Long Term, the S&P Has Followed Nikkei’s Bearish Declines

Looking back over the past 12 months, the S&P 500 has done well, up 19%, but the Nikkei did a little bit better, up 41%. When it comes to relative performance, the Nikkei is the clear winner; up 100% more than the S&P.

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Twice since 2000, the Nikkei index has formed rising wedges, broke support and fell hard. Each time this took place, the S&P 500 soon followed the Nikkei's lead. Some would say the Nikkei is the canary in the coal mine.

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Joe Friday: "The Nikkei has formed a bearish rising wedge (suggest lower prices 65% of the time) at a resistance line where other wedges have broken down and the S&P 500 followed."
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Loonie will plummet to 85 cents: TD

TORONTO – Watch for the loonie to lose more of its luster this year, according to two well-known bank economists.
Craig Alexander, chief economist for TD Economics, warned Thursday that consumers could see the Canadian dollar slide as low as 85 cents US by mid-year — a level it hasn’t closed below since May 2009 — if the current environment continues.
He said factors that have impacted the currency so far this year, from an increasingly dovish tone from the Bank of Canada to tapering of monetary stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve, will continue to drag down the loonie.
“TD Economics expects that the factors which have taken the Canadian dollar lower are unlikely to shift over the next year or so,” wrote Alexander in the report, titled “The Call of the Loonie.”
“Canada’s economy is forecast to underperform the United States, interest rate hikes remain quite a ways off and the outlook for commodity prices is pretty flat, on average.”
The report noted that a strengthening U.S. greenback and Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz’s perceived stance on a weakened loonie have led the currency’s fall to a four-year low.
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3 Penny Stocks to Watch in 2014: Cell Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: CTIC), Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHTP), Hemispherix Biopharma Inc. (NYSE: HEB)

The biotech boom that began last year has triggered triple-digit gains in some of the market’s best penny stocks.

And some of our top penny stocks in biotech that we recommended last year gained as much as 440%, 231%, and 214%.

Better yet, the biotech sector is expected to keep surging — especially the sector’s best low-priced buys.

Keep in mind, investing in penny stocks isn’t for everyone, as they operate differently than the typical stock.

However, there are plenty of legitimate and lucrative penny stocks, if you know how to invest. The key is finding the promising ones and steering clear of the rest.  (more)

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Outerwall Inc (NASDAQ: OUTR)

Outerwall Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides automated retail solutions primarily in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Its Redbox segment owns and operates approximately 43,700 self-service Redbox kiosks in 35,800 locations that enable consumers to rent or purchase movies and video games, as well as purchase event tickets. The company’s Coin segment owns and operates approximately 20,300 self-service coin-counting kiosks in 20,100 locations, which enable consumers to convert their coin to cash, a gift card, or an E-certificate. Its New Ventures segment focuses on identifying, evaluating, building, and developing innovative self-service concepts in the automated retail space, which includes coffee, refurbished electronics, and photo self-service concepts. The company’s kiosks are located primarily in supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchants, financial institutions, convenience stores, and restaurants. The company was formerly known as Coinstar, Inc. and changed its name to Outerwall Inc. in June 2013
Please take a look at the 1-year chart of OUTR (Outerwall, Inc.) below with my added notations:

This stock is very simple. OUTR had held a very important level of support at $65 (blue) for the last 3 months, which was also a previous resistance. Regardless of what the market has or has not down over the last few months though, the stock had never broken the $65 level. Well, this past Friday OUTR broke below the $65 support and should be moving overall lower from here.

The Tale of the Tape: OUTR had a key level of support at $65. Now that the stock has broken support, a trader might want to enter a short trade at or near the $65 level with a stop placed above that level. A break back above $65 would negate the forecast for a move lower.
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McAlvany Weekly Commentary

Bank to Depositor: It’s Not Your Money!

Posted on 29 January 2014.

About this week’s show:
-Bernanke to Yellen:”Good night and good luck”
-Emerging Market Chaos
-Currency Crises: Replay 2008?

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Chart of the Day - Illumina (ILMN)

The Chart of the Day is Illumina (ILMN).  I found the stock by sorting the All Time High list for frequency in the last month then used the Flipchart feature to find the best chart.  Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 10/22 the stock soared 62.88%.

ILMN is a developer of next-generation tools for the large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function. The company's tools will provide information that could be used to improve drugs and therapies, customize diagnoses and treatment, and cure disease. The company is developing a comprehensive line of products that can address the scale of experimentation and the breadth of functional analysis required to achieve the goals of molecular medicine.

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3 Income Plays for Mexico’s Energy Boom: Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE: DO), Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK), Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE: ETP)

Last week in Income & Prosperity, I presented a thesis for investing in Mexico’s energy market.

My thesis was predicated on the fact you CAN invest in Mexico’s energy market, which for 75 years was closed to foreigners.

Details regarding the Mexican energy reform still need to be hashed out, such as which regions will be available for development and how the contract and licensing procedures will work.

Nevertheless, it’s possible to intelligently game where foreign business will first arise and which U.S. energy companies stand to benefit.  (more)

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