Friday, November 30, 2012

Fed To Commit To A Staggering $1 Trillion Of QE For 2013

from KingWorldNews:
Today acclaimed trader Dan Norcini told King World News the Fed is about to commit to more than $1 trillion of QE for 2013. Norcini stated that because of this, “Anyone who does not own physical gold is committing financial suicide.” Here is what the acclaimed trader had to say about this stunning situation and what it will mean for the gold market: “One of the things that may have been overlooked by a lot of people, but it certainly wasn’t overlooked by some of us in the trade, was a report that was published by Goldman Sachs dealing with the Federal Reserve and its upcoming policy meeting.
Goldman Sachs expects, next month, for the Fed to come out of their policy meeting announcing QE4. It will be a purchase of $45 billion each month in Treasuries. This number will be in addition to the already existing QE3, which is $40 billion per month in mortgage-backed security debt.”
Dan Norcini continues @ KingWorldNews.com

Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI)

Angie's List, Inc. operates a consumer-driven solution for its members to research, hire, rate, and review local professionals for home, health care, and automotive service needs in the United States. The company focuses on delivering its members trusted ratings and reviews of local service providers; providing the opportunity for highly-rated service providers to offer its members discounts and other promotions on local services; and advocating for its members to resolve their complaints with local service providers. As of June 30, 2011, it had approximately 820,000 paid memberships. The company was formerly known as Brownstone Publishing, LLC. and changed its name to Angie's List, Inc. in April 2010. Angie's List, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

To analyze Angie's stock for potential trading opportunities, please take a look at the 1-year chart of ANGI (Angie's List Inc.) below with my added notations:
1-year chart of ANGI (Angie's List Inc.)
ANGI has had a rough go of it since the end of March. However, the stock does seem to be trying to bottom over the last (3) months. During those same months, the stock has created a resistance level at $12 (green). That is the same $12 level that was also support in the prior (3) months (red). So, $12 is a key price to ANGI. A break above that level should result in higher prices for the stock.

5 Charts Showing a Year-End Stock Bounce

A skeleton crew is keeping watch over Wall Street today, while the rest of America herds into mile-long lines at the mall.

Black Friday's half-day of trading is typically a light volume day for Mr. Market, and that's likely to be the case this year too. But it's what happens after Black Friday that's worth keeping a close eye on -- historically, the final month and change of the year often comes with a year-end bounce higher for stocks.

In 2012, we're starting to see that shape up in the S&P 500: the big index slammed hard against support at 1350 late last week, rallying back above the 200-day moving average on Monday. That support level coincides with a 61.8 retracement of the June through September rally in stocks, an important level for traders who rely on Fibonacci levels.

The fact that the S&P's pullback has been orderly for the last couple of months is significant. And now, we're seeing bottoming in a large number of individual names -- but we're not focusing solely on upside today.


Instead, we're leveraging new interest in the market by taking a technical look at five big names that are tradable this week.

If you're new to technical analysis, here's the executive summary.

Technicals are a study of the market itself. Since the market is ultimately the only mechanism that determines a stock's price, technical analysis is a valuable tool even in the roughest of trading conditions. Technical charts are used every day by proprietary trading floors, Wall Street's biggest financial firms, and individual investors to get an edge on the market. And research shows that skilled technical traders can bank gains as much as 90% of the time.

Every week, I take an in-depth look at big names that are telling important technical stories. Here's this week's look at the charts of five high-volume stocks to trade for gains.

Apple

We can't talk about big trades without bringing up Apple (AAPL), the $528 billion tech firm that's been catching so much attention from traders in the last couple of months. Apple rallied hard with the broad market from June to September, and then it followed up by dropping like a rock for the next couple of months. But a v-bottom in Apple points to the end of a nasty trend here. (more)

Grains Moving Higher: Good News for Agriculture Equities and ETFs

News about growing drought conditions in the U.S. , lower than expected available grain for export by Russia, Ukraine and Australia combined with rising demand by China is having an impact on grain prices. ‘Tis the season for grain prices to move higher!
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Higher grain prices is good news for Agriculture equities and related ETFs
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3 Overlooked Stocks Set to Rally Before Year-End

We watch the analyst recommendations on stocks closely for a couple of reasons. First, we like to know when the analyst community has become overly optimistic on a stock as it often identifies that it has run its bullish course. The simple rule to follow here is that if everyone is bullish it's usually not a bad time to be locking in your profits. 


