Saturday, May 3, 2014

4/3/14 The Wind Cries Inflation

4/

I awaken most Saturdays restless.  The feeling dissipates only with the construction of a market outlook.  The outlook unfolds only during the composition process.

The first four months of 2014 have left scores of 'sectors' staggering.

(a) US small caps (IWM) are back in their boxes: http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=iwm
(b) Momentum plays (MTUM) have gone to bed:  http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=MTUM+Interactive#symbol=MTUM;range=1d
(c) Social Media (SOCL) dressed in red: http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=socl

But what'sUP?

(a) Hey, Jo!  +80%.  http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=jo
(b) Energy (XLE)  +7.4%.  http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=xle
(c) Basic Materials (XLB).  +4%:   http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=xlb
(d) Commodities (DBC).  +4%.  http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=dbc
(e) Gasoline (UGA).  +3.5%.  http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=uga

Alright, so with the exception of coffee, the markets are only whispering inflation.  Inflation makes sense at this stage of the market cycle.  We're 5 years into a bull.  Employment, while far from healthy, is improving.  Workers are less afraid of losing their jobs, and more inclined to ask for (and receive) higher wages.  Landlords are in the catbird seat, and rents are rocketing.  Commodity producers are quietly raising prices for food and energy (the CPI leaves out food and energy, right?) without the usual headline complaints.

What's all this mean to investors?  In my opinion, the following sectors will benefit from incipient inflation:

(a) Emerging Markets (EEM).  That's right.  The poster boy for abused sectors in 2013/Q1 2014.  Is it possible for Emerging Markets to rally in the face of declining US indexes?  I'm not sure, but no one blinked an eye last year when US small caps rallied +40% while BRICs sank.
(b) XLE/XLB/DBC/UGA.
(c) Miners!  GDX appears poised for a killer move.  Of course, killer moves typically launch only after a plunge down, ensuring that few investors will be on board.
(d) HDGE.  I wouldn't place more than the usual 'pass line' bet on HDGE, as short plays are difficult on the psyche.  A red chip (backed with odds if/when the US markets begin trending down in earnest) may pay off well over the next few months.
(e) Cash.  Often overlooked, and vastly underrated.  One heckuva broom, however, for sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterday's life (IWM/MTUM/SOCL will likely return with a vengeance).


216 comments:

  1. 2nd, perhaps you are the market wizard.

    http://www.gmo.com/websitecontent/GMO_QtlyLetter_1Q14_FullVersion.pdf

    pages 1-11, you may like

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you are a value player or interested in that mind set, part two is very good.

      Delete
    2. t3d- Grantham's letter was a very good read. Thanks for posting. My takeaways:

      (a) Statistical support for increased volatility through this fall, at which time may lie a tremendous buying opp.
      (b) Global assets ex-US may be less likely to exhibit correlation with US indexes during the next US correction.
      (c) We may all be blogging about the markets well into our seventies and eighties.

      Delete
    3. 2nd, glad you enjoyed it. You do an excellent job on this site's upkeep, contributions and of course music, Mahalo!

      I vote for a, b, and "C" in no particular order.

      Delete
    4. Nice write up! Here is some back-up.

      "MY LEAST FAVORITE ARROW
      MAY 5, 2014 BY DAVE LANDRY
      sidewaysarrowRANDOM THOUGHTS
      On Friday, the Ps neared the top of their range but retreated to close in the minus column. It’s possible that some players got tricked trying to get into a breakout early. I wouldn’t read too much into one day’s action though, especially on a flat day.
      The Quack and Rusty were strong in early trading but both reversed to end flat on the day.
      Not much has changed. Without boring you too much (read the recent columns if you’re having trouble sleeping), for the most part, defensive issues have been holding up the Ps. And, the question remains, what’s going to happen when, not if, these issues correct.
      I suppose the only thing that has changed is that the market is getting more and more choppy.
      The Ps remain relatively unchanged for 2 months. Although the Quack remains in a downtrend, on a net net basis it hasn’t changed much in nearly a month. Ditto for the Rusty.
      The choppy action is forcing me to draw my least favorite arrow, the sideways arrow.
      As my friend Peter Mauthe says, “don’t invent trades.” With the arrows beginning to turn sideways, now is not the time to invent trades.
      One dilemma that I’m facing is do I go after the sleepy defensive issues that I usually ignore because they are lower in volatility? Should I play the only game in town?
      Just because something is lower in volatility doesn’t mean that something bad can’t still happen. In fact, I’d rather the devil I know—trade more volatile issues.
      Also, since it is the only game in town, what’s going to happen when the game ends?
      It’s not an ideal environment for a guy who likes to trade somewhat volatile momentum stocks.
      It’s important to recognize when the wind isn’t at your back.
      So what do we do? With not much changing, the plan remains the same: Continue to watch the Defensive issues for possible setups. Ideally, I’d like to see a correction overall here first but some individual issues are beginning to set up (e.g. in the Energies). On the short side, I’m still seeing a few setups but the lack of follow through recently is concerning. I think now is the time to avoid being aggressive—one way or the other. By being more and more selective during these choppy times we could end up flat and waiting. Obviously, you’re not going to get rich if you’re not playing but sometimes the return of capital is more important the return on capital. I guess all of the above is a long winded way of saying that we could end up sitting on our hands.
      Futures are selling off hard pre-market."

