Finance

Symantec Slide

Until yesterday, Symantec was a well-behaved, picture-perfect bullish stock. Just one bad “forward guidance” is all it takes to wipe out 35% of its market cap within milliseconds, which just goes to show how priced-for-perfection equities are these days. Here is a longer view, showing how severe the break is.

Downtrend Finally Broken

My Swing Trading Approach I’m not opposed to adding more long exposure, but may wait for some consolidation in price or a light volume pullback first.  Indicators VIX – Breaking down hard and fast. Down six days in a row. Lowest close since late January, and a sign that volatility is trending lower.  T2108 (% of stocks…

EC Rising Rate

There’s always something else to worry about. For a while now, investors we admire such as Grantham, Mayo, van Oterloo (GMO) and Research Affiliates have been touting the cheapness of foreign stocks, especially emerging markets stocks. This past August James Montier of GMO argued that an allocation to the S&P 500 Index, given its valuation…

Here’s What’s Driving Your Investment Returns

Although your investment results may seem random, they aren’t. In reality, your portfolio’s performance is directly influenced by a number of decisions you’ve consciously or unconsciously made. Let’s examine the factors driving your returns. Your Asset Mix Back in the 1990s, Gary Brinson’s landmark study highlighted the acute impact of a portfolio’s returns by how…

Michigan Consumer Sentiment: May Preliminary Unchanged

The University of Michigan Preliminary Consumer Sentiment for May came in at 98.8, unchanged from the April Final reading. Investing.com had forecast 98.5. Surveys of Consumers chief economist, Richard Curtin, makes the following comments: Consumer sentiment remained unchanged in early May from the April survey. The Expectations Index gained 1.1 points and the Current Conditions Index fell…

3 Best Technology Mutual Funds For Impressive Returns

Risk lovers seeking healthy returns over a fairly long investment horizon may opt for technology mutual funds. It is believed that the technology sector is poised for a brighter earnings performance than the other sectors due to greater demand for technology and innovation. Improving industry fundamentals and emerging technologies such as wearables, VR headsets, drones,…

Weekend Reading: The Art Of War

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” – Sun Tzu: The Art Of War The biggest mistake investors make over the long-term is investing without a strategy. The point that Sun Tzu was making, as it relates to investing, is that having a strategy, such as buying…