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The image on the left is a Word Cloud of Bernanke's speech from last week. I used it in the prior Weekly Commentary.
The Word Cloud is more than just a text toy. It is a data visualization tool that gives emphasis to frequently used words.
I used one from Wordle (and yes, you can make your own there).
Click the image to see the full version on the website.
I liked the result on Bernanke's speech. So, I tried it on my list of goals and plans. Here is the result.
On a lighter note, here is a clip from "The Daily Show". President Bush and Fed Chairman Bernanke both spoke at the same time. John Stewart used this to highlight the similarity (OK, the differences) in their talking points. It was pretty funny.
Here are a few of the news items and blog posts I found interesting this week:
And, a little bit extra:
Here are a few charts that caught my eye. The first is from the Trading Godess site. It is from a post called, "Did someone ring a bell." It shows that a break above the downtrend, on volume, with MACD turning up. In other words, it has the makings of a decent long set-up.
On the other hand Phil Erlanger had this chart, which shows that the Dow has re-traced 50% of the move off its 2003 lows, but that it might have a little more to go.
As we moved into the July 4th long weekend, the bears remained in control. This chart comes from Breakpoint Trades. It is a long-term chart of the S&P500 Index with a 20-Month moving average.
Yes, we are deeply oversold and sentiment is sufficiently fearful that a rally is likely soon. On the other hand, we haven't really seen capitulation, and earlier market bottoms this year had some help from the Fed.
It is certainly possible that we get a bottom without getting the "easy trade." Lots of traders are looking for the big volume reversal and the VIX spike. But how often does the market give people clear signals?
Here is a follow-up to last week's chart showing how correlated and poorly most global markets have performed recently. This table is from an article called "Nowhere to Hide" by Prieur du Plessis.
Finally, here are a few of the posts I found interesting this week:
And, a little bit extra:
Today is July 4th. And as my son and I were driving into our neighborhood, we noticed how few flags we saw waving.
A few years ago, at least two-thirds of the houses had flags. Today I would get estimate that number being 15% to 20% of the houses.
In our neighborhood, there is a $75 per year service that provides flags for patriotic holidays (like Independence Day, Memorial Day, etc.).
So, did the economy make the $75 outlay feel too extravagant? Or did the collective level of patriotism drop significantly?
My guess ... a little of both; but it probably has more to do with the economy. What do you think?
Interesting hybrid image.
To see the change, you have to get out of your seat and walk away from your computer.
Up close, you see Albert Einstein. But if you stand 10 to 15 feet away, it will become Marilyn Monroe. Give it a try.
For more on this, here is an article;
and here are more examples.
Market Commentary from July 25th, 2008
Last week's rebound off the lows held-up, and still might prove to be an important turning point for the Markets. The internals contiune to look better; and from a technical perspective there are nice positive divergences forming.
One big down day spoiled the party for the Bulls this week. However, seasonally, this is about the time to start looking for a rally.
Here are a few of the posts I found interesting this week:
And, a little bit extra:
Posted at 11:43 PM in Current Affairs, Ideas, Market Commentary | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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