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Mad Hedge Fund Trader

October 30, 2013

Diary, Newsletter, Summary

Global Market Comments
October 30, 2013
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:
(WHEN GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE), (SPY),
(HEDGE FUNDS CIRCLING OVER THE EUROPEAN WRECKAGE),
(BWX), (IGOV), (ITLY), (EU), (BUND), (FXE),
(TESTIMONIAL)

SPDR S&P 500 (SPY)
SPDR Barclays International Treasury Bd (BWX)
iShares International Treasury Bond (IGOV)
PowerShares DB Italian Treas Bond ETN (ITLY)
WisdomTree Euro Debt (EU)
PIMCO Germany Bond Index ETF (BUND)
CurrencyShares Euro Trust (FXE)

https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png 0 0 Mad Hedge Fund Trader https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png Mad Hedge Fund Trader2013-10-30 08:55:082013-10-30 08:55:08October 30, 2013
Mad Hedge Fund Trader

When Great Minds Think Alike

Newsletter

Exactly 84 years ago from yesterday, the Great 1929 stock market crash occurred. The Dow Average plunged a stunning 30 points to 230, a one-day decline of 12%. The ticker tape lagged the market by two hours, and the newly bankrupt were jumping out of downtown windows. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Well not really.

But a number of friends over the decades lived through that fateful day, and relived it for me, men like Sir John Templeton and Tubby Burnham. My grandfather prided himself on never buying a stock in his life, and was deluged by entreaties from reckless and freshly busted relatives to move into his Bay Ridge, Brooklyn basement.

The S&P 500 came just eight points short of my 2013 target of 1,780 yesterday. By the time you read this, it may already be there.

To refer back to my many pleadings for you to load the boat with US equities, please click here to read ?Why US Stocks Are Dirt Cheap? and ?My 2013 Stock Market Outlook?.

When I made this prediction in January, abuse was hurled upon me. Clearly, the sequester, debt ceiling crisis, taper, sluggish economic growth, a China crash, and a government shutdown were going to collapse the market, taking the (SPX) as low as 300. Gold was the safe place to be, I was told. The only way I could conclude that stocks were headed northward was if I was smoking one of California?s largest agricultural products.

It turns out they were right, but only if you hold your charts upside down.

So it was with some amusement that I listened to the comments of Dr. Jeremy Siegel of the Wharton School of Business. He has been one of the most unremittingly bullish commentators all year, to the point of becoming a Wall Street laughing stock. There is only one catch: he has been dead right. And when people are that right, I sit up and take notice.

Dr. Siegel?s view on the economy mirrors my own. The absence of further spending cuts and tax increases should enable US GDP growth to spring from 2% to 3.5%. At that robust rate the Federal Reserve could completely eliminate quantitative easing with no serious market impact. All surprises will be to the upside. Only a ten year Treasury yield falling to 2% would signal that this scenario has run off the rails.

The Federal Reserve will keep interest rates ultra low for longer than most expect because of its mortal fear of deflation. Endemic and structurally falling prices have the effect of increasing the real debts of individuals and corporations. The central bank clearly wants debt loads to move in the other direction.

While major entitlement reform poses some risk, the likelihood is that the committee convened to make recommendations will simply kick the can down the road, well past the 2014-midterm elections. That?s because both parties believe they can then gain the upper hand. Only one of them can be right.

Dr. Siegel observes that November and December have the calendar working for them as historically positive months. There will be an extra tailwind coming from highly favorable Q4 YOY earnings comparisons. Dividends are up a healthy 10%-15% YOY, and will continue to improve. This action should spill into the first half of 2014.

There is no doubt that the taper has been delayed. In fact, there are no major uncertainties of any kind until well into next year. Periodically, premature fears of tightening will trigger market setbacks. But they will be of the smaller kind, typically 4%-7%.

Welcome to the Goldilocks market.

The only development that could bring this parade to an end would be a second and more prolonged government shutdown, possibly as early as January. But the Republicans have been severely chastised for their behavior in the opinion polls, so it is highly unlikely we will see a repeat, unless we are about to become a one party state.

Welcome to the Goldilocks market.

