Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Greece Needs Markets, Not Bailouts
Paul Krugman Versus Reality
Tech ETFs Likely To Boom On Sector’s Strong Fundamentals
Video: U.S. Consumers To Spend More On Easter
U.S. Median CPI Inflation Falls For 17th Straight Month - A Record Low
Auto Purchases Very Strong In China, The World’s Largest Car Market
Did The SPDR Gold ETF Drive The Massive Rally In Gold In Recent Years?
When Oil Stocks Double, Do You Take Profits Or Make Profits?
Forex Trading: Greece Bailout Concerns Spur Euro Sell-Off
U.S. Leading Economic Index Increases For 11th Straight Month - First Time In Six Years
Stock Picks For Friday 19 March: Sirius XM Radio, THQ
Video: The Day Ahead: Quadruple Witching

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 03:01 AM PDT

Deutsche Bank Chief Josef Ackermann is looking after his own house rather than the eurzone’s interests in calling for a Greek bailout. If there is one thing the financial crisis has taught us, it is that simply patching up trouble spots may not be a recipe for increased structural stability. If there was a problem it is that Greece was enticed to spend too much last decade because its cost of borrowing was too low. If Deutsche Bank is concerned about the fallout of Greek debt, the bank should … [visit site to read more]

Paul Krugman Versus Reality

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 02:01 AM PDT

In his latest weekly New York Times column, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman put forward arguments that were so nonsensical that the award committee should ask for its medal back.

Recent rhetoric from Washington has put the economic relationship between the U.S. and China squarely on the front burner, and Krugman is demanding that we crank up the flame. This week 130 members of Congress sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner demanding that the Obama administration … [visit site to read more]

Tech ETFs Likely To Boom On Sector’s Strong Fundamentals

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 01:01 AM PDT

As the economy starts to show signs of prosperity and tries to mend the wounds caused by the recession, the technology sector is likely to boom.

For starters, the sector appears to have strong fundamentals and is relatively cheap as compared to other sectors. In fact, as a whole, the sector boasts a projected five year PEG ratio of 1.1, which indicates that value on the expected growth of the sector is prevalent. In general, a lower PEG translates to higher value because an investor … [visit site to read more]

Video: U.S. Consumers To Spend More On Easter

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 01:00 AM PDT

The National Retail Federation predicts an increase in U.S. consumer spending for the Easter holiday. … [visit site to read more]

U.S. Median CPI Inflation Falls For 17th Straight Month - A Record Low

Posted: 19 Mar 2010 12:01 AM PDT

According to a report released Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the median Consumer Price Index was virtually unchanged at 0.0% (0.5% annualized rate) in February. The “median CPI” is a measure of core inflation calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland based on data in the monthly CPI report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS).

Earlier Thursday, the BLS reported that the seasonally adjusted CPI for all urban consumers was unchanged in February. … [visit site to read more]

Auto Purchases Very Strong In China, The World’s Largest Car Market

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:01 PM PDT

If home-buying sentiment in China has shifted toward “wait and see,” auto purchases have remained very strong in the world’s largest car market.

Even in February, the seasonally slowest month, more than 1.2 million vehicles were sold. The combined 2.9 million units sold in January and February was 84 percent higher than the same period in 2009.

Such strength is likely to be seen in March and April, which are typically strong months for car sales. This year there’s an additional … [visit site to read more]

Did The SPDR Gold ETF Drive The Massive Rally In Gold In Recent Years?

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 10:01 PM PDT

“Clusterstock’s Chart of the Day makes the case that gold ETFs like the massive SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) have helped push prices higher in recent years by letting speculators bet on the precious metal. This “trigger-finger investor base” could exacerbate a crash when the momentum fades, the argument goes,” John Spence Reports From MarketWatch.

Spence goes on to say, “With more than $40 billion in assets, GLD is the second-largest U.S.-listed ETF behind SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). … [visit site to read more]

When Oil Stocks Double, Do You Take Profits Or Make Profits?

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 09:01 PM PDT

What my oil stocks have told me in this oil market is - be confident to buy more on the breakouts. I’m always thinking “sell half on a double” - because then subscribers are happy - but more often than not, if a company is meeting production targets and is expanding their land packages, I should buy more.

The market is handsomely rewarding good teams with good properties and good execution.

Petrominerales (PMG.TO) is now trading at $34 and is officially a triple for the Oil and Gas … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Greece Bailout Concerns Spur Euro Sell-Off

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 08:45 PM PDT

The U.S. Dollar finished higher versus most major currencies with the exception of the New Zealand Dollar. Fear that Greek fiscal problems may flare up once again sent investors scurrying out of the Euro and into relatively safer currencies. Nervous investors removed risk from the equation overnight and continued this trend throughout the day. Worries that Greece would not get the aid from the European Union helped to wipe out in two days a little more than half of the recent rally
The break … [visit site to read more]

U.S. Leading Economic Index Increases For 11th Straight Month - First Time In Six Years

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 08:21 PM PDT

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.1% in February, following a 0.3% gain in January, and a 1.2% rise in December.

Says Ataman Ozyildirim, Economist at The Conference Board: “The LEI for the U.S. has risen rapidly for almost a year now and it has reached its highest level. But, the sharp pick up in the LEI appears to be stabilizing. As the economy moves from recovery into early phases of an expansion, the leading economic index points to … [visit site to read more]

Stock Picks For Friday 19 March: Sirius XM Radio, THQ

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 07:53 PM PDT

( click to enlarge )

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) is now just above its 50 day average. In the next few sessions, we will know if it gets supported here or not. But looking at the chart above is hard to interpret the next possible move. Entry point would be on the day it blows through $0.912 on heavy volume. I’ll use a stop loss at $0.82.

( click to enlarge )

THQ (NASDAQ:THQI) is simply telling me that this was a nice healthy pullback after a big run. The momentum has lost some steam … [visit site to read more]