Case-in-point, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). With nearly 90% of the analysts covering the stock rating it a "buy" or "strong buy," it has turned into a stock with avalanche potential, i.e., a relatively small amount of sellers can cause it to cascade down to lower prices. It doesn't mean that the stock is necessarily bad, just that it has more selling potential due to the large crowd of investors holding it.

The reverse is also true in that a stock that is performing well with low analyst ranks has the potential to explode higher. Why, you ask? Simply put, Analysts aren't paid to be wrong on a stock, which means that a stock that outperforms the market should grab analysts' attention and drive upgrades. For this reason, we closely monitor a list of stocks that are outperforming the market with low analyst recommendations as these stocks are more likely to see upgrades and, thus, even higher prices.

The table below identifies 10 stocks that are beating the S&P 500 over the past three months, with 50-day moving averages that are trending higher (a simple measure of technical strength), and fewer than 30% "buy" recommendations from the analyst community. This serves as a great list of stocks that traders have the ability to buy ahead of potential upgrades from the analyst community.

Below we'll go into more depth on three stocks we like right now from the list.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)
Investors are deathly afraid of the "fiscal cliff" knocking the market and economy for a loop in 2013. From a logical standpoint (which could be a problem) the politicians in Washington are far better served by solving the situation before the Dec. 31 deadline, which would likely tack an easy 1,000 points onto the Dow and give companies like LMT a boost.
Analysts and traders are afraid to touch LMT now given its revenue from defense spending, which could catch the axe if we go over the cliff. We're betting that this doesn't happen and that this 5% yielder will attract not only traders, but also continue to get the attention of high-yield investors.

Recommended Trade Setup:
-- Buy LMT at the market price
-- Set stop-loss at $90
-- Set price target at $100 for a potential 8% gain by year-end

Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC)
We move into 2013 with the knowledge that "Obamacare" will continue to move toward full implementation. For the most part, the law is seen to put additional pressure on insurance providers while providing somewhat of a tailwind for health care providers like Tenet.
From a sheer technical perspective, this company is a dream as it has been a relative strength leader against the market and is breaking to new 52-week highs. Sentiment on THC remains negative, which suggests that robust upside potential exists as the bears could change posture and turn into buyers. We favor a target of $30 before year-end.

Recommended Trade Setup:
-- Buy THC at the market price
-- Set stop-loss at $26
-- Set price target at $30 for a potential 6% gain by year-end

Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO)
Don't call it a comeback, they've been here for years (sorry for the LL Cool J reference). It's true, though, Yahoo has been around and had the tools for success; its lack of it appears to have been a personnel issue, which may now be on the mend.
Wall Street votes with its accounts, and YHOO shares are reflecting some trust in new management. We don't typically like stocks that are trading nearly 30% higher over a three-month period, but Yahoo is likely to march higher as traders and analysts improve their outlook for the shares.
Look for a price of around $21 by January, a return of almost 12%. Not bad for a company that was all but dead a few quarters ago.

Recommended Trade Setup:
-- Buy YHOO at the market price
-- Set stop-loss at $18.50
-- Set price target at $21 for a potential 12% gain by year-end

Eric Sprott: Market Insights (November 29, 2012)

Gold: Solution to the Banking Crisis
by Eric Sprott and David Baker, Sprott Asset Management
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is an exclusive and somewhat mysterious entity that issues banking guidelines for the world’s largest financial institutions. It is part of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and is often referred to as the Central Banks’ central bank. Ever since the financial meltdown four years ago, the Basel Committee has been hard at work devising new international regulatory rules designed to minimize the potential for another large-scale financial meltdown. The Committee’s latest ‘framework’, as they call it, is referred to as “Basel III”, and involves tougher capital rules that will force all banks to more than triple the amount of core capital they hold from 2% to 7% in order to avoid future taxpayer bailouts. It doesn’t sound like much of an increase, and according to the Basel group’s own survey, the 100 largest global banks will only require approximately €370 billion in additional reserves to comply with the new regulations by 2019.1 Given that the Spanish banks alone are believed to need well over €100 billion today simply to keep their capital ratios in check, it is hard to believe €370 billion will be enough protect the world’s “too-big-to-fail” banks from future crises, but it is indeed a step in the right direction.2 (more)

Chinese Stocks Hit the Skids, Might Drop Further

Chinese stocks are tumbling, with the Shanghai Composite Index hitting a near-four-year low Wednesday, as traders stay away from the market.

