For what it is worth, the median stock in the S&P 500 is the most expensive it has even been. Moreover, many valuation indicators are now at "the highest ever, except 2000".
Perhaps when the economy is truly booming, that might make sense ... or be considered a good sign.
At this point, it is more likely a good sign for short-sellers.
Traders understand that the prevailing trend has been up (and will remain that way, despite logic or argument, until price proves otherwise).
This video was taken at the SXSW conference. While it seems a little silly, the video illustrates an interesting point.
via TimeSlice Films, pioneers in multi-camera array imaging.
Perspective is important.
Being able to see the 'invisible' makes the 'impossible' possible
via Flug.
New technology seems like magic until you understand how it is done.
According to the President, the new three branches of government are ... me, myself, and I.
Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.
The Nasdaq Composite Index closed over 5,000 this week for the first time in 15 years.
A lot has changed since then.
For example, only three of the top 10 companies in the index remain the same.
via NYTimes.
But, notice the change in market cap for those that remain.
The only thing that remains constant is change.
via Bespoke.
Just 15 years ago, Apple was struggling as a public company -- in December 2000 its market cap had dipped to just $4.65 billion. 15 years later, and Apple now has a market cap of $770 billion!
Below is a list of the 40 largest stocks in the S&P 500. For each stock, Bespoke highlights its "Apple Multiplier", or the amount that each company would have to multiply by to reach the size of Apple.
As shown, Apple is currently 2.04x as big as Exxon Mobil -- the second largest company in the S&P. Apple is more than 3x the size of companies like General Electric, Procter & Gamble, Facebook, and JP Morgan.
Pretty staggering numbers.
I just spent the week celebrating Chinese New Year with Jennifer's side of the family In Jakarta.
Gong Xi Fa Cai ... which translates to "Best wishes for a prosperous New Year!"
Interesting to think how many New Year celebrations there are. In addition to CNY, the Muslims have Hari Raya Idul Fitri; Jews have Rosh Hashanah; of course there is January 1st (and there are many others).
Which is correct?
It's all a matter of perspective.
The same is true in trading. At some level, there really isn't a correct answer to which trading style is best.
Whether you are choosing from fundamental analysis, technical analysis, trend following, channel breakouts, or statistical arbitrage, people have their opinions, but sometimes one works better than the others.
It is a lot easier to go to a party, when there is a party to go to ... the trick is finding the celebration in the first place.
This map shows the difference in living costs around the world using figures from the world's largest database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide.
The Consumer Price Index, used to determine the difference in the living costs between countries, takes into account the prices of groceries, transportation, restaurants and utilities.
There are many more charts with specific data by region. The chart below shows the places with the highest and lowest costs of living.
via MoveHub.
Sometimes things are stuck. Other times they are not. Here is all you need to know.
Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.
Thoughts from the Market Technicians Association Conference
I recently attended the Market Technicians Association's Annual Symposium in New York City.
It's always interesting for me to hang around with the leaders in our industry and to talk with other technical traders.
This picture is with Barry Ritholtz, the founder and Chief Investment Officer of RWM.
Barry did a great job on stage at the event. He also does a great job with his blog, The Big Picture.
Several people asked about the market sentiment expressed amongst the attendees. I think it's fair to say that most people were cautiously bullish. On one hand, that means that most people there recognize that the trend is up, and that the trend remains up until price proves otherwise. On the other hand, most people were surprised that price has held up, this well, considering the political, economic, and social factors that can affect market prices.
On a different topic, algorithmic trading is still not mainstream. By that, I mean that currently neither algorithmic trading nor quantitative trading is part of the core practice or thought process of a group like this.
It reminds me of how most market participants considered technical analysis in the late 90s or early 2000's.
My sense is that these topics will grow in importance (to a group like the MTA) quickly as an increasing percentage of trades are based on this area of domain expertise and practice.
Posted at 06:18 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Market Commentary, Trading, Trading Tools | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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