Capitalogix

Can You Trust the S&P 500's Long Winning Streak to Continue?

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed above 1,500 for the first time in more than five years on Friday. 

The benchmark Index extended its rally to eight days. This winning streak is the longest in eight years and left the S&P 500 just 4% beneath its all-time closing high of 1,565.15 (set on October 9, 2007).

 

 

Meanwhile, some technicians will note the less than enthusiastic volume and the negative divergence (where recent price highs happened with lower momentum). These are often taken as early topping indicators (or signs of weakness).

 

Canary in a Coal Mine?

 

Apple's stock has now dropped 37% since its September high of $702.10.

As a result, Exxon reclaimed its status as the world's most valuable company.

Do you attribute this to Apple's weakness ... or an early warning that 'smart-money' is taking risk off the table?

 

Remember: Price is the Primary Indicator.

 

What do you think is the most bullish indicator of our markets?

It's not a trick question; the answer is "price".  Despite the uncertainty about the economy, the markets have held-up nicely throughout this rally. And that, in-and-of-itself, is bullish.

It doesn't matter what technical analysis indicator you use (increasing negative divergences and selling on down days ... or less positive momentum and market breadth), the markets have given us a clear message recently. Price is the primary indicator, and it has stayed above support.

Traders learn strong uptrends tend to trump bearish divergences.  But it bears watching.

 

 

Some Links for Your Weekend Reading

So proud of our 'solution' to the debt ceiling issue ...

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• What a Big-Data Business Model Looks Like. (Harvard Business Review)
• Everything You’ll Ever Need To Know About Gamification. (TechCrunch)
• Google Gives $5M To Build Drones That Hunt Poachers - Forbes. (Forbes)
• The 10 Greatest National Anthem Performances in Super Bowl history. (The Week)
• Compare Cities Instantly With VERSUS IO. Actually, this tool compares many things (Mashable)

 

Trading Links:

• Online Banking Attacks Were Work of Iran, U.S. Officials Say. (NYTimes)
• PIMCO's El-Erian. Game Theory Predicts More Can-Kicking in Washington (AdvisorOne)
• Kleiner Partners' View of the Future of Tech. (Wall Street Journal)
• Own the Robots, Bro, Trust Me. (ReformedBroker)
• Is Quantitative Easing Still Necessary? Direct Benefit versus Gain from the Signal Sent. (Forbes)

How Can the U.S. Be Last in Such an Important Measure?

U.S. Health Worse than Nearly All Other Industrialized Nations.

Bloomberg recently reported that the last-place health ranking of the United States among 17 wealthy countries (based on a U.S. study of health outcomes).

Americans spend $2.7 trillion every year, more than any other nation, on healthcare costs.

Yet, America fares badly in a comparison of health measures in rich countries. Here is a chart from the Economist reporting similar results.

 

 

 
America is obviously doing something wrong. But what, exactly, is the question.

 

Related articles

US Health Worse Than Nearly All Other Industrialized Countries

NBC wonders: Are we better off than we were four years ago?

Why America Performs Poorly On Nearly Every Measure Of Health

Why U.S. Lags Other Wealthy Nations in Health Measures

Here Are Some Links for Your Weekend Reading

Hope you had a good week and don't need any apology enhancers.

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• Ten Resolutions the Most Successful People Make And Then Keep. (Forbes)
• The Jack Welch Leadership Crash Course. (FastCompany)
• The Singularity. What To Expect When Machines Get Smarter Than Us. (IEET)
• What Will Computing Look Like in 2020? (Intel)
• 9 Astounding Photoshop Transformations. How fantasies are created. (Mashable)

 

Trading Links:

• World Bank Global Economic Prospects 2013. (BusinessInsider)
• Russia Says World Is Nearing Currency War as Europe Joins. (Bloomberg)
• Germany Wants Its Gold Back. A breakdown of trust between major central banks? (CNBC)
• NYSE to Sell Itself in $8.2 Billion Deal. Takeover Highlights Rise of Electronic Trading. (WSJ)
• American Airlines, AMR seek more time to finish bankruptcy case. AA and US Airways appear close to making an announcement on a possible merger. (DallasNews)

Cool App Shows You Data About Where You Are

Sitegeist is a mobile application that helps you to learn more about your surroundings in seconds.

There’s a lot of information about your neighborhood (or anyplace you choose). Drawing on publicly available information (such as the U.S. Census, Yelp!, and others), this app digs it up, divides it into categories (people, weather, history, housing, etc.), and serves it up in easy to digest graphics.

 

 

The results are interesting, even though an app like this just scratches the surface of what's possible with access to data.

