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Monthly Archives: November 2011

A Tricky Market

November 7, 2011
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A Tricky Market

Halloween was last Monday, but it seems like the stock market has been playing tricks on investors all year. After the market’s meteoric rise last fall and early in 2011, it got tripped up in March. The market made an effort to get going again in the spring only to be dragged lower in the summer and pulled violently down in August. Since then, the market has chopped around wildly, creating whipsaws in market timing systems and leaving investors’ heads spinning. A chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average below illustrates this roller coaster action. Just this week, the...

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Without Contraries Is No Progression

November 5, 2011
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Without Contraries Is No Progression

Here’s this week’s Contrary Opinion Button. Remember, you can always view all of the buttons by clicking here. Without Contraries Is No Progression The full quote, by William Blake, goes, “Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate, are necessary to human existence.” In investing, this does not mean that for every winner there’s a loser. That’s only true in zero-sum games. In investing, where the long-term trend is upward, everyone can win (theoretically) in the long run. Where the saying does apply in investing is the simple fact that for every buyer,...

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Stock Market Video: News Driven

November 4, 2011
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Stock Market Video: News Driven

In this week’s Stock Market Video, Cabot Market Letter Editor Mike Cintolo says that there’s no doubt that the market remains very news driven and volatile. But he thinks that the worst is likely behind us and if the troubles in Europe can be resolved, many stocks seem to want to move higher. Mike discusses several factors that lead him to be optimistic about the market going forward. Stocks discussed: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Nuance Communications (NUAN), Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), Tesla Motors (TSLA), Under Armour (UA), Estee Lauder (EL) and SolarWinds (SWI).

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The Market Wants to Take Your Money

November 4, 2011
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The Market Wants to Take Your Money

Cynicism is common among people who have “dabbled in the stock market.” These are the people who roll their eyes when the topic of stock investing comes up and tell the story about how they jumped into a big bull market rally just in time for it to tip over and head for the basement. They did everything right, they say, and still lost money. And they swear they’ll never do it again. They have every right to be mad, of course. Losing money is a vexation to the spirit, especially for those who waited until what seemed to...

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China Mobile and Brazil Foods: Two Emerging Leaders

November 3, 2011
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China Mobile and Brazil Foods: Two Emerging Leaders

While a few leaders are starting to surface in emerging markets, we’re nowhere near anything like a real bull market. The sensitivity to bad news exhibited by developed market stocks is even higher for their emerging counterparts. I have two stocks that I’ve been following, although the reasons for my interest are different for each. China Mobile (CHL) is the dominant wireless service provider in China, with well over a half billion subscribers. China Mobile became a powerhouse by rolling up the old leading provincial wireless networks and turning them into a national network. The company has hit some...

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