Could a Trump trade war spark a bear market?

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The...

My 2017 report card

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The...

A sector review reveals animal spirits at work

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The...

An update on gold (but not frankincense or myrrh)

Mid-week market update: There is not much that can be said about the stock market that I have not already said. The small cap seasonal Santa Claus rally that I wrote about appears to be proceeding as expected, though the tape is thin and most professionals have shut down their books for the year.  ...

Five steps, where’s the stumble?

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The...

Do you believe in Santa Claus?

Mid-week market update: You can tell a lot about market psychology by the way it reacts to events. News overnight of the victory by Democrat Doug Jones over the troubled Republican candidate Roy Moore in the Alabama senate race was judged to be market unfriendly, as it meant that the GOP would have its Senate...

Here comes the blow-off

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The...

Duel of the market studies

Mid-week market update: Swing and day traders are often fond of studies that show an edge under certain market conditions. But what happens when two different studies disagree? On one hand, Rob Hanna at Quantifiable Edges published a study yesterday that signaled a likely bullish outcome for stock prices. Yesterday (Tuesday) would have day 1 of...

Brace for a more volatile 2018

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The...

What’s next for the tax cut bull?

Mid-week market update: It was clear from yesterday's market action that the equity bull depends entirely on the success of the Republican tax cut bill. The market rallied on the news that the tax cut bill had made it out of Senate Budget Committee. It manage to shrug off the news of a possible government...

Things you don’t see at market bottoms: Rational Exuberance edition

It is said that while bottoms are events, but tops are processes. Translated, markets bottom out when panic sets in, and therefore they can be more easily identifiable. By contrast, market tops form when a series of conditions come together, but not necessarily all at the same time. My experience has shown that overly bullish...

Embrace the Blow-off (but with a stop-loss discipline)

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The...

Round number-itis at SPX 2600?

Mid-week market update: The mid-week market update is being published a day early because of the shortened trading week due to American Thanksgiving on Thursday. You can tell a lot about market psychology by the way it reacts to news. Early Monday morning (Europe time) and before the market open, a grim Angela Merkel announced...

2018 outlook: The last charge of the bulls

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The...

An orderly retreat, but getting oversold

Mid-week market update: After several weeks of waiting, evidence of near-term weakness and consolidation is finally appearing. The SPX violated an uptrend this week and it is undergoing a retreat or a period of sideways consolidation.     Until today, this orderly retreat in stock prices was enough to depress stock prices, but not enough...