Alternative Nat Gas Fund Could Surge 15% by Winter's End

I live on the West Coast, and the weather here is warm, unseasonably warm, in fact. Now, I admit that sometimes I like to rub in my good fortune to my friends, family and colleagues in the Midwest and on the East Coast.
Much as I am fond of jesting about the 80-degree sunny days here of late, the weather situation in much of the country is no laughing matter. In fact, Mother Nature has been downright cruel this year, with the "polar vortex" and sub-zero temperatures making life miserable for millions of Americans.
While there's not much anyone can do about the cold-hearted vixen's actions, traders could take some solace in making a few extra bucks trading one sector that benefits from this big chill -- natural gas.
Since November, the metrics in the natural gas space have been firmly in the bulls' favor. The chart of the United States Natural Gas Fund (NYSE: UNG) shows the big spike higher in the commodity that began in early November and sent UNG well above both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

In Friday trade, UNG surged more than 8%, making a 52-week high, as natural gas futures broke to a three-and-a-half year high, topping $5 for the first time since 2010.  (more)
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Emerging Market Mess Won't Upset US Stocks

The emerging market turmoil that pushed U.S. stocks down last week is unlikely to have a lasting impact, says stock market guru Jeremy Siegel, professor of finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Emerging market stocks and currencies dropped early Monday, but the carnage eased after Turkey's central bank announced a special interest rate meeting for Tuesday, which lifted the lira higher.

As for U.S. stocks, Siegel says he's not a perma-bull. "There have been times I felt we were way overpriced," he told CNBC. But for now, "I still think we're slightly under fair market value."  (more)

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Margin Debt Soars To Record High; Investor Net Worth Now Doubly Negative From 2007 Bubble Peak

Submitted by Tyler Durden
That margin debt just soared to new all time highs in december should come as no surprise to anyone. However what may come as a shock to many is that the other key metric provided by the NYSE - total net free credit - also known as investor net worth (calculated as Free Credit Cash plus Credit Balances in Margin Accounts less Margin Debt) just dropped to a whopping $148 billion, double where it was in February 2013, and double where it was during the peak of the last stock (and credit and housing) bubble, when it rose to a then-all time high of $79 billion in June 2007. It was all downhill from there. (more)

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Ann Inc (NYSE: ANN)

ANN Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of women’s apparel, shoes, and accessories under the Ann Taylor and LOFT brands. As of August 3, 2013, it operated 1,007 stores comprising 275 Ann Taylor stores, 105 Ann Taylor Factory stores, 525 LOFT stores, and 102 LOFT Outlet stores in 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The company also sells its products through operating anntaylor.com and LOFT.com, as well as through phone. The company was formerly known as AnnTaylor Stores Corporation and changed its name to ANN Inc. in March 2011. ANN Inc. was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
To review ANN’s stock, please take a look at the 1-year chart of ANN (ANN, Inc.) below with my added notations:

Over the last year ANN has consistently moved higher. Since May the stock has formed a trend line of support (blue) that it has been bouncing on top of. Always remember that any (2) points can start a trend line, but it’s the 3rd test and beyond that confirm its importance. ANN’s trend line seems to be important now that it has been tested 4 times dating back to May.

The Tale of the Tape: ANN has created a trend line of support over the last 8 months. A long position could be entered on a pullback to that trend line, which is currently sitting right under 35, with a stop placed below that level. A short position could be entered if ANN were to break the trend line support.
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This Will Create A Massive Spike In The Price Of Gold

kingworldnews.com / January 27, 2014
A 42-year market veteran who predicted the recent spike in gold ahead of time spoke with King World News about the a catalyst that is going to create a massive spike in the price of gold.  John Hathaway, who is one of the most respected institutional minds in the world today when it comes to gold, and whose fund was awarded a coveted 5-star rating, also included a fantastic chart.
Eric King:  “John, I know you’ve seen the chart that shows the expansion of paper claims vs available physical gold.  Just when you think chart can’t go any more parabolic, it does.  It has now hit a staggering 112 to 1.  When does that matter, John?”
Hathaway:  “It doesn’t matter until it does matter.  Look, these bullion banks are extending credit to trading entities — probably high-frequency traders, hedge funds, and the other usual suspects — that don’t have any physical gold at all….
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3 Niche ETFs That Will Keep Flying: GURU, PSP, NFO

The ETF industry continues to grow in size and importance. 2013 was another spectacular year for the industry with inflows exceeding $190 billion. 159 new products were launched last year, taking the total number of products to 1551, while assets under management have surged to $1.71 trillion.

While large, plain vanilla market cap weighted ETFs tracking the broader market or popular segments continue to be very popular with investors, there are some smaller but excellent ETFs that focus on certain 'niche' corners of the market. These ETFs provide access to some specialized strategies that are otherwise unavailable to retail investors.

Below we highlight three ‘niche’ ETFs that had a strong performance last year and look poised to outperform this year as well. (more)

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