Bernie Schaeffer's Market Commentaries

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: The Volatility Game

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:23:00 GMT

"During the past week, institutional investors have started selling stock options that expire in December 2010 and buying others that expire in September and October 2009...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: A Big Bet on Inflation

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:45:00 GMT

"Mark Spitznagel made a fortune predicting the 'black swan' that hit markets last year...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Short Memories on the Street

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:50:00 GMT

"Fund managers have moved to overweight equities for the first time since December 2007 as hopes of an economic recovery remain intact despite a sell-off in bonds and rising yields, a survey showed on Wednesday...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Go East, Young Man?

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:05:00 GMT

"The big problem for many investors at the moment is that the information they accumulated during a quarter of a century of global disinflation is just not relevant any more...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Signals from the VIX

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:21:00 GMT

"Options on stocks and currencies show 'strong warning signals' that the recent rally for both may be poised to end, Citigroup Inc...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: The So-called Smart Money

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:45:00 GMT

"Hedge funds, decried by many as quick traders, have played catch-up during the market rally since March...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Welcome To The Dow (And Watch Your Back)

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:15:00 GMT

"Which companies should supplant Citi, GM and maybe Alcoa? For Citigroup, the obvious choice is Wells Fargo (WFC), with a stock-market value of more than %24113 billion...(Read More)

Schaeffer on Charts: RUT in a Rut?

Fri, 22 May 2009 12:30:00 GMT

The accompanying daily chart shows the Russell 2000 Index (RUT) rally has stalled shy of its declining 200-day moving average...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: This Strangle Strategy Could Strangle Profits

Mon, 18 May 2009 14:15:00 GMT

"Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group have identified 10 stocks that qualify as 'structural winners,' which means they are positioned to take advantage of global economic trends, and therefore generate outsized returns...(Read More)

Schaeffer on Charts: SPX Challenging Important Trendline

Mon, 11 May 2009 13:15:00 GMT

The next test for the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is its 40-week moving average, in the 943 neighborhood...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Treasury Yields, SPX Moving in Tandem

Fri, 08 May 2009 17:45:00 GMT

"US Treasury yields soared on Thursday after a 30-year government bond auction saw poor demand, highlighting the balancing act facing central banks seeking to keep interest rates low while selling record amounts of debt...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Be Wary of Mania for Regulation

Wed, 06 May 2009 17:58:00 GMT

"Reuters.com reports financial professionals, academic experts and the U.S. broker-dealer watchdog agree the SEC should not reinstate its old uptick rule to regulate short selling but disagreed on what other measures would be effective...(Read More)

May Option Advisor Commentary

Fri, 01 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The following is a reprint of the market commentary from the May edition of the Option Advisor, published on April 23...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Is This Gloom Warranted?

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:00:00 GMT

"But, welcome as it is, optimism contains two traps, one obvious, the other more subtle...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Going Dutch?

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:30:00 GMT

"Petercam raises ASML price target to Eur 12 from Eur 10; Rating 'Sell'"(Reuters News Wire - 4/24/09)Schaeffer's addendum: As Joe Hargett pointed out on April 17, there has been significant accumulation in the May 20 put options on ASML Holding N.V...(Read More)

Are We There Yet?

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:15:00 GMT

How severe is this bear market? What do I look for as an early indication that the market is bottoming? What would it take to change the market's label from "bear" to "bull"?Those are the questions I address in the cover feature of the inaugural edition of my new magazine, SENTIMENT, smart options for today's investor, which I introduced here...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:15:00 GMT

I haven't shied away from making tough, critical judgments about the work of my friends in the financial media, especially in this space, in the column we call Schaeffer's Media Outtake...(Read More)

April Option Advisor Commentary

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:26:00 GMT

The following is a reprint of the market commentary from the April edition of the Option Advisor, published on March 25...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Bulletproof Ben Bernanke

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:45:00 GMT

"Ben Bernanke is playing his part. The chairman of the Federal Reserve is making sure that monetary policy is doing all it can to stem the crisis ... This week, as well as increasing the size of some of these ongoing programmes, Mr...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: The Miraculous Citigroup Memo Leak

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:31:00 GMT

"For this miracle leak the world is indebted to Vikram Pandit, the CEO of Citigroup, who -- as you probably already know (any a good journalist, we take considerable pleasure in telling you what you already know) -- wrote an internal memo that was solely for the eyes of anyone who can read (which may very well exclude a number of his fellow bankers)...(Read More)

March Option Advisor Commentary

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:37:00 GMT

The following is a reprint of the market commentary from the March edition of the Option Advisor, published on February 26...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Beware The Bounce

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:23:00 GMT

"Echoing the forecast he made at this year's Barron's Roundtable ('Rocky Road,' Jan...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Someone Is Eager To Call a Bottom

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:05:00 GMT

"The questions on the minds of investors, money managers, and corporate executives are threefold: How much longer will the bear market last? How low will the averages go? And when might investors get their money back ... Stocks don't seem likely to fall much more from here?but market turmoil could continue for months or even years...(Read More)

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: What The VIX Is Telling Us

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:45:00 GMT

"Investors are finding that the Vix volatility index, widely followed last year as Wall Street's gauge of fear, is no longer the accurate barometer that it was...(Read More)

February Option Advisor Commentary

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:17:00 GMT

The following is a reprint of the market commentary from the February edition of the Option Advisor, published on January 22...(Read More)