Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Todd's Team Shows Us How to Profit in Booms and Busts

This week we shared four special charts with you. Those charts are at the heart of a 145 year old financial market mystery. A mystery that’s delivering stable 50.91% annual returns. It literally rotates your portfolio in the perfect asset for each market condition.

The S&P 500 is roaring. Your portfolio is up. The Brexit shocks global markets. Your portfolio is up. Stocks are flat and mostly stagnant. Your portfolio? Still up. AND it does all that without crazy leverage… hyperactive day trading… or risky securities (like penny stocks or options) which can and do regularly go to ZERO.

My friend Todd Mitchell - CEO of Trading Concepts - has put together a video series explaining exactly how this works. If you haven’t started watching it yet…

Watch it Right Now....Click Here

A handful of in the know traders are already trading the “Synergy Pattern.” Traders like Leonard Caruso who writes, “My wife and I started with a $12,000 and less than 6 months later we are up a little over $18,000, which is over 50 percent return on my investment.”

Or Kerry Chen from California who says, “I’m finally making profit and after 12 painful years of losing money or breaking even at best.”

Then there’s Daniel Fisk, who tells me, “After following the method for close to two years, I’m now about 75% invested in this and I’m talking about my IRA and my trading account.”

Martin Beane from Hawaii writes, “I’ve traded for over 15 years, and never imagined that there was a strategy to take advantage of every type of market cycle the U.S. stock market goes through. I’ve already made arrangements to allocate another 25% of my portfolio.”

Now you can find out precisely how it works….

Get the answer immediately. This video series is only going to be up for a few days. You’ll see the countdown timer when you click through to watch. So don’t hesitate or “save it for later.” You won’t get another shot at this one.

Watch it Right Now - Click Here

See you in the markets.
Ray @ the Stock Market Club



Monday, August 29, 2016

How to Generate Consistent Returns in These Crazy Market Conditions

Have you noticed we’re getting a lot of brutally sharp reversals in the markets lately? It’s so frustrating because most traders get caught on the wrong side over and over again. So called safe trend trades get destroyed while betting on bold reversals is working like clockwork.

What’s going on?

For years, it was possible to just buy any dip in stocks and crank out winner after winner. But those days are long gone. If you try that now, you’ll burn through your account in the blink of an eye. These days’ trends reverse on a dime, but at the same time, you can’t just blindly pick tops and bottoms either.

Anyone who was short stocks recently learned that lesson the hard way when the market rocketed to new all time highs. The bottom line is that those outdated strategies no longer work. If you want to generate consistent profits in these volatile conditions, you’ve got to adapt. And that’s why this short video by renowned trader John F. Carter is so exciting

You’ve just got to see the breakthrough strategy that allows him to catch massive price swings without breaking a sweat.

See for yourself >>> Click HERE to Watch <<<

If you haven’t heard of John before, he’s a best selling author and trader with over 25 years’ experience. He’s developed a world wide reputation for catching explosive trends in stocks, options, and even futures, too.

So I hope you attend on September 6th, 2016 at 7:00 PM Central for a special webinar called, “Hunting for Tops and Bottoms - Low Risk Setups for Trading Precise Turning Points in Any Market”.

Here’s just some of what you’ll learn....

  *  A simple 3 step process to identify major market turning points in any market

  *  How to find low risk, high probability trades in today's volatile market conditions

  *  Why it’s finally possible to catch tops and bottoms in real time on almost any chart

  *  Why these ‘Bold and Beautiful’ reversal trades can be safer than ‘comfortable’ trades

  *  How to avoid getting suckered into the costly traps that most traders fall into

  *  How to adapt your trades automatically for choppy conditions and big trends

  *  How to know when a support or resistance level is likely to hold or not

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I’m looking forward to this special event and I expect I’ll be taking a lot of notes, too. There may not be a replay and this event will almost certainly fill to capacity – so register now and be sure to show up a few minutes early. Unless you’ve already mastered trading these volatile swings, this could be the most important training you attend this year.

To claim your spot just Click HERE

See you next Tuesday,
Ray @ The Stock Market Club


P.S.   If you have not downloaded John's free eBook do it asap....Just Click Here



Sunday, August 21, 2016

Will The Bubble Pop Regardless if the Fed Never Raises Rates?

