-- Posted Wednesday, 25 April 2007 | Digg This Article
| Source: GoldSeek.com
Rick’s Picks
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
“Phenomenally accurate forecasts”
Has the stock market been scaling the proverbial wall of worry -- or has it simply gone “mental” in a so-far bloodlessly postal kind of way? Investors’ apparent obliviousness yesterday to dreadful numbers from the housing industry should have left no doubt about the answer: This time, it would seem, Wall Street really has gone off its rocker. The Dow Industrials were up as much as 75 points during the day, closing with a 35-point gain after it was reported that existing-home sales had registered their biggest drop in 18 years. This would have been scary enough if the statistic had come out of the blue. However, the glum report was no aberration, but rather one more manifestation of a trend that has persisted for quite some time and which seems to be waxing rather than waning.
Although this already has caused the congenitally buoyant homebuilding industry to scale back production and ratchet down its forecasts each month, it hardly seems to have fazed equity share buyers, who very recently pushed the Dow Industrial Average to new all-time highs.
Tuesday’s spate of bad news was further compounded by a drop in the median home price from year-earlier levels as well as a decline in consumer confidence. Investors took it all in stride, sprinting for a respectable gain like some running back so hopped up on pain killers that he doesn’t even know he’s ripped a ligament. If the news should worsen and shares continue to waft higher nonetheless, it will no longer be a case of a runner sprinting with a torn ligament, but of a decapitated drum major leading a confetti parade down Wall Street.
Power Lunches
But would anyone even notice? The financiers have been so busy rolling up private equity deals in the $10 billion-$30 billion range that even a planetary collision with an asteroid would not likely derail a single power lunch. Similarly, stocks have become so inured to bad news that one might expect the broad averages to continue rising even if the Middle East were to erupt into all-out war, or a nuclear device to be detonated in the Saudi oil fields.
Meanwhile, so very easy is it to borrow huge sums of money for financial speculation that we shouldn’t be surprised to see some of it trickling into the stock market. That there is enough of it around to prevent shares from discounting trouble in the traditional way could not be more obvious. We don’t mind the craziness, since it’s just as easy to trade rallies as declines. But we cannot keep our eyes from rolling back whenever we hear that an economy that has produced no gain in personal income nor in capital investment described is “strong;” or that the Fed has things under control; or some other such twaddle.
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A Guru’s Secrets
“While perusing some of your posts chronologically from months back, I'm truly struck by the remarkable prescience of many of your fearless calls. The results are uncannily accurate. Thanks again for this opportunity to profit from your usually directionally correct analyses. The subscription is worth every penny - and then some.”
-- Colin L. MacVeagh, a subscriber
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Want to learn exactly how I do it? Then click here for details concerning next month’s online Hidden Pivot Seminar on May 19-20 (Saturday/Sunday morning). Sign up now while there are still a few seats left. The goal of this course is nothing less than to teach traders and investors of all levels of experience how to forecast stocks and commodities at least as accurately and confidently as those who do it successfully for a living.
With just a cursory understanding of the material taught in the course, and a little bit of follow-up, you will never again have to ask an “expert” what he thinks about a particular stock or “the market.” That’s because you will be better equipped yourself to answer the question simply by looking at a few charts.
The course is not about technical analysis in the conventional sense, with its tired and overly scrutinized trendlines, its familiar oscillators, channels, volume indicators, and all the rest, Rather, it is a way of looking at charts with a fresh eye – to see charts as “art,” with emphasis on visual elements of harmony, symmetry, and, indeed, beauty. My annotated charts do not look even remotely like those of other technicians, and that is why the “buy” and “sell” signals that come from them rarely coincide with those favored and used by the herd.
Don’t Rely on ‘Experts’
The online class will be a particularly good opportunity for those who were unable to attend my classes last year in New York, Sydney, Vancouver, San Francisco and Denver. If you’ve visited the Rick’s Picks chat room and marveled at the forecasting skill of seminar grads, this course is designed to quickly bring you up to their level. While I cannot guarantee that the course will turn you into a fabulously rich trader, I can promise, as implied above, that with a little diligence and practice, your ability to precisely predict price reversals in stocks, indexes, options and commodities will be at least as good as anyone whose forecasts you have ever paid for.
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Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not be construed as an indicator of future results, so let the buyer beware. Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers’ initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2006, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved. www.rickackerman.com
-- Posted Wednesday, 25 April 2007 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
