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A Review Of NextCandle.com’s Top Stock Forecasts From Last Week
The stock market has been volatile lately in the wake of so much uncertainty about the US and China economies along with the debt crisis in Europe but a quick glance at a few predictions from NextCandle.com's highest probability list shows our stock predictions to be right on the money. On Friday before the market opened, NextCandle.com gave the following stock predictions:
And the results when the market closed on Friday:
With so much uncertainty impacting the market, there are plenty of opportunities for savvy traders to profit - especially when Next Candle's stock forecasts for magicJack VocalTec (CALL), Quepasa Corporation (QPSA) and A-Power Energy Generation Systems (APWR) were right on the money.
NOTE: THIS PIECE WAS JUST POSTED ON THE NEXTCANDLE.COM BLOG.
Economic News Late May: More Dark Clouds With The Latest European Economic News
The European economic picture has grown steadily darker this week as surveys showed manufacturing and business activity is deteriorating in major European economies. So what's the latest European economic data?
For starters, private-sector output across the 17-nation euro zone fell in May at its sharpest pace since mid-2009. Specifically, the composite Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) compiled by Markit, gave a preliminary "flash" reading that was down to 45.9 from April's figure of 46.7 - the lowest reading since June 2009. Since a reading above 50 signals growth of activity compared with the previous month while a figure below 50 points to contraction, this signals that demand in Europe is falling.
Data also showed that private-sector activity in Germany returned to contraction in May as the country's composite index fell to 49.6 in May from 50.5 while the Ifo Institute's gauge of German business confidence fell more than expected to a six-month low at 106.6.
Meanwhile, first quarter European GDP was flat after a 0.3% quarterly drop in the final three months of last year. That's actually good news given that two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP is considered a recession. On another bright note: The German economy bounced back from a 0.2% fourth-quarter contraction to produce first quarter growth of 0.5%. However, both the PMI and Markit surveys indicate that German GDP growth will likely decelerate considerably in the second quarter.
In addition and just outside the Eurozone, Britain's economy contracted by 0.3% between January and March and the country is second recession since the 2007-2008 financial crisis thanks in part to having Europe as its biggest trading partner.
The ongoing and seemingly never ending debt crisis is also producing "uncertainty shock" in the sense that European consumers and businesses are postponing major investment and spending decisions. With talk of a Greece exit becoming more and more serious, there will be no letup of the "uncertainty" in the near future. Moreover, Euro has also taken a beating and has just touched a two-year low of $1.25 against the US dollar - its lowest level since July 2010.
So what does all of this gloom in Europe mean for stock investors? Obviously, if you own or trade European stocks, you may already be feeling some pain while investors in big MNCs like Mcdonalds (MCD) should be aware of just how much European exposure these stocks have. Hence, it's a good idea to watch any of the headlines coming out of Europe as well as to keep an eye on your NextCandle.com stock forecasts for any stock you own that has significant European exposure.
NOTE: THIS PIECE WAS JUST POSTED ON THE NEXTCANDLE.COM BLOG.
Stock Market Watch Starting May 22: Taking Stock Of Social Media Stocks In The Wake Of The Facebook IPO Debacle
The long anticipated Facebook IPO last Friday is looking more and more like an overvalued dud that will soon find a more appropriate valuation thanks to market forces. Worst, Facebook (FB) dragged down much of the social media and social networking space with it but there were still a few winners.
The Facebook IPO Winners
Its worth noting that mobile marketing and mobile advertising stocks Velti Plc (VELT), Millennial Media (MM) and Marchex (MCHX) all made sizable gains last Friday with VELT rising 14.38%, MM rising 9.57% and MCHX rising 6.90%. For the most part, these stocks have been holding their gains into this week and may hold onto them for a good reason: Advertising accounts for 82% of Facebook's revenue for the latest quarter and the company needs to find a way to fit advertising onto the screens of mobile phones and other devices. Hence, a smart move for Facebook (FB) might be to buy one of these companies or a mobile marketing technology.
The Facebook IPO Loosers
Since the market opening on Friday, social networking and social media stocks have not been friends for investors. In fact:
Nevertheless and for investors who want exposure to the entire social networking and social media sector with out the inherent risk poised from owning one or two stocks in the space, the Global X Social Media Index ETF (SOCL) attempts to replicate the performance of the Solactive Social Media Index. Its top 10 holdings at the end of the first quarter included the following social media stocks:
No doubt these holding will have changed with the Facebook IPO and the ETF is down about 5.4% since the market opened on Friday, up about 3% since the start of the year and down 9.4% since last November. In other words, the Global X Social Media Index ETF (SOCL) performance has been relatively mixed but if Facebook (FB) keeps falling, it's going to drag SOCL down with it.
The Final Verdict
Again, it looks like Facebook (FB) was overvalued in its IPO which means that for better or for worst, the market will help it find the appropriate valuation that its investment bankers were not able to do. However and as we noted last week, there are still plenty of reasons NOT to buy Facebook (FB) stock but it may take time for the concerns we outlined to further impact the stock. Until then, it might be a good idea to add Facebook (FB) and other social media stocks to your NextCandle.com My Portfolio screen in order to keep track of our latest stock predictions for them as it looks like the whole social media space will be volatile for some time until Facebook finds its footing.
NOTE: THIS PIECE WAS JUST POSTED ON THE NEXTCANDLE.COM BLOG.