The current overall SPX pattern is a broadening top, which is usually a very reliable pattern. The market continues to look as though it wants to go even lower. The momentum shift, which I have been expecting, has been slow to start, however one should be prepared for this occurrence ahead of time. Nevertheless, the large divergences which I have been viewing, in my proprietary oscillators, are most real, and, once the selling starts, the momentum should quickly move to the downside.

The current market is being supported by a lack of sellers more so than aggressive buying. With investors still thinking that there is no other place to store their money, they appear to be content with leaving their money with risk on assets within a market that is pushing to all time highs. This type of mentality usually leads to large losses rather than big gains. There isn’t any real opportunity for growth in the SPX that I can see right now.

Dow Theory: Market Indexes Must Confirm Each Other
The Dow Theory was formulated from a series of Wall Street Journal editorials which were authored by Charles H. Dow from 1900 until the time of his death in 1902. These editorials reflected Dow’s beliefs regarding how the stock market behaved and how the market could be used to measure the health of the business environment.

Dow first used his theory to create the Dow Jones Industrial Index and the Dow Jones Rail Index (now Transportation Index), which were originally compiled by Dow for TheWall Street Journal. Dow created these indexes because he felt they were an accurate reflection of the business conditions within the economy, seeing as they covered two major economic segments: industrial and rail (transportation). While these indexes have changed, over the last 100 years, the theory still applies to current market indexes.

Market indexes must confirm one another. In other words, a major reversal from a bull or bear market cannot be signaled unless both indexes (generally the Dow Industrial and Transports Averages) are in agreement. Currently, They are DIVERGING, issuing MAJOR NON-CONFIRMATION HIGH the Dow Jones Industrial average. If one couples this with the volatility index, this is a warning sign and a recipe for disaster.

chart 1


The FEDs’ monetary policy over the last eight years has led to unproductive and reckless corporate behavior. The chart below shows U.S. non financials’ year on year change in net debt versus operating cash flow as measured by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITA).

Chart 2
The growth in operating cash flow peaked five years ago and has turned negative year over year. Net debt has continued to rise, which is not good for companies.

This has never before occurred in the post World War II period. In the cycle preceding the Great Recession, the peaks had been pretty much coincidental. Even during that cycle, they only diverged for two years, and by the time EBITA turned negative, year over year, as it has today, growth in net debt had been declining for over two years. Again, the current 5 year divergence is unprecedented in financial history. Today, most of that debt is used for financial engineering, as opposed to productive investments. In 2012, buybacks and M&A were $1.25 trillion, while all R&D and office equipment spending were $1.55 trillion. As valuations rose, since that time, R&D and office equipment grew by only $250 billion, but financial engineering grew by $750 billion, or three times this!

You can only live on your seed corn for so long. Despite there being no increase in their interest costs while growing their net borrowing by $1.7 trillion, the profit shares of the corporate sector peaked in 2012. The corporate sector, today, is stuck in a vicious cycle of earnings manipulation management, questionable allocation of capital, low productivity, declining margins and growing debt levels.

Conclusion:

In short, I continue to pound on the table to help keep you and fellow investors aware that something bad, financially, is going to take place – huge events like the tech bubble, the housing collapse a few years back, and now national financial instability. Experts saw all these events coming months and, in some cases, years in advance. Big things typically don’t happen fast, but once the momentum changes direction you better be ready for some life changing events and a change in the financial market place.

Follow my analysis in real time, swing trades, and even my long term investment positions so you can survive from the financial storm The Gold & Oil Guy.com



Stock & ETF Trading Signals

Thursday, August 18, 2016

The Financial Winter is Nearing

Weathering Out Winter
Nature functions in cycles. Each 24 hour period can be divided into smaller cycles of morning, afternoon, evening, and night. The whole year can be divided into seasonal cycles. Similarly, one’s life can also be divided into cycles. Cycles are abundant in nature – we just have to spot them, understand them, and be prepared for them, because they happen whether we like it or not. Likewise, economic experts have noticed that the world also follows different cycles. An important pioneer in this field was the Russian social economist, Nikolai Kondratiev, also called Nikolai Kondratieff, a relatively unknown genius.

Who Is Kondratiev?
Geniuses have been known to defend their principles and beliefs, even at the cost of losing their lives; they may die but their legacy lives on, as did Kondratiev. He was an economist who laid down his life defending his beliefs. He was the founding director of the Institute of Conjuncture, a famous research institution, which was located in Moscow. He devised a five year plan for the development of agriculture in Russia from 1923-1925.

