House The Multikine Phase III commencements and site approvals continued last week for Cel-Sci Corp. (AMEX:CVM), as the company issued consecutive press releases on Thursday and Friday announcing that all was set to go in India a > read more

Rubber Band Keeps Getting Stretched

Published on 2011-04-30 13:10:19

By Jeff Pierce The S&P could squeeze a little bit more out of the rally if you look at the RSI. What you can’t see is the rest of the chart as I only have so much room before it all looks like a bunched mess of candlesticks, but the top line ab > read more

Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry Playbook Passes Best Buy (NASDAQ:BBY) Expectations

Published on 2011-04-29 16:01:13

By Amy Gilroy The Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry PlayBook beat sales expectations at Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), claimed the retailer about over a week after the tablet went on sale. “Best Buy has had great success selling BlackBerry smartpho > read more

Sell Signals: Orbcomm (NASDAQ:ORBC), Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)

Published on 2011-04-29 15:41:04

By Jim Van Meerten Today on Barchart I detected sell signals on Orbcomm (NASDAQ:ORBC) and deleted it from the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio. Technical Factors: 80% Barchart short term technical sell signals Trend Spotter sell signal 22 > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL): Why The White iPhone Was Delayed

Published on 2011-04-28 21:20:20

By Amy Gilroy Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) — The white iPhone that finally landed in Apple Stores Thursday, was off to a good start in sales, at least in China, where people were lining up by the hundreds, said Digital Trends. In the United States, the > read more

Sector Strength: Healthcare

Published on 2011-04-28 20:53:24

By Jeff Pierce A common theme among the stocks that have been displaying momentum in recent days have been in the healthcare sector. Now I don’t know exactly why they’re moving at this point, but I’m fairly sure that these stocks will be higher > read more

TomTom (AMS:TOM2): PNDs Fall Faster Than Planned

Published on 2011-04-28 20:08:18

By Amy Gilroy Total U.S. portable navigation device (PND) sales for Q1 fell to 2.1 million units, compared to 2.6 million units a year earlier, said TomTom. TomTom (AMS:TOM2) CEO Harold Goddijn noted that PND sales in North America, “showed a more > read more

Exxon-Mobil (NYSE:XOM): The Oil Company Gusher

Published on 2011-04-28 19:38:37

By Robert Reich Exxon-Mobil’s (NYSE:XOM) first quarter earnings of $10.7 billion are up 69 percent from last year. That’s the most profit the company has earned since the third quarter of 2008 — perhaps not coincidentally, around the time when > read more

Allergan (NYSE:AGN) Showing Momentum

Published on 2011-04-28 17:28:59

By Jim Van Meerten While I was screening on Barchart for growth stocks having current upward price momentum, Allergan (NYSE:AGN) came to the top of the lists. As I read about the company I discovered that they market Botox not as an injective drug > read more

Initiating Buys: FSCI, SKH, AIRM, GNET

Published on 2011-04-28 17:10:35

By Growth Stock Investor Since the recent timing signal change, I have added 4 smaller positions. The choppyness of the market has led me to use smaller positions until we pick a steady direction. This will minimize drawdown in the meanwhile. I init > read more

Five Stocks Under $10: GV, PDLI, GBNK, TAXI, VG

Published on 2011-04-28 16:50:15

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I used Barchart to screen for stocks trading under $10 that are hitting the most frequent new highs and came up with 5 stocks you might want to put on your watch lists. Goldfield (AMEX:GV) – Goldfield is a leadin > read more

Bulls Are Firmly in Control

Published on 2011-04-28 14:23:48

By Jeff Pierce I almost forget to share this chart of the Nasdaq Advance/Decline Volume chart to show how the market internals are beginning to reflect bullish action. Now that it’s broke through the previous peak of 14011 in April, it looks like t > read more

Sony (NYSE:SNE) Officially Introduces Two New Tablets

Published on 2011-04-27 08:27:31

By Amy Gilroy Now it’s Sony’s (NYSE:SNE) turn to take a shot at the tablet market. Sony will introduce two tablets, codenamed S1 and S2 this fall that claim a unique design. The models use Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) with a new “holographic interfa > read more

No Trading on the Eve of the Fed

Published on 2011-04-27 08:05:07

By Jeff Pierce Tomorrow’s Fed meeting seems to have extra importance with the will they or won’t they continue with their quantitative ways. I’m continuing to sit on the sidelines to see how this all plays out as my focus list of stocks I’m w > read more

The Wageless Recovery

Published on 2011-04-26 16:10:42

By Robert Reich This week’s biggest economic show occurs tomorrow (Wednesday) when Fed chair Ben Bernanke steps in front of the cameras for the Fed’s first-ever news conference. The question on everyone’s mind: Will the Fed signal it’s now mo > read more

Is Cytosorbents Corporation (OTC:CTSO) Being Held Down?

Published on 2011-04-26 15:20:13

By VFC’s Stock House While shares of Cytosorbents Corporation (OTC:CTSO) have been trapped in the mid-twenty-cents range since announcing the milestone approval of CytoSorb in Europe, recent reports have shown that sellers are failing to del > read more

Sony (NYSE:SNE) Chairman Who Launched the CD Passes

Published on 2011-04-25 15:12:11

By Amy Gilroy The story goes that a young, aspiring opera singer wrote to Sony (NYSE:SNE) complaining that its tape recorders delivered poor audio quality. Sony hired the man, Norio Ohga, who eventually helped launch the compact disc and became Sony > read more

NYSE Stocks Hitting Frequent New Highs: KFT, GSK, BTH, PEP, SFUN

Published on 2011-04-25 14:41:15

By Jim Van Meerten Add these to your watch lists. They are NSYE stocks hitting the most frequent new 20 day highs on Barchart: KFT – Kraft Kraft Foods, Inc. (NYSE:KFT) is the largest branded food and beverage company headquartered in the U.S. > read more

Watch Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPPI) This Week: Pending FDA Approval Date

Published on 2011-04-25 14:25:23

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPPI) traded higher to close the week last week after announcing that the FDA had approved a “ready-to-use” formulation of Fusilev, its FDA approved drug to treat Ost > read more

Is Websense (NASDAQ:WBSN) A Buyout Target?

Published on 2011-04-25 13:57:26

By Jim Van Meerten Not only is Websense (NASDAQ:WBSN) a sound company but it may also be a buy out canidate from Qatalyst Partners. The stock is hitting new highs on Barchart for a number of reasons. Websense Inc. (WBSN) provide employee Internet m > read more

Audiovox (NASDAQ:VOXX) Android Headrest Tablet Update

Published on 2011-04-25 07:27:43

By Amy Gilroy Say good bye to the DVD headrest as we know it? Audiovox (NASDAQ:VOXX) hopes to release an Android headrest/tablet system by the end of the year at a price about 10 percent higher than typical DVD headrest systems, it said. And it plans > read more

Anatomy of a Blown Market Timing Call

Published on 2011-04-25 07:02:38

By Jeff Peirce Wed April 13th – Market timing signal turns bearish. I get short immediately after the close. Fri  April 15th – I double down near the close as I believe the bounce to be weak and that the market will fall in the coming week. Here > read more

KongZhong Corporation (NASDAQ:KONG): Technical Analysis Sell Signals

Published on 2011-04-25 06:48:37

By Jim Van Meerten Sometimes you have to delete a stock on technical factors alone and can’t really wait until you know what is causing its decline. That condition is why I’m deleting KongZhong (NASDAQ:KONG) from the Barchart Van Meerten > read more

Trading Wisdom Via Linda Raschke

Published on 2011-04-21 19:13:12

By Jeff Pierce It’s important as a trader to always be studying and sharpening your skills. Here is a short video jammed packed with concepts from Linda Raschke that all traders can use in their trading plan. Key concepts from the video: The fewer > read more

Gildan Activewear (NYSE:GIL): Double Digit Growth Expected

Published on 2011-04-21 18:49:47

By Jim Van Meerten You’ve never heard of it. I was looking at stocks that have had and are expected to have double digit growth in sales and earnings and are currently having positive price momentum as measured by Barchart technical indicators. > read more

Advanced Cell Technology (OTC:ACTC): Taking the Technology to Europe

Published on 2011-04-21 17:56:42

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of Advanced Cell Technology (OTC:ACTC) have settled neatly into the area of eighteen cents after a run that began on historical news last December that launched the stock to highs of over a quarter from the five > read more

Is $6.00 Gas a Possiblity?

Published on 2011-04-21 17:35:36

By Amy Gilroy Here’s the pessimistic side of the story we ran on Wednesday regarding gas prices. The fact that the American dollar is falling in price could drive prices higher at the pump, maybe as high as $6.50, says a CNBC report. If we get a c > read more

The Great Budget Debate: Beware of the “Middle Ground”

Published on 2011-04-21 17:21:39

By Robert Reich How debates are framed is critical because the “center” or “middle ground” is supposedly halfway between the two extremes. We continue to hear that the Great Budget Debate has two sides: The President and the Democrats want to > read more

Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) Is On A Roll

Published on 2011-04-21 14:52:39

By Jim Van Meerten It’s always nice when a store you like to shop in becomes a success. Bed Bath and Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) is that kind of store. I’m a kitchen gadget freak so I love this store. I try not to be an impulse shopper but as I > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone Sales Soar 113%

Published on 2011-04-21 14:33:18

By Amy Gilroy Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) blew past expectations on iPhone sales which grew by triple digits in the recent quarter, but sales of the iPad–the tablet with about 80 percent market share–fell short of expectations. Still it was another stunn > read more

Maxim Group’s John Tinker to Weigh in on Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) — Tonight at 8:00PM ET

Published on 2011-04-20 14:53:16

By Brian Newman Rayl Maxim Group Senior Media Analyst John Tinker will be discussing Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) during a live, exclusive interview with Playground Radio tonight, Wednesday, April 20th, at 8:00PM Eastern. Tinker recently issued a > read more

BioElectronics Corporation’s (PINK:BIEL) Plung on Form 15 Filing: What Now?

Published on 2011-04-20 07:54:07

By VFC’s Stock House It was news of BioElectronics Corporation’s (PINK:BIEL) Quarter Four 2010 results that investors were waiting on, but instead Tuesday brought an announcement from BIEL of a ‘Form 15′ filing with the SEC, > read more

Today’s Rally Was Meaningless…

Published on 2011-04-19 16:36:12

By Jeff Pierce …when you consider the deterioration of the Nasdaq advance/decline line. It continues to make lower highs and the -DI of the ADX is on top and looks to be ready to break out of the recent consolidation. The RSI turned back near the b > read more

BioElectronics Corporation (PINK:BIEL): Quarterly Results Overdue

Published on 2011-04-19 14:09:21

By VFC’s Stock House BioElectronics Corporation (PINK:BIEL) announced last week via the corporate website that results for the fourth quarter of 2010 would be posted on April 15th, the day after the company provided the last investor update. > read more

Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Faces Uphill Battle

Published on 2011-04-19 13:49:47

By Amy Gilroy Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry PlayBook tablet goes on sale today, April 19th, in 20,000 storefronts including Best Buy, Staples and Office Max, facing an uphill battle with the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad and a sea of > read more

Extortion Politics: Why Won’t American Business Stop the GOP From Threatening to Blow Up The Economy?

Published on 2011-04-19 12:35:14

By Robert Reich As the government approaches its borrowing limit of $14.3 trillion, Republicans are seeking political advantage over what conditions should be attached to raising that limit. This is a scandal — or should be. Raising the debt limit > read more

Amarin Corporation’s (NASDAQ:AMRN) AMR101 Surpasses Expectations Again in Phase III Trial

Published on 2011-04-18 15:19:32

By Rockford Coscia Amarin Corporation (NASDAQ: AMRN) announced this morning that the company’s ANCHOR phase III trial for AMR101 achieved all primary and secondary endpoints.  AMR101 is an ultra pure form of fish oil ethyl esters, consisting virtu > read more

ETF Sell Signals: XLK, XLF

Published on 2011-04-18 05:15:13

By Growth Stock Investor When I look to short the market, I often look at sectors rather than stocks. This is because shorts act much more volatile, go against you much more, and don’t usually “behave” correctly. Instead, sectors move better du > read more

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Joining Forces With West Coast Custom

Published on 2011-04-18 04:51:36

By Amy Gilroy Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) will sell a wider assortment of West Coast Custom car audio products than we originally reported. And Best Buy will enter the car customizing market to a small degree. A Best Buy spokesman said the big box chain will > read more

Potential Bull Picks: Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) & Brunswick (NYSE:BC)

Published on 2011-04-18 04:37:48

By Jeff Pierce The market did help itself with Friday’s rally however my timing system remains bearish/neutral. Should the market firm up on Monday it could be enough to flip it back to bullish. Lately the best way to play the markets has been to b > read more

Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry PlayBook Not Ready For Prime Time

Published on 2011-04-15 11:55:27

By Amy Gilroy The BlackBerry PlayBook 7-inch tablet goes on sale on Tuesday, April 19th, but middling reviews of the tablet this week sent the stock of BlackBerry parent, Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) sliding 3 percent for much of Thursday, said C > read more

President Obama’s Risky Proposal

Published on 2011-04-14 17:35:53

By Robert Reich Paul Ryan says his budget plan will cut $4.4 trillion over ten years. The President says his new plan will cut $4 trillion over twelve years. Let’s get real. Ten or twelve-year budgets are baloney. It’s hard enough to forecast bud > read more

Epicept (NASDAQ:EPCT) Shows Potential in Spite of the Negatives

Published on 2011-04-14 15:42:27

By VFC’s Stock House Epicept Corporation (NASDAQ:EPCT) has announced some positive developments over the past few months, including a Crolibulin Phase II trial and a Ceplene approval in Israel, but none of that was enough to spur EPCT into > read more