      Delete
    5. My only problem with JO is it is so well publicized. The Brazilian problem has been known since January. Central American coffees have good yields which may help some. I get some coffees direct from the farmer and some of the bigger centrals are quite happy. Columbia and g\Guatemala will be key as will Costa Rica to a lesser degree. Brazil however is the largest producer in the world, so it's hard to avoid that impact. It isn't really inflation per se, but supply/demand, at least for coffee. But when you look at the other commodities it seems to be inflation. My trip to Costco yesterday was whispering inflation to me....well maybe it was more than whispering.

      Delete
  2. Wow. Great write up bro. I will read it again on my computer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Replies
    1. Just got back from the City. Still having drainage problems. She's as comfortable as possible for being stuck in a hospital. If it doesn't stop by Thur. she's scheduled for more surgery, which of course would suck.

      Delete
    2. Keeping my fingers crossed and putting out the positive energy for you and Patricia Mark.

      Delete
  4. Anyone ever look at Triple-S Management (GTS)?

    They run Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Puerto Rico. Stock down really cheap due to Puerto Rico economy being weak, some abnormally high claims costs in Q4 and the government changing some of the rules.

    But I think this is all in the stock now and the Puerto Rico government has balanced their budget, the economy seems to be turning upwards and the reality is people need and will pay for their health care before a lot of other things.

    I can give some more numbers on the valuation and expected returns if anyone is interested, but let me know if anyone has looked at this. Just got upgraded by Citi last week for what that's worth and AM Best seems positive on them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That one does look interesting, I like charts like that. and it does seem too bearish.

      Delete
  5. http://thestockmarketbasics.com/freedom-35-top-long-stock-pick-wprt-may-5-2014/

    Is this the same guy?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Westport +24% as Q1 results move closer to profit
      Westport Innovations (WPRT +24.2%) is soaring after Q1 earnings beat expectations and showed signs of moving towards making a profit.Q1 gross margin rose to 12.3% from 8.1% due primarily to sales of higher margin product such as the Westport WiNG System and service revenue.Issued in-line guidance for FY 2014, seeing revenues C$175M-C$185M vs. C$183.6M analyst consensus estimate.

      Delete
  6. Interesting article on India, REDF?

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesgruber/2014/05/04/india-will-soon-outpace-china/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. REDF, vol seems an issue

      looked at all etf's, all had good runs so far

      Delete
    2. REDF - Kinda interesting, bet it doesn't remain under the 50SMA for long?

      Delete
    3. 20 shares traded in 1st 1/2 hour, I bet we could push this one up over the resistance.

      Delete
  7. NLS - How about this one, it has pulled back a bit. Maybe we get lucky and the $6.5x Aug gap from last year closes?

    ReplyDelete
  8. China - Mfg activity missed estimates, Ukraine rages on.

    ReplyDelete
  9. NLS - Someone's betting on a decent earnings report in AH?

    ReplyDelete
  10. PLUG - So what happened, someone pulled the power PLUG?

    ReplyDelete
  11. TREX - Does plastic decking sell well in winter?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Could we please just move the SPX to 2225 so I can finally short it? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  13. GTS - I have a stink bid on this one @ $15.38, seems like our jubilance will vaporize on the most likely TOTALLY MISLEADING news from China being paraded..
    Down we go I say, b/c the market can't break out for no good reason thus leaving only one direction and of course sideways is an unacceptable option.

