Small Break

They say that sometimes small things can bring big gains... just as much happiness and satisfaction as big things. Time is really precious thing and its becoming more and more scares. We need to take small breaks to pause for a little in this fast lane life. Moreover, it has becoming increasingly important that we mange the equation of the little time you have to spend it happily and on the budget. Now that I have been running around with two little toddlers who demand my attention every minute of the day, I am realizing how important it is to break away for few minutes. You have to spend time for yourself. It maybe in very small increments but its so much needed. A tonic to refresh your mind from stress, traffic, exhaustion, noise and what not... a small break to gain better perspective at things all over again. It maybe just few deep breaths or a quick shut eye meditation away...

And indeed there was a rally

In my last post, I was optimistic about the rally on the wall street over last week. And indeed there was a rally... Al bite maybe for a short time but it came at a time when everyone desperately needed a ray of hope. Nobody really knows if the stock market has seen the bottom and will move up from here. It could very well turn its back and start its downward trend again leaving us with false hope. Many of the wiseguys on the financial news channels sound convincing on both positive and negative predictions. Currently small cap growth,large cap growth stocks look attractive. Consumer retail sector is promising and so is technology. Looks like financial services stocks have bottomed out and showing some positive turn ... No one is smart enough to predict the future markets accurately but optimism sure matters. So Cheers to the rally and hoping for more !!

Hoping for a rally

It has been a roller coaster ride over a year in the market; a ride that just seemed to continue to go downhill with no bottom in sight. It has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone. Navigating through these challenging markets is unnerving…..but there seems to some ray of hope at least for short term….. Legislative actions aimed at mark to market accounting principles could trigger a rally in financial stocks and the overall stock market. In fact, some wise guys are predicting to see a rally of up to 25% in stocks. There is also an expectation that the so-called Uptick rule, which limits short-selling in stocks, could be restored soon. It is somewhat believable since Stock markets have been so beaten up and equities have been so oversold. One will have to watch for realistic trends that are sustainable. The current scenario still dictates the defensive strategy allocation for underweight in stocks and overweight in cash and bonds. However one can certainly spot some improving trends in utilities, health care and technology sector besides ever green energy and bio tech. When market does turn around the small and mid cap growth stocks are expected to outperform large cap growth and large cap value stocks. This widely popular theory should hold true. And this should provide some great incentive for bargain hunters. Though one has to keep in mind that short-lived rallies are common during periods of extended declines as the market searches for a bottom. I think buzz word for current scenario is caution with optimism…. Cheers!

Glittering Gold

In my previous post Trifecta, I had mentioned about recessionary pressure in all three major aspects of the global economy…namely falling prices in Stocks markets, Crude and Gold… looks like that trend is about to change… The gold is starting to venture out on its own... Based on conventional wisdom it was expected that the gold and precious metal prices usually showed inverse relationship to stocks and oil…however this time that trend was bucked for quite some time… Now though it appears that the Gold is reversing that pattern… the Gold is shining all over again………. For Gold investors it is good news but realistically this trend will not help the recession scenario much…..In the precious metal sector the silver is scaling new highs in the prices and so is platinum. The private investors, mutual funds and hedge funds returns should sizzle at least for this sector. In that sense it appears that precious metals are after all precious despite inflation or deflation. This provides a good indicator for the asset reallocation strategies as well. I am not sure on a large scale basis how many small investors own a gold or similar metal but current trend proves that a good % of the portfolio invested in gold could bring in good results. I expect the gold to keep rising based on current global economic scenario. Though dollar is gaining strength due to weaker currencies else where, the demand for gold as a safe heaven is going to be higher for quite some time…and that should push prices up at new record levels. So for now all that glitters is GOLD after all …. At least a small portion of the investors have something to cheer about…