June 29, 2012
7 Trophy Investments of Billionaires
 For most entrepreneurs, starting a business is a gut-wrenching, blood, sweat, and tears-draining, 24/7 undertaking. But for those already sporting nine zeroes in their bank accounts, it’s an afterthought, a pet project, a status accessory that serves to confirm the success and fortune they’ve previously amassed. These seven trophy investments have become the beloved possessions of their billionaire mogul owners. Titanic II James Cameron’s exploitation, er, homage to the historic maritime tragedy is about to get one-upped. Apparently left wanting from the on-screen experience, eccentric Australian billionaire Clive Palmer will soon be allowing travelers the opportunity to enjoy the Titanic in 3D, without the glasses — or a scuba mask. The mining magnate is doing the next best thing to resurrecting the shipwreck from the bottom of the Atlantic: He’s rebuilding it from scratch. Palmer’s new tourism venture Blue Star (more)…
Signs of Life at the Euro Summit
 Investor’s first read - Brooksie’s edge before the open Friday, June 29, 2012 9:06 a.m. ET DJIA: 12,602.26 S&P 500: 1329.04 Nasdaq Comp.: 2849.49 Russell 2000: 775.89 Buying a big open can result in an investor paying the high price for the day, and maybe for days thereafter. Best to wait for prices to settle back during the day. Investors have craved news that would clarify the exhausting uncertainties overhanging the stock market. They are well-known to anyone who is paying attention – Europe’s debt woes, the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare, the U.S. economy, global economies, and the fiscal cliff we will start worrying about in coming months. (What happened to $5 a gal. gas ? Iran’s nukes ?) If you think the uncertainty prior to the high Court’s decision was bad, here comes the dirtiest street fight of (more)…
China Stocks Rebound on European Stimulus Plan
 The much-anticipated, and mostly dreaded, European leaders’ summit late this week surprisingly gave China stocks a big boost Friday as leaders unexpectedly unveiled a pro-growth plan to stimulate Europe’s struggling economy. After opening slightly lower, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rode the good news from Europe to a 2.2% gain, closing at 19,441. Turnover was light but significantly higher than earlier in the week. The index of Chinese companies soared 2.6% to 9,575. A-shares in Shanghai jumped 1.4% to 2,226. The gains were encouraging from a technical standpoint. The Hang Seng found a bit of breathing room above the key 19,000 mark, and Shanghai rebounded after falling below the critical 2,200 level Thursday. For the week, the Hang Seng gained 2.3%, 446 points, and the index of Chinese companies rose 0.1%, 71 points. Last week’s performance should make (more)…
June 28, 2012
As Sam Sees It: Is the Market Ready for the Third-Quarter Lull?
 Each week, we tap the insight of Sam Stovall, Chief Equity Strategist for S&P Capital IQ, for his perspective on the current market. EQ: The European summit has begun, and depending on who you ask, the pressure on this meeting is enormous. Yet at the same time, expectations for significant progress is low. What are your thoughts on the potential impact of the summit? Stovall: I do think the pressures are high but the expectations are low for the summit. Some are hopeful that Germany will be pressured into softening their stance of austerity as well as being more agreeable to some sort of joint bond effort where the European Union floats bonds that are used to pay off the debt of the sovereign members, rather than the sovereign members borrowing to pay off their debt. At this point, it’s (more)…
A New Look at Portfolio Protection
 The financial markets are back to their news event driven, schizophrenic selves. The European Union concerns remain even after Greece’s recent election. Cyprus is on the short list for coming defaults. Spain has formally asked for a bailout. Meanwhile, here in the U.S. the Federal Reserve has just expanded Operation Twist by another $267 billion. The expansion of Operation Twist goes into effect two weeks after we discussed the steepening of the U.S. interest rate futures yield curve. The increasing volatility of the stock and bond markets make the buy and hold mantra a much tougher proposition to follow. However, the full, “risk on, risk off,” nature of all hard asset classes makes alternative investments just as volatile. This volatility has extended to the precious metals markets. Those who’ve bought gold as a hedge against falling equity prices, dollar depreciation (more)…
Could the Dow Hit 10,875 By October?
