Insights

US stocks have been up 12 of the last 14 days. The volume has been low, with plenty of doubters, including individuals who have been pulling money out of stock funds for some time. The pace of the advance is also slowing. That implies either a flat or down market for...

Stocks, commodities and gold are up again today, oil and bonds are lower. Recent US economic news has been better than expected and that helps a lot. The unemployment report yesterday was very good and manufacturing numbers were also. Throw in better home building...

Oh, to be in Greece - land of gorgeous islands, quaint fishing villages, centuries of history and culture . . ! It is also the developed country with the worst financial problem. Over the weekend, maybe announcing as early as today, an agreement is being worked out...

Gold is up 6% so far this year. The WSJ had an interesting article today (p. C-4) that the Chinese have really ramped up their gold buying. Part of that is for gifits for Chines New Year, due Jan 23. But, the simplicity of gold is appealing to them. Third, inflation...

Sorry, I have been reloading all my software and data after a major upgrade late last week. It's a new year but the same old problems with Greece. While Greece is a small country with a small economy, the total debt - government, corporate and private adds up to more...

Banks continue to do well as well as commodity related stocks like FCX. The overall market is only minimally higher after clawing its way back from an AM selloff initiated by lower European shares. Gold is up .67%. In the last few months it has been trading in line...

CNBC has a couple noteworthy stories today. The financial situation is so bad in Europe right now that banks are reluctant to lend to each other as they normally do. Instead, banks are getting their short-term loans from their customers - some of the world's largest...

For the last week the stock market has bumped its head on the same level (1280-85 on the S&P 500). On the other hand, it refuses to drop much. The longer this goes on the more pressure builds up to power a big move either up or down. The recent trend has been up and...

The 1280-1285 level on the S&P 500 has turned out to be formidable resistance. We shot up first thing Monday and have tread water all week - not sinking but not moving up either. My guess is that the level will be broken through and the markets will move higher but...

I just uploaded the January 2012 forecast issue to the web site. Look under Newsletters at the top of the page.