Delcath (NASDAQ:DCTH) Receives CE Mark Approval for CHEMOSAT Delivery System

Published on 2011-04-14 13:47:21

By Rockford Coscia Delcath Systems (NASDAQ:DCTH) shares surged today, from the low 7′s to at one point over $9.00 on news that their CHEMOSAT Delivery system received regulatory approval in the European Union (EU). CHEMOSAT is a perfusion technolo > read more

Mannkind’s (NASDAQ:MNKD) Cancelled Meeting Has Been Rescheduled

Published on 2011-04-13 12:23:53

By VFC’s Stock House Mannkind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) announced yesterday evening that its previously cancelled meeting with the FDA has been rescheduled. The meeting was originally cancelled last week due to a looming government shutdown, > read more

Three Recent Leaders Nearing Support: SWKS, RVBD, IVR

Published on 2011-04-13 12:06:18

By Jeff Pierce I’m gathering a list of stocks that would be good long term buys, where one could buy some leaps or call options with the goal of holding them for a longer period of time. Basically these are recent leaders that have gotten smashed o > read more

Mr. President: Medicare Isn’t the Problem, It’s the Solution

Published on 2011-04-12 16:35:53

By Robert Reich I hope when he tells America how he aims to tame future budget deficits the President doesn’t accept conventional Wasington wisdom that the biggest problem in the federal budget is Medicare (and its poor cousin Medicaid). Medicare > read more

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA): Fanapt Has Growing Potential With a Depot Formulation Now in Trials

Published on 2011-04-12 13:22:01

By VFC’s Stock House Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) announced this week that a Phase I trial has been initiated by licensing partner Novartis (NYSE:NVS) to evaluate the effectiveness of Fanapt in a long-acting injectable formulation. T > read more

Sold the Open, Bought the Close

Published on 2011-04-12 04:14:30

By Jeff Pierce At yesterday’s open I exited my long ETFs as I had a sense that the opening gains weren’t going to hold. I actually thought yesterday’s selling would intensify and when that didn’t happened I reentered those same trades at > read more

Delcath Systems (NASDAQ:DCTH) Pushes NDA Resubmission Timeline to End of Year

Published on 2011-04-11 18:30:21

By Rockford Coscia Delcath Systems (NASDAQ:DCTH) provided clarification to investors with regards to the status of its NDA resubmission of its percutaneous herpatic perfusion (PHP) technology for metastatic melanoma. Delcath announced that due to sup > read more

CEL-SCI Corporation (AMEX:CVM): Multikine Trial Approval in India

Published on 2011-04-11 14:55:09

By VFC’s Stock House CEL-SCI Corporation (AMEX:CVM): The around-the-world approval announcements for the Multikine Phase III trial last week as the company issued a press release stating that approval to begin enrollment had been authorized b > read more

Medivation (NASDAQ:MDVN): Dimebon Fails in Phase III Huntington’s Trial

Published on 2011-04-11 14:12:52

By Rockford Coscia In a surprise to virtually no one, Medivation (NASDAQ:MDVN) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) announced this morning that Dimebon (latrepirdine) failed to show a statistically significant improvement in either co-primary efficacy endpoints in > read more

Five Great Stocks: PDS, ADP, KCI, ERIE, AON

Published on 2011-04-07 22:54:02

By Jim Van Meerten What makes a great stock?  How about what stocks have most consistently hit new highs over the last 6 months. At the market close today I used Barchart to find the 5 stocks that have hit the most frequent new highs in the last 6 > read more

Consolidation Could Be Almost Over

Published on 2011-04-07 22:24:18

By Jeff Pierce At the end of the video I provide a list of the stocks that I’m watching to add on weakness. After moving to the sidelines yesterday I used this mornings to pick up some stocks that had fallen enough to be attractive after the last 2 > read more

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:TAXI): Positioned for an Economic Recovery

Published on 2011-04-07 21:55:36

By Jim Van Meerten This morning while using Barchart to screen for smaller stocks hitting the most frequent new highs I came across the chart of Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:TAXI). I never heard of this company but the business plan is unique. As th > read more

Generex (OTC:GNBT) Launches New Website

Published on 2011-04-07 21:30:11

By VFC’s Stock House Generex Biotechnology Corporation (OTC:GNBT) issued a press release on Tuesday morning announcing the publishing of the company’s new corporate website. According to the press release, the new website is more in line > read more

Furniture Brands International (NYSE:FBN) Showing Momentum

Published on 2011-04-07 21:04:11

By Jim Van Meerten How about a company that you may not know but you know their products. Technically, Furniture Brands International (NYSE:FBN) has everything going for it on Barchart, but fundamentally its a speculative pick. Management has put i > read more

Xenoport (NASDAQ:XNPT) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) Receive Horizant Approval for RLS Treatment

Published on 2011-04-07 20:26:50

By Rockford Coscia The FDA weighed in late Wednesday with the approval of Xenoport’s (NASDAQ:XNPT) Horizant for moderate-to-severe restless leg syndrome (RLS). Horizant is an extended release form of Gabapentin. Horizant is the first medication in > read more

Araid Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARIA): Uniquely Positioned to Profit

Published on 2011-04-07 19:51:51

By Jim Van Meerten There seems to be no bigger concern in the US, Europe and Japan than cancer. Araid Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARIA) seems to be uniquely positioned to profit from that concern.  The company came under my view while screening on Bar > read more

Novadel Pharma (OTC:NVDL) Roller-Coaster Ride

Published on 2011-04-06 17:21:53

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of Novadel Pharma Inc (OTC:NVDL) have been all over the place since the announcement of the Zolpimist launch in the United states a couple of months ago, but a recent financing event caused the stock to dip enough to > read more

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5 May Be Delayed

Published on 2011-04-06 14:26:03

By Amy Gilroy Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) may delay until August or September, the launch of its next iPhone, as the company’s iconic product appears to be under more intense competitive pressure. A Barclay’s Capital analyst forecast the delay in a resea > read more

BioDelivery Sciences International (NASDAQ:BDSI) Announces Full Enrollment in Phase III Trial

Published on 2011-04-05 21:51:55

By VFC’s Stock House In October BioDelivery Sciences International (NASDAQ:BDSI) announced positive Phase II results for BEMA Buprenorphine in the treatment of chronic pain, and it was announced on Tuesday morning – barely five months fro > read more

Why America Must Raise Taxes on the Rich

Published on 2011-04-04 16:55:17

By Robert Reich It’s tax time. It’s also a time when right-wing Republicans are setting the agenda for massive spending cuts that will hurt most Americans. Here’s the truth: The only way America can reduce the long-term budget deficit, maintain > read more

Trimble Navigation (NASDAQ:TRMB): Growth Fueling Momentum

Published on 2011-04-04 16:19:02

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I was using Barchart to screen stocks that have had double digit growth in sales and earnings that are currently experiencing upward price momentum and came across Trimble Navigation (NASDAQ:TRMB). The company is havin > read more

TomTom’s (AMS:TOM2) SuperSlim PNDs Ship

Published on 2011-04-04 15:57:47

By Amy Gilroy TomTom (AMS:TOM2) is now shipping the super slim VIA portable navigation devices it previewed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. The slim design includes a fold up windshield mount that’s permanently attached to the d > read more

Timing Charts & Bullish Momentum Picks: SCI, GWW, DAR, BCR, MAKO, TRMB

Published on 2011-04-04 10:12:23

By Jeff Pierce From my vantage point the Nasdaq is stuck between resistance and a possible gap that could be filled around the 2760 area. Other than some mild overbought readings on various indicators I track, I believe the place to be is long, whil > read more

Apthera Acquisition Puts RXi Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RXII) in a New League

Published on 2011-04-04 09:27:38

By VFC’s Stock House The early-stage RXi Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RXII) pulled off what could become a surprising coup last week when it announced a merger with privately-held Apthera, Inc. for just 4.8 millions shares of RXII’s common st > read more

5 NYSE Stocks to Watch Today: RGR, DTG, WST, BAS, SHS

Published on 2011-04-04 08:56:52

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I used Barchart to screen all the NYSE stocks that hit new 20 session highs last Friday and then sorted for the ones that hit new highs most frequently. Here is the result: Strum Ruger (NYSE:RGR) 96% Barchart technica > read more

Investment Theme — Vacation Stocks

Published on 2011-04-03 07:29:04

By Jeff Pierce Throughout the week I’ve seen a number of bullish stocks in a variety of sectors showing up on my scans, and I’m starting to see an unlikely theme during one of the worst economic recessions most generations have seen in a long tim > read more

Bioelectronics (BIEL): New Product Ready for Canadian Launch

Published on 2011-04-03 06:46:19

By VFC’s Stock House A couple of weeks ago BioElectronics (PINK:BIEL) updated investors on its website that a new heel pain therapy kit would soon be ready for market. The ‘Smart Insole,’ according to the BIEL website, will be ava > read more

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Showing Buy Signals

Published on 2011-04-03 06:16:58

By Jim Van Meerten This weekend I was screening for a stock to add to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio. This is a portfolio of stocks trading under $10 that are hitting frequent new highs. I can across Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS). Ex > read more

What to Read Over Weekend Coffee

Published on 2011-04-03 06:02:49

By Jeff Pierce Social Media and the Creation of Better Traders – Using social media to your advantage in your trading 10 Reasons The Market is Delusional- This is from February…but interesting nonetheless 7 Reasons Any Investor Should Write & > read more

FDA Inside Trader Latest Example of SEC Crackdown

Published on 2011-04-01 15:12:27

By VFC’s Stock House When someone is given a position of great power or responsibility – or even just a low-key position on the inside as this one may have been – it’s expected by most others that the ‘someone’ wou > read more

Kinetic Concepts (NYSE:KCI): Signs of Momentum

Published on 2011-03-31 21:18:21

By Jim Van Meerten Yesterday morning while using Barchart to screen for highly recommended stocks that are having current positive momentum I ran across Kinetic Concepts (NYSE:KCI). This is a company that is one of the leader in Vacuum Assisted Clo > read more

Discovering Why Stock Markets Crash

Published on 2011-03-31 19:10:50

By Jeff Pierce Why Stock Markets Crash (Wiley Publishing): Critical Events in Complex Financial Systems. Who doesn’t love a good stock market crash? Outside of short term traders, it’s an opportunity to reload your portfolio if you’re a long te > read more

Generex (OTC:GNBT): The Conference Call, Some Questions Answered, Others Remained

Published on 2011-03-31 14:43:15

By VFC’s Stockhouse The Generex’s presentation at the Nasdaq on Wednesday was followed just a couple of hours later by a conference call in which the retail investor stole the show and lobbed some hardballs – and some softballs & > read more

Long Lines Persist for Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad 2

Published on 2011-03-30 13:02:24

By Amy Gilroy The Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad 2 is still attracting such long lines at stores as shipments trickle in that analyst Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company is upping his forecasts for 2011 and 2012 by 10 million units each, said Apple In > read more

Biomoda (OTC:BMOD) Announces Positive Results

Published on 2011-03-30 11:07:42

By VFC’s Stock House In February Biomoda, Inc. (OTC:BMOD) announced full enrollment of an ongoing trial, and shares spiked significantly on the news with heavy volume. The February press release also announced that top-line results would be ava > read more

BioTech Briefs: Rexahn (AMEX:RNN), EpiCept (NASDAQ:EPCT), Generex (OTC:GNBT)

Published on 2011-03-29 08:29:41

By VFC’s Stock House BioTech Briefs: RNN, EPCT Announce Direct Offerings, Generex Rises Again RNN: Shares of Rexahn Pharmaceuticals (AMEX:RNN) dropped sharply during Monday’s trading after the company announced a registered direct offerin > read more

TravelZoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) Buy Signals

Published on 2011-03-29 05:12:28

By Jim Van Meerten After the market closed today I screened for stocks hitting the most frequent new highs on Barchart.  A company I never heard of Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) was right at the top of the list.  Travelzoo Inc publishes Travelzoo and Wee > read more

Give Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO) Some Credit

Published on 2011-03-28 13:53:23

By Jim Van Meerten A lot has happened in the last few years and one of the biggest changes for a lot of people has been their credit scores issued by Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO).  People who previously never were refused a credit card are finding their c > read more

Cytosorbents (CTSO) Rebounds, Phase III Trial Results Eminent

Published on 2011-03-28 13:36:04

By VFC’s Stock House After dipping earlier in the week, shares of Cytosorbents (OTC:CTSO) rebounded as the trading week finished up as investors are becoming itchy for news regarding the European CytoSorb trial for severe sepsis. The trial shou > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Developers Conference Announced For June

Published on 2011-03-28 13:19:13

By Amy Gilroy Well, the headline says it all. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced today that it will unveil the future iOS for the iPhone, iPad, etc. and a new Mac OS at its Worldwide Developers Conference to be held June 6 – 10. The Cupertino company is > read more

Best Charts From My Weekend Scans: TZOO, FLWS, EE, ABTL, AAV

Published on 2011-03-28 07:53:06

By Jeff Pierce I remain bearish but my signal will be tested early this week if we rally right out of the gates. I always run my bullish scans regardless of what the market is doing because I want to see which stocks are leading the markets as those > read more

Is Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Over-Hyped?

Published on 2011-03-28 04:08:28

By Jim Van Meerten Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) kind of reminds me of the kid that everyone voted in high school as Valedictorian or “Most Likely to Succeed”. Those awards always seemed to be the kiss of death. That poor kid was all things to all > read more

SIGA Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) – How Long Do We Wait On BARDA?

Published on 2011-03-28 03:37:05

By VFC’s Stock House An email from J to my Seeking Alpha account: “I have been following SIGA Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA), and I too believe that they will win the contract. If you check out my instablog on the subject you will see why eve > read more

Swiss Franc’s Recent Dominance

Published on 2011-03-28 03:09:48

By Jeff Pierce I am not a currency expert at all, but a chart is a chart and a breakout is a breakout. This is a nearly flawless bullish chart with the only negative being the high volume sell off on Friday. Other than that, this is a chart that shou > read more

A Radient Pharmaceuticals (AMEX:RPC) Update: What’s This Say About Feuerstein?