SPX 10-29-13

INDU 10-29-13

GoldilocksWelcome to the Goldilocks Market

https://www.madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Goldilocks.jpg 348 156 Mad Hedge Fund Trader https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png Mad Hedge Fund Trader2013-10-30 08:53:582013-10-30 08:53:58When Great Minds Think Alike
Mad Hedge Fund Trader

Hedge Funds Circling Over the European Wreckage

Diary, Newsletter

Have you ever wanted to spend your summers basking in the sunlight at your mountain top Tuscan villa, surveying the manicured vineyards which produce your own estate bottled wine? Are you drawn by the cachet of claiming George Clooney as a celebrity neighbor on the model strewn shores of Lake Como? How about a luxury apartment that is walking distance from the Vatican?

Hedge fund managers are salivating at the prospect of one of the greatest fire sales in history, as assets of every description were being dumped in the wake of the hard times that hit Europe. On the menu are trillions of dollars of distressed loans hived off by desperately downsizing and deleveraging continental banks. Corporations are expected to dump money losing divisions and subsidiaries in a race to raise cash.

In many respects, these deals of the century represent the second shoe to fall after similar bargains were had in the US during the 2008 crash. Europe?s day of reckoning was postponed by four years, thanks to a recovery in the US, QE1, QE2, QE3, and Federal Reserve policies that kept interest rates at century lows.

The complacency in Europe since then has been staggering, with many turning their noses up, claiming it could never happen there. Some are predicting that the balance sheet scrub could take as long as a decade, similar to Japan?s tortuously long repair of its own banking system.

Some hedge funds are taking advantage of the wholesale withdrawal of European banks from the credit markets to beef up their own international lending?at much higher interest rates. The same funds, like Highbridge, similarly locked in enormous spreads in the US when conditions were dire.

Several American private equity firms are said to be setting up new European distressed asset funds to peddle to pension funds and high net worth individuals. Those who made similar investments in the US four years ago, made fortunes.

For individual investors the easiest and ripest pickings may be among the European bond ETF?s that already trade in the market. Many of these have suffered gut churning declines in recent months as the European melt down unfolded, despite offering yields multiples of what can be found at home.

Below is a short list of continental ETF?s you may want to consider:

PowerShares DB Italian Treasury Bond Fund (ITLY)

Wisdom Tree Euro Debt Fund (EU)

iShares S&P Citigroup International Treasury Bond Fund (IGOV)

SPDR Barclays Capital International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX)

Germany Bond Index (BUND)

Of course, the eternal question of when to buy is the open to debate. There have been enormous declines in European bond yields since the peak. It was a simple shortage of paper, not any ECB intervention that drove yields down so rapidly.

Aggressive traders are already starting to scale in.

ITLY 10-29-13

EU 10-29-13

IGOV 10-29-13

FatLady2-2The Fat Lady Has Sung for the European Bond Market

George ClooneyHey, Neighbor!

https://www.madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/George-Clooney.jpg 393 394 Mad Hedge Fund Trader https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png Mad Hedge Fund Trader2013-10-30 08:51:042013-10-30 08:51:04Hedge Funds Circling Over the European Wreckage
Mad Hedge Fund Trader

October 29, 2013

Diary, Newsletter, Summary

Global Market Comments
October 29, 2013
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:
(MAD DAY TRADER EDUCATIONAL WEBINAR),
(THE RUN IN BONDS IS OVER),
(TLT), (JNK), (HYG), (MUB), (ELD), (LINE),
(AUSTERITY HITS WALL STREET)

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT)
SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond (JNK)
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bd (HYG)
iShares National AMT-Free Muni Bond ETF (MUB)
WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt (ELD)
Linn Energy, LLC (LINE)

https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png 0 0 Mad Hedge Fund Trader https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png Mad Hedge Fund Trader2013-10-29 01:06:152013-10-29 01:06:15October 29, 2013
Mad Hedge Fund Trader

The Run in Bonds is Over

Newsletter

This is a bet that the ten-year Treasury bonds, now trading at a 2.50% yield, don?t fall below 2.40% over the next 14 trading days. It has to make this move on top of an unbelievable decline in yields from 3.0% to 2.50% since September. And it has to do it quickly.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday to consider whether they should raise rates, lower them, or leave them unchanged. Some traders are looking for hints of a taper that may arrive earlier than expected. I think there is zero chance of this. The futures markets for overnight money are trading at prices suggesting that this won?t occur until April or May of 2015! (No typo here). We could be setting up for a classic ?buy the rumor, sell the news? move here.

