The Bottom May Be Falling Out -- Here's What To Do

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By: David Sterman of Street Authority

Just a few months ago, all was quiet on the investing front, as most market indices continually broke new all-time highs. But in early August, the quiet was broken by a sudden surge by the dollar against the euro, the yen, Australian dollar and other currencies. At the time, the rallying dollar was merely seen as the beneficiary of a relatively robust U.S. economic growth rate in 2015, at least compared to Europe and Japan.

In hindsight, the currency shifts now appear to be the result of something more concerning: European economic activity has slowed to a crawl, the Chinese government is leaning towards a policy of reform over stimulus -- compounded by brewing political troubles in Hong Kong -- and U.S. investors are finally waking up to the reality that global economic growth will likely be subpar in 2015.

That dim view may also explain why West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil has now slipped below $90 a barrel for the first time in 17 months. Then again, oil prices may be slumping because the dollar is rallying, which always hurts the price of commodities such as oil. Or perhaps it's the fact that too much oil is being produced at a time when global demand is slackening.

In other words, there are now a number of moving parts in play, and the factors behind these recent shifts are likely to persist. How you position your portfolio for the changing market can spell the difference between capital preservation and capital erosion. Continue reading "The Bottom May Be Falling Out -- Here's What To Do" →

Don't Get Ruined by These 10 Popular Investment Myths (Part II)

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Interest rates, oil prices, earnings, GDP, wars, terrorist attacks, inflation, monetary policy, etc. -- NONE have a reliable effect on the stock market

By: Elliott Wave International

You may remember that during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, many called into question traditional economic models. Why did the traditional financial models fail?

And more importantly, will they warn us of a new approaching doomsday, should there be one?

That's a crucial question to your financial well-being. This series gives you a well-researched answer.

Here is Part II; come back soon for Part III. Continue reading "Don't Get Ruined by These 10 Popular Investment Myths (Part II)" →

Weekly Futures Recap With Mike Seery

Posted on by The INO.com Team

We've asked Michael Seery of SEERYFUTURES.COM to give our INO readers a weekly recap of the Futures market. He has been Senior Analyst for close to 15 years and has extensive knowledge of all of the commodity and option markets.

Michael frequently appears on multiple business networks including Bloomberg news, Fox Business, CNBC Worldwide, CNN Business, and Bloomberg TV. He is also a guest on First Business, which is a national and internationally syndicated business show.

Silver Futures

Silver futures in the December contract settled last Friday at 17.53 currently trading at 16.75 down about $.30 in New York this Friday afternoon as the U.S dollar is up over 100 points this afternoon sending the precious metals sharply lower as silver has hit a 5 year low and if you took my original recommendation selling at the 4 week low of 20.44 continue to place your stop at the 10 day high which stands at 18.00 as the chart structure will improve on a daily basis. I remain very pessimistic silver prices and I do think that prices will continue their downtrend as the U.S dollar is very strong to the upside and I do not believe that trend is going to reverse so continue to sell rallies in this market placing the proper stop loss as the commodity markets in general over the last several months have been very pessimistic and I don’t think the bottom has occurred. Silver futures are trading far below their 20 & 100 day moving average continuing to grind lower as deflation in Europe and around the world is a real concern and that is also helping put pressure on prices here in the short term as nobody wants to step in front of a falling knife and that’s what’s occurring at this time as platinum prices are down another $45 this afternoon. I’ve been trading commodities for over 20 years and the one lesson I try to harp on is the fact that you must be a trend follower & the trend is to the downside because it’s easier to trade with the path of least resistance rather than trying to pick a top or bottom.
TREND: LOWER
CHART STRUCTURE: IMPROVING Continue reading "Weekly Futures Recap With Mike Seery" →

Poll: Even Ben Bernanke Cannot Get A Loan

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Former Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, was addressing the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care conference in Chicago on Thursday and said that, "I recently tried to refinance my mortgage and I was unsuccessful in doing so." He went on to explain that lenders "may have gone a little bit too far on mortgage credit conditions" according to the Bloomberg report.

I thought I would ask you the same question today....

Do you think lenders have gone to far on mortgage credit conditions?

View Results

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As always, I would love to hear you thoughts on the subject. Please take a moment to vote and leave a comment.

Every Success,
Jeremy Lutz
INO.com and MarketClub.com

The Best Strategy For Reliable Income In A High-Risk Market

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By: Zachary Scheidt of Street Authority

The covered call strategy is a reliable way to generate income in your investment account on a monthly basis. Basically, this investment approach captures income by selling call option contracts, which speculators purchase in hopes that they will generate outsized returns as stock prices advance. By selling call options, we allow these speculators the chance to make large profits, while we collect high-probability income payments.

Here's how the covered call process works: We purchase shares of stock the same way a traditional investor would. We then sell call option contracts against these shares (one for every 100 shares that we own). Selling these contracts obligates us to sell our stock at the option's strike price, provided the market price is above this level before the option expires.

This approach puts a cap on our potential return because regardless of how high the stock trades, we will still be obligated to sell at the strike price. However, since we are receiving a payment from selling the call contract, known as a premium, this income is very reliable and gives us a much higher probability of a positive return on our investment. So the covered call approach sacrifices the potential for a very high return in exchange for a more stable, reliable income stream.

Choosing Which Call Option Contract to Use

Option contracts are available on a monthly (and in many cases, weekly) basis, giving us more choices in terms of which contracts we want to sell. Traditional call option contracts expire on the Saturday after the third Friday of each month.

When implementing a covered call trade in our account, we must choose an expiration date. Typically, the more time left until expiration, the higher the price will be for the call option. This is because the contract is more attractive to buyers, because a longer time horizon allows the stock more time to trade higher, giving the owner a greater chance to profit. From our perspective as call sellers, a higher price means that we receive more income from selling the contract. Continue reading "The Best Strategy For Reliable Income In A High-Risk Market" →