I don’t know about where you are, but the weather here in California has been freakishly cold. Most of us who live in the coastal climes are not used to freezing temps. But, hey, who are we to complain? There are folks across the US who far worse off. To those folks I say, hang in there. This too shall pass.
In the meantime, enjoy this market. It seems to be on a roll for presenting opportunity and today is no exception – it is a buying opportunity. Stock up before the holidays. Grab the discounts when they come. In fact, take the advice from another of TraderPlanet’s contributors, Polly Dampier, a writer for Naturus, a subscription service for futures traders. Her take on the market is purely technical. Not my cup of tea, but, hey, if it works …
We are short-term traders. We make our money by correctly identifying inflection points where the index futures – especially the S&P 500 mini futures (ES) – are likely to stop moving in one direction and reverse. But every once in a while we stop and take a longer-term look at the stock indices. And when we look at the rest of this year and the beginning of next, we see a confirmed bull market that we thing will continue going up.
She and a whole bunch of other folks see what I see, which is continued upward movement of the market. Be aware, though, what comes up must come down and nothing goes up forever. Even with those trite admonitions, note the long-term trend is up, up, and up, but keep your eye out for buying opportunities. In other trite words, keep your powder dry.
Sure, there will be short-term corrections along the way, and we will trade them when the opportunities arise. But the general direction of U.S. equity markets is up. This long-term chart of the S&P 500 index shows why.
Actually, even for me, not one of the true believers, the chart she presents in her column is quite convincing. Check it out.
The conclusion she and her fellow technicians come to is quite interesting as well.
We have broken out from a 10-year range marked by two clear bottoms and two clear tops around the 1580 level, the first the top for the Dot-com bubble (2000) and the second the top of the sub-prime bundle (2007).
Technically speaking, expect the bull run to continue right through the first quarter, according to Ms. Dampier. I agree.
Now, on to a bit of interesting information about a solar company with a different business model, a company that has skyrocketed in the last year. This progressive company is paving the way for a more rapid adoption of solar technology.
- Today, SolarCity—a company that’s grown quickly by installing solar panels for free and charging customers for the solar power—announced a new business that will extend that model to providing batteries for free, too. SolarCity is a rare success story for investors in clean technology, and its business model has sped the adoption of solar panels.
- The batteries could help businesses lower their utility bills by reducing the amount of power they draw from the grid. They could also help address solar power’s intermittency, which could prevent it from becoming a significant source of electricity.
Finally, I have two more things of import to point out. The first addresses my compulsion to demonstrate the economics of the world are improving. Italy, not quite as bad as any of the other PIIGS countries, nevertheless kept us all on edge with its delicate dance near the edge. The second brings me some long awaited relief. I honestly didn’t believe that the regulatory powers that be could actually get this done, you know, with all the power of the financial industry pushing against the Volker Rule. Well, they did it and I say Hallelujah!
- Italy has technically exited a recession that lasted two years, with GDP having stopped contracting in Q3 and Q2, new data shows.
- U.S. regulators are set on Tuesday to approve a rule to rein in risky trading by banks, a crucial part of their efforts to reform Wall Street and prevent another costly taxpayer bailout.
Get out there and make some money …
Trade in the day; Invest in your life …