We are also blessed with a short calendar for the November 15 expiration, as November 1 falls on a Friday. This also takes us into the usual volatility sapping Thanksgiving holidays.

My standing view on bonds is that we will trade in a 2.40%-3.0% range for some time. Given that the ?Great Reallocation? trade may begin in earnest in 2014. We should take a run at the higher end of that range as we go into yearend.

Loss of 1.5% in fiscal drag from Washington next year could take US GDP growth up from a sluggish 2.0% to a more sporty 3.5%. This is not an environment where you want to own any kind of fixed income security.

You might also consider buying November call spreads on the double short Treasury bond ETF, the ProShares Ultra Short 20+ Treasury Fund (TBT), or just buying the (TBT) outright. Another run at the highs for the year from here is worth ten points.

While examining your own fixed income exposure, you might want to use the current strength in bonds to lighten up in other areas. Municipal bond prices (MUB) are now so high that the capital risk no longer justifies the tax savings. Get rid of them! The only successful muni bond strategy here is to die, and let your heirs sort out the wreckage. That way, your widow gets the step up in the cost basis.

Ditto for junk bonds (JNK), (HYG), which after the latest humongous rally, also see low yields no longer justifying the principal risk. The only bonds I like here are master limited partnerships (LINE), where double digit yields adequately pay you for your risk. I also like sovereign bonds (ELD), which will be supported by emerging market currencies appreciating against the US dollar.

TLT 9-24-13

TBT 10-28-13

MUB 10-28-13

ELD 10-25-13

JNK 10-28-13

The End is Near-signThe Run in Bonds is Over

https://www.madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/The-End-is-Near-sign.jpg 301 420 Mad Hedge Fund Trader https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png Mad Hedge Fund Trader2013-10-29 01:04:552013-10-29 01:04:55The Run in Bonds is Over
Mad Hedge Fund Trader

October 28, 2013

Diary, Newsletter, Summary

Global Market Comments
October 28, 2013
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:
(LAST CHANCE TO ATTEND THE NOVEMBER 1 SAN FRANCISCO STRATEGY LUNCHEON),
(WHY US STOCKS ARE DIRT CHEAP),
(SPY), (IWM), (QQQ), (TSLA)

SPDR S&P 500 (SPY)
iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM)
PowerShares QQQ (QQQ)
Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA)

https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png 0 0 Mad Hedge Fund Trader https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png Mad Hedge Fund Trader2013-10-28 01:05:342013-10-28 01:05:34October 28, 2013
Mad Hedge Fund Trader

Last Chance to Attend the November 1 San Francisco Strategy Luncheon

Diary, Lunch, Newsletter

Come join me for lunch at the Mad Hedge Fund Trader?s Global Strategy Update, which I will be conducting in San Francisco on Friday, November 1, 2013. An excellent meal will be followed by a wide-ranging discussion and an extended question and answer period.

I?ll be giving you my up to date view on stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, precious metals, and real estate. And to keep you in suspense, I?ll be throwing a few surprises out there too. Tickets are available for $191.

I?ll be arriving at 11:00 and leaving late in case anyone wants to have a one on one discussion, or just sit around and chew the fat about the financial markets.

The lunch will be held at a private club in downtown San Francisco near Union Square that will be emailed with your purchase confirmation.

I look forward to meeting you, and thank you for supporting my research. To purchase tickets for the luncheons, please go to my online store.

San Francisco

https://www.madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/San-Francisco-e1410363065903.jpg 238 359 Mad Hedge Fund Trader https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png Mad Hedge Fund Trader2013-10-28 01:04:532013-10-28 01:04:53Last Chance to Attend the November 1 San Francisco Strategy Luncheon
Mad Hedge Fund Trader

October 25, 2013

Diary, Newsletter, Summary

Global Market Comments
October 25, 2013
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:
(FEEL LIKE INVESTING IN A STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM?),
(GAF), (AFK), (EZA),
(WHO SAYS THERE AREN?T ANY JOBS?),
(WILL GOLD SUFFER THE FATE OF THE $10,000 BILL?)
(GLD), (GDX)
(THE TWELVE DAY YEAR)

SPDR S&P Emerging Middle East & Africa (GAF)
Market Vectors Africa Index ETF (AFK)
iShares MSCI South Africa Index (EZA)
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)

https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png 0 0 Mad Hedge Fund Trader https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png Mad Hedge Fund Trader2013-10-25 01:07:232013-10-25 01:07:23October 25, 2013
Mad Hedge Fund Trader

Feel Like Investing in a State Sponsor of Terrorism?

