Portfolio
11:54:30 PM EDT | 08/28/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Stocks look poised to bounce after producing a short-term bullish double bottom pattern last week although the signal needs to see some confirmation. Oil stocks might outperform is the U.S. dollar rolls over from current levels.
Portfolio
01:56:39 PM EDT | 08/21/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Investors should stay defensive. The path of least resistance is still lower.
Portfolio
11:40:53 PM EDT | 08/14/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The major market indices are breaking down under their trendline of higher lows. Stocks look vulnerable to more profit taking as investors continue to seek safety in bonds.
Portfolio
05:57:21 PM EDT | 08/07/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The U.S. market's major indices manage to post another weekly gain thanks to Monday's big rally. We have a handful of candidates that hit new one-year highs this past week...
Portfolio
08:42:59 PM EDT | 07/31/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The month of July turned out to be the market's best month in a year. Traders should keep that in perspective. The decline from the April highs has been a painful one.
Portfolio
11:39:11 AM EDT | 07/24/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | It was not a good week for put plays. Bullish comments from BTU following the company's better than expected earnings...
Portfolio
11:35:12 PM EDT | 07/17/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The stock market rally has stalled and reaction to recent high-profile earnings results has not been bullish. It looks like the market is poised to retreat lower again.
Portfolio
02:19:53 PM EDT | 07/10/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The stock market delivered one of its best weeks in several months. Yet is was also a frustrating week
Portfolio
11:47:43 PM EDT | 07/03/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The market's sell-off continues and stocks broke down to new relative lows. More importantly the major averages have broken key support levels suggesting...
Portfolio
05:09:42 AM EDT | 06/26/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | After a four-day decline the S&P 500 ekes out a very minor gain on Friday. The Russell index rebalancing wreaked havoc on several large cap names. The very short-term trend for stocks...
Portfolio
06:05:37 PM EDT | 06/19/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The markets have put together their best two-week rally in months and yet momentum is stalling across several sectors. I would be cautious here. The summer doldrums are upon us
Portfolio
11:56:32 PM EDT | 06/12/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Stocks managed a nice bounce from support. You could argue the market has produce a bullish double bottom pattern but it needs to see some confirmation.
Portfolio
11:54:19 PM EDT | 06/05/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | It has not been a good week for stocks. The oversold bounce appears to have rolled over and the market is headed for its recent lows.
Portfolio
11:53:00 PM EDT | 05/29/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Some of the material names are doing a lot better. A few of our candidates have started to show some short-term strength. Yet overall the trend is still down. Investors need to stay defensive. Keep your positions small.
Portfolio
04:49:29 AM EDT | 05/26/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The market correction continues and we have seen a handful of trading candidates get knocked off our portfolio in the last few days
Portfolio
09:59:45 PM EDT | 05/15/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The market's oversold bounce produced a weekly gain but the failed rally on Thursday and Friday has cast a bearish shadow over stocks
Portfolio
08:26:12 PM EDT | 05/08/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Thursday's incredible volatility has produced significant changes in our portfolio. Several plays hit our stop loss but almost an equal number of candidates from our watch list...
Portfolio
00:24:44 PM EDT | 05/01/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The market is looking a little frothy here and it could be another sign stocks are nearing a short-term top. Our portfolio is seeing some changes.
Portfolio
02:21:15 PM EDT | 04/24/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Overall stocks didn't make much progress last week, unless they were small caps. I'm still expecting a...
Portfolio
03:01:33 AM EDT | 04/17/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | You should notice a lot of changes in the portfolio this week. The market's major indices managed to hit new 52-week highs again but...
Portfolio
01:16:40 PM EDT | 04/10/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The stock market continues to slowly melt higher. The major indices hit new 52-week highs on Friday.
Portfolio
09:03:55 PM EDT | 04/03/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The action in the stock market was muted last week as investors waited for the jobs report on Friday. I remain concerned about...
Portfolio
11:04:04 PM EDT | 03/27/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Readers may want to consider exiting early any remaining coal stock plays. The sector is getting hammered...