    ReplyDelete
  14. CYD - Would we buy this one if it retested $18? Seems like a possibility, perhaps a brief visit?

    ReplyDelete
  15. GRMN - Glad I wasn't riding this one up from the $30's, baby boomers still think it's the king of GPS.

    ReplyDelete
  16. ALDW - Still don't like this one?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Single women prefer dog ownership as an alternative to having children. Maybe PSMT is overpriced?
    Baltimore Md. casino is opening the doors this summer?

    ReplyDelete
  18. TXT - I think these guys are selling tons of the V-22 Osprey.

    ReplyDelete
  19. BAC - This one looks like a bull flag formation to me.

    ReplyDelete
  20. FLWS - Today's price to beat is $5.60, can she do it?

    ReplyDelete
  21. TC - Surviving the 50 SMA retest so far.

    ReplyDelete
  22. MERS - Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Sounds almost like silicosis, doesn't it?
    PG - Speaking of the middle east and farout places, wonder how much this company does in India?

    ReplyDelete
  23. RTH - Can we argue if the economy is in the crapper then why can't this one close that Feb gap up? Surely it should at least considering retail outlets have lost shoppers flashing cash around in public while IPS/FDX have been bust beavers delivering all that crap bought off the internet?
    ARO - Heck, even this one has stopped crashing for the time being, all they should have to do is let go of the dream of a store on every street corner and compromise a little?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Where have all the bears gone, come on guys and grow a pair, what about the January effect and the BS 5 year rally????

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. More of the same old hot air I've seen since 666, nothing has changed except for the chapter.

      Delete
    2. Green portfolio, imagine that, and it happened greater than the customary 5min prior to close.

      Delete
  25. JCP - Look at that short float, aside from getting rid of that uppity pretty boy it's the best thing that's happened to this company in decades.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like skimpy lingerie too! :)
      "04-May-14 06:36AM Partnership helped small lingerie business grow"

      Delete
  26. Opened SLW @ 22.41.
    Opened RSX @ 22.33.
    Opened VALE @ 13.31.

    All small positions.

    ReplyDelete
  27. China lifts historic ban on Virginia poultry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TSN - And, this one gets whacked hard on earnings despite this news....... Hmm.

      Delete
    2. Can it reach $34, the gap up coincides with the 200SMA, interesting....

      Delete
    3. Largest individual sector of this state's economy, $20M increased sales anticipated. Yes, Tyson Foods is here.

      Delete
  28. Too big to jail = a fine shareholders will gladly pay. Based on well established protocol, that's the reality of the subject.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Opened a small position in ATHN @ 111.64 after hours on the short call by Einhorn:

    http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2014/05/05/ira-sohn-investment-conference-live-blog/

    ReplyDelete
  30. Cramer out after hours talking bullishly about GM. I agree with him and BB. I almost bought shares today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cramer also said to buy insurer ORI - still about 25% undervalued compared to peers and a very sustainable 4.4% dividend and a 25 year history of increasing dividends.

      Not as cheap as it was, but pretty good if you want an income with growth type stock.

      Delete
  31. GTS earnings:

    Triple-S Management beats by $0.11, misses on revenue
    Triple-S Management (GTS): Q1 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.11.Revenue of $584.5M (-0.9% Y/Y) misses by $1.32M.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Looking at Russian Oil Company Lukoil (LUKOY).

    They really seem like they are trying to be global company who happens to be based in Russia rather than a Russian company (look at their board composition). Probably won't buy it, but it sure is tempting on a valuation and sentiment basis, especially is we got a spike down.

    ReplyDelete
  33. ATHN off pre-market @ 112.78.

    ReplyDelete
  34. NLS - Yea!
    TWTR - Deal with AMZN, you can buy through TWTR

    ReplyDelete
  35. Replies
    1. Guess we should have bought yesterday. We'll see what happens from here.

      Delete
    2. I have a bid for 1/2 position @ $16.08 in case the gap closes and in the spirit of the gap only being an obligation I'll add the 2nd 1/2 on further weakness.

      Delete
  36. Twtr is garbage. I really think it's a sub $10 within a year.

    I was looking at gets yesterday. Unfortunately it's not really in my comfort zone but I like that they're the exclusive provider of blue cross blue shield services in PR the BVIs and the USVIs.