Published on 2011-03-27 20:57:55

By VFC’s Stock House Those following the Radient story got a dose of what to expect when you’re dealing with The Street.com’s biotech blogger Adam Feuerstein thursday when the self-proclaimed journalist referred to investors in Rad > read more

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) Mergers & Acquisitions: Who’s Next?

Published on 2011-03-26 17:43:22

By Christopher Baum By design or by chance, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) is poised to become the world’s most complete supplier of end to end IT infrastructure and business software. The addition of 3Par and Palm extends the firm’s range from high > read more

Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTIE) Shareholders Feeling No Pain

Published on 2011-03-26 03:28:44

By Jim Van Meerten Yesterday morning while using Barchart to screen for low priced stocks hitting the most frequent new highs I came across Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTIE) and added it to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio. The stock was > read more

Bulls Returning: CAR, DFS, UXG

Published on 2011-03-26 03:01:17

By Jeff Pierce Yes I’ve totally missed this 160 point rally on the Nasdaq and make no excuses. People are buying this market because there’s no good place other than the equities market to stash it. However as long as my signal is bearish I’ll > read more

Good News Abounds For Advanced Cell Technology (ACTC)

Published on 2011-03-26 02:45:37

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of Advanced Cell Technology (OTC:ACTC) have settled in the high teens after having spiked to nearly thirty cents over the past four months when the company historically received FDA approval to commence an embryonic > read more

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Gets HTC Flyer Tablet First

Published on 2011-03-25 14:28:07

By Amy Gilroy HTC (Taiwan: 2498.TW) officially entered the U.S. tablet market this week with Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) to be first out of the gate to offer the device. Starting this spring, Best Buy will sell a WiFi only version of the HTC Flyer 7-inch ta > read more

Market Bear Case Weakening, But Still Intact

Published on 2011-03-22 03:33:59

By Jeff Pierce If the market is ready to rebound and move higher there will be plenty of opportunities to get long this market. I wouldn’t be too quick to initiate new long positions until the market proves that it’s safe to get back in the marke > read more

As The Global Economy Trembles, Our Nation’s Capital Fiddles

Published on 2011-03-22 03:04:05

By Robert Reich Why isn’t Washington responding? The world’s third largest economy suffers a giant earthquake, tsunami, and radiation dangers. A civil war in Libya and tumult in the Middle East cause crude-oil prices to climb. Poor harvests aroun > read more

Radio Could Benefit From AT&T’s (NYSE:T) Deal For T-Mobile

Published on 2011-03-21 07:15:29

By Tom Taylor The following article comes from Tom Taylor’s newsletter, Taylor on Radio-Info. The long-term is that AT&T (NYSE:T) is making a bold (and costly) bid to improve its 4G service, often the target of industry humor. In fact, Ad Age p > read more

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android Phones Get Free Traffic

Published on 2011-03-21 06:37:26

By Amy Gilroy The Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Maps Navigation app for Android devices now gives you free routing around traffic as well as its present free turn by turn directions. As shown below, when the app calculates a route it takes into consideration > read more

Capital Senior Living (NYSE:CSU) Becoming a Big Business

Published on 2011-03-18 14:52:03

By Jim Van Meerten I know senior living facilities will be a growth industry in the future but I added Capital Senior Living (NYSE:CSU) to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio because it is moving now. Capital Senior Living Corporation (C > read more

Market Analysis Based on VB Class of Indicators

Published on 2011-03-17 21:24:24

By Growth Stock Investor Yesterday I gave a quick analysis of the markets with my PM class of indicators, today I am going to run through the VB class quickly. I use these on a daily basis for trend, strength, and risk in the markets. They have incre > read more

American Capital Agency Group (NASDAQ:AGNC) Showing Positive Momentum

Published on 2011-03-17 19:21:50

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I added American Capital Agency Group (NASDAQ:AGNC) to the Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio. For those of you not familiar with the requirements to be included in this momentum portfolio a stock must trade over > read more

What Will This Full Moon Bring?

Published on 2011-03-17 18:39:11

By Jeff Pierce The McClellan Oscillator is really starting to tank, which normally means that there’s more downside ahead. It generally has to form some sort of negative divergence before the markets start to find a bottom. Add in the fact that the > read more

General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar Mirror Delayed Until End of June

Published on 2011-03-17 17:37:56

By Amy Gilroy The release of General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar retail mirror has been delayed from April until the end of June, according to several retailers and other industry sources.  OnStar is waiting for an improved microphone that works > read more

Sell Signals: STRN, PTX, BZ

Published on 2011-03-17 05:09:07

By Jim Van Meerten This moring I deleted Sutron (NASDAQ:STRN) from the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio for negative price trends. 60% Barchart technical sell signal Trend Spotter ™ sell signal Below 20 and 50 day moving averages 14.2 > read more

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Faces Sales Taxes

Published on 2011-03-17 04:52:58

By Amy Gilroy More states are trying to force Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and other online retailers to charge sales taxes as a result of the recession and tighter state budgets. Five states have introduced legislation that would affect Amazon’s sales tax > read more

TSX Sell Signals

Published on 2011-03-17 04:39:58

By Jeff Pierce Today after the close one of the indexes that has been such a strong performer due to the resource rich lands of Canada has finally weakened to the point that a sell signal has triggered. It’s been down 7/8 past sessions and slightly > read more

Sell Signals: OKS, COST, AEG

Published on 2011-03-17 04:26:27

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I deleted Oneok Partners LP (NYSE:OKS) from the Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio for negative price trends. 60% Barchart technical sell signal Trend Spotter ™ sell signal Below 20, 50 and 100 day moving a > read more

Motorola (NYSE:MMI) Xoom Expected Soon

Published on 2011-03-17 04:17:59

By Amy Gilroy WiFi tablets are where the bulk of the market lies and where most retailers can jump in and compete. So it should come as good news that WiFi only versions of the Motorola (NYSE:MMI) Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab are expected soon. The Xo > read more

Safety on the Cheap

Published on 2011-03-16 12:30:24

By Robert Reich Can we please agree that in the real world corporations exist for one purpose, and one purpose only — to make as much money as possible, which means cutting costs as much as possible? The New York Times reports that G.E. (NYSE:GE) m > read more

Hypersensitive Markets Make Poor Investments

Published on 2011-03-16 01:03:31

By Jeff Pierce After completing the double top the Nasdaq started to experience weakness and negative divergence on the RSI foretold the recent declines. Had it not been the tragedy in Japan than was the catalyst it would have been some other macroec > read more

Wunderlich Securities’ Matthew Harrigan Upgrades Liberty Capital (NASDAQ:LCAPA) Price Target on Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) Stake

Published on 2011-03-14 11:46:34

By Brian Newman Rayl Wunderlich Securities’ media analyst Matthew Harrigan raises his price target on Liberty Capital Group (NASDAQ:LCAPA) from $70 to $85 and maintains his BUY rating, primarily related to its ownership position in Sirius XM Ra > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad 2 Sells Out Quickly

Published on 2011-03-14 10:25:46

By Amy Gilroy The Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad 2 reportedly sold out after one day, to the shock of many industry members. About a half million units sold to consumers, while the original iPad saw sales of about 300,000 units in a weekend. What’s notab > read more

McCormick (NYSE:MKC): Spice Up Your Portfolio

Published on 2011-03-13 21:16:33

By Jim Van Meerten OK, I can’t help it but I’ve always had a fascination with spices. It’s in my blood, I’m Dutch. During the Dutch Golden Age spices from all over the world made many a fortune for Dutch merchants. My stock of > read more

Investing in Coffee: SBUX, CBOU, PEET, GMCR, MCD

Published on 2011-03-12 15:51:21

By Jim Van Meerten Over years coffee has become a world wide beverage. Coffee is now grown all over the globe. Insides say that Japan alone buys more Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee than is even grown in Jamaica each year. How do you know what you̵ > read more

Nasdaq Summation Breaks Support

Published on 2011-03-12 10:34:05

By Jeff Pierce I’ve had mixed success in using this as a market timing indicator. It often gives false signals and you can’t really trust the first signal that is given. However I’m finding that the best way to use this indicator is when negati > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) May Sell 600,000 iPad 2 Tablets at Launch

Published on 2011-03-11 17:38:46

By Amy Gilroy Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad 2, which becomes available today, may see sales reach 600,000 units at launch, surpassing the original iPad, which sold 300,000 units in its first 24 hours, said analysts. Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies > read more

Tim Hortons (NYSE:THI) Looks Tasty

Published on 2011-03-10 13:46:17

By Jim Van Meerten I was screening for stocks hitting the most frequent new highs on Barchart and found Tim Hortons (NYSE:THI). They are Canada’s largest quick service restaurant chain and features coffee, fresh-baked goods, soups and sandwic > read more

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Tablet Could Challenge Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad

Published on 2011-03-10 13:16:49

By Amy Gilroy Forrester boldly asserts that the expected rash of new tablets won’t really challenge Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad. The BlackBerry (Research in Motion, NASDAQ:RIMM) PlayBook expected soon, the HP TouchPad, and even new Honeycomb ( > read more

Market Observations for March 10th, 2011

Published on 2011-03-10 12:43:04

By Growth Stock Investor NASDAQ Composite Index Sitting weakly on the 50 day SMA and downward trendline from mid-January Currently coiling inside a pennant, with bearish properties Weak Stochastics, bumping up against bearish resistance (50 – 60 l > read more

Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) in Talks to Merge with T-Mobile

Published on 2011-03-09 14:04:04

By Amy Gilroy Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) is again in talks with T-Mobile USA parent Deutsche Telekom (DTE:GR) to explore ways to combine the number 3 and 4 cellular carriers. Sprint and T-Mobile are falling farther behind market leaders Verizon (NYSE:VZ) > read more

Silicon Graphics (NASDAQ:SGI): A Small Cap Buy

Published on 2011-03-09 13:47:35

By Jim Van Meerten A Small Cap stock I found while screening stock on Barchart is Silicon Graphics (NASDAQ:SGI). In this fast changing technological world companies that provide others with technology solutions should prosper. Increases in both sal > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL): iPad Price Squeezes Competitors

Published on 2011-03-08 09:35:16

By Amy Gilroy Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) may have sent competitors scrambling once again with the launch of the iPad 2. Taiwanese news outlet Digitimes reports that 2 or 3 computer vendors now plan to postpone their tablet PC launches as they redesign produ > read more

Selling Thor Industries (NYSE:THOR)

Published on 2011-03-07 10:45:49

By Jim Van Meerten This morning on Barchart I detected sell signals on Thor Industries (NYSE:THO). THOR INDUSTRIES, INC. (NYSE:THO) produces and sells a wide range of recreational vehicles and small and mid-size buses in the United States and Canada > read more

Jobs: The Real News

Published on 2011-03-04 12:49:34

By Robert Reich Are we making progress on the jobs front? The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 192,000 new jobs in Februrary (220,000 new jobs in the private sector and a drop in government employment), and a drop in the overall unemployment rate f > read more

Pullback Buy on Oil

Published on 2011-03-04 12:35:22

By Jeff Pierce While I’m bullish on Oil, I have reason to believe it may pullback before heading higher. Check out this mornings fear inducing headline on Marketwatch in large print. In my experience the bigger the font, the closer to a short-term > read more

Epicept Corporation (NASDAQ:EPCT): New Ceplene Data

Published on 2011-03-03 21:01:24

By VFC’s Stock House Epicept Corporation (NASDAQ:EPCT) announced on Wednesday that a subgroup with statistically significant survival benefits was identified from data collected in the already completed Phase III trial for Ceplene in Acute My > read more

Hickory Tech (NASDAQ:HTCO): Sell Signals Detected

Published on 2011-03-03 20:47:33

By Jim Van Meerten On Wednesday morning I detected sell signals on Hickory Tech (NASDAQ:HTCO) and deleted it from the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio. HICKORY TECH (HTCO) is a diversified communications company engaged in operating four > read more

DNDN (NASDAQ:DNDN) Reports Earnings: A Stellar Stock Story, Plenty of Room for Growth

Published on 2011-03-03 20:02:52

By VFC’s Stockhouse Dendreon (NASDAQ:DNDN) announced earnings this week, as expected, and there were no surprises as it has been expected that the company will continue having problems meeting the high demand for Provenge until the manufact > read more

Portfolio Sell Signals: FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) and American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD)

Published on 2011-03-03 19:26:51

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I saw sell signals in FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) and deleted it from the Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio. (Click Chart to Enlarge) FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) is a diversified energy services holding company as the res > read more

3D Systems Corporation (NASDAQ:TDSC) Hitting All-Time Highs

Published on 2011-03-03 15:37:05

By Growth Stock Investor There were two very important resistance lines for 3D Systems Corporation (NASDAQ:TDSC), one a multi-year high, and one an all-time high. TDSC as hit both within a few weeks. This long-term chart pattern is setting up for la > read more

Denbury Resources (NYSE:DNR): The World is Starting to Take Notice

Published on 2011-03-03 13:04:25

By Jim Van Meerten The world is starting to take notice of Denbury Resources (NYSE:DNR) a Canadian corp. organized under the Canada Business Corp Act engaged in the acquisition, development, operation and exploration of oil and gas properties primar > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad 2 Ships March 11th

Published on 2011-03-03 10:39:50

By Amy Gilroy To a delighted audience, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Steve Jobs appeared on stage Wednesday, in an apparent hiatus from medical leave, to introduce the iPad 2. The device adds dual cameras with FaceTime video chat to the iPad and it’s sli > read more

Radient Pharmaceuticals (AMEX:RPC) Victim of Unwarranted Hatchet Job

Published on 2011-03-01 21:59:35

By VFC’s Stock House Long shareholders of Radient Pharmaceuticals (AMEX:RPC) were without a doubt unhappy with TheStreet.com on Tuesday, as that website’s biotech blogger, Adam Feuerstein, produced another one of his infamous hatchet job > read more

Sell Signals: EWM, FSII

Published on 2011-03-01 21:46:53

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I detected sell signals in the MSCI Malaysia ETF (EWM). The iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund (EWM) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of t > read more

Bears Follow Through

Published on 2011-03-01 21:17:34

By Jeff Pierce While I’m not about to declare victory for this timing call, today the bears made great progress towards this market having a proper correction. Now one must define what a “proper” correction is. I know many would like for me t > read more

Market Seasonality in March

Published on 2011-03-01 14:26:31

By Growth Stock Investor Starting with a close up view, and then getting gradually bigger, the graphs below are for the S&P 500 using data over the last 20 years. They include seasonality for: Day of the Week Month of the Year Week of the Year Da > read more

Biotech Analyst Activity: PLX, HGSI, XNPT, SPPI

Published on 2011-03-01 13:55:28

By Rockford Coscia Recent Analyst Activity: Protalix (AMEX:PLX): 2/25 – Canaccord Genuity maintains buy, price target lowered to $8.00 (from $13.00) 2/25 – Oppenheimer & Co. maintains outperform, price target lowered to $9.00 (from $12.00) > read more

Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW): An Initiated Buy

Published on 2011-02-28 17:12:10

By Growth Stock Investor I purchased a 15% position in Silver Wheton (NYSE:SLW) today at an average price of $41.74. While my models are in sell mode, silver and gold are in positive uptrends, with commodities being strong. My stop will be a tight s > read more

Epicept’s (NASDAQ:EPCT): Are Fourth Quarter Results Showing the Potential?