Portfolio
11:40:16 PM EDT | 03/20/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Coal stocks and energy stocks did not perform well. Coal issues were hit especially hard...
Portfolio
11:32:52 PM EDT | 03/13/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Our LEAPS play list continues to grow. Last week we had two watch list candidates graduate to the play list.
Portfolio
02:16:48 AM EDT | 03/08/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Commodity-related stocks performed well last week. Coal was a strong industry and our metals play did very well...
Portfolio
06:15:27 AM EDT | 02/26/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Bears have been unable to capitalize on any market weakness...
Portfolio
11:51:19 PM EDT | 02/20/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Our portfolio is growing again. We had two watch list candidates jump to the play list last week.
Portfolio
10:12:44 PM EDT | 02/13/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The oversold bounce in the stock market is struggling but overall last week was pretty bullish for our portfolio. I am still seeing new entry points in some of our candidates.
Portfolio
11:32:56 PM EDT | 02/06/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The S&P 500 bounced right on target. Unfortunately that doesn't mean the correction is over...
Portfolio
11:55:29 PM EDT | 01/30/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The January correction continues and the S&P 500 ended the month under key support near 1,085. Traders are now estimating the 1040-1035 zone as the next downside target since that would be a 10% correction.
Portfolio
11:55:21 PM EDT | 01/23/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | It looks like the January correction we've been waiting for has finally begun. Now that stocks are starting to reverse there is no way to tell where they will stop but traders are focusing on possible support near...
Portfolio
09:52:35 PM EDT | 01/18/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The stock market is starting to see some profit taking. Investors are selling the news and trying to lock in gains after this strong pre-earnings run up.
Portfolio
11:43:22 PM EDT | 01/09/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Index funds are putting money to work in stocks and the result has been a big rally across the markets. Financials, materials, and energy are some of the best performers.
Portfolio
11:50:29 PM EDT | 01/02/2010
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The Christmas rally breakout has begun to falter and stocks are correcting. Could this be a sign of things to come as investors take profits in the new year?
Portfolio
09:25:41 PM EDT | 12/26/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The short-term picture has improved significantly in the last week. The S&P 500 index, the NASDAQ and the small cap Russell 2000 index have all broken out to new 2009 highs. Stocks should be able to extend their gains into year end.
Portfolio
11:08:32 PM EDT | 12/19/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The sideways consolidation in the S&P 500 has reached six weeks now. Many of our candidates are following the market sideways. However, a few are...
Portfolio
00:09:05 AM EDT | 12/12/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The market remains stuck in a trading range. It's not surprising that many of our LEAPS candidates are also meandering sideways.
Portfolio
00:09:05 AM EDT | 12/13/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown |
The market remains stuck in a trading range. It's not surprising that many of our LEAPS candidates are also meandering sideways.
Portfolio
09:27:32 PM EDT | 12/05/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Big caps struggled on Friday and the S&P 500 is still battling resistance near the 1,110 area. However, I'm encouraged by the strength in the small caps, semiconductors and transports.
Portfolio
09:15:56 PM EDT | 11/28/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Stocks are having a hard time keeping the upward momentum alive. The U.S. dollar sank to new lows for the year midweek, which was boosting some of the commodity stocks but that reversed on Friday. The Dubai news sent money surging into the dollar as a safety play.
Portfolio
10:21:16 PM EDT | 11/21/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Last week was definitely disappointing. Monday's bullish breakout over major resistance at 1100 on the S&P 500 failed to see any follow through. I'm hearing more and more market commentary about...
Portfolio
08:09:15 PM EDT | 11/14/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Most of our portfolio posted gains for the week but I'm concerned that several stocks produced a bearish reversal on Wednesday or Thursday...
Portfolio
02:11:52 AM EDT | 11/09/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The stock market remains volatile as investors question the sustainability of the economic recovery.
Portfolio
02:56:17 AM EDT | 11/08/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The stock market remains volatile as investors question the sustainability of the economic recovery.