    Hey are any of you guys considering XCO? That earnings report had some pretty positive comments about the 2nd half

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do like energy in general, but haven't looked at XCO. I generally stick to Canadian energy companies for the favourable dividend tax treatment. I think energy does well for the next year or two as the economy improves and inflation starts to tick up a bit (or at least deflation becomes less of a worry).

      Delete
    2. We have a thumbs up on CIE and CXO from a few months ago, Mark has been watching XCO and doesn't seem too hip on it.

      Delete
    3. CIE - I have a stink bid on this one in the $14's

      Delete
  37. Some good news. Brought Patricia home last night. She still has a drain but hoping we can avoid another surgery. The output is still pretty high so we'll see.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If the output is high, it's coming out. Infection, I guess.

      Delete
    2. It's not infected...at least that's not what they are saying. There's a duct there that comes from the intestines that delivers fact cells etc. that is leaking. There's also some blood still coming out. Total output is about 300 ml/day now. It was about 900.

      Delete
  38. ENPH - Back to $7.20, do we buy a negative earnings response?
    America the stormy........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm praying we get one. Although I think they held back revenue from the last Q.

      Delete
  39. RYWVX off @ the 1030 window.

    ReplyDelete
  40. TWTR - Lockup expires today, so if the knockdown isn't due to this (according to my understanding, lockup doesn't cause this) then it's b/c TWTR is a cloaked turd.

    Will it rally from here? Probably, but without me.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Global warming is a climate disruption. Okay, so mine the methane in the ocean floor before it dissolves and store CO2 there in it's place.
    There's a technical hurdle!

    ReplyDelete
  42. BSBR - I want to fade the poor buyout response by adding to this position.

    ReplyDelete
  43. BSBR - And this bull flag suggests another dollar coming.

    ReplyDelete
  44. I bought some XCO at $6.07. Small position. Their balance sheet is a mess but they have pushed out liabilities quite a bit and they reduced overall indebtedness a lot this past couple of quarters. EBITDA is really high - they trade at around a 5.5x EV/EBITDA and if natty gas continues to rise in anticipation of LNG exporting XCO should benefit given their pretty low operating costs. That's my takeaway from the most recent report. I also like that it has held around $6 after that attempt to push it lower on earnings day. Seems to me that it is destined to fill that gap up around $6.5 and then push higher. With a 30%+ short interest any whiff of good news and its off to the races.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Added a good amount more of XCO at $6.09. I took a closer look at the chart and it sure looks like it's coming out of a longer term basing pattern. The stock just bounced off the 200 DMA today. I don't know but this thing looks ready to run.

      Delete
    2. It also basically doubled bottomed off the $5 area from 2009.

      Delete
    3. I guess we've seen the lows but certainly not the highs, for natty.

      Delete
    4. Sorta looks like C&H with strong handle. No doubt the handle reflects general sentiment of the energy industry.

      Delete
  45. TSLA - Downtrend or testing support?

    ReplyDelete
  46. I'm really starting to feel like I have the anti-market portfolio. Days the market goes up, I have more stocks down than up and days like today when the market is poor, I have more stocks up than down.

    Overall, I am happy with my performance this year and it sounds like a lot of people are having trouble with this market, but to me it seems to be moving in areas that make sense (energy,commodities, undervalued, overseas, losing stocks from 2013, etc.)

    ReplyDelete
  47. BALT/ENPH @ 6 and 7 is pretty freaking tempting...

    ReplyDelete
  48. CCJ - Okay, so what about leading climate change by example, with low carbon nuclear power?

    ReplyDelete
  49. The $USD is selling off hard (UUP @ 52-wk low, or alternatively UDN @ 52-wk high). Which asset class benefits should the dollar crash? Both gold and miners acting 'cool' at the moment with modest declines for the day. Maintaining a position in SLW (Silver Wheaton), and adding a position in RYPMX (Rydex Precious Metals) at the close.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Reopening a position on a Spring Sale in JCP, around 8 bucks

    ReplyDelete
  51. RYWVX closed the 1030 am window @ 70.93 (+1%). With EEM pulling back into the close, I would say the timing was perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  52. TA - Pretty bearish, they can't even report earnings.

    ReplyDelete
  53. BAC - Plenty of rats deserted this ship today...

    ReplyDelete
  54. URG - Someone's buying $1.12 or are they selling their position?