Some of the data you'll learn about a location includes:

• Age Distribution
• Political Contributions
• Average Rent
• Popular Local Spots

• Recommended Restaurants
• How People Commute
• Record Temperatures
• Housing Units Over Time

Sitegeist was created by the Sunlight Foundation in consultation with design firm IDEO. It is the third in a series of National Data Apps.

Bet you start seeing more apps like this.

Related articles

The Data and Tech Behind Sitegeist

Sitegeist - Sunlight Foundation

Facebook Is A Data Company

Preparing for a Rally? Big Inflow Into Equity Funds

What a dazzling week for mutual funds and ETFs.

$22.2 billion flowed into equity funds this week, marking the second-largest weekly inflow in history.

 

 

Inflows into emerging market equity funds this week were the largest – at $7.4 billion – of all time.  Other big winners were long-only mutual funds, which recorded $8.9 billion in inflows this week – the largest since March 2000.

Does this make you feel more bullish than buying based on Fed-funded liquidity?

 

Related articles

Here's Who Owns The Stock Market

The Most Amazing Thing About This Week's Historic Shift Into Equities

Here Are Some Links for Your Weekend Reading

Sometimes it makes sense to buy a little time ... other times you have to play to win.

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• The 11 Most Fascinating Scientific Discoveries of 2012. (The Week)
• This Tiny Gizmo Could Be A Very Big Deal In 2013 - And Beyond. (ReadWrite)
• Flight Forecast. What Travelers Should Expect Next Year - Airlines Get an Upgrade. (WSJ)
• How Obama Decides Your Fate If He Thinks You're a Terrorist. (TheAtlantic)
• Americans Are the Most Spied On People In World History. More Spying On Citizens than Stasi Did in  East Germany (BigPicture)

 

Trading Links:

• Wall Street's 2013 S&P 500 Target from 14 Equity Strategists. (BusinessInsider)
• CyberSecurity Firm Identifies a ‘Credible Threat’ to 30 U.S. Banks. (Washington Post)
• How The Brain Evaluates Risk. (MedicalNewsToday)
• Heirs of Mao’s Comrades Rise as New Capitalist Nobility. (Bloomberg)
• Obama Trades One U.S. Cliff for Another. Yes, the calamity was averted, but only at the expense of setting up a potentially worse showdown in two months. (FT)

How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth?

Back in the 1970s, a now-forgotten writer claimed that 75 percent of the people who had ever been born were alive at that moment. This 'factoid' has been referenced many times, even though a bit of reflection would show how unlikely it is.

So, what might be a better estimate of the actual percentage? In this video, a Population Reference Bureau scholar explains how to get a reasonable guesstimate.

 

 

 Find out more.

Here is an infographic look at the data.

 

Source:LiveScience

Related articles

The Real Story on the Falling U.S. Birth Rate

Is It Time To Panic About Birth Rates?

By the year 2050 the global population will have grown to 10 billion. How can Mother Earth sustain this growth?

Finding Another Earth: How Will Scientists Confirm It Exists?

Warren Buffett: I’m ‘optimistic about America’

Warren Buffett: I’m ‘optimistic about America’.

TODAY’s Matt Lauer gathered a round table panel of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, life strategist Tony Robbins, San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, Spanx founder Sara Blakely to talk about the year ahead for the American economy.

They seem pretty optimistic. 

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 

 

What about you?

Related articles

Warren Buffett Killed It In 2012 Without Making A Single Major Acquisition

Warren Buffett Just Bought The Largest Solar Energy Project In The World

Here Are Some Links for Your Weekend Reading

Who put Washington in charge of the ball drop this New Year?

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• The Year in Photos. Photos of the Year 2012. (WSJ Graphics)
• The Best Books of 2012. Interesting list with some unusual choices. (BrainPickings)
• The Best City Time-Lapse Videos of 2012. (TheAtlantic)
• Life's Work 2012. Highlights from Interviews of 10 Intriguing People. (HarvardBizReview)
• How to Keep Your Resolutions. 25 apps for a happier, healthier, better 2013. (VentureBeat)

 

Trading Links:

• Why 2013 Will See Faster, Stronger Global Growth. (CNBC)
• How to Play the 4 Likely Potential Economic Scenarios Over the Next 3 Years. (Forbes)
• The Fiscal-Cliff Fix: Winners and losers. (The Week)
• Defying Mao, Rich Chinese Crash the Communist Party. (Wall Street Journal)
• Amateur Investors Are 3.2 Percent Worse Than Chimpanzees at Picking Stocks. Fear, greed, and mistakes are a bitch to deal with (BusinessInsider)