Published on 2011-02-28 16:32:41

By VFC’s Stock House Epicept Corporation (NASDAQ:EPCT) announced fourth quarter and full-year 2010 results last week, but the report read more as a “Hey, how you doin’?” update than anything else. Nothing significant came from > read more

Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle 3G Goes on Sale at AT&T (NYSE:T) Stores

Published on 2011-02-28 16:14:16

By Amy Gilroy AT&T (NYSE:T) will begin selling the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle 3G through its stores starting March 6th, marking the first time the carrier has stocked an eReader. The Kindle 3G at $189 uses AT&T’s wireless service to downlo > read more

Protalix (AMEX:PLX) Receives CRL from FDA for Taliglucerase Alfa

Published on 2011-02-25 14:06:53

By Rockford Coscia This morning, Protalix BioTherpeutics (AMEX:PLX) announced that its taliglucerase alfa, a plant derived biologic therapy for Gaucher’s disease, received a complete response letter (CRL) from the FDA. The company sited a request > read more

PC Mall (NASDAQ:MALL): Double Digit Earnings Growth Projections

Published on 2011-02-25 13:35:44

By Jim Van Meerten PC Mall (NASDAQ:MALL) is not an REIT but a technology distribution company with double digit earnings growth projections. That’s a good reason to add it to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio of stocks trading unde > read more

Massive Bearish Wedge on the Nasdaq Weekly

Published on 2011-02-25 13:17:32

By Jeff Pierce Oil has gotten my attention this week as it has broken out to new multi-year highs and given the tensions that are occuring in the Middle East it’s likely to continue higher. Now I’m not one to trade off of macroeconomics, but my s > read more

Opnext (NASDAQ:OPXT) Lasers in on Profits

Published on 2011-02-25 06:34:41

By Jim Van Meerten Opnext (OPXT) is an Hitachi spin-off that has momentum. That’s why I added it to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio of stocks under $10. From the latest communications networks to new security systems, and from m > read more

Portfolio Additions: BEXP, PM, EEP

Published on 2011-02-24 15:38:53

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I added Brigham Exploration (NASDAQ:BEXP) to the Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio for very positive price trends. Brigham Exploration Co. is an independent exploration and production company that applies 3-D se > read more

Motorola (NYSE:MMI) Xoom Reviews: Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Honeycomb OS is Great, Not Perfect

Published on 2011-02-24 14:23:46

By Amy Gilroy Motorola’s (NYSE:MMI) Xoom tablet, which is officially available Thursday, gives us the first glimpse of Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android Honeycomb OS designed for tablets and reviewers say it’s a big improvement over earlier ve > read more

Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN): Earnings Slide, PND Sales Drop

Published on 2011-02-24 11:23:01

By Amy Gilroy Like TomTom, Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) reported that sales of portable navigation devices (PNDs) fell in the second half last year. Garmin’s revenue for the December quarter fell 21 percent overall to $838 million and fell in the automotiv > read more

A Republican Shakedown

Published on 2011-02-24 10:54:47

By Robert Reich You can’t fight something with nothing. But as long as Democrats refuse to talk about the almost unprecedented buildup of income, wealth, and power at the top – and the refusal of the super-rich to pay their fair share of the nati > read more

Trouble Abroad Mean Trouble For Stocks: ECH, EEM

Published on 2011-02-24 00:51:52

By Jim Van Meerten Chile is having economic problems and that is reflected in the MSCI Chile ETF (ECH).  If its not already on your watch lists it should be. The iShares MSCI Chile Investable Market Index Fund (the “Fund”) seeks investm > read more

Time To Short Gold (NASDAQ:IGLD)?

Published on 2011-02-23 11:00:44

By Growth Stock Investor Don’t short just because we had one down day, but you should definitely have a watch list already built of names that you are watching (just like you would have for longs during a correction). Here is list I am researching > read more

Xenoport (NASDAQ:XNPT) Expecting GERD Study Data

Published on 2011-02-23 10:04:21

By Rockford Coscia While most biotech investors are more focused on Xenoport’s (NASDAQ:XNPT) PDUFA date for Horizant (gabapentin enacarbil), a treatment for restless leg syndrome (RLS), there exists a reasonably significant catalyst prior to that e > read more

SIGA Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) Spikes On Contract Possibilities

Published on 2011-02-23 06:54:55

By VFC’s Stock House SIGA Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGA) spiked by twenty percent on Tuesday when news hit the wires that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) had commenced a new procurement request for a smallp > read more

Motorola (NYSE:MMI) Xoom Gets Official $600 Price Tag

Published on 2011-02-22 17:56:01

By Amy Gilroy Motorola (NYSE:MMI) officially listed the price for its Xoom tablet due on February 24 as $599.99 with a 2-year Verizon (NYSE:VZ) contract: a gutsy price given the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad ranges in price from $499 to $829. The Xoom > read more

Portfolio Moves: TMRK, CODI

Published on 2011-02-22 17:38:30

By Jim Van Meerten Terremark World Wide (NASDAQ:TMRK) This morning I closed out my position in Terremark World Wide (TMRK) in the Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio. Verizon (NYSE:VZ) has made a tender offer of 19 and the stock is trading in t > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to Reveal iPad 2 March 2nd: Reports

Published on 2011-02-22 17:06:32

By Amy Gilroy Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to introduce a new version of the iPad at a press conference March 2nd, according to reports in AllThingsD. Consumers will be able to take delivery on the device in April, as expected, claimed Reuters, r > read more

Forest Laboratories (NYSE:FRX) to Acquire Clinical Data (NASDAQ:CLDA)

Published on 2011-02-22 14:20:40

By Rockford Coscia In a move proving that RJ Kirk knows how to sell a company quickly, Clinical Data (NASDAQ:CLDA) announced plans this morning for the company to be acquired by Forest Labs (NYSE:FRX) for $30/share in cash with $6/share contingent u > read more

Generex Biotechnology (GNBT): Earnings Alert

Published on 2011-02-22 13:44:31

By VFC’s Stock House With Generex Biotechnology (OTC:GNBT) set to report earnings and host a quarterly conference call within just a couple of weeks, expectations will be high as investors are awaiting updates on several fronts from this comp > read more

Delcath Sytems (NASDAQ:DCTH) Receives Refusal to File Letter from the FDA

Published on 2011-02-22 13:04:21

By Rockford Coscia Delcath Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:DCTH) this morning reported that it received a refusal to file letter from the FDA for its chemosaturation system NDA for metastatic ocular melanoma. The company cited what appear to be chemistry manuf > read more

The Price is Right — Agora Financial Style

Published on 2011-02-22 10:26:35

By Jeff Pierce Last summer at Agora Financial they had their annual “Whisky Bar” Panel where they made predictions and took questions from the audience. All of the guests made their best guesstimate as to where the Dow Jones would be this time ne > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad 2 Delayed: Report

Published on 2011-02-22 10:11:05

By Amy Gilroy Those waiting for the new version of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad will have to hold out even longer. Apple is delaying the launch of the iPad 2 from April until June, due to problems in production at Tawain’s Hon Hai facility. Re > read more

The Coming Shutdowns and Showdowns: What’s Really at Stake

Published on 2011-02-21 13:23:58

By Robert Reich Wisconsin is in a showdown. Washington is headed for a government shutdown. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker won’t budge. He insists on delivering a knockout blow to public unions in his state (except for those, like the police, who > read more

Bear Market Sectors Could Move Soon: XLF, XLE, XLV

Published on 2011-02-20 17:44:53

By Jeff Pierce Based on the following chart from InvestTech one can make a strong case that we are about to enter the defensive stage. The financial ETF (XLF) has not been performing well since the bounce in ’09, as it’s mostly been trading in a > read more

Biotech Analyst Activity: PLX, HGSI, XNPT, SSPI

Published on 2011-02-20 17:03:51

By Rockford Coscia Here’s the most up-to-date analyst activity for biotech catalyst stocks of the past week. Protalix (AMEX:PLX) – 2/18 – Wells Fargo Securities maintains outperform. 2/15 – Oppenheimer & Co. maintains outperform, p > read more

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC:IMUC): Worth Buying on the Retreat?

Published on 2011-02-20 15:04:33

By VFC’s Stock House ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC:IMUC) has traded significantly higher to open the new year of 2011, touching an intra-day high of $2.29 before retreating back down to under the $2.00 mark, where it closed last week at $1. > read more

U.S. Had to Export Jobs for Demographic Reasons

Published on 2011-02-20 03:29:33

By John Lounsbury Recent analysis found that the U.S. trade balance deficit for manufactured goods was the equivalent of almost 29 million jobs over the past 19 years. The analysis referred to these as exported jobs. What if some of the manufacturin > read more

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA): Quad Core Tablets and Smartphones Coming This Year

Published on 2011-02-19 20:25:30

By Amy Gilroy Dual core tablets and smartphones are only recently shipping but quad core tablets versions are already on the way. NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) announced a quad core Tegra chip this week which should arrive in tablets this August and in smart > read more

General Motors (NYSE:GM) Unveils Answer to Ford (NYSE:F) Sync

Published on 2011-02-19 14:20:25

By Amy Gilroy First, General Motors (NYSE:GM) announced the OnStar retail mirror this year and now it is getting sexy on the radio side with the Chevy MyLink to appear initially on the Chevy Volt and Equinox this fall. Chevy MyLink lets you connect y > read more

Borders’ (NYSE:BGP) Bankruptcy

Published on 2011-02-19 10:04:06

By Steven Hansen This week Econintersect had a major focus on retail sales data, punctuated with the failure of Borders (NYSE:BGP). It is always sad when a company goes into bankruptcy. In the case of Borders, I was alerted by BankruptcyData.com: B > read more

BIO CEO & Investor Conference Presentation Impressions: Day Two

Published on 2011-02-19 07:17:02

By Rockford Coscia As promised, here is part two of my BIO CEO & Investor Conference impressions: Optimer (NASDAQ:OPTR): Optimer will quite clearly be focusing on the patient populations that are at high of clostridium difficile infection (CDI) r > read more

Leading Economic Index Upward Movement Continues

Published on 2011-02-19 06:19:38

By Steven Hansen Since the second quarter of 2009, the Leading Economic Index® has continued an almost uninterrupted vertical ascent. From the February 2011 press release: The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0 > read more

Divergences Abound

Published on 2011-02-19 05:52:10

By Jeff Pierce When the markets are hitting all time highs and indicators like the RSI and ADX (my 2 favorite) are climbing higher and higher each day, the likelihood of a pullback is low as it takes some time for the momentum to slow down. However > read more

TomTom Profits Fall 29%; PNDs to Fall 10-15%

Published on 2011-02-18 16:23:14

By Amy Gilroy TomTom profits fell 29 percent for the fourth quarter but the results were better than many analysts predicted. TomTom is planning for a 10 to 15 percent drop in portable navigation device (PND) sales globally in 2011 it said Friday. It > read more

Philly Fed Business Survey Says Everything Points to Growth

Published on 2011-02-18 15:58:33

By Steven Hansen It is hard to imagine a summary of a survey of business which would sound more positive than the headlines for the February 2011 Philadelphia Fed’s Business Outlook Survey.  However, although the survey is positive, it is not a b > read more

Ford (NYSE:F) Doles Out $75 For Each MyFord Touch

Published on 2011-02-18 15:26:54

By Amy Gilroy Ford (NYSE:F) announced this week it will give its auto dealers a $75 stipend for every vehicle sold with MyFord Touch or MyLincoln Touch, reports The Detroit Free Press. The perk is designed to cover the costs that auto dealers are rac > read more

Investor Education Portfolio: NVO, MCRS, JW.A

Published on 2011-02-18 11:35:42

By Jim Van Meerten This is part 3 of my 10 picks for my challenge to the students of Charlotte Latin and their competition in the Stock Market Game.  (Read Part 1 and Part 2) They can buy and sell as they please but I’ll just buy 10 stocks and > read more

Consumer Price Increase in January 2011 Moderate

Published on 2011-02-18 07:52:40

By Steven Hansen On a logical scale, the moderate increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January 2011 makes sense. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.4 percent in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U > read more

CytoSorbents Corporation (CTSO): Patents Approved, Trial Results Next?

