Spear Finance

The Great Wall of Worry

admin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:26:24 +0000

For much of the year, U.S. markets have been held hostage by the euro zone debt debacle and Greek fiscal problems. U. S. markets ran up or down in lockstep with the perceived probability of success for the proposed bail out. However, theses geopolitical problems provided just what the market needed as it climbed the …

Correction Over?

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:08:44 +0000

The media was quick to point out that the Dow Jones Industrials posted their “worst weekly performance of the year,” closing down 152 points for the week and 209 points from the week ago highs. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 continued higher, up 0.4%. This is hardly a “correction.” Technicians may worry about a …

Drink and Drive!

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:20:15 +0000

The Dow is just 6% below its all time high. Last week’s exuberance, however, has turned to angst as growing evidence of a global economic slow down pushed stocks to their largest weekly loss of the year. The sell-off was triggered by a string of weak economic numbers coming out of China and Europe. U. …

Leap Year Edition

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:49:31 +0000

The Dow finally printed a close above the semi-magical 13,000 level, but it was a victory without a celebration. The standard idea with such key resistance levels is that they should be decisively pierced and then the first pullback tests the will of the bulls. Such is not the case in this ‘Steady Eddie’ market. …

Nearing Resistance

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:51:35 +0000

Thursday brought another gap-up open, which was quickly filled and followed by a lethargic rally ahead of options expiration today. This is normal, however. As stocks approach expiration, prices of the most liquid names tend to get pinned to various strike prices, usually round numbers. The QQQ, for instance, came within 3 cents of the …

Trust the Model

admin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:13:26 +0000

Over the last two weeks we made a tactical decision to step aside and not invest in the Short-Term Model Portfolio. In our view the news-driven environment did not give us much of an ‘edge.’ We were wrong. Those subscribers who followed our “unofficial” recommendations did quite well over the past two weeks: first, a …

Global Financial Crisis, Act II

admin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:23:02 +0000

The world economy has bifurcated, which creates powerful crosscurrents as each segment deals with different challenges. The debt-ridden, legacy economies of the West need to deleverage, while the capital-rich emerging economies need to manage growth, capital inflows and inflationary forces. Meanwhile, Act II of the Global Financial Crisis appears to be playing out, albeit in …