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Secular Vs. Cyclical Markets
22 September 09 04:33 PM | Brian Dightman

If you have been participating in my recent monthly online strategy updates (you can register for the next webinar here ), you have heard me talk about secular and cyclical markets. If you are wondering what this means, I offer the following insight....

Filed under: S&P 500, bear market, Cyclical Markets, Secular Markets

Earnings & The Economy
05 May 09 11:18 AM | Brian Dightman

We are well into Q1 earnings season; overall earnings are down about 35% but many firms are beating lowered targets. We are also starting to see forward guidance improve, a signal to some the worst may be behind us. So far it appears cost cutting has...

Filed under: S&P 500 Earnings, Investors Business Daily, Global Banks, bear market, Credit Crisis, leading economic indicators, stock leadership

An Important Clue About Stocks In 2009
05 January 09 10:52 AM | Brian Dightman

For those of us interested in what 2009 holds for stocks the next few weeks may offer an important clue. December failed to produce a meaningful "Santa Claus Rally". Stocks did trend up most of the month but only closed up 0.8% above November's...

Filed under: Crude Oil, Investors Business Daily, cash, bear market, U.S. Real Estate, stock leadership

Is A Santa Claus Rally Underway?
17 December 08 05:06 PM | Brian Dightman

The first trading day of December started off with the Grinch in control of stocks. Only a day later stocks rallied and accomplished a follow-through day and as the month progressed stocks continued the rally that was launched from lows hit in late November...

Filed under: Precious Metals, Crude Oil, Credit Markets, metals and mining, bear market, dividends, stock leadership, Real Yields

Important Week Ahead
30 November 08 05:24 PM | Brian Dightman

As the month of November came to a close stocks rallied and in the process gain 19% in the last 5 trading days to close down only 7.5% for the month. November 21st kicked the rally off but the day ended with Nasdaq volume falling 4%, generally not the...

Filed under: Inflation Data, World Economy, bear market, Credit Crisis, leading economic indicators, U.S. Real Estate, stock leadership

Time To Buy?
18 October 08 12:34 PM | Brian Dightman

Many investors are wondering if we have found a market bottom. With Warren Buffett out buying stocks, shouldn’t all investors be doing the same? The risk of entering the stock market at this point has declined. However, the major bias is still down. During...

Filed under: TED SPREAD, Inflation Data, Energy, bear market, Credit Crisis, income investing, leading economic indicators, U.S. Real Estate, dividends, stock leadership, risk management, gifting

Credit Crisis Resolution
30 September 08 09:51 PM | Brian Dightman

I limited my commentary over the summer and as fall approached developments were moving at a rapid pace. There was not much of a point in posting since the defensive work in our portfolios had already been done. We spent most of the 3 rd quarter with...

Filed under: Inflation Data, Credit Markets, cash, bear market

Rally Reversed
19 August 08 02:12 PM | Brian Dightman

You may have noticed U.S. stock indexes moving higher over the last month, offering some hope we may have found a market bottom. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the case as many indexes failed a major test in the last few days. There were some...

Filed under: World Economy, S&P 500, cash, bear market, developed markets, emerging market stocks