His book, “The Major Economic Cycles,” was published 1925, in which his policies were in stark contrast to that of Stalin’s. As a result of this, Kondratiev was arrested in 1930 and given a prison sentence. This sentence was reviewed, and, consequently, he was executed in 1938. What a tragic loss of such a genius at only 42 years of age. He was executed because his research proved him right and Stalin wrong! Nonetheless, his legacy lives on and, in 1939 Joseph Schumpeter named the waves Kondratiev Waves, also known as K-Waves.

What Are Kondratiev Waves?
Investopedia defines the Kondratieff Wave as, “A long term cycle present in capitalist economies that represents long term, high growth and low growth economic periods.” The initial study by Kondratiev was based on the European agricultural commodity and copper prices. He noticed this period of evolution and self correction in the economic activity of the capitalist nations and felt it was important to document.
Chart 1 CNA

These waves are long cycles, lasting 50-60 years and consisting of various phases that are repetitive in nature. They are divided into four primary cycles:

Spring Inflationary growth phase: The first wave starts after a depressed economic state. With growth comes inflation. This phase sees stable prices, stable interest rates and a rising stock market, which is led by strong corporate profits and technological innovations. This phase generally lasts for 25 years.

Summer Stagflation (Recession): This phase witnesses wars such as the War of 1812, the Civil War, the World Wars and the Vietnam War. War leads to a shortage of resources, which leads to rising prices, rising interest rates and higher debt, and because of these factors, companies’ profits decline.

Autumn Deflationary Growth (Plateau period): After the end of war, people want economic stability. While the economy sees growth in selective sectors, this period also witnesses social and technological innovations. Prices fall and interest rates are low, which leads to higher debt and consumption. At the same time, companies’ profits rise, resulting in a strong stock market. All of these excesses end with a major speculative bubble.

Winter Depression: This is a period of correcting the excesses of the past and preparing the foundation for future growth. Prices fall, profits decline and stock markets correct to the downside. However, this period also refines the technologies of the past with innovation, making it cheaper and more available for the masses. Accuracy Of The Cycle Over The Last 200 Years

The K-Waves have stood the test of time. They have correctly identified various periods of important economic activity within the past 200 years. The chart below outlines its accuracy.

Very few cycles in history are as accurate as the Kondratiev waves.
Chart 2 CNA

Criticism Of The Kondratiev Waves
No principle in the world is left unchallenged. Similarly, there are a few critics of the K-Waves who consider it useful only for the pre-WWII era. They believe that the current monetary tools, which are at the disposal of the monetary agencies, can alter the performance of these waves. There is also a difference of opinion regarding the timing of the start of the waves.

The Wave is Being Pushed Ahead But the Mood Confirms a Kondratiev Winter
Chart 3 CNA
Chart 4 CNA
A closer study reveals that the cycles are being pushed forward temporarily. Any intervention in the natural cycle unleashes the wrath of nature, and the current phase of economic excess will also end in a similar correction. The K-Wave winter cycle that started in 2000 was aligned with the dot-com bubble.

The current stock market rise is fueled by the easy monetary policy of the global central banks. Barring a small period of time from 2005-2007 when the mood of the public was optimistic, the winter had been spent with people in a depressed social mood. The stock market rally from 2009-2015 will be perceived as the most hated rally and the one most laden with fear.

Every dip of a few hundred points in the stock market starts with a comparison to the Great Recession of 2007-2009. The mood exudes fear and disbelief that the efforts of the central banks have not been successful and are unable to thwart off the winter, as predicted by the K-Waves. The winter is here and is reflected in the depressed social mood.

How To Weather Out Brutal Winter
In the last phase of the winter cycle, from 2016-2020, which is likely to test us, the stock market top is in place. Global economic activity has peaked, terrorism further threatens our lives, geopolitical risks have risen, the current levels of debt across the developed world are unmanageable, and a legitimate threat of a currency war occurring will all end with the “The Great Reset.” Gold will be likely to perform better during this winter cycle. Get in love with the yellow metal; it’s the blanket which will help you withstand the winter.

Conclusion
Cycles are generally repetitive forces that give us an insight into the future so we can be prepared to face it and prosper. Without excessive intervention, nature is very forgiving while correcting the excesses. But if one meddles with nature, it can be merciless during the correction. The current economic condition will end with yet another reset in the financial markets. Prices will not rise forever, and a correction will take hold eventually. Until then, we follow and trade accordingly. I will suggest the necessary steps to avoid losses and prosper from market turmoil when it unfolds.