Published on 2011-02-18 07:33:04

By VFCs Stock House Any news posted to the wires from Cytosorbents Corporation (OTC:CTSO) is going to draw increased attention these days with news of full enrollment and/or results from the European CytoSorb sepsis trial expected at any time. Th > read more

Sea Containers Foretell Growing USA Trade Gap

Published on 2011-02-18 06:50:49

By Steven Hansen The import/export price data released for January 2011 shows export prices increased 6.8% while import prices increased 5.3% YoY. With elements of inflation beginning to creep into data, counting things – and not using values allo > read more

BIO CEO & Investor Conference Presentation Impressions: Day One

Published on 2011-02-18 06:24:06

By Rockford Coscia I wanted to run through my impressions of the presentations at the BIO CEO & Investor conference that recently occurred in NYC. I will, of course, try to present every appropriate piece of context with my information, but you > read more

Search For Life Continues in Residential Construction

Published on 2011-02-17 07:19:40

By Steven Hansen Although not obvious, residential construction may be reaching a bottom. For almost the first time since mid 2006, more permits to build housing units were issued then construction completion in the month of January 2011. For over 4 > read more

Lojack (NASDAQ:LOJN) Reports Profitable Q4

Published on 2011-02-17 06:58:01

By Amy Gilroy Lojack (NASDAQ:LOJN) reported a profitable December quarter as auto sales picked up. And it plans to offer new, more aggressive programs to car dealers who are looking for new areas of profit. The company’s U.S. unit sales grew 15 per > read more

Investor Education Portfolio: STJ, ROST, RIMM

Published on 2011-02-16 10:29:39

By Jim Van Meerten Yesterday I shared with you information about the Stock Market Game for students across the country.  During the next 10 weeks I’ll update you on how the teams I’m mentoring at Charlotte Latin in Charlotte , NC are doi > read more

Clinical Data (NASDAQ:CLDA) Buyout?

Published on 2011-02-16 10:18:02

By VFC’s Stock House Shares of Clinical Data (NASDAQ:CLDA) were on the surge during Tuesday’s trading, flying higher by over 15% with three times the daily average having traded before 3 PM EST. Speculation of a buyout has been in the air > read more

Buying Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO)

Published on 2011-02-16 10:04:03

By Growth Stock Investor (originally posted on Feb. 15th) I purchased a 10% position in Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) today with an average entry pribce of $52.56. This was an extremely aggressive entry due to “personality” of this stock. When > read more

Investor Education Portfolio: WFMI, TJX, SYK

Published on 2011-02-15 05:28:05

By Jim Van Meerten Twice a year The Foundation for Investor Education holds a Stock Market Game for students across the country.  The students open portfolios on-line and can invest in  a $100,000 simulated portfolio.  They have 2 goals over the 1 > read more

Penny Stock Plays: CELH, GNBT

Published on 2011-02-15 04:37:08

By VFC’s Stock House Celsius Holdings (Pink:CELH): Celsius Holdings will be looking for a bounce-back quarter after the disappointing results reported for the third quarter of 2010. It looks like February 28th will be the report date, and since tha > read more

BioTech Analyst Activity: PLX, HGSI, OPTR, XNPT, SPPI

Published on 2011-02-13 12:09:27

By Rockford Coscia Here is your weekly update of analyst activity on biotech catalyst stocks: Protalix BioTherapeutics (AMEX:PLX) - 2/9 – Canaccord Genuity maintains buy, price target of $13.00 2/8 – UBS downgrades to neutral (from buy), price ta > read more

Who Says Republicans Have No New Ideas?

Published on 2011-02-11 20:54:07

By Robert Reich Quiz: Which of the 2012 presidential aspirants delivered the following words at the Conservative Political Action Convention, now underway in Washington? We have seen tax-and-tax spend-and-spend reach a fantastic total greater than in > read more

General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar Expands to 3,000 Dealers

Published on 2011-02-11 14:32:36

By Amy Gilroy General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar’s upcoming retail mirror, which will expand its service beyond GM cars, is now expected to carried by 3,000 retailers when it launches this spring. InstallerNet announced Thursday that many of i > read more

Sutron (NASDAQ:STRN) Showing Positive Price Momentum

Published on 2011-02-11 14:10:10

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I’m adding Sutron (NASDAQ:STRN) to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio based on positive price momentum. Sutron Corporation designs, manufactures, installs, and supports system solutions for the foll > read more

Did the USA Trade Balance Deficit Increase in December 2010?

Published on 2011-02-11 13:59:40

By Steven Hansen With the escalating cost of crude oil, it should come as no surprise that the trade balance should have grown in December 2010. But depending how you look at it, in some respects it is also trending lower. Consider, exports are grow > read more

Five Small Caps You Can’t Ignore

Published on 2011-02-11 13:00:01

By Jim Van Meerten With 600 stocks in the S&P 600 Small Cap Index how do you decide which ones should be on your watch lists?  This morning I used Barchart to screen all 600 and find those with the most consistent momentum. Here are the five yo > read more

BioElectronics (BIEL) In The News, Buyout Talk?

Published on 2011-02-11 12:20:26

By VFC’s Stock House It’s been a slow go of it for BioElectronics Corp (PINK:BIEL) so far in 2011, as the company awaits news from the FDA regarding over-the-counter (OTC) clearances for the ActiPatch and Allay, but a local news article > read more

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) Adopts Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone OS

Published on 2011-02-11 11:42:08

By Amy Gilroy Nokia (NYSE:NOK), the world’s largest phone maker, will use Microsoft’s (NYSE:MSFT) Windows Phone OS as the main software for its smartphones in an effort to stem Nokia’s sliding market share. Under the deal, Nokia and Microsoft w > read more

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Conference Call Paints a Challenging Future for Afrezza

Published on 2011-02-11 11:12:14

By Rockford Coscia Yesterday, MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) held a conference call to discuss it 4Q 2010 earnings. In addition, the ‘path forward’ was also discussed in more detail than offered from the CRL (NASDAQ:CRL) conference call a few weeks ago. > read more

Wholesale Sector Continues Record Breaking Sales

Published on 2011-02-10 22:17:59

By Steven Hansen The unadjusted sales growth of the wholesale trade sector of the economy has been up-trending steadily for the last four months. Last month was the best November ever – December 2010 is the best December ever. This four month in a > read more

Hewlett-Parkard (NYSE:HPQ) TouchPad Tablet PC Due This Summer

Published on 2011-02-10 08:05:14

By Amy Gilroy Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) announced its much awaited webOS TouchPad Tablet and showed off a new feature that automatically syncs info to a phone by tapping the phone against the tablet. The benefit here is you use the larger 9.7-inch t > read more

Sillerman’s “Mystery Media Company” Has Wall Street Hooked

Published on 2011-02-10 06:43:56

By Tom Taylor, Posted on Radio-Info.com On Tuesday, Gateway Industries (GWAY.PK)– the shell company Bob Sillerman revealed that he’d just bought – zoomed from 1 cent a share to $1.89. That was an 18,000% gain. Then yesterday, the stock raced up > read more

Technical Analysis: Keltner Channels

Published on 2011-02-10 06:20:47

By Jeff Pierce This makes most traders sounds like savages…lol “Most investors’ decisions “can only be taken as a result of animal spirtis–of a spontaneous urge to action rather than inaction, and not the outcome of a weighted average of be > read more

Why the Republicans Attack on “Job-Killing Regulations” is Dumb

Published on 2011-02-10 06:15:09

By Robert Reich Republicans aim to end all “job-killing regulations” — especially those that, according to House Speaker John Boehner, are “strangling” business with detailed requirements over health, safety, the environment, corporate gove > read more

Diesel Consumption: Weather’s Economic Effects

Published on 2011-02-10 05:40:09

By Steven Hansen Diesel consumption is down slightly MoM in January 2011, but this month’s diesel usage allowed the boys and girls at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management to postulate the effects on the economy from January’s snow storms. Unlik > read more

Vix Signaling Possible Correction

Published on 2011-02-10 04:25:17

By Jeff Pierce I see this as an important chart that I keep coming back to in my nightly research that is signaling that a correction is very close.  Over the past 3 and a half years when the Volatility S&P 500 (VIX) gets near the 15 level it ha > read more

Penny Stock Plays: MCLN, SNRS

Published on 2011-02-10 04:12:40

By VFC’s Stock House MedClean Technologies (OTC:MCLN): After starting off the new year with a bang, shares of MCLN may have retreated back into ‘BUY’ territory. A high-volumed January run nearly had shares reach the penny mark, but > read more

Buying Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS)

Published on 2011-02-10 03:30:00

By Growth Stock Investor (This article was originally posted on Wed. Feb 9th, 2011) I just purchased a 15% position of Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS) for my portfolio at an average entry of $29.92. The initial risk stop is being put at $27.70, the bott > read more

AOL (NYSE:AOL) Aquires The Huffington Post: Writers Outraged

Published on 2011-02-10 03:23:51

By Brian Newman Rayl AOL (NYSE:AOL) and The Huffington Post have announced that AOL will be acquiring The Huffington Post for $315 million. The Huffington Post will be combined with other AOL content such as TechCrunch, PopEater, Engadget, and Movief > read more

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) Showing Positive Balance Sheet, Price Movement

Published on 2011-02-09 00:19:31

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I added Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) to the Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio not only for its recent price movement but also for its very solid balance sheet. (Click Chart to Enlarge) PSA is a fully integrated, s > read more

iPad 2 is in Production: WSJ Sources

Published on 2011-02-08 22:12:27

By Amy Gilroy It shouldn’t be long before a sleeker, faster version of the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad sporting a camera for video chat is available as an iPad 2 is already in production, says The Wall Street Journal citing anonymous sources. The dev > read more

JOLTS Data Says Job Hiring = Job Separation = Few New Jobs

Published on 2011-02-08 21:47:36

By Steven Hansen Normally I pass on a deep analysis of the BLS Job Opening and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) data as it is over 30 days out of sync with the jobs report. But the BLS jobs data for both December and January (analysis here and here) were dis > read more

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS): Wedge Partners Analyst Martin Pyykkonen Weighs in Before Earnings

Published on 2011-02-08 14:35:02

By Demian Russian Wedge Partners Senior Equity Analyst Martin Pyykkonen weighs in on Disney (NYSE:DIS) before the company reports 1QF11 earnings after the bell. In a research report issued today, Pyykkonen expects Disney to likely deliver strong resu > read more

Optimer Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OPTR): BIP Quick Analysis

Published on 2011-02-08 11:05:28

By Rockford Coscia Optimer Therapeutics — (NASDAQ:OPTR) Upcoming Catalysts: FDA Advisory Panel meeting for Fidaxomicin (clostridium difficile infection) - April 5, 2011 PDUFA date for FDA decision on Fidaxomicin NDA (clostridium difficile inf > read more

Obama’s New Deal with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Published on 2011-02-08 10:42:05

By Robert Reich “We can, and we must, work together,” the President told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today. “Whatever differences we may have, I know that all of us share a deep, abiding belief in this country, a belief in our people, a belief > read more

Market Update: ProShares UltraShort Technical Analysis

Published on 2011-02-08 02:06:31

By Jeff Pierce ProShares UltraShort (NYSE/ARCA:TBT) has been slowly chugging along in an upward fashion since it bottomed in late summer. It’s possible we run into resistance around the $42.24 area, but if that’s breached, I believe we’re goin > read more

Consumer Credit Expands in December 2010

Published on 2011-02-07 20:16:37

By Steven Hansen Consumer Credit expanded in December 2010 – the question is whether whether the expansion was below normal. A better question is what is normal. According to the Federal Reserve: Consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 2-1/ > read more

Initiated Buy on 3D Systems Corporation (NASDAQ:TDSC)

Published on 2011-02-07 19:53:57

By Growth Stock Investor Today I added a position, consisting of 25% of my portfolio, of 3D Systems Corporation (NASDAQ:TDSC) at an average price of $31.06 to my holdings. This is a longer term core holding with significant risk taken on it. The init > read more

Three Great Steel Stocks to Watch

Published on 2011-02-07 14:40:26

By Jim Van Meerten If the economy is to recover steel is not an optional industry — it’s an essential industry right in the core of the auto, infrastructure and manufacturing industries. It’s hard to think of an industry that does n > read more

Catalyst: A Reason to Be

Published on 2011-02-07 13:00:56

By Growth Stock Investor A stock must have an underlying reason to move. Just a quantitative view will sometime lead us to buy a stock that will move quick and then crash. From everything from a short-term trade to a long-term growth prospect, ther > read more

Epicept (NASDAQ:EPCT) Announces Positive NP-1 Phase IIb Trial: Time to Buy?