Portfolio
11:45:04 PM EDT | 10/31/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | October has come to a screeching halt and the market looks heavy with major averages breaking key support levels...
Portfolio
11:57:05 AM EDT | 10/24/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | We continue to whittle down the play list and we're taking money off the table.
Portfolio
08:51:45 PM EDT | 10/17/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | We're trimming the portfolio this weekend. Five of the LEAPS plays hit our profit targets.
Portfolio
00:06:13 AM EDT | 10/11/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The strength in this market is encouraging. Although I'm a little concerned by the lack of volume on the rebound compared to the big volume during the correction.
Portfolio
11:48:58 PM EDT | 10/03/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | This market correction is two weeks old. I suspect it continues for another week, maybe more, but stocks should find another bottom in October.
Portfolio
11:52:17 PM EDT | 09/26/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The market has begun to correct after hitting new highs for 2009. A pull back is both normal and healthy. Our bias remains bullish but the next couple of weeks could be rough.
Portfolio
11:50:11 PM EDT | 09/19/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The S&P 500 is now up about 7% from its September lows. The market is short-term overbought and looks ready to dip, which would be healthy and set up for a run towards the 1100 level. The money-manager race for performance is still in full swing so pullbacks should be shallow. (Portfolio has been posted)
Portfolio
10:29:59 PM EDT | 09/12/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The S&P 500 delivered a five-day winning streak and almost made it six in a row. The trend is up and money managers are still chasing performance. Look for pullbacks to be smaller than you might expect.
Portfolio
09:37:12 PM EDT | 09/05/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Another week has passed and the bears were unable to take the market lower. The jobs report on Friday could have gone either way. Investors could have chosen to focus on unemployment jumping to 9.7% instead of the drop in job losses...
Portfolio
11:03:14 PM EDT | 08/29/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The market's trend is still up it just took a few days to digest some gains and some news. Both bulls and bears could argue that stocks should have been a lot higher last week...
Portfolio
08:59:04 PM EDT | 08/22/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Last week was a key turning point for the market. The S&P 500 has convincingly cleared resistance near 1,000. Now investors are aiming for the 1,100 level...
Portfolio
08:54:04 PM EDT | 08/15/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The rally is getting more and more narrow as investors look for new leadership in the market. Most of the market looks tired and due for a correction.
Portfolio
07:48:00 PM EDT | 08/08/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | I realize this is starting to sound like a broken record but stocks are still extremely overbought. The S&P 500 index is up 16% from its July lows. The Russell 2000 is up 20%. We don't want to chase this move. Be patient. The market can't keep this pace for much longer.
Portfolio
07:23:53 PM EDT | 08/01/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | This week looks a lot like last week. A few sectors have been able to extend their gains but we're starting to see some stocks begin to correct after the strong July rally. The S&P 500 is still under resistance.
Portfolio
00:25:00 AM EDT | 07/26/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | If we thought stocks were overbought last week they're even more overbought today. The levels to watch are overhead resistance near 1,000 and support near 950 on the S&P 500. Investors will want to take advantage of a dip toward 950.
Portfolio
11:39:21 PM EDT | 07/18/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Better than expected earnings results caught investors off guard and the market exploded higher for one of the best weekly performances in years.
Portfolio
09:50:09 PM EDT | 07/11/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The S&P 500 has broken support at 880 and the bearish head-and-shoulders pattern is forecasting a drop towards the 810-800 zone.
Portfolio
09:25:41 PM EDT | 07/04/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | The market's sideways consolidation has taken on a bearish tint to it. The S&P 500 has developed a clearly defined bearish head-and-shoulders pattern.
Portfolio
07:38:55 PM EDT | 06/27/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Window dressing could lift stocks through Tuesday but after the quarter ends volume will probably vanish as investors focus on their 4th of July holiday plans. Overall stocks are churning sideways as the market waits for second quarter earnings.
Portfolio
10:26:40 PM EDT | 06/20/2009
Portfolio Update
By James Brown | Last week was a rough one for our portfolio. Stocks corrected sharply, especially energy-related stocks.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
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