    ReplyDelete
  55. KWK - Just a hole in the KWKsand, not an oil well?

    ReplyDelete
  56. Congress - This group of pathetic geriatric patients are so old and conflicted they couldn't pass a stool if they were all to push it through in a bipartisan moment.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Today's the flash crash anniversary, eh?

    ReplyDelete
  58. ENPH- Looks like we got the 'miss', but guidance was pretty strong. I bet it rallies tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Currently the bid is $7.26, someone's willing.

      Delete
  59. Replies
    1. For MERS - I'm not sure how new this news really is.

      Delete
  60. For $12 each ($3,000) all those kidnapped girls can go home, I bet about that much was spent kidnapping them and blowing up the school?

    ReplyDelete
  61. AIG - Someone said today's market mood may have some relationship with AIG's earnings report.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Just read the ENPH CC. Sounded pretty strong.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ENPH - No changes to the broker's $12 target yet, but no comments yet either
      TSL - Interesting, they have a $22 target on this one and currently it's $11, suggesting a double.

      Delete
    2. I think last time ENPH was beat up the same time we thought the market had rolled over, now I'm right back there again.

      Delete
  63. CRTO - Okay then, how about this one?
    NIHD - Employees better get busy updating their resumes. ELNK too, for that matter.
    GE - Ouch, glad you didn't take the breakout bait?

    ReplyDelete
  64. EQIX - Now trading at $188 on Broker's USA1 list with a 12mo price objective of $250

    ReplyDelete
  65. We raise our nickel price forecasts from $7.30 to $8.05/lb for 2014, and from $8.09 to $10.81/lb for 2015. This implies nearly 30% upside to our FY3/14 RP estimate for Sumitomo Metal, and over 200% for Pacific Metals. Stainless steel majors Nisshin Steel (interest in Le Nickel) and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal are also likely beneficiaries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've got about a 5% position in Nickel/Oil company Sherritt (S.TO) through my large holding in CKI.TO which is an investment company than owns and is trying to go activist on S.TO. S.TO is up 35% in the last few months and 50% from its low in February based on the activist action and the increasing price in Nickel (JJN). You probably can't buy S.To as they are in Cuba.

      I'm not sure how far along we are in the Nickel Story - here is a recommendation from Dundee Capital back in January talking abuot playing Nickel and some stock recommendations - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/incoming/article16387291.ece/BINARY/BaseMetals011714.pdf

      Delete
  66. PBR - Nice move to upside.
    ODP - That's a lot of store closings (400), pruning the dead wood must have a positive impact on earnings?

    ReplyDelete
  67. Replies
    1. Still have my eye on GTS as well, maybe it flops around for another quarter and we can catch it?
      ENPH - $7.55 is the line in the sand.

      Delete
  68. MTW - Today the Transportation Dept submits their budget, right? I hear it's going to be impressive.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Can't remember if I posted or not, but am looking to sell BSBR. I don't really want to own SAN and even though some are suggesting not tendering BSBR and just holding (Morningstar bumped their target to $9), I think it just trades in line with SAN until November.

    Not going to rush the sale, but try to sell into strength on a good day. It's at $6.64, but the takeout is around $6.90, so price will naturally go up over time as time cost of money goes down. INcluding the return of capital, it will be over a 30% gain in 9 months, so I'm very happy with that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seems like you're not the only one who thinks risk is too high vs upside potential.

      Delete
    2. And you mentioned a couple days ago FLWS isn't under priced any longer either, so maybe we should cut them both.

      Delete
  70. CP, I agree re GTS. IF we could get a retest of $15, would be a good entry point. Even at $16.50, it's not bad as it has rarely been lower than this much in the 5 years, so I could justify paying up for it, but I think the odds are reasonable we get something lower over the next couple of months

    ReplyDelete
  71. COCO - Umm, not looking very good.

    ReplyDelete
  72. It wont happen because I'm thinking of it but we crash today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here, I have a feeling we've rolled over and headed down for a good while, thus we're going up. Pretty sickening feeling.

      Delete
  73. I think FLWS is still a good hold, but I'd understand selling it. I think this quarter will be better and I do like their longer term positioning as people move more buying to the internet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really like the name of this company, LOL...

      Delete
    2. The other thing about FLWS is it recovered well from the last quarter earnings miss - I think it means people want to buy it, os if we do get a good quarter, could get a nice bump.

