If you regularly follow the advice of StreetAuthority experts, you probably sold some winning investments in 2015. That’s great news — but of course, there’s a downside: the capital gains tax you’ll owe on those profits. So as we wind down to the final days of the year, it’s worth considering an investment maneuver that can lower those taxes, or even eliminate them. Smart investors use capital losses to offset gains in years when they’ve sold a lot of winners. By selling losing investments before December 31, you can lower your net gain and significantly reduce the tax bill you’ll… Read More

If you regularly follow the advice of StreetAuthority experts, you probably sold some winning investments in 2015. That’s great news — but of course, there’s a downside: the capital gains tax you’ll owe on those profits. So as we wind down to the final days of the year, it’s worth considering an investment maneuver that can lower those taxes, or even eliminate them. Smart investors use capital losses to offset gains in years when they’ve sold a lot of winners. By selling losing investments before December 31, you can lower your net gain and significantly reduce the tax bill you’ll pay for 2015. But as with anything involving the IRS, you’ll need to do it the right way: in this case, without running afoul of the “wash sale rule.” #-ad_banner-#The IRS wash sale rule prohibits investors from claiming a capital loss on a sale if they buy back the same security within 30 calendar days. The rule applies to all of your accounts as well as your spouse’s. Furthermore, you can’t buy a “substantially identical” security as a replacement — e.g., selling an S&P 500 index fund and buying another one. And don’t try to get clever with options, convertible… Read More

The U.S. stock market posted its second consecutive weekly loss, led lower by the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, which shed 0.8%. The roller coaster week saw the broader market S&P 500 spike 3% by Wednesday’s close only to give up all of those gains and more by the close on Friday. With less than two weeks left in 2015, all major indices are in negative territory for the year except the Nasdaq. As I said last week, it’s time for investors to be on the defensive. #-ad_banner-# The two best-performing sectors last week — of… Read More

The U.S. stock market posted its second consecutive weekly loss, led lower by the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, which shed 0.8%. The roller coaster week saw the broader market S&P 500 spike 3% by Wednesday’s close only to give up all of those gains and more by the close on Friday. With less than two weeks left in 2015, all major indices are in negative territory for the year except the Nasdaq. As I said last week, it’s time for investors to be on the defensive. #-ad_banner-# The two best-performing sectors last week — of only four that posted a weekly gain — were utilities and real estate. Both sectors benefitted from the decline in long-term interest rates as investors made a defensive move back into the relative safety of U.S. government bonds. When interest rates decline, higher-yielding utilities become more attractive to investors while helping to spur real estate purchases. Apple: A Canary In The Coal Mine? In last week’s Market Outlook, I said recent price activity in market bellwether Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) indicated a near-term top was in place at the early November high and that we could see a retest of the… Read More

Editor’s note: On Friday, Dec. 18, trading prodigy Jared Levy is going on camera to reveal his most lucrative secret. It’s a little-known Wall Street “insider” trade that he’s used to make millions. But here’s the best part: At the end of the event, you’ll have the chance to stake your claim in the up to $1 million we’re giving out. Click here to register and immediately get a sneak peek of how the strategy works.  The choppiness that has characterized the U.S. stock market since November continued last week, but this time with… Read More

Editor’s note: On Friday, Dec. 18, trading prodigy Jared Levy is going on camera to reveal his most lucrative secret. It’s a little-known Wall Street “insider” trade that he’s used to make millions. But here’s the best part: At the end of the event, you’ll have the chance to stake your claim in the up to $1 million we’re giving out. Click here to register and immediately get a sneak peek of how the strategy works.  The choppiness that has characterized the U.S. stock market since November continued last week, but this time with what appears to be some near-term directional implications. All major indices closed well in the red for the week, led by the small-cap Russell 2000, which lost 5.1%, bringing its year-to-date loss to 6.7%. Just two weeks ago, I pointed out that the index was on the verge of a bullish breakout that could set it up for a retest of the June highs. #-ad_banner-# Since then, however, the Russell 2000 has failed miserably, and the weakness in small-cap stocks is now spreading to the other market-leading sector, technology. This suggests that if Santa… Read More