Published on 2011-02-07 12:11:50

By VFC’s Stock House An early Monday press release by Epicept Corporation (NASDAQ:EPCT) announced that a Phase IIb trial for NP-1, a topical analgesic cream, proved successful when treating patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy > read more

Verizon (NASDAQ:VZ) iPhone Pre-orders To Arrive As Soon As Today

Published on 2011-02-07 10:43:11

By Brian Newman Rayl Verizon Wireless (NASDAQ:VZ) began the pre-order process for the new version of the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone on February 3rd at 3:00 am. Those phones available for pre-order were sold out in less than 24 hours. This was an exci > read more

Uranium Breaking Out

Published on 2011-02-07 03:38:24

By Jeff Pierce There is a lot of momentum in the Uranium space and here are a few potential plays. The Global Uranium ETF (NYSE:URA) broke out of an 8 week consolidation on Feb 1st on higher volume and then spent 2 days giving back very little on lig > read more

Titan (OTC:TTNB): The Fanapt Royalty

Published on 2011-02-07 03:07:47

By VFC’s Stock House After weeks of a running share price amid speculation that a buyout may be in the works, Titan Pharmaceuticals (OTC:TTNB) announced its share of the fourth quarter Fanapt sales during Thursday’s late evening (EST) > read more

‘One Good Trade’ by Mike Bellafiore: A Review

Published on 2011-02-07 02:39:47

By Jeff Pierce I had high hopes for the recently published “One Good Trade” (Wiley Publishing) with a price point near $60 and many positive reviews on Amazon. Given that the book was written by Mike Bellafiore, who co-owns SMB Capital and runs t > read more

Recent BioTech Analyst Activity

Published on 2011-02-06 07:56:47

By Rockford Coscia This week the most interesting analyst updates came from Depomed, which recently received approval for Gralise, and Orexigen, which had its obesity treatment Contrave rejected in dramatic fashion. Here are those two, along with oth > read more

Closing In On 2007 Highs

Published on 2011-02-05 21:46:52

By Jeff Pierce I wanted to take a moment to see how far we’ve coming off the ’08 lows to potentially see what road bumps could be coming down the road. The AMEX networking index has been a strong performer and showed up on my sector scan on Frid > read more

Opposing Views On The Housing Market

Published on 2011-02-05 17:39:13

By Jeff Pierce When trading in the Stock Market there is almost always a couple of different ways to look at data and charts. When I first looked at the chart below I saw the breakout, but then I also noticed the bearish wedge that is forming. To str > read more

Follow the Leaders to Time the Market

Published on 2011-02-05 15:05:52

By Growth Stock Investor One of the best ways to read the market is to read leadership and relative strength/weakness. Often the strongest stocks breakdown first and hint to a decaying market before it actually happens. On the reverse, if the market > read more

BLS Employment Data Is Too Bad to Be True

Published on 2011-02-04 13:56:31

By Steven Hansen As a devout skeptic of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) methodology, the January 2011 jobs report filled my wildest expectations for nonsense. In a series of moves over the last two months, the BLS has dropped the unemployment rate > read more

The Individual Mandate in the Health Care Bill: Why We Should Trade Broccoli and Asparagus for Hot Dogs and Apple Pie

Published on 2011-02-04 13:24:12

By Robert Reich The Republican vote to repeal the new health care law is purely symbolic. But there’s one provision of the law that Republicans are likely to try to defund, and they may have the public with them on this. It’s the so-called “in > read more

The Motorola (NYSE:MMI-WI) Atrix 4G Lands March 6th as AT&T’s (NYSE:T) Lead Phone

Published on 2011-02-04 12:44:05

By Amy Gilroy The Atrix 4G, a phone with 2GHz of desktop-like processing, will go on pre-sale on February 13th and will be available March 6th at select retailers and AT&T (NYSE:T) at $199.99 with contract. AT&T is making the Atrix its “le > read more

Is it Possible the Jobs Cavalry Will Ride to the Rescue?

Published on 2011-02-04 12:21:17

By Steven Hansen GDP is technically in a expansion phase – finally exceeding December 2007 levels, although recovery is only half completed when the metric is GDP normalized to population growth. What is different “this time” are the economic > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone Pre-orders Sold Out at Verizon (NYSE:VZ)

Published on 2011-02-04 10:53:28

By Amy Gilroy Pre-orders for the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 4 on Verizon (NYSE:VZ) sold out in less than 24 hours, after sales began at 3 am on February 3rd. Consumers can still purchase an iPhone 4 in stores on February 10 at Verizon and Apple sto > read more

The Jobs Report and America’s Two Economies

Published on 2011-02-04 10:39:04

By Robert Reich At a time when corporate profits are through the roof, the Dow is flirting with 12,000, Wall Street paychecks are fat again, and big corporations are sitting on more than $1 trillion in cash, you’d expect jobs be coming back. But yo > read more

Fidelity Southern (NASDAQ:LION) Speculative Bet

Published on 2011-02-04 06:50:06

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I added Fidelity Southern (NASDAQ:LION) to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio.  You’ve got to love a stock with the trading symbol of LION. Fidelity Southern Corporation, through its operating subsid > read more

Gold and Silver Ready To Run

Published on 2011-02-04 06:18:37

By Jeff Pierce Just in time for my market timing signal to turn bullish, I’m seeing signs that now is the time to get back into the gold and silver markets. It appears that we’ve found support of GLD and SLV right where I had drawn it up. Silver > read more

Non-Farm Business Productivity Improves in 2010 — Is This Bad News?

Published on 2011-02-03 17:25:36

By Steven Hansen According to the BLS, nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 2.6 percent annual rate during the fourth quarter of 2010. Part of the press release read as follows: This gain in productivity reflects increases of 4.5 > read more

Why the Republican Budget Plan is a Hairball

Published on 2011-02-03 17:05:20

By Robert Reich The federal budget is $3.8 trillion. The Republicans have just come up with their plan to cut the federal budget. They’ve found $32 billion of cuts. Their fiery campaign rhetoric, fierce determination, righteous indignation, and blo > read more

Harman (NYSE:HAR) Hints at Advanced Retail 12V System

Published on 2011-02-03 15:48:51

By Amy Gilroy In announcing its Q2 earnings Harman’s (NYSE:HAR) CEO hinted that the technology behind Toyota’s (NYSE:TM) upcoming Entune car radio/smartphone system may head to the aftermarket. In addition, due to expected laws about back up came > read more

ISM Non-Manufacturing Survey Improves in January

Published on 2011-02-03 15:26:52

By Steven Hansen After seeing the improving ADP employment data on the service sector (analysis here), it should not be a surprise that the purchasing managers believe the service segment of the economy is expanding in January 2011. The service seg > read more

Three Stocks in the Packaging and Container Sector: (NYSE:GPK), (NYSE:BLL), (NYSE:ATR)

Published on 2011-02-03 15:08:14

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I added Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) to the Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio. I found it while screening on Barchart for those companies hitting the most frequent new highs.  The company is in the Packaging a > read more

Strong Improvement for Manufacturing in December

Published on 2011-02-03 14:50:30

By Steven Hansen After months of analysis showing manufacturing was flat, Econintersect believes the US Census o.2% improvement in new orders for December 2010 is understated – and likely the improvement was 1.1%. There never was a dispute that ma > read more

Verizon iPhone Sales Start Tonight

Published on 2011-02-02 21:35:59

By Brian Newman Rayl Verizon (NYSE:VZ) will start offering the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone starting tonight (well, tomorrow technically) for current Verizon subscribers who are eligible for a phone upgrade. The email reads: Because we appreciate and v > read more

News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWS), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Announces First Daily eNewspaper Launching Today

Published on 2011-02-02 17:33:59

By Amy Gilroy The first Daily eNewspaper specifically for the iPad was announced today by publisher Rupert Murdoch of News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS) and Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Eddy Cue (in lieu of Apple CEO Steve Jobs who is on medical leave). “The Daily, > read more

ADP and Challenger: Strong Employment Gains

Published on 2011-02-02 13:31:45

By Steven Hansen Before this week is over, the USA January jobs picture should be complete – but the first bulls out of the pen – paycheck processor ADP and outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas provide data that is consistent with  > read more

Introduction to the Leveraged Buyout

Published on 2011-02-02 13:07:22

By Growth Stock Investor Introduction: A Leveraged Buyout (LBO) is, in simplicity, when Company A (the Acquirer or Financial Sponsor) buys Company B (the Target) using mostly debt to finance the cost of acquisition. By using mostly debt with a fracti > read more

Stocks Up, Houses Down: What This Means for Most Americans

Published on 2011-02-02 01:12:18

By Robert Reich Put your ear to the ground and you can almost hear the bulls stampeding. The Dow closed above 12,000 Tuesday for the first time since June 2008. The Dow is up 4 percent this year after increasing 11 percent in 2010. The Standard & > read more

ISM Manufacturing Survey’s Improvement Continues

Published on 2011-02-01 13:54:57

By Steven Hansen I do not put much stock in surveys. They are entertaining, and have elements of truth if you are lucky enough to identify them. As a former form-filler-outer of these surveys, my secretary was assigned to complete them. I had real th > read more

Taxes and Inflation Are Draining Us

Published on 2011-02-01 13:34:50

By Jeff Pierce The entire time I’ve been in Canada the price of gas has baffled me. I’ve been so used to measuring my tanks of gas by the gallon that when I got here and tried to think in terms of liters it never really translated, especially whe > read more

Construction Spending Still Falling

Published on 2011-02-01 13:18:04

By Steven Hansen Econintersect agrees with the US Census – Construction spending is down in December 2010. It is down month over month, and year over year whether you use the goverment’s methodology (down 2.5%) or Econintersect’s (down 1.5%). > read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab Returns High

Published on 2011-02-01 11:49:44

By Amy Gilroy Some air has been let out of Samsung’s (SSNHY, 005930.SE) balloon this week when it comes to the Galaxy Tab. First, the company admitted that sell through to consumers hasn’t been anywhere near the sell in to dealers, reported AllT > read more

Orexigen (NASDAQ:OREX) Receives Complete Response Letter for Contrave

Published on 2011-02-01 11:27:04

By Rockford Coscia This morning, Orexigen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OREX) announced it had received a complete response letter (CRL) from the FDA relating to its obesity treatment, Contrave. In addition, Orexigen must complete a pre-marketing study to > read more

Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) Streak 7 Reviews: Price Good, Screen Not So Much

Published on 2011-02-01 11:03:48

By Amy Gilroy Reviewers said the Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) Streak 7 that goes on sale via T-Mobile Wednesday could be a respectable, more pocketable alternative to the iPad. but its sub-par screen is a disappointment. The device is easy on the wallet, at ju > read more

Technical Analysis Shows Bearish Signals

Published on 2011-02-01 02:23:35

By Jeff Pierce Today marked the first time since November that my market timing signal has gone bearish. At that time the upside momentum was too strong to allow the markets to correct properly, but I think this time is different. Or possibly it was > read more

Economic Forecast for February 2011 – Black Swan Uncertainty

Published on 2011-01-31 22:51:36

By Steven Hansen The recent release of 4Q2010 GDP shows that the USA economy, from a traditional bookkeeping point of view, has left the recovery stage – and the economy is now technically back into an expansion phase. Expansion begins when GDP ex > read more

NPS Pharma (NASDAQ:NPSP) Announces Positive GATTEX Phase 3 Study Results

Published on 2011-01-31 17:13:54

By Rockford Coscia NPS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:NPSP) announced this morning that it met primary endpoints in its pivotal phase III study for GATTEX (taduglutide) for the treatment of short bowel syndrome. The primary endpoint of the study was reducti > read more

IMAX (NASDAQ:IMAX): International Growth Is Key

Published on 2011-01-31 16:48:39

By Brian Newman Rayl The key to IMAX’s (NASDAQ:IMAX) growth outlook for the fourth quarter 2010 and full-year 2011 will be international screen growth, according to a newly issued research note from Martin Pyykkonen, Senior Equity Analyst for W > read more

General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar Mirror Due at 1,600 Stores

Published on 2011-01-31 16:10:53

By Amy Gilroy General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar identified Monday many of the car electronics stores to carry its $299 retail mirror, beyond Best Buy (which it named at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this month). The mirror finally br > read more

Who Knew Volkswagen Was So Cool?

Published on 2011-01-31 15:39:19

By Jeff Pierce Mondays can be a little blah, especially after the Friday we had. I think most traders are tiptoeing today trying to decide if there’s more downside left, or if we’re at a spot where the funds are going to step in and buy. These en > read more

iCar Black Box Turns Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone into DVR

Published on 2011-01-31 15:25:25

By Amy Gilroy Digital video recorders for the car can be helpful in determining who hit whom in a fender bender. Now, there’s an app for that. The iCar Black Box app helps you use your Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone as a DVR. Yes, you can just mount y > read more

The Earnings Cycle

Published on 2011-01-31 15:10:37

By Growth Stock Investor When looking for (and at) companies that are growing, it is very important to identify where in their Earnings Cycle they are. It is not enough to simply look at earning growth and label it a growth stock. A stock with strong > read more

Personal Income and Expenditures Show Joe Sixpack Sliding Back Into Recession

Published on 2011-01-31 14:36:37

By Steven Hansen December 2010 Personal Income and Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) presentation is distorting the state of the USA’s economic recovery expansion. Simply put, this is an economic expansion of the rich, while the Joe Sixpack > read more

Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android Tablets Gain on Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad

Published on 2011-01-31 14:11:47

By Amy Gilroy Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad slipped from its peak 95 percent share in Q3 of the tablet market it basically created, as Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android tablets led by Samsung’s (SSNHY, 005930.SE) Galaxy Tablet won favor. Nearly > read more

Multiple Indicators Point to a Correction

Published on 2011-01-31 13:54:13

By Jeff Pierce Friday could be one of those landmark days that mark the end of this recent rally, and it’s sad that it took the protests in Egypt to be the catalyst for a sell-off. If we follow through and all three of the major indexes fall below > read more

Recent BioTech Analyst Activity

Published on 2011-01-30 00:13:15

By Rockford Coscia The big mover in terms of analyst activity this week was, of course, Clinical Data which recently had its antidepressant Viibryd approved by the FDA. Depomed (NASDAQ:DEPO) also received approval but unfortunately we’ll have to w > read more

Analyzing the Egyptian Index with Three Line Break

Published on 2011-01-29 23:08:18

By Jeff Pierce I wanted to take a look at the Market Vectors Egypt Index (NYSE:EGPT) and see if there was a difference in the types of charts to see if one can gain an edge in getting short. When looking at a 3 line break chart of the Egypt Index yo > read more

Depomed’s (NASDAQ:DEPO) GRALISE Receives FDA Approval

Published on 2011-01-29 14:46:43

By Rockford Coscia Friday nights in January have been kind to the biotech industry as Depomed’s (NASDAQ:DEPO) GRALISE (formerly known as DM-1796) received approval for marketing in the U.S. by the FDA. GRALISE – and extended release formulation > read more

Three Stocks That Have it All!