      Delete
    3. That's a good point, based on that it makes sense to add on weakness.

      Delete
  74. NM getting interesting again as well. Still holding half, but considering re-adding the half I sold before if it gets down much lower.

    ReplyDelete
  75. URG - There she blows, someone ran out of money.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Yellen - Economy still needs FED to maintain low rates.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Baltic Dry Index (BDI) No change 1022

    ReplyDelete
  78. BSBR - I'm out too, $6.67 Done, thanks for that one, BB!

    ReplyDelete
  79. Send me in there with $3k and I'll gladly buy those kidnapped girls for the selling price offer and bring them home.

    ReplyDelete
  80. NRG - This solar stock isn't crashing.

    ReplyDelete
  81. PEIX - Trying to close that gap up from $10, before heading to $20's?

    ReplyDelete
  82. Whole Foods - When does 2nd time the bounce?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. People don't seem to be buying the secular growth story stocks anymore.

      There are some good ones like SBUX I'd love to buy if it gets hit hard enough

      Delete
  83. I picked up a tranche of TWTR @ 30.08...

    ReplyDelete
  84. FIATY taking a 10% hit on their strategic plan. Hmmmm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the Dodge diesel 1/2 ton is going to be a big hit, but I'm concerned about the 6-speed transmissions they're installing in some vehicles b/c they had some history of bugs.

      Delete
  85. Not sure what to do about the miners here. On the one hand, I like to cut losses immediately. On the other hand, (a) miners are near record lows right now, and had I not opened positions yesterday I'd open them now + (b) position sizes are small. Inclined to hold.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My big SWAG involves a $US rally but at some point the threat is unlikely to keep working.

      Delete
  86. Sold the GIB I bought last month for a 4% gain. Got the bounce from their Obamacare prgramming overreaction, but based on more research, would rather buy something else for the longer term.

    ReplyDelete
  87. My XCO got crushed today. I sold at the lows of the day. I also decided to cash in SNE at a small loss. Still holding a few other small positions. Bought a little TZA after hours at $17.92. Licking my wounds from the past couple of weeks. I'm not down about 2% this year which is really annoying given I was up about 10% a couple of months ago. Should have just stayed in cash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that dog!? of course not.

      Delete
    2. Even after earnings announcement last night? I wanted to buy it at the open but chickened out.

      Delete
    3. Yeah I sold at $7.30 a while ago, capitulating at what I thought was the low.

      I did manage to sell my TZA afterhours at $17.96 for a mild profit, so I got that going for me!

      Delete
    4. I bought a little of that, gonna sit on it.

      Price action today is unusual it tagged the 50 sma and than went down and tagged the 200 sma, negative is it closed near lows.

      Seems to have risk to the 5.3 to 5.00 level.

      Really I'm too sick, I should just wait till I'm better to trade. But if it goes against me I just ignore it, definitely bad idea.

      Delete
    5. TZA closed $0.01 better than open. :)

      Delete
    6. Hope you feel better t3. How is TX?

      Delete
  88. EPAM - Hopped on news Putin's back to the table?

    ReplyDelete
  89. I like this article, and the sector is getting beat to heck.
    http://seekingalpha.com/article/2192133-the-o-zone-understanding-oxygens-role-in-making-biobased-companies-rock?source=yahoo

    ReplyDelete
  90. Okay, maybe we should buy UUP pretty soon? On the premise stocks won't rally along with the $US?

    ReplyDelete
  91. Well I decided to buy SPXS today after hours at $30.01. I really think we're due for a big down day soon. Maybe a gap down of 30 points or so. I'm seeing some of the big dogs starting to get taken down / reversing (including BAC, DIS, F, WFM, GNC) so maybe this bleeds over to other sectors? Who knows.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know everyone thinks the market is coming down for many reasons, but I keep looking at my stocks and see good reasons to own them. No doubt they would get pulled down by a broad market pullback, but then I'd probably just want to buy more.

      From today's news:

      Good numbers out of insurer AGO and JONE probably too (although it is harder to tell with energy companies).

      EXE.TO making good progress on the spinout of their US division. The Canadian division can fund the 7% dividend, and the US division is probably worth around the same as the Candian division, so if the spinout can happen, could be a double.

      Even SXP.TO, Canada's largest envelope maker, had a good quarter with a slight increase in revenues and good profits and dividend.


