The Perfect Isn’t the Enemy of the Good
One reason the market is such an interesting place is that there are always differing opinions even among the smartest and most thorough investors. The late Martin Zweig once said that, if you had 100 market it...
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Short Term Remains Murky
Last week on this page we wrote that, while the longer-term outlook remained positive, we were starting to pick up on some cracks in the foundation—the broad market had stopped going up in late February and, despite a push to highs...
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Higher Prices Ahead
It’s mid-March in New England, which means we’re starting to see signs of spring—birds are flocking back, the gang of wild turkeys in our town are flirting and gobbling, the days are getting longer in a hurry and work boats are moving...
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The Evidence is Clear
There are many times—we’d even say most times—when the market’s evidence is at least somewhat mixed. Some major indexes might look good, for instance, but others are lagging. Growth stocks may be acting well, but the broad market is iffy. conversely,...
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It’s Not the News that Counts
One of the biggest banana peels that many investors slip up on is the desire to focus on the news, be it economic reports, high-profile earnings releases or important political rumors (like the current U.S.-China trade talks). But it...
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Going According to Script
A punishing, out-of-nowhere, three-month decline that takes apart many popular stocks and sends the indexes reeling. A wave of panic selling at the bottom that produces historic oversold readings and massive pessimism—even though many growth stocks show resilience during the weeks...
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We’re Optimistic
Just three weeks ago the market was on its knees, as the major indexes were down more than 20% from their highs, the average growth stock was in tatters and there were air pockets galore—the final four days of the decline saw Dow...
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Reasons for Hope, but Not for Buying
The market has been a bummer during the past three months, with two massive downlegs (12% to 16% during the first three weeks of October, and then after some choppiness, another 16% to 18% during the first weeks...
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Keep Your Powder Dry
Investing isn’t easy, but most people make it far more difficult than it really is. Every day all day, there are commentators and analysts on TV and dozens of articles pumped out by the online financial media dissecting recent earnings (FedEx...
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Sellers Still Lurking
The first three and a half weeks of October were brutal, with the S&P 500 (down 11%) and Nasdaq (down 14%) cascading significantly, turning both our Cabot Tides and Cabot Trend Lines bearish as we raised a boatload of cash. But those...
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Over the Falls
During the past few weeks, we’ve seen huge up days, crushing down days, dramatic reversals (like today’s), big earnings gaps (up and down) and a slew of big-font headlines ranging from U.S.-China trade rumors, views from Fed members concerning rate hikes, resignations...
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Positive Action, but Need to See More
After a hellacious October that saw many indexes, sectors and stocks crash over a three-week period, the past week and half has been a welcome relief. With today’s solid post-election rally, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have about...
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Trends are Down Until Proven Otherwise
When volatility picks up in the market, often after a sharp decline, investors are bombarded with predictions, many of them dramatically bullish (this is the buying opportunity of the century!) or bearish (another global financial crisis has begun!), in...
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Downpours
September was definitely a month of yellow flags—we saw lots of rotation out of growth stocks, two severe bouts of selling in leaders, and lots of sloppy, volatile action, which often signifies distribution after a long run. As we wrote in our last there...
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Gusts of Wind, but No Rain Yet
At the end of August, there were a lot of growth stocks (and growth-oriented indexes) extended to the upside, some near-term sentiment measures were a bit giddy and we were heading into September, a month that frequently its...
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Many Potholes, but Growth Stocks Holding
Every morning (after the kids’ lunches are done of course), I like to open up my laptop and take an unbiased look at the whole market—not just the growth stocks I recommend and follow, but various sector ETFs, measures...
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Sellers Look Worn Out
From mid June through mid August, the market was choppy, narrow, news-driven and rotational—not a great environment for making money, and in fact, we got knocked out of a few stocks as they cracked support, often following earnings reports. And two-month...
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Positive, not Powerful
When it comes to investing we’re big on rules. That’s because, if you invest solely by emotions and gut instinct, you’re bound to lose your way. That’s why we write about our key market timing indicators in every issue, and why have...
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Growth Stocks Hit, Bull Market Fine
For most stocks, 2018 has been a slog, with financials, industrials, consumer staples, transports and other areas doing much more chopping than trending. Growth stocks, though, have been winners—growth-oriented indexes like the Nasdaq and S&P 600 SmallCap have very...
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Not Perfect, But Pretty Good
Just about every morning when we check the financial media’s scuttlebutt, about 80% of the news is negative. Many of these are fundamental—the trade war, the Fed’s rate hike path and unwinding of its balance sheet—though some concern the itself,...
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