Follow my analysis at:  The Gold & Oil Guy.com

Chris Vermeulen



Stock & ETF Trading Signals

Monday, August 15, 2016

It Can’t Wait Any Longer – It's Deja Vu in the Markets

The stock market tends to repeat itself on a regular basis. Why? Because it moves mainly based on the emotions of market participants, with the exception of extreme times when the masses are moving the market with extreme fear or greed, at which point they are flooding the market with buy or sell orders to create a final pop or drop in the market just before a major market reversal.

As with everything in the universe, everything moves in cycles, periods of expansion and contraction, and there are regular wave like patterns that happen on a regular basis no matter the time frame one is reviewing on a stock chart.

Here are three charts, each showing a similar price pattern of extreme washout lows, followed by roughly a 1 1/2 month rally taking investors on a roller coaster ride from fear and complete panic to greedy "know it alls". In short [no pun intended] U.S. large cap stocks look and feel toppy here. I feel a correction is likely to take place any day now, and the big question is “how much will the stock market pullback? Will it be another 4-5% correction similar to the chart examples above? Or will it be something larger 8-15% correction?

Chris Vermeulen


Get my Daily Newsletter and Trade Signals Right Here



Stock & ETF Trading Signals

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Why Corporate America Can’t Prop Up Stocks Much Longer

By Justin Spittler

Corporate America is bracing for tough times. Since you’re reading an investment newsletter, you likely own stocks. And if you’re like most investors, you keep up with how the companies you own are performing. You might even listen to quarterly “earnings calls,” which are when CEOs present results and give their outlook on the business.

Most of the time, CEOs act as cheerleaders on these calls. If business is bad, they’ll say business is good. If business is good, they’ll say it’s great. And CEOs are notoriously optimistic about the economy. After all, thousands of investors and analysts listen to these calls. CEOs know their stock can crash if they’re pessimistic about the business or economy. Because many CEOs will say anything to make their stock go up, we don’t put much stock in their words. We pay much more attention to their actions. And right now, large U.S. companies are acting like very tough economic times are ahead.

Business investment fell 2.2% last quarter..…
This metric measures how much companies spend on property, plant, and equipment. It was the third straight quarter that business investment fell. That hasn’t happened since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. We wouldn’t see this if the economy was headed in the right direction. Companies would be building more factories. They’d be buying more machinery. They’d be spending more money on research and development.

Instead, companies have cut back on investments. This tell us they don’t see many good opportunities. That’s a bad sign for the economy, yet stocks keep rallying. The S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ have all recently hit new record highs. At this point, you’re probably wondering what’s keeping stocks afloat if it’s not the economy.

Companies have spent about $2.5 trillion on “share buybacks” since the financial crisis..…
A buyback is when a company buys its own stock from shareholders. This can lift a company's stock price.
According to investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS), buybacks have been the biggest driver of U.S. stock performance since the financial crisis. Buybacks also reduce the number of shares that trade on the market.

This boosts a company’s earnings per share. But buybacks don’t make a company more profitable. They only make profits look bigger “on paper.” Companies have been buying up their own stock for two reasons: 1) They don’t see many growth opportunities. And 2) it’s incredibly cheap to borrow money.

The Federal Reserve has held its key interest rate near zero since 2008..…
The Fed cut rates to encourage households and businesses to borrow and spend more money. Mainstream economists thought this would “stimulate” the economy. It didn’t work. The U.S. economy has grown at an annualized rate of just 2.1% since 2009. This makes the current “recovery” the slowest by far since World War II.

The Fed did get folks to borrow huge sums of money. U.S. corporations have borrowed more than $10 billion in the bond market since 2007. Last year, they issued a record $1.5 trillion in bonds.
Buybacks are a big reason companies borrowed so much. MarketWatch reported last week:
Companies have been taking on piles of debt to finance buybacks, leading the total debt on the S&P 500 to grow 56% during the past five years.
According to Yahoo! Finance, companies in the S&P 500 funded 22% of last year’s buybacks with debt. This year, debt paid for 39% of share buybacks.