The U.S. stock market featured a lot of fireworks last week but very little in the way of directional movement. All major indices closed less than 1% higher, and the beleaguered small-cap Russell 2000 lost 1.6%.  #-ad_banner-#The good news is that all of this directionless volatility has potentially set the stage for a Santa Claus rally between now and year end. I’ll discuss this in more detail later in the report. Last week’s strongest sectors were technology, which gained 1.5%, and financial services, which rose 1%. Energy was by far the weakest sector, losing 4.5%, triggered by a… Read More

The U.S. stock market featured a lot of fireworks last week but very little in the way of directional movement. All major indices closed less than 1% higher, and the beleaguered small-cap Russell 2000 lost 1.6%.  #-ad_banner-#The good news is that all of this directionless volatility has potentially set the stage for a Santa Claus rally between now and year end. I’ll discuss this in more detail later in the report. Last week’s strongest sectors were technology, which gained 1.5%, and financial services, which rose 1%. Energy was by far the weakest sector, losing 4.5%, triggered by a drop in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices below $40 a barrel to their lowest level since late August.  Not surprisingly, Asbury Research’s metric shows the biggest inflows of sector bet-related assets over the past one-week and one-month periods went into financials, and the biggest outflows came from energy. S&P 500 Coiling For A Santa Claus Rally? The benchmark S&P 500 has traded in a choppy, sideways manner since early November, developing a triangle pattern that represents near-term investor indecision on the heels of the index’s strong rise from the late-September lows. A sustained rise above the upper… Read More

On Tuesday, I argued in this article that banks have officially lost it again.  They’re lending people money that they never expect will be able to pay them back… all for a few percentage points of short-term returns.  This chart wraps up this thesis perfectly: As you can see, there is a significant rise in the number of new auto loans for the groups with poor credit. “Near prime” (in yellow) are borrowers who have credit scores of less than 660. “Subprime” (in red) have scores below 600. Yet these two groups have received more new money to… Read More

On Tuesday, I argued in this article that banks have officially lost it again.  They’re lending people money that they never expect will be able to pay them back… all for a few percentage points of short-term returns.  This chart wraps up this thesis perfectly: As you can see, there is a significant rise in the number of new auto loans for the groups with poor credit. “Near prime” (in yellow) are borrowers who have credit scores of less than 660. “Subprime” (in red) have scores below 600. Yet these two groups have received more new money to buy cars than any other. Why would banks do this? Because these groups have to take whatever interest rates they can get. And banks are desperate.  Specifically, there are two lenders doing this more than anyone else. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll steer clear of them. The first is probably not a huge surprise, if you think about it. Over the last decade, American carmakers have struggled. They have not been able to compete as well with the likes of Toyota and Honda. Resale values for cars made by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have dramatically… Read More

Mistakes of the past mean little to anyone in the modern banking industry. And now an unforgivable trend may have just hit its tipping point. I want to say upfront that this problem alone won’t be as devastating to the global economy as the housing bubble and burst was. But it could end our nice little — albeit slow — recovery for a while… and it certainly could affect the rate at which the Fed tightens its monetary policy. And if any other major economic disaster accompanies this problem — like, say, a few countries exiting the euro or a… Read More

Mistakes of the past mean little to anyone in the modern banking industry. And now an unforgivable trend may have just hit its tipping point. I want to say upfront that this problem alone won’t be as devastating to the global economy as the housing bubble and burst was. But it could end our nice little — albeit slow — recovery for a while… and it certainly could affect the rate at which the Fed tightens its monetary policy. And if any other major economic disaster accompanies this problem — like, say, a few countries exiting the euro or a full-blown Japanese depression — this could be the trigger to send the U.S. economy over the cliff.  U.S. Banks Are Going To Extremes To Increase Profits Many banking institutions have struggled these past several years. I know, it sounds absurd that after all that government money through TARP and other giveaway programs, banks could still be in trouble. But it’s precisely because of all this so-called “free money” that they are struggling. You see, the bottom line for a typical bank is comprised of the margin between how much they spend on short-term financing of their own and how… Read More