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    2. Yeah I noticed insiders have been bailing on AGO for a decent while now. Kind of think that run might be over.

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    3. On the other hand, I'm looking at several things that have gotten pummeled lately:
      VSI / GNC
      WFM
      FIG
      CIT

      Wondering if those are buying opps. Part of me wonders if we are going to go through a long slow grind lower though because overall valuations aren't too compelling if we don't get much growth.

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    4. Re AGO, Wilbur Ross has made a couple of big sales, but continues to be the largest holder. I think he was happy owning a lot of it at $12, but is managing risk and selling as it rises. But from a company perspective, a lot fo things are going well as Detroit and Puerto Rico get their acts together and no new municipal troubles have arisen. Claims should be dropping and profits going up.

      But you're right about a lot of stocks coming down. Was looking at Visa (V), down to $200 a few days ago from over $230 and a fwd p/e under 20. Great company to own, but still relatively expensive, but not super-expensive relative to it's monopolistic position - the question is does it keep coming down to a 15 p/e and become a compelling buy, or is this as good as it gets and you just have to pay up. No way of knowing of course and a lot depends on how positive people feel on the markets.

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    5. The air is thick with pollen, surely NY's are feeling grouchy.

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  92. TSLA - down 7% on greater than acceptable loss.

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  93. Good results from FTD - could bode well for FLWS. Plus, I didn't realize this, but if you compare the valuations of the 2, FTD is much higher valued (twice the p/s), but has a lower forward p/e. Implies that if FLWS can get things going better and get same level of earnings, stock would double to get same p/s.

    FTD Companies, Inc. (FTD): Q1 EPS of $0.50 beats by $0.08.Revenue of $189.9M (-0.2% Y/Y) beats by $8.9M.

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    Replies
    1. Double, double, oh yes, a big wet kiss for you! :)

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  94. No comment from anyone on BALT?

    I'm getting ready to get back on the horse even though it looks like Patricia is going to have surgery again. I've felt like such a wuss the last few months.

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  95. BSBR - Boy that sure was a ton of volume today.

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  96. NLY - Ouch.
    Chesapeake crab winter cold kill of 30%

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  97. Replies
    1. Spanish bonds yields now at lowest levels ever (under 3%) based on Draghi's speech - helps the banks.

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    2. It helps the banks b/c they loaded up on gov debt, better than gold b/c it counts as capital reserves? I guess if they can time it (why shouldn't they be able, they have excellent visibility and an inside track) they can rotate to loaning the public some money, or maybe it's called leveraging their debt capital? All I know is, banks are smarter than me and their losses are socialized, so why not own them?

      I see they just had earnings.

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  98. AGO up 5% on last night's strong results - hard to see how business is not good for these guys for the next few years unless we hit another recession.

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  99. Advances 349
    Unchanged 5
    Declines 146

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  100. SORL continuing to dog it after the last quarter's results - stock is down over 1/3 from $4.50 to under $3.00.

    Thought I would get a bounce to sell into, but guess a lot of people, like me, thought the results were weak and are trying to get out.

    Q1 they projected sales up 10%, so maybe we get a bounce on that. Stock is at a p/e of 6 and fwd p/e of 4, so cheap, but not sure it matters without some better numbers to back it up.

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  101. Still feeling a bit lost at the wheel here. I got stopped out of the SPXS at $29.65. I bought some VE and FIATY this morning.

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  102. BALT looks interesting to me. But I still am concerned about the two catalysts of coal and China infrastructure demand slowing down / going away and with the supply of ships still quite high I think they need huge demand drivers in order to get rates up significantly. I have a feeling it will be a slow slow grind higher if rates go up.

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  103. TSL - My broker has a $22 price objective on this $10.70 stock.
    OINK is one Chinese stock that hasn't given up the ghost.

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    Replies
    1. I'm still holding my DATE. Underwater a few percent. I like it a lot but shit its a scam China company right?

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  104. Doh. Just realized I didn't buy FIATY yet. I think I had a buy order but didn't go through with it.

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  105. I'm really disappointed we aren't having that big scary sell off I keep hearing about.....

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  106. GTS - I'm about ready to buy this one....

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  107. JONE must have said something on the concal, because all of a sudden jumped to +10% on the day a few minutes ago.

    Will have to read the transcipt.

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