Free Republic

If you’re looking for reasons to be bullish on stocks, check out the technicals. In a note to clients out Thursday, Stephen Suttmeier, a technical research analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, outlined the case for why stocks look set to begin a “1950s-style” secular bull market. And for those of you who don’t remember the 1950s bull market, it was a big one. View photos “Given the post-Brexit capitulation on ‘rates lower for longer’ and the seismic shift to ‘a rising rate environment,’ the current secular bulltrend best fits the 1950-1966 secular bull market,” Suttmeier writes. “The 1950s...

On the left is the excerpt --from the expert linked in Real Clear Markets:  A Darkening Market Sky - Anthony Mirhaydari, The Fiscal Times     By Anthony Mirhaydari, The Fiscal Times January 30, 2015 With the first month of the new year coming to a close, it's clear that 2015 is shaping up to be quite different from the smooth, easy climb investors enjoyed in 2013 and 2014.As recently as late December, the market optimism seemed indefatigable as stocks powered to new record highs on hopes for new stimulus from the European Central Bank, solid U.S. economic data and a strengthening tailwind to consumer spending...

As an investor, what would you trust more: the opinion of a single pundit, or the actual activity of thousands or even millions of investors? It's wise to choose the latter. No pundit makes the right call all the time. On the other hand, a stock's price reflects the daily decision-making of every person interested in that stock. Ultimately, the herd judges whether a stock should go up or down, and for how long. Charts reflect nothing more than the herd's action. If you can do simple math and figure out percentage changes, you can use a chart. If you...