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Tuesday March 24, 2015

// March 24th, 2015 // Comments Off on Tuesday March 24, 2015 // Daily News

Money pours into stocks—does that signal a top?
Alex Rosenberg | @CNBCAlex
CNBC.com
As money surges into the market, is it time for savvy investors to cash out?
That’s what a report from TrimTabs suggests, at least on a near-term basis. The investment research company reported on Sunday that investors have added $46.8 billion to equity mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in March, the most for any month since October 2013.
“Fund flows data does not bode well for U.S. equities in the short term,” TrimTabs concludes.
Indeed, investors often take fund flows to be a contrarian indicator. The basic idea is that once everyone buys, there’s less money left to go into the market. Additionally, heavy buying could be seen as a sign of investor exuberance, indicating that stocks are in “overbought” territory.
Indeed, TrimTabs adds that flows into and out of leveraged ETFs (which move twice or three times as quickly as the underlying set of stocks) are “also worryingly upbeat,” with leveraged short ETFs redeeming assets for the second straight week, and leverage long ETFs issuing assets for the fourth straight week.
Still, not everyone finds the buying to be quite so worrisome.
“I don’t think it signals a top of any sort. It’s a lagging indicator. It’s garbage, as far as I’m concerned,” said David Seaburg, head of equity sales trading with Cowen & Co.
In fact, Seaburg says that many of the well-known indicators don’t work in such a central-bank-dominated trading environment.
“The old sort of indications of what signaled the top in the past are out the window,” he said. “Look how long it has taken us to get our arms around the volume. Markets that go up on low-volume days, does that mean it’s not a confirmed sort of rally?”

Today’s Inspiration

Higher Things

by Joyce Meyer – posted March 24, 2015

If then you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.
– Colossians 3:1–2

A confident woman does not live in “if only” and “what if.” The world is filled with people who feel empty and unfulfilled because they have spent their lives bemoaning what they did not have, instead of using what they do have. Don’t live in the tyranny of “if only.” If only I had more education, more money, more opportunity or someone to help me. If only I had a better start in life; if only I had not been abused; if only I were taller. If only I weren’t so tall. If only, if only, if only. . .

Where the mind goes, the man follows. Pay more attention to your thoughts and choose to think on things that will help you instead of hinder you, and God’s power will be released to help you be the confident woman God wants you to be. Think confident and you will be confident!

Lord, make me aware of where I am hanging on to old thoughts of “if only” or “what if.” Help me to focus on what will propel me forward and release Your power in me rather than what will hinder me. Amen.

Monday March 23, 2015

// March 23rd, 2015 // Comments Off on Monday March 23, 2015 // Daily News

No bubble trouble for stocks yet: Goldman Sachs
Dhara Ranasinghe | @DharaCNBC
CNBC.com

Risky assets such as equities are not yet in bubble territory, Goldman Sachs Chief Global Equity Strategist Peter Oppenheimer said Monday.
Talking to CNBC Europe’s “Squawk Box” about the risk of asset-price bubbles, Oppenheimer said an inevitable consequence of a having interest rates near zero was that many investors across the world were pushed up the “risk curve.”
“That could result in ultimately risky assets becoming overvalued like probably other asset classes,” he said. “It doesn’t look clear to me that risky assets like equity markets are yet in that bubbly territory.”
Fuelled by a 1 trillion euro ($1.08 trillion) asset-purchase program from the European Central Bank, European stocks markets have soared this year, with the pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 Index up some 17 percent, while government bond yields in many parts of the euro zone have hit record lows.
In the U.S., the blue-chip Dow Jones stock index and broader S&P 500 have seen record highs this year, helped by growing optimism about the outlook for the U.S. economy. Last week, the tech-heavy Nasdaq hit a 15-year peak.
Stocks received a further boost last week when the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated that interest rates would remain low for some time, even if they are lifted later this year. The Fed’s key interest rate is just 0.25 percent, a level it has held since 2008 when it was cut amid the global financial crisis.
Not everyone is as optimistic as Oppenheimer when it comes to talk of a bubble, however.
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard told CNBC he was concerned that a backdrop of low interest rates could fuel a sharp rise in the value of assets.
“Interest rates are going to be low – is that going to feed through into an asset-price bubble of some kind over the next couple of years?” he said. “The U.S. has been plagued by massive bubbles in the last two decades – the tech bubble and a housing bubble. The second one caused a macro economic disaster, so that is a massive concern going forward.”
The worry is that when an asset rises quickly in value, it risks becoming inflated and vulnerable to a crash that could have wider implications for financial markets.
Asked whether he thought government bond markets were in “bubbly territory,” Oppenheimer said: “I think government bond markets are reflecting very weak fundamentals, but in our view, yields are too low especially in Europe.”
“Bonds are overvalued, which is why we prefer equities,” he added.
Germany’s benchmark 10-year Bund yield hovered at about 0.18 percent on Monday – it has fallen about 145 basis points over the past year and more than 300 basis points over the past five years.

Today’s Inspiration

Stay Balanced

by Joyce Meyer – posted March 23, 2015

Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams a lion roaring [in fierce hunger] seeking someone to seize devour.
– 1 Peter 5:8

Listening to the Holy Spirit will keep us balanced in every area of our lives The Spirit will tell us when we’re spending too much money or not spending enough, when we’re talking too much or not talking enough, or even when we’re resting too much or not resting enough. Any time we are doing too much or too little of something, we are out of balance.

The verse for today states that we are to be well-balanced so Satan cannot take advantage of us. For years, he took advantage of me because I was not balanced in my approach to work. I felt that my whole life should be arranged around work. As long as I was working and accomplishing something, I didn’t feel the guilt that the devil used against me. But that urge to work all the time was not from God; it did not push me toward godly balance in my life. Work is a good thing, but I also needed to rest and have enjoyment.

Each day as you seek to hear from God, ask Him to show you any area in your life that is out of balance and work with Him to make adjustments. We have many things in life to juggle and therefore it is easy to get out of balance, but God is always available to help us in this area. Simply ask Him if you are doing much or too little of anything and make the changes He recommends.