Published on 2011-01-29 11:40:30

By Jim Van Meerten I was listening to a song by Queen and the lyrics of  ”I want it all, I want it all, I want it all and I want it now” struck a cord for this post. I decided to find three stocks that have it all and they have it now. > read more

Next Week the Jobs Data May Be Screwed Up

Published on 2011-01-28 22:48:53

By Steven Hansen While the politicians wrangle over how much to cut spending in the USA, next week the country gets its report card on employment – ADP on Wednesday, Department of Labor unemployment claims on Thursday, and the Bureau of Labor St > read more

Book Review: The Little Book of Sideways Markets by Vitaliy N. Katsenelson

Published on 2011-01-28 14:09:04

By Jim Van Meerten I don’t do a lot of book reviews because I seem to love books that agree with me and hate books that have a different opinion than mine. Since I am a Momentum Investor who use Barchart I usually don’t like books that dw > read more

General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar Improves Voice Recognition

Published on 2011-01-28 13:38:57

By Amy Gilroy General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar is improving its voice recognition by adding natural speech recognition in 2011 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models. Users can now give conversational commands like, “I need to make a phone cal > read more

Fourth Quarter GDP Up to 3.2% – Likely to be Revised Further Up

Published on 2011-01-28 13:22:57

By Steven Hansen The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the advance estimate of 4Q2011 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showing a 3.2% rise. Like warnings on cigarette packs, deep analysis of these advance numbers likely will draw conclusions which the l > read more

Orexigen’s (NASDAQ:OREX) Contrave: Post-PDUFA Price Targets

Published on 2011-01-28 13:04:17

By Rockford Coscia As promised, I wanted to go over the price targets for various outcomes associated with Orexigen’s (NASDAQ:OREX) Contrave PDUFA date on January 31. Feel free to skip to the end if you’re impatient as I’m going to first go th > read more

Remembering The Flash Crash

Published on 2011-01-27 20:18:03

By Jeff Pierce I came across this video today where you hear live traders and their reaction on May 6th, which of course is the day of the Flash Crash. It’s always useful and interesting to go back and revisit trader’s reactions on monumental tra > read more

Two Million Windows (NASDAQ:MSFT) Phone 7′s Sold

Published on 2011-01-27 20:08:31

By Amy Gilroy Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone 7 is not setting any records, but at least the platform is showing signs of life. The company said it sold more than 2 million units of Windows Phone 7 in its last quarter. And App development h > read more

ETFs: The Long and Short of it All

Published on 2011-01-27 19:39:15

By Jim Van Meerten This mornings post is about ETFs. Over the year I found that ETFs tend to move slower than individual stocks but they also tend to follow a trend for a longer period of time. I used Barchart to screen for the ETFs hitting the most > read more

January Existing Home Sales Outlook: Terrible, Based on December Pending Home Sales

Published on 2011-01-27 18:04:04

By Steven Hansen Analysis by Econintersect points to a third year of terrible home sales, at least at the start, based on the pending home sales data released by the National Association of Realtors. The NAR, continuing to use innovative technique > read more

Four Long Ideas With Momentum

Published on 2011-01-27 17:24:09

By Jeff Pierce Here are four stocks that are displaying above average strength and breaking out to new multi-year highs. All have released earnings save for Perrigo (NASDAQ:PRGO), which is scheduled to release on February 1st. I don’t like to hold > read more

Approval Odds on Orexigen’s (NASDAQ:OREX) Contrave

Published on 2011-01-27 14:34:01

By Rockford Coscia Next week, we will likely hear the FDA response to the final of the three obesity treatments currently vying for approval in  the U.S. Orexigen’s (NASDAQ:OREX) Contrave – a sustained release formulation of bupropion and naltre > read more

Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) Falls Short Again On Revenue

Published on 2011-01-27 13:41:49

By Brian Newman Rayl Wedge Partners Senior Equity Analyst Martin Pyykkonen released a research note regarding the Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) fourth quarter and full year 2010 earnings report, which was released by the company on Tuesday, January 25th. In t > read more

Sony (NYSE:SNE) Unveils NGP, Android App Store

Published on 2011-01-27 13:03:52

By Amy Gilroy Sony (NYSE:SNE) finally revealed its next generation gaming handheld—codenamed “NGP” or Next Generation Portable—bearing 3G and WiFi connections, motion sensors, a 5-inch OLED screen and a rear touch panel. It won’t hit store > read more

Chicago Fed Activity Index Improves In December

Published on 2011-01-27 11:10:56

By Steven Hansen The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) was up slightly in December 2010. However, Econintersect warns that November and December releases have been revised in subsequent months more than indexes at other times of the year. > read more

Steel Sector Lifts Industrial Stocks

Published on 2011-01-27 10:13:52

By Jeff Pierce By my sector strength scan Steel’s move is by far the most impressive. Not only did we have a breakout that took out the 2010 highs, we did so on 2x the average true range, which means this move should have more to go. Below I inclu > read more

FOMC Meeting News – No Dissenters

Published on 2011-01-26 15:32:45

By Steven Hansen The news for the first FOMC meeting of 2011 is that there were no dissenting views. The 2010 lone dissenter, Thomas M. Hoenig, the Kansas City Fed Chief, was rotated out in 2011. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) consists of t > read more

New Home Sales Skyrocket 17.5% – NOT!

Published on 2011-01-26 15:02:40

By Steven Hansen Listening to the US Census talk about new home sales for December 2010 would give an impression that the economy is turning a major corner. Sales of new single-family houses in December 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate > read more

Verizon (NYSE:VZ) iPhone Will Still Have Unlimited Data Plan (For Now)

Published on 2011-01-26 14:06:01

By Brian Newman Rayl When the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone launches on the Verizon (NYSE:VZ) network on February 10th, users will be able to get an unlimited data plan for $30 per month, according to Verizon Communication’s Chief Operating Office > read more

Ford (NYSE:F) Prototype Car Talks to Other Cars

Published on 2011-01-26 13:33:34

By Amy Gilroy Ford (NYSE:F) is building a prototype car that “talks” to other cars through WiFi to warn if the cars ahead slow down too quickly, and of other hazards. Ford announced Wednesday, it is aggressively pursuing this technology which cou > read more

The President Ignored the Elephant in the Room

Published on 2011-01-26 12:49:33

By Robert Reich The President’s new emphasis on the importance of investing in education, infrastructure, and basic research in order to build the nation’s long-term competitive capacities is appropriate. For the last three decades the federal go > read more

Trailer Bridge Inc. (NASDAQ:TRBR): Shipping Without the Pirates

Published on 2011-01-25 20:59:09

By Jim Van Meerten This afternoon I added Trailer Bridge Inc. (NASDAQ:TRBR) to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, they are an integrated trucking and marine freight carrier that provides truckload > read more

Problems at Microsemi (NASDAQ:MSCC)

Published on 2011-01-25 17:46:08

By Growth Stock Investor There are many different accounting red flags that can signal a problem internally with a company. Some consist of asset tricks while other are earnings distortions. When managers artificially tailor their business to the bo > read more

Case-Shiller Joins the Indices Saying Home Prices Are Down in November 2010

Published on 2011-01-25 17:10:08

By Steven Hansen Fact: The Case-Shiller Home Price indexes declined in November 2010. There are a lot of pundits out there discounting the fall in the Case-Shiller home price index for November 2010. They say that Novembers are slow winter months, an > read more

Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) May Discontinue Nook 3G eReader

Published on 2011-01-25 16:56:17

By Amy Gilroy Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) will phase out its black and white 3G Nook, leaving it with only 2 eBook choices: the NOOKcolor and Nook WiFi. If the report in Engadget proves true, the bookseller would put all its eReader eggs in the Wi > read more

Buy Land — They’re Not Making Anymore!

Published on 2011-01-25 14:24:05

By Jim Van Meerten Today I took Will Rogers’ advice and bought Plum Creek Timber (NYSE:PCL) for my Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio. Plum Creek Timber is the second largest private timberland owner in the United States, with approximat > read more

Leak Shows Motorola (NYSE:MMI-WI) Xoom at Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) February 17th

Published on 2011-01-25 14:05:41

By Amy Gilroy A credible Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad tablet competitor — Motorola’s (NYSE:MMI-WI) Xoom — may find its way to Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) in a few weeks at a price of $700 to $800, depending which leak you believe. The tablet is s > read more

InsWeb (NASDAQ:INSW) is a Speculative Bet

Published on 2011-01-25 03:08:34

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I added InsWeb (NASDAQ:INSW) to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio for positive price trends. This is a truly speculative issue that we are buying just ahead of its February 7th earnings announcement. If > read more

Put it in a Box and Make Some Profits

Published on 2011-01-25 02:35:11

By Jim Van Meerten When I go to the store, especially the grocery store, I’m amazed how many products come in a paper box, tube or carton.  If the economy is recovering the way everyone is telling me it is then it would seem that an industry t > read more

Dot Hill Systems (NASDAQ:HILL) Shows Positive Price Trends

Published on 2011-01-24 15:51:18

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I added Dot Hill Systems (NASDAQ:HILL) to the Barchart Van Meerten Speculative portfolio for positive price trends. Dot Hill Systems Corp. is the leading independent provider of carrier-class data storage solutions f > read more

The State of the Union and the Federal Budget: Investing in America’s Future

Published on 2011-01-24 15:28:15

By Robert Reich Word has it that the President will be emphasizing “improving American competitiveness” in his State of the Union Address Tuesday night. As I’ve noted, the term is meaningless — but it’s politically useful. CEOs and many con > read more

Barnes & Noble’s (NYSE:BKS) Nook Newsstand Sales Soar Past Expectations

Published on 2011-01-24 14:23:01

By Amy Gilroy Barnes & Noble’s (NYSE:BKS) latest statistics look promising for the expansion of eReaders and tablets. People not only want to read eBooks on eReaders, but they are willing to subscribe to an eMagazine or eNewspaper. The booksell > read more

The State of the Union and What the President Should Say

Published on 2011-01-23 13:48:05

By Robert Reich The President will have to devote a big part of his speech to the economy, but which economy? Corporate profits are up but jobs and wages remain in the doldrums. People with lots of financial assets, or who are deemed “talent” by > read more

The Sidelines Is The Place To Be

Published on 2011-01-22 20:01:30

By Jeff Pierce It’s looking like Monday is going to be a significant day for my timing signal as today it went bearish, but I like to wait for a 2nd day to confirm to avoid whipsaws. Looking at how far the pendulum of momentum has swung over the la > read more

American Competitiveness: President Obama’s New Relationship With American Business

Published on 2011-01-22 19:48:46

By Robert Reich Whenever you hear a business executive or politician use the term “American competitiveness,” watch your wallet. Few terms in public discourse have gone so directly from obscurity to meaninglessness without any intervening period > read more

Ford Dealers Hold MyFord Touch Lessons

Published on 2011-01-21 15:40:58

By Amy Gilroy Ford (NYSE:F) dealerships are starting to offer customers special demos up to 45 minutes long of the MyFord Touch radio/electronics system in the car, since the system is complex to operate for some drivers. Weeks after Consumer Reports > read more

Today’s Momentum Plays: NTWK, STZYF, PRGO

Published on 2011-01-21 04:13:42

By Jeff Pierce While I still feel like this market is very close to turning over, here are a few bright spots from my momentum scans tonight. NetSol Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ:NTWK) and Stans Energy Corp (STZYF.PK) are lower priced issues that often a > read more

Technical Alert: Bulls Beware

Published on 2011-01-21 03:50:10

By Jeff Pierce Two charts that I use for sentiment have reversed on the same day, which means bad news for the bull camp. I went to cash at the open as I sensed that the dynamics of the market were changing and at this point I’m waiting for my mark > read more

5 Energy Markets To Boost Your Portfolio

Published on 2011-01-20 15:45:37

By Brian Newman Rayl In today’s short video,  it’s going to show you some of the markets that I’m looking at in the energy sector and energy markets. It is going to be looking at coal, oil, solar and some other large energy compani > read more

Philly Fed Business Survey Implies Conditions Improving

Published on 2011-01-20 15:36:38

By Steven Hansen Business conditions continue to be better then any period since 2005 according the Philly Fed’s January 2011 Business Outlook Survey.  It is hard to do an analysis without breaking into laughter when the business respondents in t > read more

GM (NYSE:GM) Eyes Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) in the Car

Published on 2011-01-20 15:23:37

By Amy Gilroy Thought Pioneer (NYSE:PIO) and JVC are the only companies interested in streaming Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) to a car monitor? Nope. General Motors (NYSE:GM) has its eye on apps like Netflix, it said during the Consumer Electronics Show. > read more

Market Summary for January 20, 2011

Published on 2011-01-20 02:26:08

By Growth Stock Investor Today we had a mass of stocks under heavy distribution, ending the day at a count of 275, with only 13 stocks under heavy accumulation. This type of lopsided strength for the bears has not been seen for a while, but has been > read more

China: The Real Economic Lesson They Could Teach Us

Published on 2011-01-20 01:28:52

By Robert Reich Highlighting today’s summit between Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Obama is China’s agreement to buy $45 billion of American exports. The President says this will create more American jobs. That’s not exactly right. I > read more

New Residential Construction Still Seeking a Bottom

Published on 2011-01-19 18:14:40

By Steve Hansen The problem with analytical analysis is that it needs to be anchored to some baseline. When new construction data is analyzed, it is very hard to find a baseline as the data still shows no evidence of bottoming. Here are the headline > read more

Camaro Kits Popular at CES

Published on 2011-01-19 14:11:25

By Amy Gilroy If CES was any indication, Chevy Camaro kits for replacing the factory radio may be a nice seller this year. Alpine Electronics announced its second car-specific kit to date will be designed for the Camaro. Phoenix Gold showed a car-spe > read more

Aegon NV (NYSE:AEG) Making a Turnaround

Published on 2011-01-19 12:34:58

By Jim Van Meerten This morning I added Aegon NV (NYSE:AEG) to the Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio as a turnaround opportunity.  Aegon N.V. is an international insurance group which writes life and health insurance and offers related pensio > read more

Empire State Manufacturing Survey Up and Noisy

Published on 2011-01-19 09:36:09

By Steven Hansen The New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey is a noisy piece of work. Sometimes up, sometimes down – but usually out of step. Survey’s are the lowest and most unreliable source of data for investors. Surveys are meant > read more

Why The VIX Has Me Concerned

Published on 2011-01-19 09:15:34

By Jeff Pierce This chart of the VIX makes a compelling argument for an impending correction. http://screencast.com/t/Nn8syBVH The blue lines on the chart are the Bollinger Bands. They indicate the range of volatility on a chart. When the Bollinger B > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Expresses Confidence in the Future

Published on 2011-01-19 00:28:49

By Amy Gilroy In light of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs’ medical leave, Apple said it is producing the best products it’s ever made and is “very, very confident,” about the future, according to ), who now oversees day to day operations > read more

Container Counts Up 16% in 2011 for Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports

Published on 2011-01-18 21:03:34

By Steven Hansen Exports are growing at record levels with exports (sea container counts) hitting a historical high for Decembers. December 2011 is the third historical high in a row. Economic health of a country can be tracked by following the trans > read more

Semis Lead the Way to More Upside?

