Where Are The Best Opportunities In Preferred Shares? | Seeking Alpha

Where Are The Best Opportunities In Preferred Shares? | Seeking Alpha



This is an excellent article on preferred share CEFs.  I particularly like FFC, and I plan to buy a position Monday morning.  The fund pays more than 8% annually although fees will probably drop the net income to around 7%.  However, this is more income than PFF is paying now, and it is one of the most popular preferred stock funds.  I believe everyone should hold preferred stocks as part of a balanced portfolio.  Also, nobody knows when the general stock market will recover from its most recent decline.  We might as well be paid while we wait.

 

Avoiding Stock Market Crashes with the Hi-Lo Index of the S&P500 | iMarketSignals

Avoiding Stock Market Crashes with the Hi-Lo Index of the S&P500 | iMarketSignals



Here is an excellent timing plan to help avoid stock market crashes.  We should have known that something bad was about to happen when the S&P 500 showed a topping pattern during the first part of the summer.  The author used a new high/new low mathematical model to determine when to sell during the summer.



Another plan for a sell indicator is to monitor NYSE lows versus the NYSE total market, $NYLOW:$NYTOT.  The sell signal would have happened in July 2015 when the NYLOW 50 day line crossed over the 200 day line.  In this way, you could have completely avoided the August 2015 meltdown.  Making money in the stock market dependably requires monitoring vital indicators like this one.

Better Returns from Exchange Traded Funds with iM’s Market Climate Grader | iMarketSignals

Better Returns from Exchange Traded Funds with iM’s Market Climate Grader | iMarketSignals



This is a link to a great website page which shows a chart of current stock market conditions.  As it can be seen in the chart, we recently experienced a downturn similar to August of 2011, but the market only dropped 10% instead of 20%.  The web page also shows different ETF allocations and their current returns YTD.  It is recommended that you buy certain ETFs at different positions on the market climate chart.  In this way, you will likely beat the S&P 500.  This is one of the best stock allocation plans that I have seen.

The S&P 500 Death Cross - Time To Panic? | Seeking Alpha

The S&P 500 Death Cross - Time To Panic? | Seeking Alpha



Here is a great article on death cross analysis.  Based on extensive historical data, you should not be invested in the stock market for two months after a death cross.  After that time, another analysis could be done to see if it is safe again to be in the market.  Since the economy is doing okay, the market may indeed turn around in a few months.



Moreover, if we were really headed for a bear market, we would have several economic indicators pointing to a recession, and that is not the current case.  Interest is still low enough for businesses to borrow even if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates as high as 1 or 2 percent.  In addition, people are not buying extensive amounts of government bonds as they would in a bear market.  Cash is the best place to be right now along with good dividend stocks that are stable during volatility.

     

Cash beats stocks, bonds for first time in 25 years

Cash beats stocks, bonds for first time in 25 years



This is an interesting article about how cash is beating stocks and bonds this year.  Stocks will probably struggle just to get back to the highs of 2015 by the end of the year.  We also seem to be entering a new paradigm where bonds are not an escape route away from falling stocks.  PFF, the preferred stock ETF, seems to be one of the most stable stocks right now, and you get an annual dividend of 5% distributed on a monthly basis.

Fibonacci Calculator - Investing.com

Fibonacci Calculator - Investing.com



Here is an outstanding Fibonacci calculator to use for typical retracements and for breakouts.  Fibonacci charts and numbers often work because many stock market investors and institutions believe in them.  Thus, they are a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Whether you believe in Fibonacci numbers or not, you need to be aware of what other stock market traders will probably do.



Another excellent page at Investing.com is the Economic Calendar.  You can look at what is happening today, tomorrow, this week, and next week.  For example, if you know the dates of the next Federal Reserve meeting, you could set up a short or long trade ahead of the meeting based on what you think the Fed will do.  You could also monitor stock market reactions to various data coming from different sources.  If you do your homework, you could make money being on the right side of trades at critical moments.

The Insanely Important Vitamin that Almost Everyone Is Missing Out On

The Insanely Important Vitamin that Almost Everyone Is Missing Out On



Here is an excellent article about the great importance of Vitamin E.  I take 1000% of the RDA of Vitamin E daily and sometimes more.  As the article says, it is believed that Vitamin E helps against heart disease, and I am convinced it helps my circulation.



Something new that I learned from this article is that Vitamin E boosts your immune system.  This makes sense since the vitamin is an antioxidant.  It can also help against some cancers.  However, the article downplayed taking supplements toward the end because the author thought that a lot of people are getting enough Vitamin E from food.  I strongly disagree with the author on this because most of the people I know do not eat a lot of nuts nor do they eat a lot of salads.  So, I will continue to take my Vitamin E supplement called Smart Q10 which also includes of large amount of Coenzyme Q10 which moreover helps heart health along with energy.

Stocks: Where Do We Go From Here? | Seeking Alpha

Stocks: Where Do We Go From Here? | Seeking Alpha



Eric Parnell has written an outstanding article on what lessons we can draw whenever the S&P 500 breaks its 400 day moving average.  This type of correction cannot be taken lightly, and we may have further downside ahead in spite of recent rallies.  I believe the current stock market volatility resembles 2011 to a certain extent, but the Federal Reserve is almost out of bullets to fix the 2015 problem.  If rates are raised too quickly, the housing market will crash along with other businesses.



