Well, I stand up next to a mountain  And I chop it down with the edge of my hand  Well, I pick up all the pieces and make an island  Might even raise a little sand –Jimi Hendrix, “Voodoo Child”   Sometimes life feels like a gigantic mountain standing in the way of you achieving

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When the markets are in turmoil, we know that volatility increases. Professional investors will look at the VIX or the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s volatility index, also known as the “Fear Gauge,” to get a closer idea of how much the market will move in the coming months. You can’t buy or sell the VIX

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Treasury bonds have extended their recent gains, and there’s been a concomitant decline in Treasury bond yields as a result. The latest action in the bond pits has caught one high-profile investor off guard. Bill Gross, co-chief investment officer and founder of Pimco, famously bet against Treasury bonds earlier this year.      In fact, […]

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There are a lot of reasons to be tentative right now with respect to this market, so I thought I’d make you a shorthand list of what I think are the top 10 reasons to be cautious. Your own order may differ from mine, but the order isn’t as important as the fact that all

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  The equity markets are in rally mode, and that’s despite the still-ugly economic and sentiment data that keeps pouring in. Of course, things aren’t completely bad on that front, as the latest data on consumer spending showed a 0.8% rise in the metric. That’s by no means fantastic, but it is the best showing

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Despite the fact that Wall Street traders literally felt the ground shake beneath their feet courtesy of Tuesday’s earthquake, stocks managed to log their first winning week in over a month. Even the specter of big damage from Hurricane Irene didn’t stop the buying this week. I suppose Wall Street was more concerned with other […]

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“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”   –Mark Twain   These words to live by from the prolific author actually have direct relevance to the financial markets. You see, when you’re out there making calls about the future direction of stocks, the only thing that you can do is tell

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The feedback I’ve received lately about the Monday Morning Market Update digital audio broadcast has really been encouraging, so I thought I’d share some of it with you and my other Alert readers. Here are two recent comments about the broadcast that I’m proud to have received.   Hi Doug, Please keep up the good […]

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If you want to invest in the equity markets while economic uncertainty dominates the headlines, consider the PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (SPLV). And, if you read and watch market news as much as I do, you already know how grim the latest reports have been about slowing economic growth, falling housing prices and

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The price of gold is up about 30% since the beginning of the year, and the shine in the value of the yellow metal now has made the SPDR Gold (GLD) the largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the block. This Golden Boy officially squashed the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) ETF, commonly known as the Spiders,

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