The markets have been choppy over the last couple of days. This is hardly surprising, with one of the most bizarre quarters in living memory drawing to close. To say recent indicators are a “mixed bag” is an understatement Consider the following (hat tip, Dave Rosenberg, Gluskin Sheff):
The top 30 most volatile days for stocks since 1969, bar one, all occurred in 2008. The one exception was in November 1987, shortly after the Black Monday wipe out. These are the startling results compiled by one of our favorite market gurus Dr Van Tharp.
The stock market is a volatile, unforgiving beast. Now more than ever. The current rally aside, it’s eating many investors’ portfolios alive – and may well do so again in the near future. The question is, though… has this hurt you or actually helped you?
The huge downward pressure on stocks is over for now, says Paul Moore. But though investors be thinking about getting back into the market, they must exercise extreme caution. The coming earnings season could reveal some more ugly numbers, while light volume over Christmas can increase market volatility.
Marc Lichtenfeld is convinced we’ll soon have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to buy assets at irrationally low prices. Market conditions are extreme at the moment. But this will pass, eventually, and stocks will recover strongly. Marc gives six reasons why it will soon be time to load up on stocks again.
If you could make ONE investment right now, in anything you want, anywhere in the world, what would it be? Gold, oil…a FTSE tracker fund? We’re tempted to say Africa…and Michael Spencer would probably agree with us.
You’ve probably heard the talking heads on CNBC chattering about this currency play. You’ve probably read about this investment “unwinding” or “being back on” in the Wall Street Journal, or in Bloomberg.