In addition, commodities are unstable now, especially oil and natural gas.  Moreover, I read a recent article that the smart phone market is starting to decline, and this will affect Apple and all its chip suppliers.  Then, finally, many other stocks are out of gas, too.  This is probably a time to sell the rallies.  If I figure out a reliable trading pattern, I will post it.  In the meantime, my biggest holding will remain PFF, the preferred stock ETF which pays 6% annually in monthly installments.

IEF Is A Quick Way To Make Your Portfolio Safer - iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:IEF) | Seeking Alpha

IEF Is A Quick Way To Make Your Portfolio Safer - iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:IEF) | Seeking Alpha



Here is a very good article on having a safe portfolio for volatile times.  The author is giving a reasonable 20% allocation to IEF that would allow a person to weather a lot of stock market storms.  PFF with its 10% allocation is also good.  Another great pick is PKW, the PowerShares stock buyback ETF.  Over the past five years, PKW has outperformed the S&P 500, and it is great to own in any portfolio.

How to Beat This Market’s “Three Cs” of Risk

How to Beat This Market’s “Three Cs” of Risk



This is an outstanding article by Tom Gentile about why the stock market is so volatile now.  China is one reason for market instability because their country is going through their "irrational exuberance" period like we did in 2000 during the dot.com bust.  All stock market tops will eventually decline.



Low commodity prices are a second reason for volatility.  Copper and oil are used for economic expansions, and we have low demand for these commodities now.  We must adjust to a slowing world economy.  A third reason for market problems is that currencies are being devalued.  So, we need to be looking at the NYSE McClellan Oscillator ($NYMO) to note when it is best to be short or long.  Short the market when $NYMO is positive and go long when $NYMO is -80 or worse.  Then, sell as soon as you have made a profit because it won't last.

  

Hold Me Tight? Natural Gas Supply/Demand Balance Keeps Prices in a Tight Range | RBN Energy

Hold Me Tight? Natural Gas Supply/Demand Balance Keeps Prices in a Tight Range | RBN Energy



Here is an excellent article on the state of natural gas.  The supply-demand equation has remained balanced, and that is why natural gas futures stocks like UGAZ and UNG have gone nowhere this summer and are currently going down.  We are actually using more natural gas than 2014 due to electrical power plants consuming more natural gas.  The transition from coal to nat-gas is for real.    



The RBN Energy website contains other interesting articles about oil and natural gas also.  Articles are on the website for the Henry Hub, the Rockies Express Pipeline (REX), LNG exports, and natural gas going to Mexico as well as many other articles.   RBN should be one of your favorite bookmarks for the energy sector.



  

Four Stocks Insiders Bought During Last Week’s Market Tumult - TheStreet

Four Stocks Insiders Bought During Last Week’s Market Tumult - TheStreet



This is a great article on stocks that insiders are buying now.  I especially like Sun Edison (SUNE), and I am planning to buy shares this morning.  Solar stocks are bound to rise again because solar is the wave of the future, and they are getting closer to being competitive with oil and natural gas.  I also like SEDJ, and I own it.

3 reasons this stock sell-off could keep going

3 reasons this stock sell-off could keep going



This is a very important article on why stocks may keep falling.  Even worse, while we may not enter a recession, it may take two to six months to recover from the current damage according to Ari Wald of Oppenheimer.  Bear markets can also occur without a recession, and the recovery will take even longer if stocks fall by more than 20%. 



So, a person could possibly short the rallies and make money since we will probably fall back yet again.  SQQQ is a leveraged short of the Nasdaq that I might try whenever $NYMO becomes positive again.  I will need to take my profit whenever $NYMO hits -90 down, though, because the oversold conditions will trigger another rally even if it fizzles out.

Saudi Arabia refuses to bow to pressure to cut oil production

Saudi Arabia refuses to bow to pressure to cut oil production



Here is a very good article about why we cannot be overly optimistic about a turn-around in oil prices.  Nobody knows for sure what the Saudis will do.  When some OPEC members talk about $80 per barrel being a fair price for oil, this does not mean Saudi Arabia will accommodate by reducing production.



So, we don't really have a long trade in oil yet, and it might not happen until next year.  As the article mentioned, the Saudis are really hurting themselves as much as others by reduced income from oil.  They would be better off just giving up some of their business at a higher oil price.  In the meantime, whenever oil dips below $40 per barrel, there might be an optimistic bounce from that level to $48, and a nimble trader might get a quick 20% profit if he acts fast.

Stocks are sending a recession warning

Stocks are sending a recession warning



This is an excellent article about why the stock market decline could get a lot worse.  We faced a similar situation in August-September of 2011 although it later turned positive because Congress raised the debt ceiling and the Federal Reserve helped out.  This time may be different if we don't get the help we need.



Another reason that this time may be different is that we are coming off the top of a multi-year bull market whereas we were still rising from the bottom of a bear market back in 2011.  Also, China cannot help us now either.  The commodities boom of past years is over.  Oil and natural gas might rise some, but copper, gold, and steel will probably remain depressed.  Cash is king again, and profits in stocks should be taken quickly before they evaporate.