Has Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Run Out Of Gas?

Hello traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, President of INO.com and co-creator of MarketClub, with your video update for Wednesday, the 26th of February.

What's Next For The Stock Market?

Are the markets going to continue moving higher or reverse and retest their lows again? There seems to be a disconnect in the indices with new highs mainly on the NASDAQ, thanks to Tesla, Netflix and some other tech leaders. The S&P 500 seems to be lagging and the DOW is in a funk. Many professional traders will be looking for the tone of the market today, does it seem positive or negative? One of the tricks they will probably employ is to give the market a half hour or even an hour to set its trading range for the day. Should the market move below the low of the first 30 or 60 minutes of the day, then there's a pretty good chance that you could see further selling come into the market later on in the day. Conversely, should the market break over the high of the first 30 or 60 minutes of the day, look for upside momentum to continue. Let’s see how events play out.

Continue reading "Has Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Run Out Of Gas?"

Coffee - Starbucks' Achilles' Heel

Today, I am going to be analyzing the relationship between Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) and its main raw commodity, coffee beans.

Let me start off by saying that I really like Starbucks and the coffee it sells. In fact, my favorite drink at Starbucks is a Venti Coffee Frappuccino with one third the ice, blended five times.

Major Challenges

Starbucks faces a major challenge, one it cannot control - the price of its major commodity, coffee.

With one of the worst droughts in history hitting Brazil's coffee belt region, it is rapidly pushing prices higher. This is no ordinary drought as it is forcing more than 140 cities in Brazil to ration water. Reports in Brazilian newspapers indicate that some neighborhoods are receiving water only every three days. This is serious, as Brazil produces most of the world's coffee.

With Coffee (NYBOT:KC.H14.E) prices at 14-month highs, there is little to suggest that this trend is going to change any time soon. It would appear as though early predictions are indicating that coffee supplies could be 5 million bags lower than consumption for the 2014–2015 season. Continue reading "Coffee - Starbucks' Achilles' Heel"

Bitcoin Bites The Dust

The Bitcoin world is in turmoil this morning as Mt.Gox, once the largest Bitcoin exchange (based in Japan) in the world, closed its website amid rumors of the biggest hacking heist of all time.

You may remember that Bitcoin was created as an alternative currency and that it took some serious programming and algorithms to create it.

This morning there were allegations that there has been a $350 million hack at Mt.Gox. Mt.Gox appears to have closed its virtual doors and may no longer be in business. Bitcoin insiders have been bracing themselves for weeks against something like this happening, but the magnitude of the virtual heist has shocked even the most astute Bitcoin observer.

This morning there are people speculating that Bitcoin (BITCOIN:BITSTAMPUSD) is the biggest scam and Ponzi scheme ever developed in the virtual world, but I am going to withhold judgment as, quite frankly, we do not know all the facts. This may be the end of Bitcoin or may be just a big bump in the road for this virtual new currency-the jury is still out. Continue reading "Bitcoin Bites The Dust"

Chart of The Week - Silver

Each Week Longleaftrading.com will be providing us a chart of the week as analyzed by a member of their team. We hope that you enjoy and learn from this new feature.

In the May 2014 Silver (or Mini Silver) futures, a recent up-trend has consolidated just above the $21.500 level over the past seven trading sessions. Equity markets have been weighed down by a round of profit-taking in the initial morning hours, giving way to strong upside potential in the precious metals markets.

Yesterday's trading session, February 25, 2014, provided an outside reversal on the daily chart. The market failed on a downside move, reversed, and closed above the high at $22.030. This price action is a bullish near-term indicator. Continue reading "Chart of The Week - Silver"

Six Gold and Silver Leaders at Today's Prices

The Gold Report: Gold is up for the year. Do you expect this trend to continue?

Benjamin Asuncion: For 2014, we're officially forecasting an average gold price at $1,300/ounce ($1,300/oz). We've elected to err on the side of conservatism in our commodity forecasts, which leaves company valuations to be more reflective of operating performance than reliant on higher metal prices.

TGR: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Daily Telegraph says if the Federal Reserve "has to back off [tapering] again, gold will have a fresh lease on life." Do you agree, and do you think the Fed is committed to tapering?

Geordie Mark: I agree that if the Fed backs off tapering, it's a total game changer for sentiment. Janet Yellen, the new Fed chair, has certainly been quite cautious as to how she's going to approach monetary policy, so right now we're in a wait and see period, but that being said, the market now appears to show a certain positive sentiment for precious metals companies.

TGR: We've seen various currency panics around the world in recent weeks. Will this lead to a flight to safety in the U.S. dollar? Continue reading "Six Gold and Silver Leaders at Today's Prices"