Archives for December 2010

December 2010 - Page 2 of 9 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

Commodities, Europe's Winter Storm and NIKE Inc. (NYSE: NKE) Hint to 2011 Market Trends

Stocks rose last week with all the excitement of water turning to ice in the freezer.

I kept hitting the side of my monitor to see if the pixels were stuck — but no, it was just another one of those low-volume, low-drama late-December sessions that we have come to know and love.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.12%, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.16%, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.08% and the Russell 2000 small caps fell 0.2%. Overseas developed and emerging markets were exactly the same. The liveliest U.S. sector was health care and basic materials, up 0.2%, while financials and industrials lagged, down 0.4%.

Breadth slightly favored decliners over advancers by a 3-2 margin, and the number of new highs was way down at 394 — yet so was the number of new lows, at 34. Gold fell by 0.4%, crude oil jumped out to a new two-year high by 1.1%, to $91.51, and the grains jumped to a new one-year high as well, led by corn.

To see what commodities and other sectors are hinting at for 2011, read on...

The One Emerging Market Investors Can't Afford to Ignore in 2011

When I review each of the world's emerging markets in order to decide which ones to buy in 2011, I start with two questions: Is the market cheap? Has it under-performed during the past year? If the answer for both those questions is "yes," that market is much more likely to get my vote. But […]

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China Auto Market Will Continue to Drive Sales for Western Manufacturers in 2011

The world's largest carmakers, including Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE ADR: TM), General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Volkswagen AG, expect China's red-hot economy to keep auto sales rolling at a record pace in 2011, making it the third year in a row the Red Dragon will top the U.S. in car sales.

China's vehicle sales jumped 46% in 2009, dethroning the United States as the world's largest auto market and ending more than a century of American dominance that started with the Model T Ford.

The nation's sales of passenger cars, buses and trucks rose to 13.6 million in 2009, the fastest pace in at least 10 years, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. At the same time, U.S. sales tumbled 21% to 10.4 million, the lowest level since 1982, according to Autodata Corp.

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FCC's Net Neutrality Plan Disappoints Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX)

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved its net neutrality proposal, aiming to protect the free flow of information over the Internet and limit the power of Internet service providers (ISPs) to act as Web gatekeepers.

Net neutrality means providers like Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) must treat all Internet content equally and cannot interfere with legal Web traffic. It also prohibits "unreasonable discrimination," meaning ISPs can't deliver Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) faster than eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY), or block bandwidth-straining Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX).

The rules also require ISPs to provide customers with more information on download speeds and usage limits, and give the FCC power to reject "paid priority" agreements where a content provider like Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) would pay Comcast more for faster delivery.

"We must take action to protect consumers against price hikes and closed access to the Internet – and our proposed framework is designed to do just that: to guard against these risks while recognizing the legitimate needs and interests of broadband providers," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski wrote in a blog posting earlier this month.

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Investment Strategies For 2011: The Right Way to Use Inverse Funds

So-called "inverse funds" are widely misunderstood and can be tricky to use, but these specialized investments have a place in most portfolios.

In fact, with U.S. stocks having zoomed more than 80% off their March 2009 market lows, now could be the ideal time to add inverse exchange-traded funds to your portfolio.

But there's definitely a right way and a wrong way to use them.

So it's worth taking a closer look.

To understand more about inverse ETFs - and for some recommendations - please read on...

Healthcare Insurance Mandate Calls into Question U.S. Government's Power

In a year of sweeping overhauls in healthcare, financial reform and tax policies, critics of U.S. President Barack Obama's proposals have called them ineffective, shortsighted and misinformed.

Last week, in a case that will likely go all the way to the Supreme Court, a federal District Court judge in Virginia added the term "unconstitutional" to that pointed list.

The provision in question is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, the U.S. healthcare reform initiative signed into law in March. It requires all Americans, unless exempted for religious or other reasons, to carry health insurance – or to pay a penalty for failing to do so.

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U.S. Stock Market Forecast: Tech, Energy, Commodities and Gold Are Top Plays For 2011

The outlook for the U.S. stock market in the New Year figures to be an exasperating mixture of promise and peril. Positive momentum is building going into 2011, but so are dangerous bubbles.

The high-tech, energy, materials and commodities sectors will be hot in the New Year. And the U.S. stock market will get an added boost from the fact that U.S. Treasuries, municipal bonds (munis) and euro-based investments will not.

Here's what's in store for the U.S. stock market in 2011.

For the most complete stock-market strategy you'll find anywhere, please read on...