Thursday, March 21, 2013

Light Bulbs

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

PIMCO's new ETF, FORX

It should be on your radar.  The managers are heavily experienced and geeky.

Monday, February 18, 2013

A Simple Markov Chain Model of the Market


A Markov Chain has the beauty of not depending on
history, but solely on the present state of the system
and probabilities.

























A simple concept, but as this book shows, you can very soon be way in the deep end of the pool!

Friday, December 28, 2012

Probability 97% Bearish

If we assume that the market moves randomly (why not?), each day it has a 50% chance of being up and a 50% chance of being down.  In such a world, the probability (P) that the market would be down five days in a row, such as it was the past 5 days would be P(.5) to the 5th power.  This works out to about a 3% chance.

Although we still assume that on any given day there is a 50% chance the market will be up or down, the market's behavior the past week has been bearish.  Only 3% chance it was random.


VIX turns bearish.

According to Larry McMillan, a VIX close above 22 is bearish.
Blame the TV for whipping up fiscal cliff hysteria.

http://www.optionstrategist.com/weekly-charts?utm_source=Email+Updater&utm_campaign=233a2e6ebd-Updater12_28_2012&utm_medium=email&mc_cid=233a2e6ebd&mc_eid=640d05de85


Morgan Stanley--Top 10 Trades for 2013

Thursday, December 06, 2012

With Tax Increases on the Horizon, Munis Look Good

Blackrock's Peter Hayes makes a good case, and I like that guy's haircut.

Good Advice from Blackrock and Good Haircut

Monday, December 03, 2012

Regulation Blues

GFT Forex shuts down its retail operations in the US and Japan.  Although it was one of the 5 largest, regulation changes have made in impossible to make money with less than $50 billion a month.  They apologize for the inconvenience.  Now that my account is closed, I'm really feeling protected.  Thanks, Big Government.

http://www.fx-mm.com/20988/news/gft-abandons-us-and-japan-retail-fx-markets/

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

VIX Index Remains in Bullish Territory, $BPNYA Still Defensive

The market has remained relatively calm despite the correction
in the S&P500 since the election.  The VIX (Volatility Index)
is still in bullish territory.


Meanwhile, the NYSE Bullish Percent Index Continues to
flash Bull Market Correction since November 12.