Diary, Newsletter

How about buying shares in a country whose leaders have stolen $400 billion in the last decade and have seen 300 foreign workers kidnapped?

Another country lost four wars in the last 40 years. Still interested? How about a country that suffers one of the world's highest AIDs rates, endures regular insurrections where all of the Westerners get massacred, and racked up 5 million dead in a continuous civil war?

Then, Africa is the place for you! Today, it is the world's largest source of gold, diamonds, iridium, chocolate, and cobalt. The countries above are Libya, Nigeria, Egypt, and the Congo. Below the radar of the investment community since the colonial days, the Dark Continent has recently been attracting the attention of large hedge funds and private equity firms.

Goldman Sachs has set up Emerging Capital Partners, which has already invested $2 billion there. China sees the writing on the wall, and has launched a latter day colonization effort, taking a 20% equity stake in South Africa's Standard Bank, the largest on the continent. There are now thought to be over one million Chinese agricultural workers in Africa.

In fact, foreign direct investment in 2010 jumped from $53 billion to $61 billion, while cross border M & A leapt from $10.2 billion to $26.3 billion. The angle here is that all of the terrible headlines above are in the price, that prices are very low, and the perceived risk is much greater than actual risk.

Price earnings multiples are low single digits, cash flows are huge, and returns of capital within two years are not unheard of. These numbers remind me of those found in Japan during the fifties, right after it lost WWII.

The reality is that Africa's 900 million have unlimited demand for almost everything, and there is scant supply, with many firms enjoying local monopolies. The big plays are your classic early emerging market targets, like banking, telecommunications, electric power, and other infrastructure.

For example, in the last decade, the number of telephones has soared from 350,000 to 10 million. It's similar to the early days of investing in China in the seventies, when the adventurous only played when they could double their money in two years, because the risks were so high.

This is definitely not for day traders. If you are willing to give up a lot of short term liquidity for a high long term return, then look at the Market Vectors Africa Index ETF (AFK), which has 29% of its holdings in South Africa and 20% in Nigeria. There is also the SPDR S&P Emerging Middle East & Africa ETF (GAF). For more of a rifle shot, entertain the iShares MSCI South Africa Index Fund (EZA). Don't rush out and buy these today. Instead, wait for emerging markets to come back in vogue, I'll send you a trade alert when this is going to happen.

AFK 10-24-13

GAF 10-24-13

EZA 10-24-13

AfricanMeet Your New Partner

https://www.madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/African.jpg 322 512 Mad Hedge Fund Trader https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png Mad Hedge Fund Trader2013-10-25 01:06:442013-10-25 01:06:44Feel Like Investing in a State Sponsor of Terrorism?
Mad Hedge Fund Trader

October 24, 2013

Diary, Newsletter, Summary

Global Market Comments
October 24, 2013
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:
(THE CASE AGAINST TREASURY BONDS), (TBT), (TLT),
(MY PERSONAL LEADING ECONMIC INDICATOR),
(HMC), (NSANY), (DXJ)
(A FILM REVIEW OF ?MARGIN CALL?)

ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury (TBT)
iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT)
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC)
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (NSANY)
WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity (DXJ)

https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png 0 0 Mad Hedge Fund Trader https://madhedgefundtrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-mad-hedge-logo-transparent-192x192_f9578834168ba24df3eb53916a12c882.png Mad Hedge Fund Trader2013-10-24 01:06:062013-10-24 01:06:06October 24, 2013
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Legal Disclaimer

There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading. Past results are not indicative of future returns. MadHedgeFundTrader.com and all individuals affiliated with this site assume no responsibilities for your trading and investment results. The indicators, strategies, columns, articles and all other features are for educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Information for futures trading observations are obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we do not warrant its completeness or accuracy, or warrant any results from the use of the information. Your use of the trading observations is entirely at your own risk and it is your sole responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of the information. You must assess the risk of any trade with your broker and make your own independent decisions regarding any securities mentioned herein. Affiliates of MadHedgeFundTrader.com may have a position or effect transactions in the securities described herein (or options thereon) and/or otherwise employ trading strategies that may be consistent or inconsistent with the provided strategies.

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