The value of shares traded Monday totaled only 33.1 billion yuan ($5.3 billion), the lowest amount since Nov. 7, 2008, according to Bloomberg.

The Shanghai Index closed at 1,973.52 Wednesday, the lowest finish since Jan. 16, 2009 and below the psychologically important level of 2,000.

The Shanghai index first hit that mark at least 10 years ago, “and now we’re back at square one,” Hao Hong, managing director of research for Bank of Communications, told Bloomberg. “Now … people will be looking for the next support level, which could be 5 to 10 percent below here.”

Ironically, the decline comes despite recent signs of a rebound in the economy. For example, the government reported Tuesday that profit for industrial companies soared 20.5 percent in October. And both factory output and exports rose last month at the fastest pace since May.

"Confidence in the stock market appears to have reached a new low this year, with transaction volumes really thin now,” Deng Wenyuan, an analyst at Soochow Securities, told The Wall Street Journal.

“Investors are looking for policy signals ahead of the annual central economic work conference in December, but so far on the policy front, it seems muted."

He was referring to a meeting of China's senior leadership that gives an idea as to the next year’s economic policy and performance.

Chinese stocks are tumbling, with the Shanghai Composite Index hitting a near-four-year low Wednesday, as traders stay away from the market.

The value of shares traded Monday totaled only 33.1 billion yuan ($5.3 billion), the lowest amount since Nov. 7, 2008, according to Bloomberg.

The Shanghai Index closed at 1,973.52 Wednesday, the lowest finish since Jan. 16, 2009 and below the psychologically important level of 2,000.

Editor's Note: Prophetic Economist Warns: “It’s Curtains for America.” See Evidence.

The Shanghai index first hit that mark at least 10 years ago, “and now we’re back at square one,” Hao Hong, managing director of research for Bank of Communications, told Bloomberg. “Now … people will be looking for the next support level, which could be 5 to 10 percent below here.”

Ironically, the decline comes despite recent signs of a rebound in the economy. For example, the government reported Tuesday that profit for industrial companies soared 20.5 percent in October. And both factory output and exports rose last month at the fastest pace since May.

"Confidence in the stock market appears to have reached a new low this year, with transaction volumes really thin now,” Deng Wenyuan, an analyst at Soochow Securities, told The Wall Street Journal.

“Investors are looking for policy signals ahead of the annual central economic work conference in December, but so far on the policy front, it seems muted."

He was referring to a meeting of China's senior leadership that gives an idea as to the next year’s economic policy and performance.

Read more: Chinese Stocks Hit the Skids, Might Drop Further
Important: Can you afford to Retire?
Chinese stocks are tumbling, with the Shanghai Composite Index hitting a near-four-year low Wednesday, as traders stay away from the market.

The value of shares traded Monday totaled only 33.1 billion yuan ($5.3 billion), the lowest amount since Nov. 7, 2008, according to Bloomberg.

The Shanghai Index closed at 1,973.52 Wednesday, the lowest finish since Jan. 16, 2009 and below the psychologically important level of 2,000.

Editor's Note: Prophetic Economist Warns: “It’s Curtains for America.” See Evidence.

The Shanghai index first hit that mark at least 10 years ago, “and now we’re back at square one,” Hao Hong, managing director of research for Bank of Communications, told Bloomberg. “Now … people will be looking for the next support level, which could be 5 to 10 percent below here.”

Ironically, the decline comes despite recent signs of a rebound in the economy. For example, the government reported Tuesday that profit for industrial companies soared 20.5 percent in October. And both factory output and exports rose last month at the fastest pace since May.

"Confidence in the stock market appears to have reached a new low this year, with transaction volumes really thin now,” Deng Wenyuan, an analyst at Soochow Securities, told The Wall Street Journal.

“Investors are looking for policy signals ahead of the annual central economic work conference in December, but so far on the policy front, it seems muted."

He was referring to a meeting of China's senior leadership that gives an idea as to the next year’s economic policy and performance.

Read more: Chinese Stocks Hit the Skids, Might Drop Further
Important: Can you afford to Retire?