At record high, U.S. stocks look to extend breakout --Weekly Thread Feb. 16

Weekly investment & finance thread ^ | February 15, 2015 | Freeper Investors

[expat_panama]

[excerpt from Yahoo Finance]     NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks are poised for more upward momentum even as uncertainty over oil prices and Greek debt negotiations keeps the market on tenterhooks, analysts say. Strong fourth-quarter U.S. company earnings and signs of an overall improving economy, alongside what appears to be the start of a bottoming in crude oil prices, have given equities support. After starting 2015 with its sharpest monthly drop in a year and a spike in volatility, the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) hit an intraday record on Friday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) reached its highest point so far this year. As "stocks have found a footing, people aren't as afraid of the potential negative" stemming from recent instability in oil prices and Greece, said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Phoenix Financial Services in New York. "That's allowed stocks to start breaking out of the channel that they've been stuck in since the beginning of the year," he said. Volatility seems to abating.... {snip] ...market participants will be paying close attention to developments in Greece - which, alongside oil prices, have been at the root of the volatility seen in the market this year. Greece's new leftist government and euro zone finance ministers failed to agree this week on the next step for the country's bailout, leaving negotiations on the table for next week as they inch closer to a Feb. 28 deadline. The Greek government promised to do "whatever we can" to secure a deal with international creditors. While U.S. exposure to Greek debt is "pretty minor," uncertainty over the situation and the impact on broader markets adds to volatility, according to Charles Lieberman, chief investment officer of Advisors Capital Management LLC in New Jersey. "It's more in the nature of psychology than real substance," he said.

Also in the news: [excerpt from NASDAQ Oil Prices: Freaking Investors Out for 150 Years and Counting.. ] Whenever I read or watch financial media coverage of oil prices lately, the image that comes to mind is a bunch of kids who just ate half their weight in candy, washed it down with a gallon of Red Bull, and then run around the playground at warp speed. They both move so fast and sporadically that is almost impossible to keep up with them. Here is just a small example of headlines that have been found at major financial media outlets in just the past week: Citi: Oil Could Plunge to $20, and This Might Be 'the End of OPEC' OPEC sees oil prices exploding to $200 a barrel Oil at $55 per barrel is here to stay Gas prices may double by year's end: Analyst What is absolutely mind-boggling about these statements is that these sorts of predictions are accompanied with the dumbest thing that anyone can say about commodities: This time it's different . No it's not, and we have 150 years worth of oil price panics to prove it. [snip] Also keep in mind, these are just the change in annual price averages. So it's very likely that these big price pops and plunges are even more frequent than what this chart shows. Investing in energy takes more stomach than brains... {snip] ...However, if you had made an investment in ExxonMobil in 1980 and just held onto it, your total return -- share price appreciation plus dividends -- would look a little something like this.

--and a super big hat tip to abb for getting the Yahoo Finace link to me just in time!!

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This is the thread where folks swap ideas on savings and investment --here's a list of popular investing links that freepers have posted here and tomorrow morning we'll go on with our--

Open invitation continues always for idea-input for the thread, this being a joint effort works well.   Keywords: financial, WallStreet, stockmarket, economy.

[Travis McGee]

Dow 36,000, here we come! Yippee!

[expat_panama]

Post Valentine's Day pre President's Day Ping

[expat_panama]

Huh, just noticed that at current growth rates the 36k mark should coincide w/ the centennial of the crash of ‘29...

[abb]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-15/dubai-stocks-climb-to-seven-week-high-on-oil-abu-dhabi-advances

Saudi Stocks Rise to 12-Week High as Oil Fans Gulf-Market Rally

by Sarmad Khan
1:45 AM CST - February 15, 2015

[proxy_user]

Just remember, bullishness is a bearish indicator, and vice-versa.

So, on the one hand, the stock market may continue to go up, but on the other hand, it may very well go down.

The casino is open 9:30 to 4:00, Monday through Friday.

[abb]

Buy low, sell high. Works every time it’s tried.

Works. Every. Single. Time.

[proxy_user]

Yes, that is the method I use.

But it takes time. You have to hold stocks for years for the markets to realize their value.

This article is about short-term trends, which are entertaining but random.

[abb]

As do I. With quality equities, a long-term buy and hold investment strategy is an almost GUARANTEED winner. That is hardly a “casino.”

[Tallguy]

I’m just wondering what positive economic indications underpin all this investing optimism — cuz I sure don’t see it. In fact, with the port strike and the job actions at the gulf refineries, there’s a lot to worry about.

[expat_panama]

...a long-term buy and hold investment strategy is an almost GUARANTEED winner. That is hardly a “casino.”

"Almost"?  The fact is that for the past two centuries hard working Americans have quadrupled U.S. wealth every generation.  It really doesn't take much of a gambler to simply accept the fact that tomorrow the sun will come up and Americans will continue to prosper.

[abb]

Well, you just keep on with your pie-in-the-sky Pollyanna attitude! We’re DOOMED, I tell ya!! DOOMED!!

Meanwhile, I’m going to retreat back into my cave, amongst all the canned goods, and close the armored door.

That’ll show you!!

/sarc

[expat_panama]

...wondering what positive economic indications underpin all this investing optimism...

One thing is the time frame; the port strike will not last 20 years.  The other thing is that not everyone's optimistic:

• 2015: The year the stock market slows to a trot - CNN Money
• A conflicted bull market may be experiencing a late-life crisis
• Why the Next Stock Market Crash Will Happen Any Day Now

We can only work with what we know, namely that right now momentum's on the upside and long term growth is an easy guess.

[abb]

Now HERE was a prudent investment!!

http://www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-fund/quote/BEARX
Federated Prudent Bear Fd A: (MF: BEARX)

Fund Description

The fund was incepted in December 1995 and is managed by David W. Tice & Associates. The fund seeks capital appreciation. The fund is a no-load mutual fund specifically designed to benefit from stock market declines as the fund has more ‘short’ than ‘long’ positions. The fund takes ‘long’ and ‘short’ positions. That is, the fund buys stocks just like most mutual funds. The fund also takes short positions and purchases put options to benefit from an anticipated decline in a stock or stock index. Currently, significant portions of long positions are gold and silver mining companies. The fund distributes dividends and capital gains, if any, at the end of each calendar year.

Total return since inception: -4.69%

[Qwackertoo]

All in spite of Ozero.

Biding my time on my Energy Funds and Stocks. They WILL go back up.

[abb]

I actually have BOUGHT XOM, CAT and BP in the past couple of months. I will buy MORE, if the opportunity presents itself.

[Qwackertoo]

I should buy some too. Been sitting cash on the sidelines for a good while vs. adding more to the market, last I bought was some HAL.

[abb]

I see where they just kicked the dividend up from $0.15 to $0.18.

http://www.google.com/finance?cid=16658

[Qwackertoo]

There for a while I thought they were heading to another split and then the bottom fell out of crude prices.

I don’t think my KBR, spin off, will ever recover. At one time I was close to double my money from IPO price, now I”m in the hole.

[abb]

It will recover. Construction is notoriously cyclical. And KBR is one of the most respected companies in the construction industry. They know what they’re doing.