All major U.S. indices closed essentially unchanged last week except for the small-cap Russell 2000. While this index has been a weak spot in 2015, it gained 2.3% last week and is now challenging major overhead resistance.  I’ll take a more in-depth look at this index and its potential implications for the broader market later in this report. But the highlight heading into this week was investor indecision — the kind that leads into new intermediate-term price trends. #-ad_banner-# The benchmark S&P 500 began the week at precisely the same level it closed at on Oct. 28 —… Read More

All major U.S. indices closed essentially unchanged last week except for the small-cap Russell 2000. While this index has been a weak spot in 2015, it gained 2.3% last week and is now challenging major overhead resistance.  I’ll take a more in-depth look at this index and its potential implications for the broader market later in this report. But the highlight heading into this week was investor indecision — the kind that leads into new intermediate-term price trends. #-ad_banner-# The benchmark S&P 500 began the week at precisely the same level it closed at on Oct. 28 — 2,090. I continue to view this general area as a major decision point. The market must either break major overhead resistance levels that are currently being tested — and soon — or run the risk of another pullback that could retest the September/October lows. The best-performing sectors of the lackluster week were consumer staples, up 1.8%, and real estate, up 1.5%, the latter of which has benefited from the recent slump in long-term U.S. interest rates. Bringing up the rear was defensive utilities, which lost 1.5%. Small Caps At Major Crossroads Weakness in market-leading small caps has kept a… Read More

All major U.S. indices closed significantly higher last week. With one exception, the market has advanced every week since October.  The good news is that the rally was led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, which gained 4.1%. The bad news is that the small-cap Russell 2000 once again… Read More

I’d like to share with you a list that was shown to me by our colleagues over at Profitable Trading.  It’s a list of 15 of the most widely owned stocks in the market. I’m sure you’ve heard of some of these companies, and it’s very possible you even own a few. #-ad_banner-#Yet Tom Vician, Certified Market Technician and Chief Investment Strategist of Alpha Trader, says that despite being featured prominently in the media and being held by some of the world’s top investment gurus, he wouldn’t touch any of them with a 10-foot pole. For example, one of these… Read More

I’d like to share with you a list that was shown to me by our colleagues over at Profitable Trading.  It’s a list of 15 of the most widely owned stocks in the market. I’m sure you’ve heard of some of these companies, and it’s very possible you even own a few. #-ad_banner-#Yet Tom Vician, Certified Market Technician and Chief Investment Strategist of Alpha Trader, says that despite being featured prominently in the media and being held by some of the world’s top investment gurus, he wouldn’t touch any of them with a 10-foot pole. For example, one of these stocks is a casino and resort operator. Hedge fund titan Mason Hawkins owns 12.1 million shares, yet it has collapsed 40% over the past six months. Another is a popular retailer that’s down 41% in the past six months. And Tom says it has basically been “dead in the water” for the past two years. But that’s not even the half of it. Tom says, based on their Alpha Scores, these stocks are likely to lag the market — or worse — over the coming weeks and months.  Simply put, they’re not stocks you’d want to have your money in… Read More

All major U.S. indices closed lower last week, breaking six straight weeks of gains from the late-September lows. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 and small-cap Russell 2000 led the way down, both posting 4.4% declines. As has been the case for most of this unusual year, investors have been optimistic enough buy virtually every minor pullback since January. At the same time, they’ve lacked the conviction to push the major indices to new highs. I’ll discuss this phenomenon in more detail in a moment and share a key to getting an early read on the market’s next move. Last… Read More

All major U.S. indices closed lower last week, breaking six straight weeks of gains from the late-September lows. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 and small-cap Russell 2000 led the way down, both posting 4.4% declines. As has been the case for most of this unusual year, investors have been optimistic enough buy virtually every minor pullback since January. At the same time, they’ve lacked the conviction to push the major indices to new highs. I’ll discuss this phenomenon in more detail in a moment and share a key to getting an early read on the market’s next move. Last week’s market collapse was led by the economically sensitive energy sector, which lost 5.5%. Recent weakness in crude oil and industrial metals like copper, which I’ll cover this week, has revived fears of global deflation. That fear is at least part of the reason the stock market took it on the chin last week. #-ad_banner-# A Tale Of Two Levels In last week’s Market Outlook, I pointed out that the market-leading Nasdaq Composite was testing its tech-bubble high at 5,133 for the fifth time this year. As I’ve been saying, if the index can stay above this level,… Read More