Published on 2011-01-18 07:11:43

By Jeff Pierce The semiconductor space had a massive day on Friday and now we must watch to see if this is the start of a big move up or a irrational, bullish-top type move. I’m somewhat partial to this being a blow off move, but all in all I remai > read more

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs Takes Leave of Absence

Published on 2011-01-17 13:58:48

By Amy Gilroy Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs will take a leave of absence for an undermined period to focus on his health, he informed Apple employees in an email Monday. Jobs will still be involved in company decisions but COO Tim Cook will ove > read more

How Meditation Can Improve Your Trading

Published on 2011-01-17 13:22:06

By Jeff Pierce I’m convinced that meditation is an integral part of my own success in trading and after completing “The Intention Experiment” I now know a little of the science behind why. With all of the information that we must digests as tra > read more

Consumer Reports Beats Up Ford’s (NYSE:F) MyFord Touch

Published on 2011-01-14 15:06:31

By Amy Gilroy Consumer Reports says that Ford’s (NYSE:F) MyFord Touch radio and electronics systems may offer lots of functionality, but they may be too complex for some drivers or in some situations. In fact, the publication pulled its coveted “ > read more

Time Perspective (Applied to Trading)

Published on 2011-01-14 14:41:22

By Jeff Pierce Secret Powers of Time The time zones that the narrator speaks of can easily be applied to trading and when he’s describing the two types for each of the categories below, consider how these perspectives can color our trading. Even h > read more

Thank the Weather for Industrial Production Increase in December 2010

Published on 2011-01-14 14:25:01

By Steven Hansen After a relatively flat October and November (analysis here), Industrial Production (IP) came apparently came roaring to life in December 2010. The headlines: Industrial production increased 0.8 percent in December after having ris > read more

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad Continues to Cut PC Growth

Published on 2011-01-14 12:59:22

By Amy Gilroy The Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad continues to cut into PC sales, with IDC claiming it helped slice growth for PCs, from an expected 5.5 percent to 2.7 percent in fourth quarter worldwide shipments. IDC’s research director David Daoud said > read more

Self Correcting Market Poses Unique Situation

Published on 2011-01-14 08:35:41

By Jeff Pierce There is quite a danger premium built into this market as the market continues to grind higher. Here are a few thoughts as to what the look of a correction could look like from user AlbertaRocks on Seeking Alpha referencing the Hinden > read more

3 Hot Computer Peripheral Equipment Stocks

Published on 2011-01-13 15:59:20

By Jim Van Meerten I screened on Barchart to find the sector that had changed the most in the past month and then looked at the Barchart opinion on each stock. These 3 looked the best. TACT – Transact Technologies (NASDAQ:TACT) –  desig > read more

Energy Surging into Producer Price Index Future

Published on 2011-01-13 13:13:18

By Steven Hansen Since the Great Recession, the Producer Price Index (PPI) has been irrelevant. Whatever price increases occurred – the supply chain simply absorbed. Price increases for the most part were not passed on to the consumer. In the Decem > read more

Breakout Alert: Aluminum Sector

Published on 2011-01-13 12:41:02

By Jeff Pierce The iPath DJ-UBS Aluminum ETN (JJU) is the exchange traded note (ETN) option, which gives exposure to a basket of aluminum futures and is carving out a reverse head and shoulder pattern, which if it breaks out should well take this ind > read more

U.S. Trade Balance Deficit Growing Again in November 2010

Published on 2011-01-13 11:57:46

By Steven Hansen Econintersect disagrees with the assessment of the US Census/BEA that the trade balance deficit shrunk in November 2011. The likely reason is the methodology used to seasonally adjust the data. First the headlines from the November > read more

Way Too Many Tablets At CES 2011

Published on 2011-01-12 15:33:14

By Amy Gilroy Maybe 20 of the near 130 tablets on display at the Consumer Electronics Show will be around by next year. So says analyst Robert Heiblim of Blue Salve, which estimates Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will likely sell 40 to 45 million of the 50 mill > read more

Another Record High In December — Diesel Use

Published on 2011-01-12 11:43:20

By Steven Hansen There are deep positive economic rumblings. One indicator Econintersect uses to gauge future economic growth – diesel usage, is at historical highs for Decembers. This data is contained within the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce In > read more

Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad (without MiFi) is Next

Published on 2011-01-11 19:29:29

By Amy Gilroy Not only the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, but the iPad with built in Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) service will soon be available through Verizon, the carrier’s CFO told BusinessWeek Tuesday. While Verizon already stocks a WiFi iPad that > read more

Rail Traffic in 2010 Up 7.3% Year-over-Year

Published on 2011-01-11 19:13:13

By Steven Hansen Rail traffic being up 7.3% YoY is a good gauge of economic expansion. In last month’s analysis Econintersect suggested that rail transport YoY improvement would narrow further in December – and happily we were wrong as the YoY > read more

Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone Preorders Start Febuary 3rd

Published on 2011-01-11 13:03:48

By Amy Gilroy It’s official. Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 4 will be available to Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) customers over its 3G network as of February 10, announced Verizon Tuesday. Pre-orders start February 3 for a 16GB version at $199 and a 3 > read more

Biocentric Energy Holdings Inc. (BEHL) President Michael E. Burton Offers Company Update

Published on 2011-01-10 14:33:51

By Demian Russian Biocentric Energy Holdings Inc. (PINKSHEETS:BEHL) new President Michael E. Burton offered company updates in a company press release issued today. This was the first time that Mr. Burton has spoken to shareholders since he had been > read more

JVC Announces 2011 Car Radio Lineup

Published on 2011-01-10 08:49:50

By Amy Gilroy In case you missed it, JVC Mobile is heavily investing in app use in its 2011 car radio lineup. Many of its new receivers work with either Pandora (with 75 million users), Clear Channel’s (OTCBB:CCMO) iheartradio (with 11.5 millio > read more

Momentum Gainers And Market Update

Published on 2011-01-10 08:32:49

By Jeff Pierce Switching screen capturing software and I think you’ll find this one much clearer. It’s actually easier to use and quicker upload speeds, but the one drawback is the time is limited to 5 minute increments. I believe this will be be > read more

The Verizon iPhone That Cried Wolf

Published on 2011-01-09 10:34:15

Can you hear me now? GOOD! The internet has been a-buzz with rumors that Verizon (NYSE:VZ) would start carrying the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone for years, only to disappoint the masses year after year. The past 6 months has been no different. Countles > read more

December Retail Sales Disappoint

Published on 2011-01-07 10:09:52

By Steven Hansen Same store sales data assembled by the Bank of Tokyo – Mitsubishi UFJ were not significantly better YoY for the Christmas season.   Their headlines: Same-store sales in December were very mixed, but disappointing overall, rising b > read more

Technical Analysis: Breaking Down Gold *With Video*

Published on 2011-01-07 09:36:18

By Brian “Newman” Rayl Just watched a new video on Gold. It gives you some very basic technical analysis that is very simple to understand, very easy to do, and has been nearly infallible over the past 6 months. As you probably know, gold > read more

3 Hot ETFs: VOX, PWV, JKF

Published on 2011-01-07 09:18:01

By Jim Van Meerten When I talk about a hot stock or hot ETF I don’t mean the most active or the fastest moving I’m talking of the ones that have hit the most frequent new high according to the new high lists on Barchart. Here are the ETFs > read more

The Health Care Assualt By Republicans Could Backfire On Them

Published on 2011-01-07 09:04:01

By Robert Reich When it comes to health care, Republicans should be careful what they wish for. Their upcoming vote to repeal the health-care law will be largely symbolic — they don’t have the votes to override President Obama’s certain veto. T > read more

CES: New Tablets from Dell, NEC, Others

Published on 2011-01-07 07:06:55

By Ed Lieber Among the new tablet PCs on view at CES are a new Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) Streak, now in a larger 7-inch form, and an NEC prototype. Dell introduced on Thursday the Streak 7, its first 4G tablet on T-Mobile’s (PINK:DTEGY) 4G network. The St > read more

ISM Non-Manufacturing Survey Quixotic in December 2010

Published on 2011-01-07 05:24:11

By Steven Hansen The ADP’s historically high service sector employment gains were followed by the ISM non-manufacturing survey indicated employment gains were flat for December. The headlines from the report: “The NMI (Non-Manufacturing Index > read more

Public Servants Become Scapegoats For Government Bureaucracy

Published on 2011-01-06 14:56:49

By Robert Reich In 1968, 1,300 sanitation workers in Memphis went on strike. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to support them. That was where he lost his life. Eventually Memphis heard the grievances of its sanitation workers. And in subsequent > read more

Bubba the Love Sponge To Discuss His Move From Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) To RadioIO (OTCPK:IWDM) — Live Tonight At 8:00PM ET

Published on 2011-01-05 16:38:13

By Demian Russian Bubba the Love Sponge broke the news via his Twitter feed on New Year’s Eve that he was leaving Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) for internet radio providerRadioIO, which is owned by the publicly traded company ioWorld Media, I > read more

Markets Up, Gold and Silver Down

Published on 2011-01-05 12:15:01

By Jeff Pierce We got a downside break in the markets today, although by the close nearly all of the move was recovered, except on the Nasdaq where the losses were the greatest….all .38% of them. What I wanted to focus on is the action on the VIX, > read more

Insights Into Treasury Yield Rise

Published on 2011-01-05 11:41:21

By Steven Hansen We know the final conclusions of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee), who govern the Federal Reserve, from their meeting statement released on 14 December 2010.  But the beliefs of the meeting participants are not known until t > read more

General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar Coming To A Car Near You

Published on 2011-01-05 11:19:59

By Amy Gilroy General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) OnStar officially announced a retail rear view mirror packed with OnStar features to be sold through Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) this Spring and other retailers (including car electronics specialists). Here in La > read more

Manufacturing Industy Flat in November 2010

Published on 2011-01-05 10:58:31

By Steven Hansen In October 2010, US Census reported manufacturing new orders down – and Econintersect’s analysis (click here) reported sales flat.   This month (November 2010), US Census reported manufacturing new orders up – and Econinterse > read more

3 Hot AMEX Stocks

Published on 2011-01-04 14:35:05

By Jim Van Meerten When I say hottest stocks I’m not talking revenue, earnings or fastest price appreciation. My idea of hot is how many times this stock hit new highs recently. I use Barchart new high/low screens then sort for frequency. Thes > read more

The Big Lie

Published on 2011-01-04 08:55:28

By Robert Reich Republicans are telling Americans a Big Lie, and Obama and the Democrats are letting them. The Big Lie is our economic problems are due to a government that’s too large, and therefore the solution is to shrink it. The truth is our e > read more

Ford (NYSE:F) Sells 3 Million Sync Radios

Published on 2011-01-03 14:07:50

By Amy Gilroy Ford (NYSE:F) said its Sync radio system has been installed in more than 3 million vehicles, since it was first introduced late in 2007. The $395 optional car radio system with voice control is now offered on all Ford and Lincoln consum > read more

The Great Debate: Will Housing Be A Drag On The Economy In 2011 (Part 2)

Published on 2011-01-03 04:41:28

By John Lounsbury This article has two parts. The first is an analysis of a terribly misleading position presented by Mark Perry and Alan Reynolds. A position has been taken by Reynolds and basically endorsed by Perry. The second part of the article > read more

The Great Debate©: Will Housing be a Drag on the Economy in 2011? (Part 1)

Published on 2011-01-02 13:18:06

By John Lounsbury This article has two parts. The first is an analysis of a terribly misleading position presented by Mark Perry and Alan Reynolds. A position has been taken by Reynolds and basically endorsed by Perry. The second part of the article > read more

Complacency Hitting More Extremes

Published on 2010-12-31 14:34:25

By Jeff Pierce This post is only going to make half sense to you because you don’t know where I’m getting my data, but just for the moment accept that there is data. There where is really irrelevant, it’s the what do I do with the information t > read more

Three Of The Hottest Penny Stocks

Published on 2010-12-31 14:16:27

By Jim Van Meerten When I say hot that doesn’t mean buy. These are just 3 OTCBB stocks that I found on Barchart that have consistently hit new highs in the last 20 trading sessions. If you’re into technical analysis put them on your watc > read more

Technical Analysis: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) May Be Due For A Correction

Published on 2010-12-31 13:07:53

By Jeff Pierce There has been a lot of discussion on this particular thread on Seeking Alpha regarding Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), I opted to do some technical analysis on this stock to see if the charts are suggesting if Apple is a short, as the author sug > read more