Sometimes what life is about is wanting More Cowbell
Thanks to HG for the clip. You can see a longer than 44 second version at the above link from SNL.
The Black Boxes
Investors411 has been beating the drums over the control Black Box Entities have over your money.
The Will Ferrell link was short, simple and funny. This link is long, technical and boring.
But if you are at all invested in stocks or concerned about market regulations you should skim/read this piece about the High Frequency Trading that black box entities use from Zero Hedge by Tyler Durden
Black box traders have rewritten the whole concept of investing. Money quotes -
- “can clearly demonstrate that HFT is having an increasingly large impact on the microstructure of equity trading dynamics.
- Values which were once only present on the orders of several hours or days are now commonplace in the timescale of seconds or minutes.”
Bottom Line – Competing with the Black Boxes is impossible for the ordinary trader/investor. They win. However, because they are so big they leave tracks. The problem is before the whales (big investment entities) used to move slow and the black boxes move fast. When markets crash again there will be a HUGE investigation into this kind of trading. There should be now.
I’ve tried to see some patterns that the folks who control these black boxes use. Examples – the dollar & the MO seem to have a high correlation with the majority of their algorithms. But not yet sure that these forecasting tool will work as well as in the past. Even Black Box Traders can’t ignor long term fundamentals forever.
KISS & Stocks (Keep It Simple Stupid)
If you don’t understand a term look in up at Investopedia.com dictionary
AS ALWAYS, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH BEFORE INVESTING!
| Index | Percentage | Volume |
|---|---|---|
| Dow | +1.44% | up |
| NASDQ | +1.99% | up |
| S&P 500 | +1.54% | up |
| Russell 2000 | +3.14% | - |
Investors411 record – 5 years of beating benchmark S&P 500 and almost all major US indexes
Technicals, Fundamentals & Analysis
Mantra for week (revised a little) Earnings Season begins this week. - How markets react to news has usually been the key. If a stock shrugs and goes nowhere on good earnings news you know there’s trouble ahead. Remember Black Box algorithms dominate even more as volume declines.
Caution Black box traders that make up 50% (high volume days) to 80% (low volume days) of all trades seem to follow their own market technicals, and often eliminated volume as a major factor in price moves for indexes & sectors.
Volume rose on the AA earnings news, but was sill below average. This shows a few more traders/investors did buy. = Bullish
Intel computer like last quarter had an outstanding earnings report. Shares of the mother of all chip stocks were up +8% in pre market trading. = Bullish
Fundamentally it comes down to who do you believe – Intel says the worldwide recession is over especially in China and emerging markets and the BDI says we are falling into a double dip or extended recession especially in China and emerging markets. = ??????
Significant Indexes-
- McClellan Oscillator (MO) rose dramatically to +65.41[+60 or above = Overbought = sell. -60 or below = Oversold = buy]. StockCharts has a better version of the McClellan chart ($NYMO) LINK. – & Investopedia on – How the MO works. The Black Boxes have not allowed the MO to rise above 80 since 3/09 = Bearish
- US Dollar – The dollar fell -0.67% yesterday [Anything over +/- @0.50 is significant.] The dollar is important to stocks – Dollar up = stocks down and visa versa. The Black Box traders, have used the inverse relationship of the dollar as a key part of their trading system. This inverse relationship is part of their algorithmic system. For stocks = Bullish
- BDI - The Baltic Dry Index (Measures cost of shipping – Higher costs good = more being shipped = Bullish. Also good proxy of China.) BDI is in free fall from a high of @4200 to 1790 Monday. This is a huge -57% drop in 7+ weeks. Often a leading indicator for stocks. Here’s a 3 year chart of BDI for context. The BDI fell a decreased -2.72% yesterday. You have to go back to April of 2009 to find a lower BDI. Fundamentally this is very BEARISH
Positions
The Positions Section = latest buys and sells - These are positions I actually own - Updated over weekends – Investors411 holds NO position at this time. (see below)
I will be nibbling on an ETF(s) that Shorts the market today on a rally in stocks.
Hope to buy as S&P 500 rallies to resistance levels 1105, better 1112 or best @ 1125 (June high) S&P closed at 1095. Probably use SDS. (-200% what the S&P 500 does) I will be adding ETF that short 300% when/if the market moves higher. See yesterday’s Investors411 for options.
Logic – Intel & BDI are presenting two different fundamental pictures of world growth. You could write volumes on all the fundamental factors. The bottom line is that Black Boxes that have taken control over US markets. They have sold when the the MO got up to 80 four times this year. That’s a pretty strong resistance level.
Perhaps zillions of fresh investors will now come off the sidelines and take control. Some will, but my read the tea leaves is any rally will get sold into.
Long Term Outlook =CAUTIOUSLY BEARISH
AS ALWAYS DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH BEFORE INVESTING