Corporate debt is now dangerously high..… 
According to Barron’s, corporate debt now equals 45.3% of gross domestic product (GDP). The only time this key ratio has ever been higher was in 2009, when it hit 45.4%. If the economy was doing well, this wouldn’t be such a big problem. Companies would be making enough money to pay their debts.

But right now, Corporate America is struggling to make money. Profits for companies in the S&P 500 are on track to fall for the fifth straight quarter. That hasn’t happened since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
There’s no telling when this earnings drought will end either. According to research firm FactSet, analysts expect third quarter corporate profits to fall 1.7%. The third quarter ends on September 30.

Keep in mind, the U.S. economy is technically in a “recovery” right now. Imagine what will happen to corporate profits during the next recession. The more profits fall, the less money companies will have to prop up their shares with buybacks.
  
Companies have already started to cut back on buybacks..…
According to Business Insider, buybacks fell 18% last quarter. This sharp decline in buyback activity followed a near record breaking first quarter, in which companies in the S&P 500 spent an incredible $166 billion on buybacks. That’s the second most ever, and the most in one quarter since 2007. We don’t know exactly why companies are suddenly spending less on buybacks.

Maybe it’s because corporate profits are drying up. Maybe companies are starting to realize they have too much debt. Or maybe it’s because stocks are expensive. According to the popular CAPE ratio, stocks in the S&P 500 are 62% more expensive than their historic average. Since 1881, U.S. stocks have only been more expensive three times: before the Great Depression, during the dot-com bubble, and leading up to the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

Like any investment, buybacks only make sense when stocks are a good deal. With stocks as expensive as they are today, buybacks are a terrible use of money.

Without buybacks, there won’t be much to keep U.S. stocks from falling..…
If you own stocks, take a good look at your portfolio. We recommend that you get out of any company that needs buybacks to retain shareholders. We also encourage you to put 10% to 15% of your wealth in gold. As we often say, gold is real money. It’s preserved wealth for centuries because gold is unlike any other asset. It’s durable, easy to transport, and easily divisible.

Gold is also the ultimate safe haven asset. It’s survived economic depressions, stock market crashes, and full blown currency crises. When investors are nervous about stocks or the economy, they buy gold.
The price of gold has jumped 27% this year. It’s beat the S&P 500 4-to-1.

If you don’t already own gold for protection, we encourage you to do so immediately..…
According to Casey Research founder Doug Casey, the financial system is held together by “chewing gum and bailing wire” right now. When the public wakes up and realizes this, “they’ll flock to gold… just as they’ve done for centuries.” Doug thinks this could cause the price of gold to easily soar 200% in the coming years.

You could make 2x, 5x, or 10x that much money in gold stocks..…
Yesterday, we showed you how leverage works in the resource market. As we explained, this powerful force is why gold stocks can soar even if the price of gold doesn’t rise by that much. This year, gold’s 27% jump caused the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), which tracks large gold miners, to soar 128%.

Some folks might see that and think they missed their chance to buy gold stocks. But regular readers know gold stocks can go many times higher. During the 2000-2003 bull market, the average gold stock rose 602%. The best ones returned more than 1,000%. We expect even bigger gains in the coming years. To learn why, watch this short presentation. In it, Doug explains why we’re headed for “the biggest gold mania” he’s even seen.

By the end of this video, you’ll know why there’s never been a better time to own gold stocks. You’ll also learn how to make the most of this new gold bull market. We’re talking gains of 1,000%...2,000%...even 5,000%. Those kind of returns might sound impossible. But as you’ll see, Doug's hit many “home runs” like this throughout his career. And for the first time ever, he's showing the world exactly how he did this.

To learn Doug’s SECRET to making giant gains in gold stocks, watch this free video.

How Will Negative Interest Rates, the War on Cash, and “Helicopter Money” Affect the Markets?

Today, we have something special to share with you. Instead of the usual “Chart of the Day,” you’ll find a six-minute video presentation put together by our colleagues at Palm Beach Research Group.

In the video below, Palm Beach Research Group co-founder Tom Dyson and Palm Beach Letter editor Teeka Tiwari discuss how radical government policies are affecting global financial markets. As Tom and Teeka explain, these central bank “experiments” will have severe side effects. They could even push the price of gold to $5,000. To learn why, watch the video below.



If you like what you saw from Tom and Teeka, we encourage you to sign up for their “speed round” training series. Click here to get started.


Get out latest FREE eBooK "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here

Stock & ETF Trading Signals