Tuesday, May 26, 2009

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Quantifiable Edges- A Simple & Powerful Timing Indicator: Nasdaq vs. S&P 500 Relative Strength Indicator. "As you can see, over the time period measured the S&P gained 1,341.27 points when the Nasdaq was leading. Meanwhile, the total points gained by the S&P over the period was 775.74. The Nasdaq held a leadership position just slightly more than ½ the time during the period. So almost twice the gains (points-wise) were achieved in nearly half the time. Not bad." This is promising but it needs work. Looking over a 3-year weekly chart of the ratio with a simple 10-week moving average I see quite a few whipsaws.

Paul Krugman - State of Paralysis. "California, it has long been claimed, is where the future happens first. But is that still true? If it is, God help America." Absolutely. Things are so bad California is on the brink of terminating all welfare programs and there is a clear risk of default on their municipal bonds.

Diamonds Among the Stocks the Rally Left Behind: John Dorfman (SUN, CB, NSC).

Clowns Kicked KKK Asses.

Where Do Stocks Go Next? Probably Sideways - The Good News Economist. "Continuing to use 1975 as our guide, look for the market to move sideways for quite some time." Traders spend their time looking for directional moves but horizontal movement is always a good bet.

Research in the UK has found that the more daughters a man has, the more likely he is to agree with left-wing views.

Picture Show: You Are What You Eat. Photos of the contents of various peoples' refrigerators. Voyeuristic but interesting.

Chart: 10-Year Treasury Yield, 1962-Present (^TNX) - Yahoo! Finance. After interest rates rose sharply for many years, the 10-year Treasury note took five years to form a head and shoulders top (1980-1985). And now, after a 27 year bull market in bonds, interest rates definitely have plenty of room to go up. But so far I don't even see the beginning of a bottoming formation. Of course there is always the possibility that a "V" bottom could already be in. Ahem - all you folks who are reading about how bonds have outperformed stocks in the long run: take a good look at the first half of the chart. What do you think will happen to your bonds if the 10-year yield goes from 3% to 12%?

China is still buying record amounts of U.S. bonds according to Reuters.

Finally, Archie will pick either Betty or Veronica. "Archie looks smug about managing to keep both Betty (left) and Veronica hanging for almost 70 years — but in an upcoming issue, promises Archie Comics, he will finally choose between them with a proposal of marriage." Hope he picks Betty.

What would you do with a $40 Linux computer the size of a three-prong plug adapter? These nifty devices currently retail for $99 but the price is expected to drop. Manufactured by Marvell Technology Group (MRVL). Nice chart.

Vertical farm in Dubai will use seawater to cool and humidify greenhouses and convert sufficient humidity back to fresh water to irrigate the crops.

Recession Altering Plans for Half of Summer Travelers.

The Kelly Criterion. How much of your stake should you bet each time in a 50-50 game of chance, assuming you have an edge that pays you an extra 10% when you are right? "If you chose more than 9.1% then I’m sorry, your growth rate is negative. Because you are betting a fraction of your money you will never lose it all; however, if you are betting too much your expected funds will tend towards 0, even though the odds were in your favour."

Top 10 Most Stunning Roman Catholic Basilicas (photos). Pretty arbitrary list . . . my top 10 would definitely include Santiago de Compostela in Spain and the Duomo in Florence.

Mum loses 4 stone with imaginary ‘gastric band’ after being hypnotised - mirror.co.uk.

There once was a couple named Kelly
who walked around belly to belly,
because in their haste
they used library paste
instead of petroleum jelly.
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