On Break

11/16/2008

BMB On Break

It’s time again for a little BMB R&R, especially with the market behaving as bizarrely as it’s been. Maybe if we stop watching it start to behave a little better…

Posting will be very light and variable over the course of this week, but we’ll put up an open thread each market day for our readers to comment on the day’s market activity or to post any interesting links they might run across.

Check the space below for whatever the latest might be during this ‘off’ time, and please visit the various sites in the ‘Links’ and ‘Regular Stops’ for up-to-date market news and analysis.

BMB will be back in full swing by next weekend.

Posted: 1:00 pm

4/9/2006

Short Attack

Bill Fleckenstein tells you to watch out for companies that go on the attack against short sellers — they’ve likely got something to hide.

Fleck specifically talks about the Biovail case, but the Overstock.com CEO comes to mind too.

Posted: 9:31 pm

You’re Not Good Enough

…or smart enough, to invest in commodity ETFs like the USO crude-oil fund that launches tomorrow. At least, that’s what some of the financial media is trying to tell you. I’ve read a couple of articles now, like this one and this one, that try to steer the “average” investor away from participating in the bull run in commodities through vehicles like GLD and USO.

Don’t let these writers scare you away. There’s risk in every investment. Of course, do your own homework, understand the risks - and rewards - and decide whether these funds are right for you. But don’t let anyone tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. Educate yourself, make up your own mind, and just be smart about limiting your risk.

Never lose big. It’s as simple as that.

Posted: 7:19 pm

What’s Hot, What’s Not

Items of note on the latest industry moves:

  • Steel stocks just keep on rolling.
  • Disk drives leading the tech pack, while semiconductors seemed to have saved themselves for now.
  • Biotechs leading the way down in a very weak health care sector.
  • REITs have leveled off after their strong run.
  • For a more detailed breakdown of group movement over various time periods, try Prophet.net’s Industry Rankings page.

 

Best Performing Industries
Last Week Last 4 Weeks Last 8 Weeks
Steel ($DJUSST) +3.4% Gold & Silver +14.7% Steel +25.0%
Disk Drives ($DDX) +3.2% Steel +14.4% Broker/Dealers ($XBD) +9.8%
Semiconductors ($SOX) +3.1% Oil Services ($OSX) +11.5% Disk Drives +8.6%
Commodities ($CRX) +2.8% Disk Drives +10.1% Oil ($XOI) +7.1%
Gold & Silver ($XAU) +2.7% Nat. Resources ($GSR) +9.3% Telecom ($XTC) +6.9%

 

 

Worst Performing Industries
Last Week Last 4 Weeks Last 8 Weeks
Biotech ($BTK) -4.3% Biotech -5.5% Semiconductors -4.7%
REITs ($DJR) -3.9% Health Care -3.2% Utilities -4.1%
HMOs ($HMO) -3.0% Utilities ($UTY) -3.2% Biotechs -2.3%
Airlines ($XAL) -2.9% Health Care Prods ($RXP) -2.8% Health Care -2.1%
Health Care ($NHG) -2.5% REITs -2.2% Health Care Prods -0.9%
Posted: 1:05 pm

Left for Dead

Pressures on oil production and high crude prices have prompted some to revisit some formerly productive areas, in hopes of recovering oil that might have been left untapped:

Oil wells in Montana, long abandoned and thought to be dry, have been resurrected, even as new oil fields are being developed. This new oil rush is a clear sign that supply concerns and sustained high prices have spurred a new wave of exploration and risk taking…

This is a major flip from the state of the oil industry in the high plains of the U.S., which as recenty as 1990 were thought to be a “bust,” and led the major oil companies to allow their land leases to expire, as they shut down operations in the area.

Supply and demand at work…

Posted: 9:21 am