The “sell-off” is now two weeks young as red flags are hoisted daily above a mob of jaw dropped spectators, formerly known as the efficient market. There is no absence of questions on the minds of international market forecasters. Instead, we’re hearing vague rhetoric from analysts and financiers that sounds more like confusion than any sort of prediction. The confident ones are still playing the “buy because markets are down” card, but we are taking an alternative, perhaps disagreeable, path.

U.S. stocks looked unusually strong on Friday as two major factors concerning short term risk in global markets changed dramatically. The stagnant housing market and uncertainty over a viable path to solvency in Greece, which have been weighing heavily on global markets, seem to be less threatening if Friday’s data were judge. Technicals remain extremely overbought in commodities and equities as markets now face Bernanke and Q1 GDP this week.

The last week has seen 100 day moving averages torn apart, surprises from economic data reports, and one of the most notable sell-offs for stocks in some time. Recently, many home gamers and pros alike, have put financials out of their purview. The erratic and effectively risky nature of these names are less than inviting, but
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Is anyone else sick of the montage of blog posts and articles titled "yada yada yada 2010"?  To institutional investors who have to decorate their books to look "pretty" for investor relations meetings, the end of the year is important, but to actual investors, traders, analysts, etc., (i.e. readers of this blog, Seeking Alpha, WSJ,
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With the autumn comes the brisk northern air that reminds us of the fragility of life and the strict laws of nature; lessons which most years occupy a few thousand microns of brain tissue as such trivial metaphysical notions pass under the radar of consciousness. Yet it seems that we humans subscribe to a separate reality
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Quiet frustration looms just beyond the facade of bulls who called for a market extension near the S&P 500 high of 945, while those heralding to invest in stocks upon a 10% pullback are beginning to feel the heat. Meanwhile, the substantial chatter concerning a "toppy" head and shoulders pattern of late in equities has
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The economic strife in U.S. equities over the past nine months was premised by the popping of the crude oil bubble. As the world watched U.S. crude oil futures rocket to a level of $147 / barrel on July 11, 2008, the hype heard at every corner preached we would reach $200 / barrel. Instead
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