DRAGON´S WEAKNESS ?

On August 4th the Shanghai composite reached a new high for the year but sported all sorts of technical divergences. During the next two weeks a 17.5% decline from August top.

As in 2007 : First in, First out...

WIZ

Bob Farrell Rules

Legendary Investor Bob Farrell set a few golden rules that can help a lot in today´s difficult moments :

. Markets tend to return to the mean over time
When stocks go too far in one direction, they come back. Euphoria and pessimism can cloud people’s heads. It’s easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment and lose perspective.

2. Excesses in one direction will lead to an excess in the opposite direction
Think of the market baseline as attached to a rubber string. Any action too far in one direction not only brings you back to the baseline, but leads to an overshoot in the opposite direction.

3. There are no new eras - excesses are never permanent
Whatever the latest hot sector is, it eventually overheats, mean reverts, and then overshoots. Look at how far the emerging markets and BRIC nations ran over the past six years, only to get cut in half.

As the fever builds, a chorus of “this time it’s different” will be heard, even if those exact words are never used. And of course, it - human nature - is never different.

4. Exponential rapidly rising or falling markets usually go further than you think, but they do not correct by going sideways
Regardless of how hot a sector is, don’t expect a plateau to work off the excesses. Profits are locked in by selling, and that invariably leads to a significant correction eventually.

5. The public buys the most at the top and the least at the bottom
That’s why contrarian-minded investors can make good money if they follow the sentiment indicators and have good timing. Watch Investors Intelligence (measuring the mood of more than 100 investment newsletter writers) and the American Association of Individual Investors Survey.

6. Fear and greed are stronger than long-term resolve
Investors can be their own worst enemy, particularly when emotions take hold. Gains “make us exuberant; they enhance well-being and promote optimism”, says Santa Clara University finance professor Meir Statman. His studies of investor behavior show that “Losses bring sadness, disgust, fear, regret. Fear increases the sense of risk and some react by shunning stocks.”

7. Markets are strongest when they are broad and weakest when they narrow to a handful of blue-chip names
This is why breadth and volume are so important. Think of it as strength in numbers. Broad momentum is hard to stop, Farrell observes. Watch for when momentum channels into a small number of stocks.

8. Bear markets have three stages - sharp down, reflexive rebound and a drawn-out fundamental downtrend
I would suggest that as of August 2008, we are on our third reflexive rebound - the January rate cuts, the Bear Stearns low in March, and now the Fannie/Freddie rescue lows of July.

We have yet to see the long-drawn-out fundamental portion of the bear market.

9. When all the experts and forecasts agree - something else is going to happen
As Stovall, the S&P investment strategist, puts it: “If everybody’s optimistic, who is left to buy? If everybody’s pessimistic, who’s left to sell?”

Going against the herd can be very profitable, especially for patient buyers who raise cash from frothy markets and reinvest it when sentiment is darkest.

10. Bull markets are more fun than bear markets
Especially if you are long only or mandated to be fully invested. Those with more flexible charters might squeak out a smile or two here and there.

WIZ

VIX : climbing again

Remember, there are a million reasons to sell...but only ONE reason to buy. While a rising market makes everyone 'feel' better, it's time for caution, especially if the VIX starts to see higher levels.

WIZ

SP500 EARNINGS

LO SENTIMOS MUCHÍSIMO... Pero es que alguién se puede creer que los "Earnings" son realmente buenos ???

O más bien estamos implorando que la más cruda realidad no nos llegue finalmente.

Realmente nos compramos la visión del Mercado. Todavía vamos a sufrir mucho antes de ver la Luz.

WIZ

SP500 V GE

Do the Market ( SP500) will follow GE in the next future ? Or we are going to be able to maintain the bullish trend .

Our opinion is that Mr. Market still has many,many problems to solve.

WIZ

Que inflación?

El panel de expertos no se pone de acuerdo. Cierto que el consenso vaticina una inflación de 1,9 % en USA para finales del próximo año. Pero esta media oculta una profunda divergencia entre los top diez que auguran inflación superior al 3 % y los diez pronosticadores del otro extremo del abanico que preveen ..deflación!!.
Nunca, desde el año 1992, se había producido una divergencia tan amplia en las previsiones, lo que explica la desorientación que padecemos sobre hacia donde nos dirigimos. Esto puede parecer desalentador. Pero también implica que, sea cualquiera la opinión que tengamos, está avalada por un experto.Y es que como decía el Nobel Niels Bohr : "Predecir es muy difícil. Sobre todo si se trata del futuro".

Giovanni Drogo

US Unemployment

As you can see from the chart here, compliments of the monthly Data Farm feature in The Casey Report, the trend in unemployment remains solidly intact. Unemployment is now reaching a point so dire that soon it won’t be reported on as further evidence of the economic slump but rather as a driving force (among many) in the ongoing collapse.

WIZ