Despite the break from the polar vortex, trading was frozen last week. Was the weekend warm enough to thaw the markets before the next freeze?
Priceline Earnings – February 20, 2014
Have you had a tough time in the market recently? Maybe you should call in the priceline negotiator. Looking at the past year, spokesperson William Shatner has done a great job. Let’s see if the stock will have a bigger discount than a hotel room booked through the priceline.com site.
You Asked For It – Gold
The results of our online survey are in and the most requested topic was gold. Gold is a very interesting commodity to study. It has a long history. A wide variety of investors and speculators have counted on its large changes in prices and very little utility value. This topic deserves a lot of attention.
Continue reading “You Asked For It – Gold”
Market Commentary – February 10, 2014
Did you get caught in the bear trap? Listening to all the doomsday correction pundits?
Ready For the Monthly US Employment Report – February 2014?
The US Non-Farm Payroll report is a popular day for professional traders. The day usually brings a sharp move the moment the report is released on the first Friday of the month at 8:30 AM (EST). Traders usually like to take advantage of the sharp move and close out a position seconds, minutes, or hours later. However, if you hold on for too long, you might be disappointed, as the moves may come back to earth. Be prepared with some statistics for the ETFs that track the S&P 500 (SPY), Gold, (GLD), and US Ten Year Treasury Rates (IEF). The numbers below represent, in absolute value, the size of the moves of the given category. For example, the overnight move (Day Before Close to Open on NFP) for SPY (S&P500) is on average $1.78 up or down. So if you are making a directional trade or a volatility play, understand the size of the move you can expect.
| Ticker | Spot Price | Open to Close on NFP Day | Day Before Close to Open on NFP Day | Day Before Close to Close on NFP Day | Typical 1 Standard Deviation 1 Day |
| SPY | $177.04 | $1.30 | $1.78 | $1.35 | $2.15 |
| GLD | $121.20 | $0.80 | $1.60 | $1.25 | $1.59 |
| IEF | $101.75 | $0.24 | $0.35 | $0.26 | $0.46 |
Don’t let trades outlive their usefulness.
Good luck and trade rationally.
Market Commentary – February 3, 2014
Last week saw a lot of choppiness in the market with a bearish tone in the market. The S&P 500 rallies were mostly met with selling. The news of the emerging market outflows continued to dominate the headlines. Underwhelming earnings and guidance from some important companies did not help either. However the rallies did show that there were interested buyers. They just did not get any instant gratification and are being forced to sweat. Now onto this week.
Google Earnings – January 30, 2014
When a company’s name becomes a verb it’s usually a good thing. When you put a bunch of computer nerds together, you get ideas that are as crazy as the stock price of the company. Is Google still the most prominent internet presence? Or has the recent wave of acquisitions and futuristic projects become a distraction from advertising revenue?
Amazon Earnings – January 30, 2014
Did you do the bulk of your holiday shopping using Amazon Prime? Are you so entrenched in the Amazon ecosystem that you have to be long the stock? Or are you ready to fly away like one of the prototype drones Amazon would like to use for delivery? Either way, let’s take a look at the game of trading Amazon earnings.
Apple Earnings – January 27, 2014
Are you using an Apple device to view this site? Are you helping the apple cause or using a competitor’s device? You could hedge your upcoming earnings trade by being long and using an Android device. You could be short while using your iPad Air. At the very least you should be armed with these stats:
Market Comments – January 27, 2014
Hope you are ready for some action. Last week’s price action was pretty weak for equities. There were concerns over emerging markets such as Argentina and Turkey. Some stories of signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy. Earnings have not been particularly stellar save for a few exceptions. The continued expectation of the US Fed tapering their bond purchasing program. All of these factors were reported in regards to the sell off. The post sell off reaction along with a flurry of news and reports should lead to a busy week for trading. Highlights will include:
Monday – Apple Earnings, New Home Sales. Tuesday – Durable Goods Orders, Ford Earnings. Wednesday – FOMC Announcement, Boeing Earnings. Thursday GDP, Amazon and Google Earnings. Friday – Mastercard Earnings, Personal Income.