 Investor’s first read - Brooksie’s edge before the open Thursday, June 28, 2012 9:06 a.m. ET DJIA: 12,627.61 S&P 500: 1331-85 Nasdaq Comp.: 2875.32 Russell 2000: 776.21 DJIA 10,875 ? Yes, if prevailing uncertainty persists. The stock market cannot hang tough month after month with such key issues up in the air. Clearly, there is no shortage of uncertainties and negatives confronting investors. Europe, the Supreme Court’s ruling on healthcare, the U.S. economy, and the fiscal cliff. Then, as if we don’t have enough on our plates, here comes Q2 earnings, and the revisions that will accompany them. Only one of these issues will get a definitive answer today shortly after 10 o’clock – President Obama’s healthcare plan. U.S. economic indicators have been mixed with a bias to the downside. European and Asian economies are also weakening. Not only is (more)…
China A-Shares Drop Sours Hong Kong Market
 China stocks in Hong Kong lost early gains Thursday on the heels of a steep drop in Mainland A-shares, but one analyst sees the possibility of a rebound in both markets. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong opened higher after gains on Wall Street but ended down 0.8% at 19,025, barely staying above the important 19,000 level. The index of Chinese companies sank 1.3% to 9,336. Shanghai’s Composite Index tumbled 1.0% to close below the key 2,200 level at 2,196. However, Peter So, managing director and co-head of research at CCB International, said Wednesday’s rebound had shown some support. CCB International is the brokerage arm of the giant China Construction Bank. “China is introducing more policies to aid the market,” So told Equities. “I think it’s a good time to accumulate stocks.” Among the policies were recent cuts in (more)…
June 27, 2012
Has Natural Gas Finally Bottomed?
 Think back to the end of April. Natural gas was clearly on its way to zero, at least according to most every article out there. It’s hard not to have felt that way given the almost unrelenting decline this market has been in for, quite frankly, years. Well, we had a pretty good rally from that $1.96 bottom to almost $2.75, followed by a pull back and now we have actually broken out above that prior high. It appears that the nat gas market wants to get back to $3, which for the longest time was the the support line for years. Not much has changed since we last looked at the world from an economic standpoint. We know about the economy, which under the best of descriptions is not doing well. We know that we have more nat gas (more)…
Market Needs Time and Lower Prices
 Investor’s first read - Brooksie’s edge before the open Wednesday, June 27, 2012 9:06 a.m. ET DJIA: 12,534.67 S&P 500: 1319.99 Nasdaq Comp.: 2854.06 Russell 2000: 765.02 The market is in a “wait and see” mode as investors are confronted by a lot of important news. For one, today, tomorrow and Friday bring a host of economic news which stands to shed light on the severity of the current economic slump (see below). Then too, the European summit begins tomorrow, amidst a lot of negative press. Finally, the Supreme Court is due to release its decision on the Obama administration’s healthcare plan tomorrow. While it is not getting too much press yet, the “fiscal cliff” will begin to hog center stage in coming months, in spite of rumors that its deadline, December 31, will be pushed up to March 2013. (more)…
China Stocks Gain in Hong Kong Ahead of Handover Anniversary
 Expectations China will soon bestow economic goodies on Hong Kong overcame worry over the Euro debt crisis Wednesday, at least temporarily bolstering China stocks in the former British colony. Hong Kong’s blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 1.0% to close above the key 19,000 level at 19,177. The index of Chinese companies gained 0.7% to 9,461. The Hang Seng was flat in the morning due to discouraging news that Germany would not agree to a joint Euro bond to help defuse the debt crisis, according to KGI Research. But in the afternoon the market focused on prospects Hong Kong will get favorable new policies from China next week on the 15th anniversary of the transfer of Hong Kong sovereignty to the Mainland. One of the most eagerly anticipated policies is introduction of a Hang Seng Index ETF on Shanghai and Shenzhen (more)…
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